50-question Starter Guide for Writing a Collections RFP

The Request for Proposal (RFP) can be an essential and informative process for establishing new partnerships. Organizations of all types can benefit from this kind of formalized vetting process. They offer a means for comparing the services, philosophy, and value of multiple providers in a structured way that ensures the specifics of your needs are addressed.

RFPs are a common strategy for seeking out an ethical and effective collections partner, but writing a comprehensive RFP can be challenging. That’s why we have put together this 50-question starter guide for writing a collections RFP. The following questions can be modified to fit the needs of your organization and help you establish the right criteria that will result in the right collections partner.

1. Provide an overview of your company, including the number of years in collecting healthcare bad debt, parent company, and location of local offices.
2. In which states are you licensed to collect?
3. What percentage of placements to your organization are [insert your industry] related?
4. What are the average total number and total dollar amount of primary placements you receive per month?
5. Provide an overview of the different types of services your company provides.
6. As an industry leader, explain what differentiates your company from others, and what factors you consider to maintain your industry edge?
7. Qualitatively describe how you would approach our business to optimize collected dollars without sacrificing consumer satisfaction.
8. How would your collectors handle consumers who may qualify for charity or financial assistance?
9. Describe your skip-tracing process.
10. Describe how you work with your clients to develop best practice approaches to contact frequencies, scripts, etc.
11. How will you keep the client apprised of essential performance indicators for the program? How do you identify early issues and resolve them before they become visible problems?
12. Describe the specific capabilities of your online portal for clients.
13. Do you have a formal process for auditing & analyzing collector telephone calls? If yes, please describe and provide documentation.
14. Are you able to record and store all calls? For how long do you store recorded calls? Are they available for client review?
15. Do you use software to analyze and audit your collection calls? If so please, describe.
16. How do you address performance concerns if an employee is not meeting the established quality assurance standards?
17. How are complaints reported and handled?
18. Provide samples of all forms/correspondences to be used for collections.
19. Please describe your training for collectors, including the initial training program and any ongoing training/ monitoring.
20. Are collectors located in one or multiple locations?
21. What are the collection/customer service hours where a “live” representative can be reached?
22. Do you have bilingual capabilities? Please describe.
23. Are [insert your industry] accounts handled differently than other accounts? If so, how?
24. What are your current qualifications for collection staff?
25. What standard reporting do you typically provide? With what frequency?
26. What is your process for reconciling accounts?
27. Can you provide status reports on all accounts placed with your organization? What level of detail do these reports provide?
28. When accounts are returned or canceled, do you provide a reason for return?
29. Are you able to provide custom reporting?
30. How much time is required from contract signing to “go live”? Within your implementation plan, provide a timeline for the implementation of services.
31. Explain vendor and customer resources necessary for the successful implementation.
32. Describe how problems are to be reported to you and how we coordinate with your staff.
33. Please describe your plans for future development. What plans do you have in place to continue enhancing your services and when do you expect to deliver on these initiatives?
34. Please describe what plans you have in place to respond to evolving market demands as the [insert your industry] moves toward a consumer-driven environment.
35. Please describe your servicing platform including any unique capabilities. What internal systems do you use for your core call activities?
36. Describe your electronic file transfer process.
37. Describe any omnichannel capabilities you can offer. If you offer omnichannel capabilities, how does it facilitate payment options?
38. Do consumers have the ability to pay online via check or credit card?
39. How will employees be monitored for customer service skills, adherence to guidelines, communication skills, and proper completion of required services.
40. Please describe your approach to payment processing.
41. How do you ensure [insert compliance standards relevant to your industry]?
42. What processes are in place to ensure that collectors recognize and protect consumer privacy?
43. What role-based controls do you have for all users?
44. Describe the processes in place to ensure PCI compliance for all credit cards/debit card payments.
45. Does your organization maintain any data security-related certifications? (ISO-IEC 27002, SSAE 18 SOC 2 TYPE II, etc.)?
46. Provide an overview of your agency’s approach to data security.
47. How do you ensure business continuity?
48. Is your agency Blueprint Certified through the ACA International?
49. Does your agency have any other professional affiliations or certifications?
50. What types of training do you provide for clients?

Discover more strategies for constructing an effective collections RFP in our white paper, “Collections RFP: Seven Key Elements.” Read more and download a FREE copy here.