Executive Intelligence

The Collection Effectiveness Index Is Useful, But It Isn't the Whole Story

CEI tells you how much you collected. It doesn't tell you what it cost. Nexum shows both.

CEI tells you how much you collected. It doesn't tell you what it cost.

Summary

The Collection Effectiveness Index compares what was collected with what was available to collect.

CEI hides portfolio mix, vintage and the cost of collecting.

Nexum pairs recovery views with HeartBeat's financial picture and AI cost visibility.

Key takeaways

Calculate CEI consistently and by client.

Pair it with cohort recovery and cost per recovered dollar.

See Nexum's portfolio and CFO views in a demo.

What CEI measures

A common formula: (beginning receivables + new receivables − ending total receivables) ÷ (beginning receivables + new receivables − ending current receivables) × 100. Near 100% means nearly everything collectible was collected.

Why it's useful

It summarizes performance in one number.
It's comparable across periods for the same portfolio.
It's familiar to creditors and finance teams.

What it hides

Portfolio mix. A portfolio heavy in fresh, high-quality accounts will score better than one full of old, previously worked accounts, regardless of agency skill.

Vintage. Accounts placed recently haven't had time to pay. Mixing vintages distorts the picture. See compare portfolio performance by vintage.

Cost. CEI ignores how much effort, labor and spending it took. Two agencies with the same CEI can have very different margins.

Contact quality. It doesn't show whether you're reaching people or just waiting for payments.

Agency context. For third-party agencies working placed accounts, recovery or liquidation rate by placement cohort is often more meaningful than a receivables-based CEI.

Pair it with economic metrics

Use CEI alongside:

Recovery rate by placement cohort (month three vs. month three).
Cost per recovered dollar.
Dollars collected per labor hour.
Right-party contact rate and promise-kept rate.
Cost of outreach and data per account.

Together, these show whether performance is not just effective but profitable.

Report it consistently

Define the formula once and use it everywhere. Calculate it by client. When comparing, note portfolio differences explicitly.

How Nexum shows the whole picture

Back Office's Portfolio Overview shows recovery rate, placed and collected by status, age bucket and client. HeartBeat's CFO perspective and Financial Pack connect collections to fees, margins and costs. Campaign tools show cost per campaign, and Token Monitor shows AI spend. Effectiveness and economics in one place. See HeartBeat reports.

The bottom line

CEI is a headline. Nexum gives you the whole story behind it.

See it working in your agency

Book a 30-minute guided Nexum demo built around your agency's real bottleneck, or call 502ZONE directly at (786) 524-4252. Nexum Open CRM is free: no license fee, no seat fees, no subscription. Add 502ZONE modules only when you want more recovery.

Bring us your most expensive collections problem.

Our guided 30-minute session focuses on your real workflow and the problem costing you the most.

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