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Prepared by Sydney Collect
Updated 4 September 2026 · Pricing and product claims verified against each provider's own site, week of 4 September 2026
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Short answer: if you've got one or a handful of specific overdue accounts you want acted on this week — an unpaid food or beverage invoice, a venue hire deposit, a corporate catering tab — a flat $29 lawyer-backed letter from SydneyCollect is the fastest, cheapest formal step, and no commission comes out of what you recover. If an account has already ignored a first request, or you'd rather hand the whole chase to someone else, a commission-based agency like eCollect or AMPAC will actively pursue it for a cut of what comes back — useful, but a different trade-off, and a slower one on a fast-moving industry.

The comparison table

Hospitality is Australia's highest-risk industry for suppliers. Accommodation & Food Services recorded 14.06 first-time external administration appointments per 1,000 operating businesses in FY24-25 — 4.1× the 3.42 national average, and the highest rate of any major industry (2026 Debt Collection Report §5). That changes which option makes sense: with roughly 1 in 71 hospitality businesses failing every year, speed matters more here than in almost any other sector — a fast formal letter can beat a slower agency chase to the punch.

Provider What it is Pricing Turnaround Best for Limitations
SydneyCollect Our pick One-off lawyer-backed letter of demand $29 flat per letter; 10% commission managed recovery if escalated Same-day (5 min) A specific unpaid invoice, deposit or tab you want acted on today Not an ongoing active-chase service
eCollect Commission-based debt collection agency, "no recovery, no commission," runs a dedicated hospitality page and names Hospitality directly among its 20+ served industries Commission not publicly disclosed Not stated on its site — performance-based, quoted after review Businesses wanting a sector-aware specialist for an active recovery No public commission rate; no flat per-letter option
AMPAC Commission-based debt collection agency, over 30 years operating, lists Food & Beverage among ten served industries on a general commercial-collection site Not publicly disclosed Not stated on its site A harder debt where a long-established general agency's track record matters to you No hospitality-specific page or claims; no flat-fee option; no public commission rate

Sources: each provider's own published website, verified week of 4 September 2026. Neither eCollect nor AMPAC publishes a specific commission percentage — see the Methodology section and the Sources list below for exactly what was and wasn't confirmed.

If you're choosing right now: a specific unpaid invoice or fee needs a letter sent today, not a commission-based chase that takes weeks — especially in an industry where the debtor can go from trading to insolvent fast. Send a letter — $29

Methodology — how these were compared

This is a comparison, not a ranking — the three options below solve genuinely different problems, and "best" depends on which problem you have. The framework:

  • What it is — a one-off legal document versus an active, ongoing agency chase. Confusing these is the most common mistake hospitality suppliers make when an invoice runs overdue.
  • Pricing — taken directly from each provider's own published site as of the week of 4 September 2026. Where a provider does not publish a commission rate (eCollect, AMPAC), that is stated explicitly rather than estimated — we do not publish a figure we cannot verify.
  • Turnaround — the realistic time from decision to action, based on each provider's own stated process.
  • Best for — the buyer situation where each option's shape actually fits, based on the target customers and services each provider names on its own site.
  • Limitations — the trade-off that makes each option a mismatch for other situations.

eCollect — the closer hospitality specialist

eCollect runs a dedicated hospitality page that names the industry's specific cash-flow pressures directly — "upfront costs for produce, staffing, preparation and last-minute cancellations place immediate pressure on cash flow" — and covers unpaid supplier invoices, event cancellation and venue hire debt, dishonoured payments, and corporate event or group dining accounts. It's a "no recovery, no commission" model, and its site states a licence (ACL 430899), AFCA membership (No 31289), over 20 years operating, more than 10,000 businesses served, and over $120M recovered — but no hospitality-specific success rate, turnaround time or commission percentage.

Because it's built around an active, ongoing chase rather than a same-day formal step, eCollect is a better fit once an account has already resisted a first request than as the very first move on a fresh overdue invoice.

AMPAC — broad coverage, no hospitality specialism

AMPAC (now trading at 4ampac.com.au) describes itself as a fully licensed commercial collection agency with "over 30 years of industry expertise." Food & Beverage appears among ten industries it lists — alongside construction, manufacturing, healthcare, transport and government rates recovery — but hospitality isn't singled out with a dedicated page or industry-specific claims the way eCollect's is. Commission is stated as payable only on successful recovery, with the rate quoted after review rather than published.

If a long track record and broad general-agency experience matter more to you than a hospitality-specific sector match, AMPAC is a reasonable option once you've decided the debt needs an active chase rather than a single formal letter.

Decision guide — which one actually fits your situation

  • One or a few specific unpaid invoices, deposits or fees, want action this week: send a $29 letter of demand. No commission, no agency handover.
  • An account that's already ignored a polite request and you want someone else actively chasing it: a commission-based agency like eCollect or AMPAC fits — budget for a percentage of what's recovered, not a flat fee.
  • You want a sector-aware agency that understands hospitality cash-flow timing: eCollect's dedicated hospitality page is the closer match; AMPAC is a general agency that also lists Food & Beverage.
  • A CreditorWatch alert shows the debtor already has one or more recorded trade defaults: failure probability climbs to 42% after a second default and 62% after a third — send a letter now rather than waiting on a slower, performance-based agency queue.
  • The account involves a disputed delivery, a food-quality complaint or a contract disagreement: loop in a solicitor before sending anything. Neither the $29 letter nor a commission agency is built to resolve a genuine legal dispute.

Many hospitality suppliers will use more than one of these over time: a $29 letter for this month's overdue invoice, a commission agency once a specific debt has resisted that first step, and a solicitor if a matter turns disputed. They are not mutually exclusive.

A hospitality supplier's books rarely have just one problem account — it's usually a handful of venues a few weeks behind on food and beverage invoices, plus a cancelled booking fee or two, none big enough alone to justify a phone call, all adding up across the customer list. If you're carrying 10 or more of these at once, Bulk Debt Recovery sends a formal letter to every account at once for one flat price rather than a cut of what comes back. See how Bulk Debt Recovery works.

Disclosure: SydneyCollect is one of the providers compared on this page. Every pricing and feature claim about eCollect and AMPAC was verified against their own published websites — where a provider does not publish a commission rate, this page says so rather than estimating one. If you spot a factual error, email [email protected] and we will correct it within 24 hours.

Frequently asked questions

Is SydneyCollect better than eCollect for a hospitality business? ▼
They fit different situations. SydneyCollect is $29 flat for one lawyer-backed letter of demand, sent the same day, for a specific unpaid supplier invoice or venue debt — no commission taken out. eCollect is a commission-based agency, "no recovery, no commission," that runs a dedicated hospitality page and names Hospitality directly among its 20+ served industries. For one or a few overdue accounts you want acted on today, the $29 letter is cheaper and faster. For a harder debt you'd rather hand to someone else to actively chase, a specialist agency like eCollect is the right tool.
What commission do agencies like eCollect and AMPAC charge on hospitality debts? ▼
Neither eCollect nor AMPAC publishes a specific commission percentage on its website — both are "no recovery, no charge" and quote a rate once they've reviewed the debt. As a rule of thumb, AU commission-based agencies typically charge 10-25% of the amount recovered. Compare that to SydneyCollect's flat $29 per letter with no commission, or 10% if a matter escalates to managed recovery.
Does an agency specialise in hospitality or food and beverage debt? ▼
eCollect is the closer sector match — it runs a dedicated hospitality page and names cash-flow pressures specific to restaurants, cafes and event venues. AMPAC lists Food & Beverage among ten served industries on a general commercial-collection site, without a dedicated hospitality page or hospitality-specific claims.
Hospitality has Australia's highest business failure rate. Does that change how I should collect? ▼
Yes. Accommodation & Food Services recorded 14.06 first-time external administration appointments per 1,000 operating businesses in FY24-25 — 4.1 times the 3.42 national average, or roughly 1 in 71 businesses failing each year (Sydney Collect 2026 Debt Collection Report, Section 5). CreditorWatch data shows a debtor's failure probability jumps to 42% after a second recorded trade default and 62% after a third. In an industry moving this fast, a same-day letter beats a slower, performance-based agency chase for a fresh overdue account — by the time an agency has taken the file on, the window may already be closing.
What's the fastest way to chase an unpaid supplier invoice or cancelled booking fee? ▼
A $29 lawyer-backed letter of demand, sent the same day. Commission-based agencies like eCollect and AMPAC are built for an active, ongoing chase that can take weeks and comes with a cut of what's recovered — useful once an account has resisted a first formal request, but not the fastest first step for a single overdue invoice or fee.

Sources

  • SydneyCollect — /send ($29 inc GST)
  • eCollect — ecollect.com.au/hospitality and ecollect.com.au (pricing model, industries served, trust signals — verified 4 September 2026; no public commission rate stated)
  • AMPAC — 4ampac.com.au (years in operation, pricing model, industries served — verified 4 September 2026; no public commission rate stated)
  • Sydney Collect 2026 Australian Debt Collection Report, §5 — sydneycollect.com
  • CreditorWatch Business Risk Review 2025 — creditorwatch.com.au
  • AFSA Annual Insolvency Statistics FY2024-25 — afsa.gov.au