HP Sears recovers commercial, business-to-business debt for California companies. Unpaid invoices, overdue accounts receivable, open account balances, unreleased retention, and contract obligations owed by one business to another. Placement is free, there are no upfront fees, and our fee comes only out of what we actually recover.

We are commercial-only, and in California that distinction does real work. A collection agency built around consumer debt is running a consumer playbook: validation notices, contact-time rules, and a script written for an individual who owes money on a personal account. Your customer is not that. Your customer is a company that signed terms, took delivery, and put your invoice behind other priorities — and it responds to a different conversation entirely.

That conversation is what we do all day: a direct, documented discussion with the controller, owner, or accounts-payable manager about the purchase order, the delivery, the signed agreement, and what leaving the balance open will cost that business with its other suppliers. It recovers money faster than pressure does, and it leaves a customer you may want back next year still willing to pick up the phone.

$0Upfront cost to place24 hrsTo first contactPay on resultsContingency onlyB2B onlyCommercial accounts

What Makes a California Receivable Different

California gives commercial creditors real tools and real deadlines. Knowing which apply to your account usually matters more than how hard anyone pushes.

Four years, and then nothing

An action on a written contract, a book account, or an account stated generally must be brought within four years (Code of Civil Procedure § 337). An oral agreement gets two (§ 339). Those are outside limits for filing suit, not a collection plan — recovery rates fall long before the deadline does.

Interest keeps running

Under Civil Code § 3289, a contract’s own lawful stipulated rate continues to run after breach. A contract entered into after January 1, 1986 that stipulates no rate bears 10% per year after breach. Most creditors never claim it.

Commercial sits outside consumer law

The federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act defines a “debt” as a consumer obligation incurred for personal, family, or household purposes (15 U.S.C. § 1692a(5)), and California’s Rosenthal Act is built on the same footing. Business-to-business obligations are governed by your contract and the UCC instead.

See our collections process

Industry tools most creditors miss

Growers who sell to a processor have a producer’s lien on the product and its processed forms (Food and Agricultural Code §§ 55631–55653). Construction claims carry short mechanics lien and stop-notice windows. Sales of beer, wine, and spirits to retailers carry statutory credit limits. Any of these can change what your account is worth.

Industries we serve

General information about commercial collections, not legal advice. Deadlines, lien rights, and remedies depend on your contract and the specific facts — consult qualified California counsel.

How We Recover a California Account

Five stages, and you keep control of every decision that matters.

1. Free placement

Send the invoice, the contract or purchase order, proof of delivery, and your contact history. We tell you what looks realistically collectible before you commit to anything.

2. Early intervention

The highest-recovery stage, because the money still exists. Fast, professional, documented contact while the account is fresh.

Early intervention collections

3. Active recovery

Structured multi-channel contact with the person who can actually release payment, plus skip tracing when a business has moved, renamed, or gone quiet.

Skip tracing services

4. Late-stage escalation

For accounts that resist resolution: negotiation, documented payment arrangements, and asset and judgment groundwork.

Late-stage collections

5. Resolution

Payment in full, an enforced settlement or installment agreement, or a litigation recommendation — the last only with your written authorization.

How contingency pricing works

Throughout: you stay informed

Real-time reporting on every account you place, and a straight answer about which balances we think are worth pursuing and which are not.

Estimate your fee

Industries We Recover For

Every industry gets stiffed differently. What a general contractor is owed does not look like what a medical practice or a winery is owed, and the recovery strategy should not either.

Where We Serve

We work statewide. Three regions carry most of our volume, each with local market pages covering the cities and counties inside them.

Central Valley

Our home region — agriculture and food processing, construction, trucking and logistics, energy services, and the medical and professional firms serving them.

Explore Central Valley collections

San Diego

Biotech and life sciences, defense and government contracting, manufacturing and distribution, construction, and professional services.

Explore San Diego collections

Bay Area & North Bay

Wine, hospitality and food production, agriculture, construction, professional services, and commercial property management.

Explore Bay Area collections

Not on the list? What determines whether we can work an account is where the debtor business is, not where you are — and we regularly recover California receivables for out-of-state creditors. Ask us about your market.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you provide debt collection services throughout California?

Yes. HP Sears recovers commercial accounts statewide. Our concentrations are the Central Valley, San Diego, and the Bay Area, and we pursue California debtor businesses for creditors located anywhere, including out of state.

Do you handle commercial or consumer collections?

Commercial. We recover business-to-business obligations only — unpaid invoices, overdue receivables, open accounts, lease and contract balances owed by one business to another. We do not take consumer accounts.

What does it cost to place an account?

Nothing upfront. We work on contingency: a percentage of what we actually recover, set by the age and size of the account and the volume you place. If we collect nothing, you owe nothing.

How long does a commercial collection take?

Accounts that resolve quickly usually move within 30 to 60 days of placement, because most business non-payment is a cash-flow or process problem rather than a refusal. Disputed accounts, debtors who have gone dark, and late-stage escalations take longer. The age of the invoice when you place it is the strongest predictor of both speed and outcome.

Can you still collect an invoice I already wrote off?

Often, yes. A write-off is an accounting decision about your books, not a legal release of the debt. If the debtor business or a successor still exists and the claim is within the applicable California limitation period, it can usually still be pursued.

Will using a collection agency cost me the customer?

Not if the relationship is worth keeping and the account is handled properly. Most delinquent commercial customers are viable customers with a cash-flow problem. Our contacts are firm, factual, and documented rather than adversarial, and we will tell you when we think an account should be preserved rather than pressed.

What industries do you work with?

Construction, agriculture and food processing, healthcare and medical practices, manufacturing and distribution, transportation and logistics, energy services, property management, law firms and professional services, retail, financial services, and government contracting.

What do you need from me to get started?

The invoice or statement, the contract or purchase order, proof of delivery or completion, the payment history, and your contact log. Personal guarantees too, if you have them. That is enough for a free review of what is realistically collectible.

Recover What Your California Business Is Owed

One stalled invoice or a full aging report past 90 days — the review costs nothing and tells you exactly what is collectible before you commit to anything.

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