Direct debit
Card payments
Digital payments
Stubbs Parkin runs payments inside Client Engager, with a Direct Debit mandate in every proposal. 95% of payments arrive on time, while the practice took on nearly 200 new clients.
At a Glance
How Stubbs Parkin created a connected payment process and removed manual work
Stubbs Parkin is a family-run accountancy practice in Southport with a team of around 15. It supports family businesses, micro businesses, developers and professional service firms, and has worked from the same town-centre office for nearly 11 years, where clients can still ring the doorbell and see a friendly face.
In 2026 the practice brought Harrison Latham and Company into the firm and took on nearly 200 new clients, with Adfin running payments inside Client Engager, the practice management software the team runs their work from.
Before Adfin
With Adfin
Challenge
Growing the practice without growing the admin
Stubbs Parkin has always used technology to take admin off the team, freeing up time to invest in client relationships. They brought in new practice management software, but by the start of 2026, payments were the piece that didn't fit. Direct Debits ran through a separate provider that wasn't connected to Client Engager, so only a few people in the office could see who had paid.
The timing mattered. In April the practice took over Harrison Latham and Company, bringing around 150 clients and three staff into the Southport office, followed by another 40 clients in July. Many of those clients had been billed the traditional way, which meant more invoices to track and more manual credit control. The practice wanted to protect staff time from a growing volume of admin, and make sure they could always find time to meet clients in person and offer personalised advice.
“Bringing on nearly 200 clients, there is a lot of admin to do. Because of the processes we have, it makes it a little bit easier. My role is to be there for the clients, so if anyone's got a question, especially the new clients, they're coming to me. We don't have to worry too much about the admin side.”
Becky Jama · Practice Manager, Stubbs Parkin
Solution
Payments that live where the team already works
Payment status on every client record
Stubbs Parkin was introduced to Adfin through Client Engager. Adfin now sits inside the software the whole team uses, so anyone working on a client can see what's owed and whether a Direct Debit is set up, and click straight through to the payment.
“We've got Client Engager open all the time. We can go into a client record, click onto Adfin, and that takes us directly to the page in Adfin. It might be three or four less clicks, but when you're doing the same thing multiple times a day, it's just so helpful. You don't want eight different tabs open for eight different softwares.”
Becky Jama
Direct Debit set up at the proposal
When a proposal goes out from Client Engager, a Direct Debit mandate is included as part of the initial contact. Monthly fixed fees are the norm at Stubbs Parkin, so almost every new client starts on a monthly Direct Debit from day one.
“It's given us the option to do it at that point, rather than trying to do it once they've signed up. It's done for us.”
Becky Jama
A switch clients didn't have to act on
The practice moved its 231 existing mandates across in February 2026. The switch date was 23 February and the mandates were live on Adfin by 26 February. Clients received one email from the practice and nothing else changed for them.
“I sent an email out to every client saying, 'This is what we're going to do. It's not going to affect you in any way. You don't have to do anything.' We don't want to create more work for clients just because we want to change providers. People are busy. Life is busy.”
Becky Jama
More ways to pay
Clients who don't want to set up a Direct Debit can pay by card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, bank payment or bank transfer, and the team can take a payment over the phone from the same place.
“We don't see a one-size-fits-all. Not every person is the same. With Adfin, it's helpful that there are multiple options so clients can pay how they want to.”
Becky Jama
Results
95% of payments on time while the client base grew
Since February, 95% of payments have arrived on or before their due date. That rate held between 94% and 98% every month from March to August.
It held while the volume grew. Payments collected each month rose from 113 in March to 168 in July, as the Harrison Latham clients and the July intake came on board. Direct Debit carries 90% of payments across 228 active mandates, 29 of them set up since the migration, with the rest coming through card, digital wallets and bank payments.
For the team, the difference shows up as time, and as a clearer view of what's coming in.
“The less time we have to spend on credit control, the more time we can spend doing other things that will improve our business, but also help our clients at the same time.”
Becky Jama
“We can see on Adfin how much is expected in the next couple of days, and we can keep track of it.”
Becky Jama
“The software has made our work more seamless, which means we've got more capacity to take on extra clients. Technology is brilliant, and I love the things it can do to help us. But I don't ever want us to lose that control of us making the decisions. If we can get the admin down to seamless, that gives us much more time to be helping clients with their queries and questions, and just speaking to them.”
Becky Jama
Sources: Adfin platform data for Stubbs Parkin, February to September 2026. On-time payments are measured against the invoice due date, using the collection date for Direct Debits.