Yes, you can use Adfin's credit control while another provider, such as GoCardless, keeps collecting your direct debits. Adfin chases the invoices in Xero or QuickBooks, and when your provider's payment is recorded there, Adfin marks the invoice as paid externally and stops chasing it. The main thing to set up is a delay, so direct debit clients aren't reminded before their collection has had time to show as paid.
In this article
The short version
- Adfin's credit control can run while another provider collects your direct debits.
- When your provider's payment is recorded in Xero or QuickBooks, Adfin stops chasing that invoice.
- Give direct debit clients their own collection agent, with reminders starting after the due date.
- A failed collection with another provider is chased as an unpaid invoice, with a payment link.
- Essential credit control is free; Enhanced costs 0.3% of a paid invoice, only where used.
How it works with another provider
Adfin can run credit control on its own, without taking over your payments. You connect Xero or QuickBooks, your invoices sync into Adfin, and Adfin sends reminders by email, SMS or WhatsApp on the schedule you set. Invoices from other systems can also reach Adfin by email.
Adfin doesn't need to know how a client pays. It needs to know whether an invoice is paid, and it reads that from your accounting software. Your direct debit provider collects as usual, and its integration records the payment in Xero or QuickBooks. Adfin imports that payment automatically, shows the invoice as paid externally and stops the reminders. There's nothing to do in Adfin itself.
If you don't use Xero or QuickBooks, you can mark an invoice paid in Adfin, which also stops reminders.
How to set it up for direct debit clients
Timing needs the most care. A direct debit is collected on or around the due date, and it can take a few days before the payment shows as paid in your accounting software. If your first reminder goes out on the due date, a client who's paid by direct debit can still get one.
You can handle that in Adfin by giving direct debit clients their own collection agent. Set up one agent for clients on direct debit and another for clients who pay by transfer or card, each with its own steps and channels. For the direct debit group, start reminders a few days after the due date, by which time a successful collection is likely to show as paid, and leave out anything before the due date.
Or you can pause reminders for a direct debit client altogether. Adfin lets you pause chasing for one customer, until a date or until you switch it back on, without affecting anyone else. That suits a client who's never missed a payment, though it means a failed collection won't be chased until you resume.
Whichever you choose, a few other steps help:
- Switch off Xero's own invoice reminders, or those in any other tool, so clients only hear from one place.
- Check your direct debit provider's integration is posting payments to Xero or QuickBooks against the right invoices.
- Keep a list of which clients are on direct debit with your provider, and update the agent or pause when someone sets up or cancels a mandate.
When a direct debit fails
GoCardless, like many direct debit providers, retries a failed collection but doesn't chase the unpaid invoice. The failure is reported to your provider, not to Adfin, so as far as Adfin can see, the invoice is simply still unpaid.
So once the invoice passes the point where your direct debit group's reminders start, Adfin chases it like any other unpaid invoice, and reminders can carry a payment link so the client can pay by card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or pay by bank. Adfin's collection agents can follow up within rules you approve, and on Enhanced credit control they can adjust timing, channel and tone for each client.
Watch for one overlap. If your provider is still retrying the collection and the client also pays through the link, they'll pay twice. When a client pays by link, cancel any pending retry with your provider, and if both go through, refund the extra from your bank.
What it costs, and what stays separate
Essential credit control is free, with unlimited reminders by email, SMS and WhatsApp, statements and debtor reporting. Enhanced credit control costs 0.3% of a paid invoice, only on invoices where an enhanced feature is used, such as tailored chasing, automatic statutory interest or emails sent from your own address. If a client pays through an Adfin payment link, the usual payment fee applies to that payment: 1% + 20p, with the percentage capped at £4 on bank payments but not on cards.
Your direct debit provider's fees, payouts and reconciliation stay as they are. If that provider deducts its fees before paying out, you'll still split each payout in your accounts, and you'll still have two systems to keep in step.
If you later want collection and chasing in one place, Adfin also collects by direct debit. With 10 or more mandates, they move from your current provider through the Bacs bulk change process and clients don't re-sign; with fewer than 10, clients sign a new mandate online.
Related guides
- How do I stop Xero sending reminders to clients who pay by direct debit?
- What it costs to run payments and chasing as two separate systems
- Why does Xero chase clients who've already paid?
- Why UK direct debit and credit control are still separate products
- Credit control: a complete guide
Common questions
Can I use Adfin for credit control if I collect direct debits with GoCardless? Yes. Adfin chases invoices synced from Xero or QuickBooks, and stops when GoCardless's payment is recorded there.
How does Adfin know a direct debit has been paid? It imports payments from Xero and QuickBooks automatically. Once your provider's payment is recorded, the invoice shows as paid externally and reminders stop.
Will my direct debit clients get reminders before they're collected? Not if you give them their own collection agent with reminders starting after the due date, or pause reminders for them.
Does Adfin chase a direct debit that failed with another provider? It chases the invoice once it's overdue under the rules you've set, with a payment link. Adfin isn't told about the failure itself.
Do I need to use Adfin payments to use its credit control? No. Credit control works on its own, and Essential credit control is free.
Should I switch off Xero's reminders if I use Adfin? Yes, for any client Adfin is chasing, so they don't receive reminders from two places.
Sources
- Adfin - Credit control (accurate as of November 2026) https://www.adfin.com/credit-control
- Adfin - Pricing (accurate as of November 2026) https://www.adfin.com/pricing
- Adfin - My customer paid outside Adfin: how do I stop reminders? (accurate as of November 2026) https://support.adfin.com/en/articles/15082098-my-customer-paid-outside-adfin-how-do-i-stop-reminders
- Adfin - How to pause reminders and collection in Adfin (accurate as of November 2026) https://support.adfin.com/en/articles/13870679-how-to-pause-reminders-and-collection-in-adfin
