Irish accountancy practices tend to be paid on time when fees are agreed in the engagement letter, regular work is collected by SEPA direct debit on a fixed date, one-off fees are requested with a payment link as soon as the work is ready, and overdue fees are followed up on a set schedule. For business clients, statutory late payment interest and fixed compensation are also available, but fees owed by individuals are outside those rules.
In this article
The short version
- Spreading annual fees into monthly direct debits gives a fixed collection date.
- A €160 monthly direct debit costs €1.80 at Adfin's price.
- One-off fees from individuals suit a payment link sent when the work is ready.
- Business clients who pay late owe statutory interest and fixed compensation.
- Fees owed by individuals are outside the late payment rules.
Turn annual fees into monthly direct debits
Picture a practice with 90 clients, where 60 are small companies paying for bookkeeping, VAT returns and year-end accounts, and 30 are individuals who need a personal tax return once a year.
If the company clients are billed once a year after the year-end work, each one gets a single bill, say €1,920, which is a large amount to approve in one go. The same fee as €160 a month, collected by SEPA direct debit on the 1st, arrives whether or not anyone at the client remembers, and the practice knows in advance what lands each month: 60 clients at €160 comes to €9,600.
The fee for collecting it is easy to work out. Adfin charges 20c + 1% per successful payment, with the 1% part capped at €2 on SEPA direct debit and bank transfer, though not on cards. A €160 collection costs €1.80, so a client's 12 monthly direct debits cost €21.60 a year, and all 60 cost €108 a month.
That's more in fees than a single €1,920 bank transfer, which would cost €2.20 at the same pricing. The trade is a fixed collection date every month in place of one large invoice that may need chasing for weeks. Clients sign a mandate once, and the notice of each collection, due 14 calendar days ahead unless the engagement letter agrees a shorter period, can travel with the monthly invoice.
Send one-off fees with a link to pay
The 30 individuals don't fit a mandate, because they pay once a year. They're more likely to pay promptly when paying takes seconds. Send the fee request when the return is ready, with a payment link by email, SMS or WhatsApp that the client can pay by card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or bank transfer.
On a €350 fee, a standard card payment at that pricing costs €3.70 and a bank transfer €2.20. If half the 30 clients pay by card and half by transfer, the practice pays €88.50 in fees across the lot (15 × €3.70 plus 15 × €2.20).
An individual paying for personal tax work, outside any business they run, is a consumer, so statutory late payment interest and compensation don't apply to them, and a card surcharge can't be added to a consumer card payment. Reminders are the main tool. Adfin's free Essential credit control sends unlimited reminders by email, SMS and WhatsApp under a fair use policy, and its aged debtors view lets you give each overdue client an owner, so each partner or manager can see which of their clients still owe.
What a late business fee is worth
Company clients are treated differently under S.I. 580 of 2012, because a fee owed by a business that's paid after the agreed date carries statutory interest from the next day at 10.4% a year, the rate from 1 July 2026, which is reset every 1 January and 1 July. You're also entitled to fixed compensation of €40 on invoices up to €1,000, €70 above that up to €10,000 and €100 above €10,000, without sending a reminder first.
Take a €1,450 year-end fee paid 60 days late. Interest comes to €24.79 (€1,450 × 10.4% × 60 ÷ 365), and the compensation is €70, so the client owes €94.79 on top of the fee.
ISME's survey of SME owners for Q1 2026 found 82% don't charge interest on late payments and 13% are afraid to in case they lose the customer. A middle route is to state the right in the engagement letter, apply it only after a grace period and waive it for clients who slip once. On Enhanced credit control, which costs 0.3% per paid invoice and only when used, Adfin adds statutory interest to overdue business invoices automatically, with grace periods and per-client waivers, and its collection agents follow up within rules you approve.
Common questions
Should accountants collect their fees by direct debit? For fees that recur, such as monthly bookkeeping or payroll, direct debit collects on a fixed date once the client has signed a mandate. One-off fees from individuals usually suit a payment link better.
Can I charge interest to a client who pays my fees late? You can charge statutory interest on fees owed by business clients, at 10.4% a year from 1 July 2026, reset each January and July. An individual paying for personal tax work outside any business they run is a consumer, and the rules don't cover them.
How much compensation can a practice claim on a late fee? From a business client, €40 if the invoice is up to €1,000, €70 if it's over €1,000 and up to €10,000, and €100 above that. No reminder is needed first.
What does it cost to collect a €160 monthly fee by direct debit? At Adfin's price of 20c + 1%, a €160 direct debit costs €1.80. The 1% part is capped at €2 on direct debit and bank transfer, while cards aren't capped.
How do I get individual clients to pay their tax return fee? Send the request as soon as the return is ready, with a payment link they can pay by card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or bank transfer, and follow up by text or WhatsApp if it isn't paid.
Do clients have to sign anything to pay by direct debit? Each client signs a SEPA direct debit mandate once, giving you permission to collect. After that, they get notice of each collection, 14 calendar days ahead unless you've agreed otherwise.
Sources
- Irish Statute Book - S.I. No. 580 of 2012, Late Payment in Commercial Transactions Regulations (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-
- ISME - Prompt Payments Report Q1 2026 (accurate as of November 2026) https://isme.ie/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Q1-2026-Prompt-Payments.pdf
- European Payments Council - 2025 SEPA Direct Debit Core Rulebook, version 1.0 (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
- Citizens Information - Payment Services Directive (accurate as of November 2026) https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/money-and-tax/personal-finance/eu-payments/psd2/
