About Sortlist
Sortlist is a B2B platform that connects companies looking for service providers with specialists in marketing, communications and digital development. Originally built as a marketplace, Sortlist has gradually evolved into a SaaS-enabled marketplace, combining matchmaking with software tools that help providers structure and step up their prospecting.
Active in several European countries, the platform generates hundreds of qualified connections every day and helps companies in the sector grow, with an increasingly product- and performance-driven approach.
Sortlist's business model is built on:
- monthly subscriptions that give access to the platform's features and to qualified projects,
- add-on modules, such as visibility packages or premium opportunities, billed per use.
On the finance side, Mélissa Luyten, Head of Administration and Finance at Sortlist, works hand in hand with the CFO. Her remit includes following up on open invoices, payment matching, customer reminders and unpaid invoices.
The starting point
When Mélissa Luyten joined Sortlist in August 2024, she took over a sensitive area: open invoices. The position had been vacant for several months, and unpaid invoices had piled up.
When I arrived, it was clear there was a lack of structure and organization, and that we really needed to strengthen that side of things.Mélissa Luyten, Head of Administration and Finance, Sortlist
With no dedicated tool, Mélissa tried to build her own system:
- exporting the details of customer accounts with failed payments from her subscription management tool (Recurly),
- cleaning up the data,
- cross-checking it against the accounts in Exact,
- and keeping an Excel payment tracker up to date.
Working from this file, Mélissa wrote every reminder email herself and tailored each one to the customer: name, references, amounts… Some customers received several reminders, spread out over time.
I had to do everything manually: check in our accounting software whether payments had come in, check whether I'd already sent the customer a reminder and when, write every reminder email… In the end, it was eating up a lot of my time.
This work took her 4 to 5 days a month, not to mention the risk of human error. And for all that effort, the results weren't there: few replies and few payments.
People didn't reply. Some got to know my number and stopped picking up, others blocked me outright. Some even used mistakes in the reminders, like a wrong invoice reference or the wrong invoice attached to the email, as an excuse to put off paying even longer.
Beyond the time it took, this homemade system made it impossible to prioritize critical invoices effectively or to improve how they were handled. Worse, to hand a case over for debt collection, Mélissa had to compare the options herself, country by country, between lawyers and collection agencies, based on cost and likelihood of success. That meant yet another Excel file to keep up to date. It was clear she needed a tool that would bring real structure.
The solution: a structured process with no extra workload
Aware that a homemade workaround could only go so far, Mélissa raised the issue with her CFO, who had already spoken with Recovr in the past. That was the trigger: Mélissa picked the conversation back up, explored what was possible and checked whether Recovr could integrate with their accounting software, Exact.
The decision came quickly: Recovr was chosen to handle unpaid invoice follow-up and collections.
A smooth integration with Exact
Implementation was simple: Recovr connects to Exact, the accounting software Sortlist uses. Unpaid invoices sync automatically, with no re-keying, and Mélissa manages them directly in Recovr.
Mélissa immediately set up a custom reminder workflow:
- Three emails that escalate gradually, sent at regular intervals.
- A fourth, firmer message as the final pre-legal reminder.
- If there's still no response, a registered letter adapted to the customer's country (Belgium, France, the UAE…).
- If the invoice still goes unpaid, the case is passed to a lawyer or collection agency directly from Recovr.
The entire follow-up and reminder process is automated. Even so, Mélissa stays in control of what goes out and chooses to approve each step herself:
I prefer to approve everything myself, especially at the start. It gives me a precise picture of where things stand, and I can adjust if a salesperson tells me a customer has promised to pay. And since everything's already prepared, I just click to send the reminder.
The results: more rigor, time saved… and customers talking again
Recovr had an immediate impact at Sortlist. Where the team had been met with a wall of silence, customers started replying to reminders.
Before, I hardly ever heard back. Now I get replies from the very first reminder. Even when a customer disputes an invoice, at least it starts a conversation. And that helps us understand the situation and find solutions.
Real conversations are back, so Mélissa can handle sensitive cases with more nuance while staying firm on due dates.
A useful psychological effect
Sending reminders from a neutral address (no-reply@email-recovr.eu) has also helped:
For a lot of customers, it feels as if we've brought in a collection agency. It changes the tone. They can tell things are getting serious, and they reply faster.
This subtle but effective form of pressure significantly improves the payment rate, even without resorting to legal action.
Recovr at the core of financial management
Recovr is more than a reminder tool: it has become central to how Mélissa works, built right into her administrative and financial routines. Every month, at the month-end close, she follows a clear process: clean up sales entries in Exact, then send targeted reminders through Recovr.
I do a big clean-up right after the close. Then all I have to do is click to send the reminders. It takes me half a day at most.
No more tedious weekly follow-up: logging in 2 to 3 times a month is enough to keep everything under control. With Recovr, Mélissa now manages cash collection methodically, efficiently… and with peace of mind.
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