Purchasing Agent Considerations

Obviously, the Purchasing Agent has a very strong voice in the process of acquiring any software. And one of the first topics of conversation will be: Sole Source or Request for Proposal (RFI). i-Plow will certainly respond to an RFP and expect to win, because there is no other company in America that specializes in supporting government collectors the way that we do.

What sets government collectors apart from any others? The criminal justice system for one thing. Yes, collecting fees, fines, and court costs is extremely important, but the government collector has to answer to the court as well as the financial department.

What impact does criminal justice have on the collections process? Look at the Special Features section of the User Guide: you will see words like Exclude Case Bond, External Case References, Flexible vs Rigid Plans, Participants, Probation Expiration, Restitution, Scofflaw, Show-Cause, and Third Party Referral. These are not things you typically associate with financial collections, but they are of great concern to the government collector.

We always promise our customers: we will do our best to make sure you collect what the defendant owes, and if you don't, be able to demonstrate to the court that every reasonable effort was made to accommodate the defendant. This is necessary because when the judge says, "Give me one good reason I shouldn't put you in jail?" The typical response is, "It's not my fault, nobody told me nothin'." To which the Government Collections & Compliance-equipped collector will reply, "Your honor, if you will look at the Case Detail report that I have provided to you, you will see a record of every call, email, text message, and written notification that we issued. You will see that we changed his plan to accommodate changes in his financial condition and you will also see his payment activity.

You can click here for a printable Sole Source Justification letter.

You can click here for a draft service contract.