The essential collections scorecard framework
Think about the last time you evaluated a service provider. Did you know exactly what success looked like beforehand? And were you able to compare them fairly against a competitor? Or did you rely on gut feeling and scattered data points, and realise afterwards that you should have been more specific about your expectations?
Collection agencies are no different. Without clear measurement frameworks, most creditors end up focusing solely on recovery rates while missing critical performance dimensions that impact their business and customers.
This guide will help you build a comprehensive scorecard to evaluate your debt collection partners effectively, ensuring they’re truly delivering the modern approach your business deserves.
Why develop a collections scorecard?
Transparency creates partnership
A well-designed scorecard transforms your relationship with your collections partner from transactional to collaborative. You’re no longer just handing over accounts and waiting for results. Instead, you’re:
- Setting clear monthly priorities that both parties track
- Creating incentives for behaviours that matter to your business
- Building a framework for continuous improvement conversations
“We’ve found that clients who implement structured scorecards report higher satisfaction with their collection partnerships,” explains Charles Allen, US Client Solutions Director at InDebted. “The scorecard isn’t just for measuring their agencies — it’s creating the blueprint for a better working relationship.”
Standardised comparison across partners
Perhaps the most powerful benefit of a scorecard is the ability to objectively compare multiple collection partners using the same criteria. This standardisation allows you to:
- Identify which agencies excel in specific performance areas
- Allocate accounts strategically based on demonstrated strengths
- Implement a champion-challenger model to optimise results
Many of our clients use scorecards as the foundation for champion-challenger models, where they test existing collection strategies against new approaches. This data-driven comparison reveals which agencies and tactics truly deliver the best outcomes for your specific portfolio.
Defining what excellence looks like
As a creditor, you need to ask yourself: do you want to measure success by traditional metrics like total cash collected, Right Party Contacts (RPCs) and call volumes? Or do you want to challenge your DCAs to embrace more forward-thinking approaches that reflect modern customer expectations and digital engagement?
The metrics you choose define what excellence looks like for your collection partners. By including innovative performance indicators alongside traditional recovery metrics, you signal to your agencies that you value digital transformation, customer experience, and long-term relationship preservation.
Traditional metrics | Modern equivalents | Why it matters |
Right Party Connect (RPC) rate | Engagement rates across all channels, e.g. email open and click rates, SMS click rates, self-service rates | Most customers prefer self-service options and reaching customers via preferred channels is more scalable. |
Calls per hour/agent productivity | Omnichannel efficiency metrics and customer response SLAs | Productivity now transcends phone call metrics to include emails and SMS sent, messages handled, chatbot interactions and more, providing a much fuller view of efficiency |
Promises to pay | Customer payment intent and engagement scoring | Digital interactions (such as email opens, email and SMS click rates, portal visits, chat responses) provide a more sophisticated insight into repayment intent than verbal promises alone. |
Queue/dialler penetration rates | Engagement coverage score | Instead of calling each account daily, digital strategies ensure a more thorough and efficient coverage of the portfolio. |
Beyond recovery rate: The true cost equation
Most creditors want to know one thing: how much money did the agency recover? But focusing exclusively on recovery rate creates dangerous blind spots.
When you fail to measure factors like compliance incidents and the quality of your customer’s experience, you’re missing the hidden costs that erode your collections effectiveness:
- Time spent managing customers who require additional support
- Potential regulatory scrutiny and compliance risks
- Damage to your brand and reputation that risks future revenue
- Increased operational overhead for your internal teams
A single compliance incident or viral customer complaint can wipe out months of solid recovery performance. Your scorecard needs to reflect this reality.
The six-dimension framework to evaluate your collections panel
Let’s break down the six essential categories that compose a comprehensive collections scorecard. For each, we’ll explain why it matters and suggest metrics worth tracking.
1. Performance
While not the only metric, financial recovery remains fundamental. Modern scorecards capture nuance beyond simple liquidation rates.
Key metrics to consider:
- Liquidation rate vs. competitors: Does the agency meet or exceed your goals with best-in-class performance compared to competition?
- Email response time: Are all customer emails responded to within the defined SLA (for example, two business days), with explanations provided for any that miss this target, as well as action points to improve in the future?
- Inbound call abandon rate: Is the call abandon rate less than 5% on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis?
- 90-day liquidation rate: Is the agency meeting or exceeding the targeted 90-day liquidation goal?
- 180-day liquidation rate: Is the agency meeting or exceeding the targeted 180-day liquidation goal?
- Roll rate performance: For pre-charge off accounts, does the agency effectively prevent accounts from rolling into higher delinquency buckets (for example, 31-60 days, 61-90, 91-120, 121-150, and 150+ days past due)?
2. Quality assurance
How your customers are treated during collections directly impacts your brand relationship. Quality assurance metrics help you monitor the customer experience and compliance adherence.
Key metrics to consider:
- QA score: Does the agency audit the minimum number of calls and emails per month for each agent handling your accounts, with evaluation forms and coaching evidence available upon request?
- Compliance: Does the agency meet all regulatory guidelines at state and government levels while protecting your brand and financial interests?
- Issues and incidents: Does the agency report all errors and issues to your team, with a root cause analysis in accordance with the SOW?
- QA calibrations: Does the agency provide requested data before sessions, review all data prior to meetings, come prepared to discuss their internal findings and scoring, and remain open to feedback?
- Email and call audits: Does the agency provide all requested information to your team for review?
3. Client servicing
Even the best recovery performance means little if you’re constantly chasing your collections partner for updates or explanations.
Key metrics to consider:
- Responsiveness: does the agency respond to all your requests, messages, and questions in a timely way (for example, two business days)?
- Communication in handling account issues: Is the agency regularly and proactively updating your team on resolution timeframes?
- Complaints and disputes: Does the agency quickly and accurately report all complaints and disputes after the customer interaction?
4. Reporting & analytics
Modern collection partners should provide meaningful insights, not just raw data dumps that’s tedious for your team to interpret.
Key metrics to consider:
- Timeliness and accuracy in reports: Does the agency meet all daily, weekly, and monthly reporting expectations as outlined in the SOW?
- Flexibility in reporting changes: Is the agency flexible in meeting changing business needs to alter, add, or delete reporting as requested?
- Accuracy of forecast reporting: Does the agency provide accurate forecasting information demonstrating their ability to predict collections performance?
- Actionable insights generation: Does the agency present insightful information that helps you better understand your business, customers, and the levers that are being pulled to improve performance — while identifying opportunities for internal improvements?
5. Economic stability
A collection partner’s financial health directly impacts their ability to invest in technology, training, and compliance — all factors that affect your results.
Key metrics to consider:
Economic stability: Does the agency have sufficient funding to give your team confidence they will remain financially viable for years to come, with no risk to your organisation or the expected service levels?
6. Technology & innovation
Traditional agencies rely on calling customers repeatedly. Modern partners leverage digital channels and continually evolve their approach.
Key metrics to consider:
- File loading: Does the agency properly load daily files to and from your team, ensuring accurate information for debt collection?
- File processing: Does the agency efficiently process files within their own system to maintain accurate information for debt collection?
- Innovation capability: Does the agency demonstrate forward thinking about customer service and collections, presenting a vision to partner with your team on new technologies that improve customer behaviour?
- Strategic testing: Does the agency effectively test various business segments to improve strategies and customer interactions — and provide your team with the test results?
Implementation guide: making your collections scorecard work
Creating a scorecard template is just the beginning. To make it truly effective:
Set appropriate weightings
Not all categories deserve equal weight. If customer experience is paramount for your brand, weight it accordingly. A typical breakdown might be:
- Performance: 25-30%
- Quality assurance: 20-25%
- Client service: 15%
- Reporting & analytics: 10-15%
- Economic stability: 5%
- Technology & innovation: 15-20%
Establish clear benchmarks
For each metric, define what constitutes poor, adequate, and outstanding performance.
Here’s an example of how you might do so:
Performance level | Description | Score range | Action required |
Exceeding expectations | Consistently surpassing targets across multiple categories | 85-100% | Increase allocation, adopt best practices |
Meeting expectations | Reliably achieving agreed standards | 70-84% | Maintain allocation, identify improvement areas |
Requires improvement | Falling short in specific areas | 50-69% | Develop improvement plan with timelines |
Unacceptable performance | Consistently missing critical targets | <50% | Reduce allocation, consider replacement |
Create a regular review cadence
The scorecard isn’t a one-time exercise. Schedule:
- Monthly operational reviews
- Quarterly strategic assessments
- Annual comprehensive evaluations
Each session should include both review of past performance and collaborative planning for improvement.
Expert perspective: Value beyond recovery rates
“As a creditor, when I implemented this scorecard approach, we quickly identified which collection partners were truly invested in our business success beyond just collecting money,” says Charles Allen.
“The best DCAs welcomed the transparency and used it to demonstrate their value in dimensions we hadn’t previously measured.“The most successful creditor-collector relationships use scorecards not as punitive tools but as roadmaps for continuous improvement. They create a shared language around expectations and success.
Your roadmap to better collection outcomes
A thoughtfully designed, modern collections scorecard gives you:
- Comprehensive visibility into the performance of your debt collection agencies
- Protection for your brand and customer relationships
- A framework for continuous improvement
- Data-driven decisions about your collections panel
To help you, we’ve made a scorecard template that you can download for free and start using right away.
Download the templateIf you need help customising it for your organisation, our team of collections experts would be happy to help. Just get in touch with us here.
