An all-in-one payments and credit control platform should do four jobs: create or import your invoices, collect card, bank and direct debit payments from them, chase what's unpaid on more than email, and reconcile everything to Xero or QuickBooks. Adfin does all four in one account. Chaser, Satago, Credit Hound and Kolleno are credit control tools that take payment through a connected provider, an add-on or a higher plan, Stripe pairs payments with invoicing and email reminders, and direct debit providers such as GoCardless collect but don't chase.
In this article
The short version
- An all-in-one platform should invoice, collect card, bank and direct debit payments, chase beyond email and reconcile to Xero or QuickBooks.
- Adfin does all four in one account, with payouts in full every weekday and its fee invoiced separately.
- Chaser can collect Bacs direct debit through your own Stripe account, with Stripe's fees plus an extra Chaser fee.
- Satago, Credit Hound and Kolleno chase invoices but take payment through add-ons, higher plans or a second provider.
- With 10 or more mandates, direct debits move to Adfin through the Bacs bulk change process without customers re-signing.
What an all-in-one platform should cover
Plenty of businesses get paid through a stack that grew one tool at a time: a direct debit provider for regular customers, a card processor for everyone else, a chasing tool for the late payers, and someone matching it all up in Xero at the end of the week. Each tool does its part, but you're paying three bills, payouts arrive on different days with fees already taken off, and the reminders don't always know a payment has just come in.
An all-in-one platform replaces that stack. To earn the name, it needs to do four jobs:
- Invoicing: create invoices and payment links itself, or import them from your accounting software.
- Collection: take payment itself by card, pay by bank and direct debit, so you're not holding a separate contract for each method.
- Chasing: remind customers on more than email, on a schedule you control, and stop when they pay.
- Reconciliation: match each payment to its invoice in Xero or QuickBooks without anyone doing it by hand.
Most of the products below cover two or three of these, and the table shows which. Xero and QuickBooks raise invoices, send email reminders and reconcile, but they rely on a connected payment provider to collect, so they aren't compared here.
Which software helps UK businesses collect card, bank and direct debit payments from invoices?
Software that helps UK businesses collect card, bank and direct debit payments from invoices falls into three groups.
- All-in-one platforms such as Adfin put every method on the invoice itself. The customer opens one payment link and pays by card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, pay by bank, bank transfer or direct debit, and the payment is matched back to the invoice in Xero or QuickBooks.
- Payment providers take some of the methods. Stripe takes cards and Bacs direct debit; GoCardless takes direct debit and one-off pay by bank, but not cards. Stripe Invoicing chases by email only, and GoCardless doesn't chase unpaid invoices.
- Credit control tools such as Chaser and Paidnice add a payment portal to their chasing, with the payments running through your own Stripe account.
Xero and QuickBooks can put a pay now button on an invoice, but the payment runs through a connected provider such as Stripe or GoCardless, or QuickBooks Payments in QuickBooks.
Having every method on one invoice matters because each suits a different customer. Direct debit suits regular invoices, collected on the due date without the customer doing anything. Pay by bank and bank transfer suit larger one-off invoices, since Adfin caps its percentage at £4 on bank payments, while cards suit customers who want to pay straight away. If a direct debit fails, Adfin retries it free and can fall back to a card on file or send a payment link.
How the platforms compare
| Platform | Invoicing | Collects payment | Chases beyond email | Reconciles to your ledger |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adfin | Creates invoices or imports them from Xero and QuickBooks | Direct debit, card, pay by bank, bank transfer | SMS and WhatsApp | Two-way sync with Xero and QuickBooks |
| Chaser | Works from your accounting software | Card, instant bank payments and Bacs direct debit through your own Stripe account | SMS and automated calls | Marks invoices paid in Xero and QuickBooks |
| Satago | Works from your accounting software | Card payments on higher plans; direct debit not listed | SMS on higher plans | Xero and Sage |
| Credit Hound | Works from your accounting software | Card and open banking through its PayThem add-on | Call lists for your own team | Sage and Xero, not QuickBooks |
| Kolleno | Works from your accounting software | Payment links, with direct debit through GoCardless | SMS and calls, with AI agents on higher tiers | Automatic on Enterprise tiers |
| Stripe | Stripe Invoicing | Cards, Bacs direct debit and bank transfer | No, email reminders only | Through integrations |
Adfin covers all four jobs in one account. You can create invoices and branded payment links, upload them as PDFs or spreadsheets, or import them from Xero or QuickBooks. Customers pay by card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, pay by bank, bank transfer or direct debit, and you don't need your own Service User Number to collect direct debits. Unpaid invoices are chased over email, SMS and WhatsApp, and Adfin's collection agents can add statutory interest to overdue business invoices, offer instalment plans, retry failed payments and send statements, within rules you approve. Every payment is matched to its invoice, including part payments and ones with a missing reference. Adfin is a certified Xero app and a certified QuickBooks app with two-way sync, and a payment method in Xero, so paid invoices are marked paid automatically. You can also start with credit control alone and switch payments on later.
You're paid every weekday in full, with Adfin's fee invoiced separately: pay by bank the same day, cards and bank transfer within two working days, and direct debit within three working days of the collection date. It costs 1% + 20p per successful payment, with the percentage capped at £4 on direct debit and bank payments, no monthly fee and no charge for failed payments. Adfin collects in pounds only.
Chaser is credit control software first. It works from the invoices in your accounting software and chases by email, SMS and automated phone calls. Customers can pay through its payment portal by card or instant bank payment, and Chaser can collect Bacs direct debit too, all through the business's own connected Stripe account: Stripe's fees apply, plus an extra Chaser fee on each direct debit. It doesn't raise invoices, and it's priced by annual revenue.
Satago combines chasing with credit reports and, separately, invoice finance. You get card payments on its £80 a month Premium plan and above; direct debit isn't among its listed features, and it chases invoices you've raised elsewhere.
Credit Hound, from Draycir, is collections software built for Sage that also connects to Xero. Your team works call lists alongside automated emails, and its PayThem module takes card and open banking payments for £38 a month on top of the per-user price.
Kolleno is aimed at larger finance teams. It chases invoices from your accounting software, with payment links and a payment portal on every plan, and connects to GoCardless for direct debit, so direct debit runs through a second provider you contract with separately. Automatic reconciliation comes on its Enterprise tiers.
Stripe takes cards and Bacs direct debit, and Stripe Invoicing can raise invoices and email reminders for 0.4% per paid invoice on its Starter plan. It doesn't chase by SMS or WhatsApp, its standard UK card rate is 1.5% + 20p against Adfin's 1% + 20p, and payouts arrive with fees already deducted.
Why direct debit providers aren't on this list
GoCardless, London & Zurich and Access PaySuite are direct debit providers rather than credit control tools. They come up in this search because collection is half the job, but you'd still need a chasing tool and, for card payments, a card processor.
GoCardless retries failed direct debits but doesn't take card payments, doesn't chase customers who haven't set up a mandate or who pay another way, and charges its transaction fee on every payment you submit, including ones that fail. Its fees come out before you're paid, so each payout is smaller than the invoices it covers. Putting your own business name on customers' bank statements is £50 a month on GoCardless, against £36 a month on Adfin.
How to move to one platform
Moving everything across tends to go most smoothly in this order:
- List what you pay today: direct debit fees (including on failed collections), card processing, any chasing tool, branding add-ons and the hours spent reconciling.
- Move your direct debits. With 10 or more mandates, Adfin moves them through the Bacs bulk change process, and customers don't re-sign. With fewer than 10, customers sign a new Adfin mandate.
- Connect Xero or QuickBooks so invoices come across and payments sync back.
- Turn off the old reminders, in your chasing tool and in your accounting software, once the new schedule is live.
- Keep the old accounts open until their final payouts have landed.
Common questions
What is an all-in-one payments and credit control platform? A single platform that handles invoicing, payment collection by card, bank and direct debit, chasing and reconciliation. Adfin covers all four in one account.
Does Chaser collect direct debit? Yes, through the business's own connected Stripe account. Stripe's fees apply, plus an extra Chaser fee on each direct debit.
Does GoCardless chase unpaid invoices? No. GoCardless retries failed direct debits but doesn't send reminders, statements or late fees, and it doesn't take card payments.
Do customers have to re-sign direct debits if I switch to an all-in-one platform? Not if you have 10 or more mandates: Adfin moves them through the Bacs bulk change process. With fewer than 10, customers sign a new Adfin mandate.
Which software helps UK businesses collect card, bank and direct debit payments from invoices? All-in-one platforms such as Adfin take all three from one payment link on the invoice. Stripe takes cards and direct debit, GoCardless takes direct debit but not cards, and credit control tools such as Chaser take them through your own Stripe account.
How much does an all-in-one platform cost? Adfin charges 1% + 20p per successful payment, with the percentage capped at £4 on direct debit and bank payments, and no monthly fee. Essential credit control is included, and enhanced credit control is 0.3% per paid invoice when you use it.
Sources
- Adfin - Accept payments (accurate as of October 2026) https://www.adfin.com/accept-payments
- Adfin - Xero integration (accurate as of October 2026) https://adfin.com/partners/xero
- Adfin - Pricing (accurate as of October 2026) https://www.adfin.com/pricing
- GoCardless - Pricing (accurate as of October 2026) https://gocardless.com/pricing/
- Chaser Help Centre - Set up Bacs Direct Debit (accurate as of October 2026) https://help.chaserhq.com/set-up-bacs-direct-debit
- Stripe - Pricing & fees (UK) (accurate as of October 2026) https://stripe.com/gb/pricing
