Luc Verstraete

The through-line

Verstraete's fixed idea is that an invoice is not money and that the gap between the two is where companies quietly bleed. He points customers at line 40 of their annual accounts, "vorderingen op ten hoogste één jaar", and insists the figure is "meer dan een boekhoudkundige regel — het is omzet die nog niet is omgezet in cash op je rekening" [1]. The loss is rarely dramatic: "𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘫𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘯 éé𝘯 𝘥𝘢𝘨. 𝘑𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘫𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘫 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘫𝘦" [6]. From that follows the promotion of credit management from back office to boardroom: it is "geen administratief detail, maar een directe hefboom op uw winstgevendheid" [5], and "geen bijzaak, maar een noodzaak" [7].

The second half of the through-line is the counterweight he never drops: the collections process is a conversation with a person. Understanding and empathy come before pressure, because customers live through illness, unemployment and other circumstances that affect their ability to pay, and immediate pressure damages both the relationship and basic humanity [12]. The two halves are meant to hold together rather than compete, which is the whole argument of "menselijk handelen" combined with the recognition that delivered goods must be paid for [8].

On cash versus turnover

The commercial case is arithmetic. An unpaid invoice of €1,000 at a 5% margin requires €20,000 of extra turnover to make good, and at lower margins the figure climbs further [5]. That is why he treats a large receivables position as a symptom rather than a fact of life, one that usually only becomes visible "rond de jaarafsluiting of de belastingaangifte, wanneer je zwart op wit ziet hoeveel er nog openstaat" [1]. The stated aim is that next year the same amount sits on the bank account instead of the balance sheet [1]. Put more simply, the promise to clients is faster collection at lower cost: "Jij maakt de factuur en verstuurt ze. Wij volgen verder op" [11].

On credit risk and the bankruptcy wave

He reads the Belgian insolvency numbers as a direct cash flow threat rather than economic news: 6,257 bankruptcies in the first half of 2026, a record for the fifth consecutive year, with Flanders up 5.4%, construction accounting for 23% of the total and nearly one in five hitting wholesale and retail [7]. His framing is that "achter elk van die faillissementen zit een keten van onbetaalde facturen", so when a customer falls over, the supplier feels it immediately [7]. The practical instructions are to know a customer's credit risk before delivering, to keep monitoring payment behaviour even of customers who have paid correctly for years, and to spot early signals of payment trouble before the bankruptcy appears in the newspaper [7]. Nobody controlling their own cash flow can afford to sail blind [7].

On a repeatable collections cycle

Rather than ad hoc chasing, he works from a fixed six-step cycle: debtor scoring and profiling to know who you are dealing with before things go wrong; preventive action to head off payment problems early; follow-up in the debtor's own language, addressing them in the way that works for them; payment plans and dispute handling that reach a solution without breaking the relationship; escalation to legal or collection steps only when there is genuinely no alternative; and reporting with portfolio insight so the client always knows where they stand [6]. The same logic appears in how the offer is structured, from first reminder through to collection: recruiting and seconding experienced credit controllers who slot into an existing team, analysing and optimising the credit management process, or taking over invoice follow-up entirely with the right technology behind it [1]. The shorthand for all of it is the right people, the right processes and the right tools [11].

On collecting without losing the human

He rejects the idea that collection is a hard confrontation between creditor and customer, and puts the question directly: "Kun je klantvriendelijk én consequent invorderen? Absoluut" [8]. Behind a late payment there is often a story, a temporary liquidity problem, an administrative error or a personal situation, so listening stays essential [8][12]. The other side of the balance is equally firm: goods and services were delivered, an undisputed invoice represents value the company has already created, and "tijdige betaling is geen gunst, maar een normale commerciële afspraak" that underpins the continuity of companies, employees and suppliers [8]. The route through is hyperpersonalisation combined with a human touch, which he argues improves customer experience and payment outcomes at the same time [12], and follow-up in the debtor's own language [6]. He also notes that workplaces now hold four active generational groups, each requiring a different approach [12].

On people and the credit management profession

The talent side is treated as part of the same product, not a sideline. He advertises vacancies for credit management professionals and routes candidates to Ann Verdonck and Yolanda Smets [4], and he actively opens the door to recent graduates in finance or legal practice looking for a first job [9]. The seconding model rests on credit controllers who fit seamlessly into the client's own team [1].

On building two things at once

He sees no conflict between running CreditPeople and taking on an additional role at Nymus, a project he describes with visible appetite: "Hier ga ik met veel goesting voor!" [2]. His claim is that the roles reinforce each other, that CreditPeople remains fully active and that he still has every ambition to keep building it, since "beide rollen blijken opvallend complementair: de ene versterkt de andere" [2].

On reading and switching off

Holidays are when he finally picks up a book, and the choice this time was deliberately light: Dan Brown's Het ultieme geheim, which he found gripping from first to last page while still giving something to think about, alongside a second recommendation, the Nimbus [10]. He turns it back on his network by asking what is on their summer reading list [10].

Takeaways

• Read line 40 of the annual accounts as unconverted revenue, not an accounting entry, and set an explicit target to shrink it year on year [1].
• Use the margin maths in conversations with management: at a 5% margin, a €1,000 write-off costs €20,000 of replacement turnover [5].
• Monitor payment behaviour of long-standing, reliably paying customers too; early signals arrive well before the bankruptcy notice [7].
• Build follow-up as a fixed cycle, from scoring and prevention through payment plans and disputes to escalation and portfolio reporting, with escalation reserved for genuine last resort [6].
• Lead with understanding before pressure; immediate pressure damages the relationship, while an undisputed invoice still represents value already delivered [8][12].
• Adapt the approach to the individual, including their language and their generation, since four generational groups are now active at work [6][12].
• Choose the delivery model that fits the organisation: seconded credit controllers, process optimisation, or full outsourcing of invoice follow-up [1][11].