Late payment is one of the biggest headaches for Canadian small businesses. When a customer does not pay, you lose more than the income: you lose time, resources and cash flow. Selling unpaid invoices is an increasingly popular alternative to traditional debt collection.
Which invoices can be sold?
Any invoice that is due, payable and provable: sales of goods with signed delivery slips, services with a contract or accepted quote, construction progress billings, commercial rent arrears — whether or not you have already gone to court.
Advantages over traditional debt collection
- Immediate cash in CA$: you receive the agreed price when the assignment is signed, not months or years later.
- No legal costs: lawyers and court fees become the buyer's problem if they choose to litigate.
- Closure: the invoice comes off your books and stops draining resources.
- No insolvency risk: if the debtor fails tomorrow, it is no longer your concern.
How is this different from factoring?
Factoring advances money against not-yet-due invoices from solvent customers and usually requires assigning your whole ledger with ongoing fees. A debt sale focuses on invoices that are already unpaid, deal by deal, with no ongoing commitment. They are complementary, not substitutes.
Selling one hard-to-collect invoice does not tie you to a long-term contract or a percentage of your future sales. It is a one-off transaction that closes the file.
How Debtalia works
- List the debt with its basic details (amount, year, type of debtor, documents available).
- Your listing is published anonymously: no names or identifying details are shown.
- Interested investors contact you directly and you negotiate the price and the assignment.
Debtalia is a marketplace that connects sellers with buyers — it does not buy the invoice itself and takes no commission on the sale. For record-keeping and reporting obligations, see the Canada Revenue Agency.
Final tip
Do not let unpaid invoices age. Every month that passes, the invoice loses market value and moves closer to its limitation deadline. Once the friendly route is exhausted, put the debt up for sale and let the market work for you.
