First day a small claims you wait to be called, acknowledge or deny the claim, go to arbitration that same day. If the two sides cant agree, back to the court room and have a trial date set. If you win at trial collecting is difficult. First you write a demand letter for your money, if you dont get paid you file a judgment lien, and then have the lien foreclosed on. The property foreclosed on is then auctioned and you get paid. All of this is at your expense but your expenses will be covered by the auction proceeds. I was lucky in that I was suing a business which opens up a great many of assets to lien on. Personal property is very limited.
At least that's how I remember it.
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