In QuickBooks Online in the UK, direct debit runs through GoCardless, not QuickBooks Payments. You switch on Charge direct debit on the invoice, your customer signs a mandate once, and QuickBooks starts the collection ahead of the due date. The alternative is a payment provider that syncs both ways with QuickBooks and collects on the due date itself.
In this article
The short version
- QuickBooks Payments covers Pay by Bank and cards; direct debit runs through a separate GoCardless integration
- You switch on Charge direct debit on the invoice, and can't offer online payments on the same invoice
- Intuit schedules collection 10 working days before the due date
- GoCardless charges for failed collections, deducts fees before paying out and doesn't chase
- Adfin syncs both ways with QuickBooks and collects on the due date by any method
How direct debit works in QuickBooks
QuickBooks Payments, Intuit's own payments product in the UK, covers two methods: Pay by Bank and Pay by Card. The payment services behind it are provided by Adyen. Direct debit isn't part of it. It comes through a separate GoCardless integration that you switch on from the invoice screen, and QuickBooks Payments isn't available at all on QuickBooks Sole Trader.
So there are two different things a customer can be offered on a QuickBooks invoice. Pay by Bank and card are one-off payments your customer makes when they open the invoice. Direct debit is a mandate your customer signs once, after which you collect each invoice without them doing anything. QuickBooks won't let you switch on both online payments and direct debit for the same invoice, so you choose one route per invoice.
How to set it up
- Create the invoice: go to Create, then Invoice.
- Switch on direct debit: in the panel on the right, expand Charge direct debit and turn on GoCardless. If you haven't connected GoCardless before, you'll be asked to set up an account, and GoCardless checks your business before you can collect.
- Get the mandate signed: your customer authorises the direct debit through GoCardless's online form, entering their bank details once. Until they've done that, there's nothing to collect against.
- Send the invoice: for a customer with a mandate, QuickBooks schedules the collection and marks the invoice as paid once the money reaches your bank.
Repeat the mandate step for each customer you want on direct debit. Once a customer has signed, later invoices to them don't need a new mandate.
When the money arrives and what it costs
QuickBooks starts the process early. Intuit's help centre says the payment is scheduled for collection 10 working days before the due date, and that the money is then collected in around five to six working days. If the due date is less than 10 days away, or the invoice is due on receipt, the instruction goes to your customer straight away.
In practice, your customer hears about the collection well before the invoice falls due, and on short payment terms the process can start almost as soon as you send it. That suits some customers. Others expect to pay on the due date and may want it explained, so mention it in your terms.
QuickBooks shows the GoCardless fee in the invoice panel as 1% per transaction. Check GoCardless's own pricing for your plan, including any fixed fee or cap and the extra charge on payments over £2,000. There are costs the 1% doesn't show, too: GoCardless charges for collections that fail, not only those that succeed, takes its fees out before paying you, doesn't take card payments and doesn't chase customers who haven't signed or haven't paid.
A provider that syncs both ways with QuickBooks
The other route is a payment provider that connects to QuickBooks both ways. Adfin picks up invoices from QuickBooks, collects them by direct debit on the due date, and marks them as paid in QuickBooks when the money arrives. The same customer can also pay by card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, pay by bank or bank transfer, and a failed direct debit is retried for free before the customer is asked to pay another way.
Setup works through QuickBooks invoice terms. You connect QuickBooks from Adfin's settings, and any invoice saved with one of its invoice terms (one for direct debit, one for paying by link) is picked up and sent. Payments are recorded through an intermediary account in QuickBooks, and each payout appears as a transfer to your bank account. Adfin pays out gross every weekday, so the transfer matches the payments behind it and its fee arrives as a separate invoice. Direct debits reach you within three working days of the collection date.
Adfin's Customer Agents then follow up unsigned mandates and overdue invoices by email, SMS or WhatsApp, from your own email domain, on rules you set. Pricing is 1% + 20p per successful payment, with the 1% capped at £4 on direct debit and bank payments, and nothing for failed payments.
Common questions
Is direct debit part of QuickBooks Payments? No. QuickBooks Payments covers Pay by Bank and Pay by Card. Direct debit comes through a separate GoCardless integration.
When does QuickBooks collect a direct debit? Intuit says the payment is scheduled 10 working days before the due date and collected in around five to six working days, or straight away if the due date is closer.
Can a customer pay by card and direct debit on the same QuickBooks invoice? No. QuickBooks lets you switch on online payments or direct debit for an invoice, not both.
What does GoCardless cost in QuickBooks? QuickBooks shows 1% per transaction in the invoice panel. GoCardless also charges on failed submissions and deducts its fees before paying you, so check its pricing page for your plan.
Do my customers need to sign a mandate for every invoice? No. One mandate covers future invoices, including different amounts, as long as your customer gets notice before each collection.
Can I move existing GoCardless mandates to another provider? Yes. With 10 or more mandates, Adfin moves them through the Bacs bulk change process and your customers don't re-sign; with fewer than 10, they sign a new Adfin mandate.
Sources
- Intuit QuickBooks - QuickBooks Payments (accurate as of October 2026) https://quickbooks.intuit.com/uk/payments/
- Intuit QuickBooks - Get started with GoCardless in QuickBooks Online (accurate as of October 2026) https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-uk/help-article/recurring-payments/get-started-gocardless/L1cd2payL_GB_en_GB
- GoCardless - Pricing (accurate as of October 2026) https://gocardless.com/pricing/
- Adfin Help Centre - Connect your QuickBooks account to Adfin (accurate as of October 2026) https://support.adfin.com/en/articles/10374186-connect-your-quickbooks-account-to-adfin
- Adfin - Pricing (accurate as of October 2026) https://www.adfin.com/pricing
