An all-in-one platform should do four jobs: create or import your invoices, collect payment by card, bank and direct debit, chase what's unpaid on more than email, and reconcile everything to your accounting software. Adfin does all four. Chaser, Satago, Credit Hound and Kolleno are chasing or receivables tools that rely on add-ons or integrations to take payment, Stripe pairs payments with basic invoicing, 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 by card, bank and direct debit, chase beyond email and reconcile to your ledger.
- Adfin does all four, pays out every weekday in full and charges 1% + 20p per successful payment.
- Chaser, Satago, Credit Hound and Kolleno chase but rely on add-ons or integrations to take payment.
- Direct debit providers such as GoCardless collect but don't chase or take cards, and charge on failed submissions.
- With 10 or more mandates, a move to Adfin goes 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.
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 | Through a payment portal using connected providers | SMS and automated calls | Yes |
| Satago | Works from your accounting software | Card payments on higher plans, no direct debit | SMS on higher plans | Yes |
| 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 | Direct debit through GoCardless | Email, with AI agents on higher tiers | Yes |
| Stripe | Stripe Invoicing | Cards and Bacs direct debit | 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 from your own email domain, and Adfin's Customer Agents can add statutory late fees, 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, and synced back both ways.
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 a chasing platform first. It works from the invoices in your accounting software and chases by email, SMS and automated phone calls, and customers can pay through its payment portal, which runs on connected payment providers. It doesn't raise invoices or run its own direct debit, so you'd still need a provider for collection.
Satago combines chasing with credit risk scores and invoice finance. You get card payments on its £80 Premium plan and above, but it doesn't collect by direct debit or bank transfer, 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 handles receivables, payables and reconciliation for larger finance teams. It chases invoices from your accounting software and connects to GoCardless for direct debit, so your collection runs through a second provider you contract with separately.
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 or add statutory late fees, 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 collect direct debits, and none of them chases an unpaid invoice. 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 shows what that gap costs. It doesn't take card payments, doesn't chase customers who haven't set up a mandate or who pay another way, and charges its fee on every payment you submit, including ones that fail. Fees come out before you're paid, in one lump sum, and someone on your team then has to split them back out against each invoice. 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, so your customers don't sign anything and collections carry on. 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, so customers don't get two sets.
- 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 GoCardless chase unpaid invoices? No. GoCardless collects direct debits and bank payments but doesn't send reminders, statements or late fees, and it doesn't take card payments.
Can Stripe handle credit control? Stripe Invoicing can email reminders, but Stripe doesn't chase by SMS or WhatsApp or add statutory late fees, and it pays out with fees already deducted.
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.
Does Xero collect payments itself? No. Xero raises invoices, sends email reminders and reconciles, but card and direct debit payments on Xero invoices run through a connected payment provider.
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 - 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
- GoCardless - Pricing (accurate as of October 2026) https://gocardless.com/pricing/
- GoCardless Support Centre - Pricing & Fees (accurate as of October 2026) https://support.gocardless.com/hc/en-gb/articles/21721571804188-Pricing-Fees
- Stripe - Pricing & fees (UK) (accurate as of October 2026) https://stripe.com/gb/pricing
