Best payment and credit control tools for Irish accountancy practices

For an accountancy practice, getting its own fees paid usually means three jobs: collecting monthly fees by SEPA direct debit, taking one-off fees by card or bank transfer, and chasing whatever is overdue. Direct debit providers, card providers, the payment and reminder features in Xero or QuickBooks, credit control apps and combined tools each cover some of those jobs. Choose by whether most of your fee income is recurring or one-off, and by how many tools you're prepared to run.

In this article

The short version

• Monthly practice fees suit SEPA direct debit: one mandate, then regular collections.
• Clients need notice at least 14 calendar days before each collection unless agreed otherwise.
• A €200 monthly fee by direct debit costs €2.20 to collect with Adfin.
• Statutory interest applies to fees from business clients, not individuals.
• Xero and QuickBooks reminders may be enough for a short debtors list.

What a practice needs to collect its own fees

Practices spend their days on other people's numbers, and their own debtors list can slip as a result. The fee side of a practice tends to fall into two patterns, and many practices have some of each.

If you bill business clients a fixed monthly fee for bookkeeping, payroll, VAT returns or accounts, the work is predictable and so is the income, as long as each month's fee is actually collected. SEPA direct debit suits that pattern because the client signs once and you collect each month on the due date.

If you also prepare personal tax returns or do one-off projects, those fees arrive as single invoices, often at busy times of the year. Clients tend to pay those by card or bank transfer, and the ones who don't pay on time need reminding while you're at your busiest.

A tool, or a pair of tools, needs to handle both patterns, show you who owes what, and keep your own books up to date without you matching every payment by hand.

Monthly fees by SEPA direct debit

SEPA Direct Debit Core is the scheme behind euro direct debits in Ireland, and a few of its rules shape how a practice uses it.

Each client signs a mandate once, and it covers future collections. If you collect through your own bank, you'll need a creditor identifier, a 13-character reference such as IE97ZZZ123456 that your bank issues. Payment providers collect on your behalf, so check how each one shows your name on clients' bank statements. GoCardless, for example, charges €50 a month for showing your own business name.

Clients must get a pre-notification at least 14 calendar days before each collection, unless you've agreed a different period with them, and it can go out with another document such as the invoice. If you change your monthly fee, that notice is how clients hear about the new amount before it's collected.

Clients can ask their bank for a refund of any direct debit within eight weeks, with no questions asked, and up to 13 months if they say it wasn't authorised. Collections can also come back for reasons such as insufficient funds or a closed account, so a returned payment needs following up like any other overdue fee.

A mandate that isn't used for 36 months lapses. That matters if you collect from some clients only occasionally, because a client you haven't debited in three years will need to sign a new one.

Your options for collecting fees

GoCardless collects SEPA direct debits and works with Xero, QuickBooks and Sage, among others. It doesn't take card payments, so one-off fees paid by card need a second provider. It doesn't send invoice reminders or chase unpaid invoices, and its fees are taken out of your payouts.

Stripe takes cards and also offers SEPA direct debit. A standard European Economic Area card costs 1.5% + €0.25, and on SEPA direct debit Stripe lists €3.50 for a failed payment and €15 for a dispute. If you send invoices through Stripe Invoicing, it adds 0.4% (Starter) or 0.5% (Plus) of each paid invoice on top.

Xero Ireland lets clients pay invoices through Stripe for cards and GoCardless for direct debit, which is two providers to set up if you want both. If you use QuickBooks Online, check which payment apps connect to it before you choose a provider.

Adfin takes SEPA direct debit, card, Apple Pay, Google Pay and bank transfer through one provider, sends payment links by email, SMS or WhatsApp, and marks payments as paid in Xero or QuickBooks automatically. Each successful payment costs 20c + 1% at the standard price. On SEPA direct debit and bank transfer the 1% part is capped at €2, while card payments aren't capped, and there's no monthly fee, setup fee or contract.

Here's how that works on two monthly fees collected by SEPA direct debit. A €150 fee costs €1.70 to collect (1% is €1.50, plus 20c). A €350 fee costs €2.20, because 1% would be €3.50 but the cap holds it at €2, plus 20c. Over a year, that second client's direct debits cost €26.40 in total.

If those clients are currently with another SEPA direct debit provider, moving them to Adfin doesn't mean new mandates. They keep their existing mandates and don't sign again. The mandate moves with the next collection, and clients are told before it.

Overdue fees and how to chase them

Xero can send automatic reminders before or after the due date, as often as you choose. QuickBooks Online sends up to three automatic reminders per invoice, up to 90 days either side of the due date, to unpaid invoices already emailed from QuickBooks. For a practice with a short debtors list, those may be enough.

Credit control apps add more on top of those reminders, for a price or for free. Paidnice works with Xero, QuickBooks Online and Stripe, applies late fees and interest automatically, and is priced by invoice volume at €59 a month for up to 150 invoices, or from €85 for Pro. Adfin's Essential credit control is free under fair use, with unlimited reminders by email, SMS and WhatsApp, statements and an aged debtors view where each debtor can have an owner, which helps if different partners or managers look after different clients. Enhanced credit control costs 0.3% per paid invoice, only when it's used, and adds collection agents that choose timing, channel and tone within rules you approve, statutory interest on overdue business invoices and emails from your own address.

It helps to settle your approach to late payment interest before a client relationship sours. Under S.I. 580 of 2012, you're entitled to statutory interest on overdue fees from business clients, at the European Central Bank's main refinancing rate plus 8%, which is 10.4% a year from 1 July 2026 and reset every 1 January and 1 July. You can also claim fixed compensation of €40, €70 or €100 per invoice depending on its size. Individuals you act for outside their business, such as employees whose tax returns you prepare, are consumers, and the rules don't apply to their fees.

You might prefer not to charge interest to some clients. If you'd like the option without applying it to everyone, look for a tool that adds it only to business clients and lets you set grace periods and waive it client by client.

The options compared

How to choose for your practice

If most of your income is fixed monthly fees from business clients, start with direct debit and decide whether you want chasing in the same tool. A direct debit provider plus your accounting software's reminders is one route, and a tool that collects and chases is another.

If a large share of your fees come from individuals once a year, card payments and payment links matter more than mandates. Look for reminders by SMS or WhatsApp with a link to pay, and leave statutory interest off for those clients.

If several people in the practice look after different clients, an aged debtors view with an owner for each debtor can save the weekly round of asking who's following up whom.

If you'd rather run fewer tools, count how many you'd need for direct debit, cards and chasing, and how many places a payment would need matching. Xero with Stripe and GoCardless is two payment providers plus Xero's reminders. A combined tool covers all three in one.

Common questions

Can an accountancy practice charge late payment interest on its fees? On fees owed by business clients, you're entitled to statutory interest under S.I. 580 of 2012, at 10.4% a year from 1 July 2026. Individuals acting outside their business are consumers, and the rules don't cover them.

How much notice do clients need before a SEPA direct debit? At least 14 calendar days before the collection, unless you've agreed a different period with the client. The notice can go out with the invoice.

Can a client reverse a direct debit for my fees? Clients can ask their bank for a refund within eight weeks of any direct debit with no questions asked, and within 13 months if they say it wasn't authorised.

Do clients have to sign a new mandate if I change direct debit provider? If you move to Adfin from another SEPA direct debit provider, clients keep their existing mandates and don't sign again. The mandate moves with the next collection, and clients are told before it.

What does Adfin charge to collect a €200 monthly fee by direct debit? It's €2.20: 1% of €200 is €2, which is also the most the 1% part can reach on SEPA direct debit and bank transfer, plus 20c. Card payments aren't capped.

Does a SEPA direct debit mandate expire? A mandate lapses if it isn't used for 36 months. After that, the client needs to sign a new one before you can collect again.

Sources

• European Payments Council - SEPA Direct Debit Core Rulebook 2025 (accurate as of November 2026) https://europeanpaymentscouncil.eu/sites/default/files/kb/file/2024-11/EPC016-06%202025%20SDD%20Core%20Rulebook%20version%201.0.pdf
• Irish Statute Book - S.I. No. 580 of 2012, European Communities (Late Payment in Commercial Transactions) Regulations 2012 (accurate as of November 2026) https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2012/si/580/made/en/print
• Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment - Late payment interest rate (accurate as of November 2026) https://enterprise.gov.ie/en/what-we-do/supports-for-smes/late-payments/late-payment-interest-rate-
• GoCardless - Pricing, Ireland (accurate as of November 2026) https://gocardless.com/en-ie/pricing
• Stripe - Local payment methods pricing, Ireland (accurate as of November 2026) https://stripe.com/ie/pricing/local-payment-methods
• Xero - Accept online payments, Ireland (accurate as of November 2026) https://www.xero.com/ie/accounting-software/accept-payments/