How Cognism Achieved a 93% Collection Rate with Kolleno

Cognism is a leading B2B sales intelligence company, helping revenue teams find and connect with their ideal customers through accurate, compliance-first data. Founded in 2015 and headquartered in London, it has become one of the most trusted data providers for sales and marketing teams across Europe and beyond, known for its GDPR-compliant, phone-verified contact data and deep integrations with the tools those teams already use.

Rachel Ransford, Revenue Manager, and Louise Siggers, Credit Controller, handle credit and collections at Cognism, managing accounts receivable across multiple countries and currencies. They juggle a heavy chasing workload while protecting customer relationships, all with a part-time team. To manage all that, they already had an AR tool in place, but it was holding the team back more than helping, which is what brought them to Kolleno.

Before Kolleno, the collections process was scattered. Emails, invoices, and credit control each lived in separate systems, with no link between Salesforce and the credit control tool. To understand a single account, the team had to move between systems and piece the story together by hand. Communication happened outside the collections tool, so email threads had to be copied over as manual notes. Anything not written down could be lost between team members. Simple questions took far longer than they should, and important details slipped through the cracks.

The deeper problem was that the old system could not flex to fit the business. The team works across multiple countries and currencies, but the tool could only report in one. Statements went out to every customer in dollars, no matter where they were based. As a result, customers paid the wrong amounts, leaving the team chasing shortfalls and refunding overpayments. When they raised it, the answer was that nothing could be done. Eventually they turned statements off altogether, since a system that couldn’t adapt was only adding to their workload.

Kolleno brought the whole process into one place. Emails, invoices, notes, and customer history now sit together in a single system instead of scattered across separate tools. The team can click straight onto a customer and see the full email thread, the timeline, and every action taken, so anyone can pick up exactly where someone else left off. Because everything runs from a central mailbox rather than personal inboxes, a teammate’s day off no longer means a customer goes unanswered. That visibility goes further than any single account. Invoice and customer tagging lets the team filter the whole portfolio in seconds. They can instantly spot suspended customers with outstanding balances or older debt that needs attention, a task that used to require slow, manual reporting.

Just as important, the platform adapts to the way the business already works. The old tool forced everything into a single currency, while Kolleno handles every currency and country the team deals with. It also syncs cleanly with NetSuite, something the previous system never managed. That same flexibility carries through to how the team chases payments. Instead of one rigid process for everyone, each customer group can follow its own workflow, with tone and wording tailored to the situation. An underpaid customer might move to a gentler sequence, while higher-risk accounts get closer follow-up. Everything is set up the way the team wants, not the way a system dictates.

Once everything sat in one place, the results followed. Since moving to Kolleno, the collection rate has climbed to 93%, and it continues to rise. For the first time, the team can see the collection rate as it changes, something their previous system never allowed.

Much of the gain comes from taking manual work off the team. Automated workflows mean every customer is chased on schedule without anyone lifting a finger. In the first 90 days alone, automation saved 168 hours that used to go into sending emails by hand. Nothing falls through the cracks, because every account is added to a workflow automatically, with tailored sequences layered on where they are needed.

The bigger change is how the team spends its time. With the busywork handled and the system shaped around their process, the team can focus on customers instead of admin. When they pick up the phone, everything they need is already in front of them. Cash flow is clearer too, since promises to pay are logged against invoices and pulled out of the chasing sequence automatically. Less time goes to the mechanics of collections, and more goes to the customers behind them.