AI in credit control software does one of three jobs: predicting which invoices will be paid late, drafting messages, or deciding the next step for each customer. Adfin's collection agents decide the next step per customer within rules you set, and Adfin collects the payment too. Kolleno runs AI agents for larger finance teams, Chaser uses AI to score late-payment risk and draft replies, and Credit Hound describes AI-assisted reminders.
In this article
The short version
- AI in credit control does one of three jobs: predicting late payment, drafting messages or deciding the next step for each customer.
- Adfin's collection agents choose timing, channel, late fees and instalment plans per customer within rules you approve, and Adfin collects the payment too.
- Kolleno runs AI agents for larger finance teams, on its higher, per-user tiers.
- Chaser's AI scores late-payment risk and drafts replies to customer emails, and Credit Hound describes AI-assisted reminders.
- On a demo, ask what the AI decides alone, what you approve and how any performance figure was measured.
What AI does in credit control
"AI" on a credit control product can mean quite different things, so it helps to know which one you're being sold.
Prediction ranks your ledger by who's likely to pay late, using each customer's payment history, so you can act before an invoice is overdue. Drafting uses a language model to write or adapt messages, or to suggest a reply when a customer writes back with a question or a promise to pay. Deciding is the newest of the three: an agent chooses the next step for each customer, such as when to send, which channel to use or whether to offer an instalment plan, within limits you've approved.
A lot of automation in this market is still a schedule: the second reminder goes out on day seven for every customer. That can work perfectly well for a small ledger, and it isn't AI. When a vendor mentions AI, ask which of the three jobs it does, what it does on its own, and what it leaves to you.
The other question is what happens after the reminder lands. If the tool only chases, your customer still has to log into their bank and pay you, and that's often the step that stalls. A tool that also takes the payment can put a link in every message that settles the invoice there and then.
The tools compared
| Product | What the AI does | How you stay in control | Collects payment | Pricing basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adfin | Chooses the next action per customer: timing, channel, late fees, instalment plans, statements | You set the rules and approve what it does | Yes: direct debit, card, pay by bank, bank transfer | 1% + 20p per successful payment |
| Kolleno | Agents handle follow-ups, payment matching and flagging exceptions | A credit policy, approval workflows and a full audit trail | Direct debit through GoCardless | Per user per month, AI agents on higher tiers |
| Chaser | Scores invoices for late-payment risk and drafts replies to customer emails | You review each draft before it's sent | Through a payment portal using connected providers | Monthly plan set by annual revenue |
| Credit Hound | AI-supported pre-emptive reminders and help setting how hard to chase | Collection paths your team configures | Through its PayThem add-on | Per user per month, from £20 |
Adfin's collection agents work your ledger one customer at a time. They learn from each customer's own payment history when that customer tends to pay and which channel they respond to, then choose the timing and channel for the next reminder over email, SMS or WhatsApp, sent from your own email domain. They can also add statutory late fees to overdue business invoices, set up instalment plans, retry failed payments, send a statement when a customer goes quiet and sort incoming queries, all inside the rules you set, with you reviewing and approving. Because Adfin takes the payment as well, by card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, pay by bank, bank transfer or direct debit, every reminder carries a link that settles the invoice, and the payment is matched back in Xero or QuickBooks. It costs 1% + 20p per successful payment, with the percentage capped at £4 on direct debit and bank payments (direct debits over £2,000 carry an extra 0.3% on the amount above £2,000), and there's no monthly fee.
Kolleno is aimed at larger finance teams that want their receivables, payables and reconciliation in one system. Its AI agents run follow-ups, payment matching and exception flagging, built mainly on Microsoft's Azure OpenAI service. You define a credit policy, the agents work within it, anything that needs sign-off goes to your approvers, and every AI action is logged with a timestamp and the rule that triggered it. It's priced per user per month with seat minimums and turnover thresholds, and the AI agents sit on its higher tiers. Direct debit runs through its GoCardless integration.
Chaser uses AI for two assistive jobs. Its Late Payment Predictor scores each due invoice from 0 to 100% for late-payment risk, based on the due date, the amount and the customer's payment history. Its AI email generator reads replies from your customers, picks out a promise to pay, a dispute or a request for a document, and drafts a response for you to edit or send. The reminders themselves run on schedules you configure. Plans are priced monthly according to your annual revenue, you'll need to ask for a price in pounds, and it's sensible to confirm on a demo which plans include the AI features.
Credit Hound, Draycir's collections tool built first for Sage, describes AI-supported pre-emptive reminders and AI help in deciding how often and how urgently you chase, without saying what the AI is. Your team sets up the collection paths and works the call lists. Prices start at £20 per user a month depending on your accounting system, and taking payments needs its PayThem module at £38 a month on top.
Questions to ask on a demo
A demo is the best place to find out how much the AI does in practice. These questions tend to separate an agent from a schedule with a new label:
- What does the AI decide on its own, and what do I approve first?
- Does it learn from each of my customers, or apply one pattern to everyone?
- Can I cap how often it contacts a customer, and pause it for a single account?
- Is every action logged, so I can see what was sent, when and why?
- Does it collect the payment, or only remind the customer to pay?
- Where a vendor quotes a figure such as "paid X days faster", how was it measured? Figures like these usually come from the vendor's own customer data, so ask for the method and the sample.
If you'd rather keep a human hand on every message, look for a tool where you approve the rules once and can still review what goes out. Adfin works that way: you decide the channels, how persistent the agents can be and where a person reviews, and the agents act within those limits.
Common questions
What is AI credit control software? Software that uses AI to predict late payment, draft your messages, or decide the next chasing step for each of your customers. Some tools do one of these and some do all three.
Which credit control tools use AI agents? Adfin and Kolleno both describe agents that choose and take actions within rules you set. Chaser's AI predicts late-payment risk and drafts replies, and Credit Hound describes AI-assisted reminders.
Which of these tools collect the payment as well? Adfin collects by card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, pay by bank, bank transfer and direct debit. Kolleno uses GoCardless for direct debit, Chaser uses a payment portal with connected providers, and Credit Hound needs its PayThem add-on.
Will AI chasing upset my customers? It's less likely to if you set sensible limits. Look for caps on how often a customer is contacted, the option to pause one account, and messages sent from your own email domain in your own tone.
How much does AI credit control software cost? Adfin charges 1% + 20p per successful payment with no monthly fee. Kolleno charges per user with its AI agents on higher tiers, Chaser charges a monthly plan by annual revenue, and Credit Hound starts at £20 per user a month.
Can AI add late payment fees for me? Adfin's collection agents can add statutory interest and fixed compensation to overdue business invoices, with grace periods and waivers per customer. Statutory late fees apply to business customers only.
Sources
- Adfin - Credit control (accurate as of October 2026) https://www.adfin.com/credit-control
- Adfin - Pricing (accurate as of October 2026) https://www.adfin.com/pricing
- Kolleno - AI agent (accurate as of October 2026) https://www.kolleno.com/kolleno-ai-agent/
- Chaser - AI email generator (accurate as of October 2026) https://www.chaserhq.com/features/ai-email-generator
- Chaser - Late Payment Predictor (accurate as of October 2026) https://www.chaserhq.com/features/late-payment-predictor
- Credit Hound Cloud - Credit control software (accurate as of October 2026) https://www.credithoundcloud.com/
