How GCollect automates debt recovery with seamless integrations

GCollect is a French fintech that eases debt recovery by combining ethical recovery practices with digital efficiency. To streamline invoice imports and enable fast, selective debt recovery, GCollect partnered with Chift and integrated its Unified Accounting and Invoicing APIs. This collaboration allows users to connect their accounting or invoicing tools in one click, import overdue invoices automatically, and initiate recovery procedures seamlessly. The result: faster onboarding, reduced manual work, and a more scalable recovery model.

You can learn more about GCollect in our interview of GCollect's COO, Rachel Hourlier.

Unpaid invoices are a massive challenge in France — totalling around €15 billion each year — yet only 13% are ever submitted for recovery. GCollect’s mission is to reduce this gap by making the debt recovery process faster, more ethical, and accessible to businesses of all sizes. Bonus: they only charge clients when an unpaid invoice gets recovered. But to do that at scale, they needed an efficient way to tap into their clients’ billing and accounting data — without relying on clunky manual uploads or custom-built integrations.

“Most small businesses don’t have tools or processes in place to recover unpaid invoices. They’re left with data they don’t know how to act on — and often they don’t even know recovery solutions like ours exist.” François Dussaussoy, Chief Product Officer, GCollect

Initially, the GCollect team developed in-house integrations for tools like Evoliz, Sellsy, and Pennylane. But each required custom development and ongoing maintenance — a time-consuming and increasingly unsustainable strategy.

“Every time we wanted to add a new tool, it meant a new integration, a new roadmap. We quickly saw that this model wasn’t sustainable if we wanted to scale.” François Dussaussoy, Chief Product Officer, GCollect

The technical debt was growing, and developers were being pulled away from core product development. GCollect needed a solution that could simplify this entire ecosystem into one stable, scalable interface.

Chift provided the right solution. Its Unified APIs for Accounting and Invoicing aggregate dozens of third-party tools — from Qonto and Axonaut to Chargebee, Factomos, Odoo, and Cegid Loop — under one umbrella. This meant GCollect could access all the client data it needed through a single integration point.

“What convinced us about Chift was the ability to work with one single partner to access the entire ecosystem of invoicing and accounting tools. That’s what we call ‘open debt recovery.’” Laurent Olivier, Head of Marketing, GCollect

The integration is designed to be seamless for end-users. After creating an account on GCollect, users are prompted to connect their accounting or invoicing software. With just a few clicks, Chift authenticates the connection and syncs the full invoice history.

“With Chift, our clients can transmit their unpaid invoices more quickly and easily.” Rachel Hourlier, COO, GCollect

Crucially, GCollect doesn’t just import overdue invoices — it fetches the full dataset. This enables GCollect to detect at-risk invoices before they become problematic and even offer pre-emptive services like reminders or financing. GCollect also offers the option to users to select which invoices they would like to start a recovery process for.

“We want to capture data upstream. If we see that a payment is due in 10 days, we can offer financing solutions or start early reminders — so we don’t wait until the invoice is overdue.” François Dussaussoy, Chief Product Officer, GCollect

Security and compliance were also key. Chift never stores invoice data, only encrypted authentication credentials. It operates fully within GDPR guidelines — a critical consideration for handling sensitive financial information.

“Chift ensures stable and secure connections with tested and proven connectors, guaranteeing the integrity of transmitted data.” Rachel Hourlier, COO, GCollect

‍

Clients can now import their invoices and trigger recovery in just a few clicks, without switching platforms or re-entering data.

• Faster onboarding: Clients connect their tools and import data in under 2 minutes.
• Time saved: Automation eliminates manual entry and minimizes client effort.
• Expanded coverage: With over a dozen connectors supported via Chift — including Vosfactures, Chargebee, and Pennylane — GCollect has broad market compatibility.
• Operational focus: GCollect’s team can focus on optimizing recovery strategies rather than building and maintaining APIs.
• Proactive services: Access to full invoice datasets allows GCollect to move upstream — offering reminders, financing, or alerts before invoices are late.

“We used the Chift project as a chance to revamp our interface. Now, from the moment a user signs up, we guide them through connecting their tools, selecting invoices, and launching recovery — all in just a few clicks.” François Dussaussoy, Chief Product Officer, GCollect

Internally, this transformation aligns with GCollect’s larger strategic goals. The company is advancing its “Open recovery” model, inspired by Open Banking, where recoverys are triggered directly from within partner tools. This not only drives usage but positions GCollect as a core infrastructure layer in the financial operations of its clients.

The collaboration between GCollect and Chift is a textbook example of how SaaS platforms can leverage unified APIs to transform a fragmented user experience into a fluid, scalable one. GCollect empowers its users to focus on their core business while reducing friction, increasing speed, and building smarter recovery workflows.

Thinking about expending through integrations? Book a Demo with our team!