Running payments and chasing in separate systems means paying two suppliers on two pricing models, usually with a card processor as a third, and spending staff time keeping them in step. The fees are easy to add up. The bigger cost tends to be the time: reconciling payouts, updating the ledger so the chasing tool knows what's been paid, and picking up failed collections that neither system handles on its own.
In this article
The short version
- You pay two or three suppliers on different pricing models, each with its own contract.
- Reconciling net lump-sum payouts and keeping the chasing tool up to date takes staff time.
- Failed direct debits are reported to your provider, not your chasing tool.
- Businesses affected by late payment spend 86 hours a year chasing it, about £1,455 of staff time.
- One system holds the invoice, mandate and reminders, so a failure doesn't fall between tools.
The bills you pay
A typical split setup has a direct debit provider for recurring collections, a card processor for customers who pay by card, and a chasing tool that reads your accounting software and sends reminders. Each one is priced differently.
Direct debit providers charge per transaction. GoCardless, for example, charges its fee on every payment you submit, whether or not it succeeds, takes its fees out before paying you, charges VAT on its fees, and adds £50 a month if you want your own name on customers' bank statements. It doesn't take cards, so card payments need a second provider, such as Stripe, with its own rates, its own payouts and its own fees taken off each one.
Chasing tools are usually sold as a monthly subscription, often in tiers by the number of customers or invoices, so the cost is fixed whether or not anyone is overdue that month.
Each supplier also comes with its own contract. Two or three renewal dates and notice periods often don't line up, so changing one part of the setup can mean paying for another longer than you meant to.
The time it takes to keep two systems in step
Most of the time goes on keeping the systems in step, and reconciliation comes first. A provider that pays out a lump sum with its fees taken off leaves someone to break each payout back down into the invoices it covers and account for the fees. With two payment providers, you do that twice, on two payout schedules.
Chasing also lags behind payments. Your chasing tool reads your accounting software, so it only knows an invoice is paid once the payment has been reconciled there. Until then, a customer who has paid can still get a reminder.
When a direct debit fails or a mandate is cancelled, the bank tells your direct debit provider, not your chasing tool. Someone has to notice, update the ledger and decide what to send the customer.
If you use Xero's own invoice reminders and add a chasing tool, switch Xero's off. Xero doesn't share its reminder schedule with other apps, so the tool can't see what Xero has already sent, and customers can end up hearing from both.
None of this is dramatic on a given day, but it adds up. Government research published in 2025 found that businesses affected by late payment spend an average of 86 hours a year chasing it. At the £16.92 an hour the same research uses for staff time, that's about £1,455 a year, before any time spent reconciling.
How to work out your own figure
Take one recent month and add up:
- Direct debit fees, including fees on collections that failed, and any VAT you can't recover.
- Card processing fees.
- Your chasing tool subscription.
- Add-ons, such as showing your own name on bank statements.
- Staff hours spent reconciling payouts, updating the ledger and following up failed collections, multiplied by an hourly cost.
Then price the same month on a single platform. On Adfin, that's 1% + 20p per successful payment, with the percentage capped at £4 on direct debit and bank payments, plus anything you choose to add, such as £36 a month for your own name on statements. Compare the totals, and look at line 5 separately, because it's the part one system changes most.
What changes with one system
Putting collection and chasing in one place doesn't make a customer pay you, but it does remove the hand-offs between systems. With Adfin:
- One record per customer holds the invoice, the mandate and the reminders. A failed direct debit is retried for free, and if it still doesn't go through the customer is asked to pay another way, such as by card or a payment link. Customers who haven't signed their mandate are chased to sign it and offered another way to pay in the meantime.
- One reconciliation: every payment is matched to its invoice, including part payments and missing references, with two-way sync to Xero and QuickBooks. Payouts arrive in full every weekday, with the fee invoiced separately, so there are no deductions to unpick.
- One price list, charged only on successful payments, with no monthly fee and no contract.
- One set of chasing rules across every payment method, over email, SMS and WhatsApp from your own email domain. Adfin's Customer Agents choose the timing and channel for each customer within rules you set, and can add statutory late fees to overdue business invoices or offer instalment plans where you've allowed it.
With 10 or more direct debit mandates, moving doesn't mean asking customers to sign again: Adfin moves them from GoCardless, London & Zurich or AccessPay through the Bacs bulk change process; with fewer, customers sign a new mandate online.
Before you move, check two things. Adfin works in sterling only, so if you invoice in other currencies you'd keep a separate provider for those. And read the exit terms on your current contracts, so you know when each one can end.
Common questions
How much does it cost to run payments and chasing separately? It depends on your volumes, but you pay at least two suppliers on two pricing models, plus the staff time to reconcile them. Add up one month of fees and hours to get your own figure.
Why does my chasing tool send reminders for invoices that are already paid? Most chasing tools read your accounting software, so they only see a payment once it's been reconciled there. Until then the invoice still looks unpaid.
Should I turn off Xero's invoice reminders if I use a chasing tool? Yes. Xero doesn't share its reminder schedule with other apps, so leaving both on can send customers two sets of reminders.
How much time do businesses spend chasing late payments? Government research published in 2025 put it at 86 hours a year on average for businesses affected by late payment, about £1,455 of staff time at the hourly cost the research uses.
Does GoCardless charge for failed payments? GoCardless charges its transaction fee on every payment you submit, whether or not it succeeds. Adfin charges only on successful payments.
Will my customers have to re-sign their direct debit if I move to one platform? Not if your mandates move through the Bacs bulk change process. Adfin uses it for 10 or more mandates.
Sources
- Department for Business and Trade and Office of the Small Business Commissioner - Late payments research: impact on the UK economy (accurate as of October 2026) https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/688a089a6478525675738ff9/late_payments_research_impact_on_uk_economy.pdf
- GoCardless Support Centre - Pricing and fees FAQs (accurate as of October 2026) https://support.gocardless.com/hc/en-gb/articles/115002831125-Transactions-and-fees-FAQs
- GoCardless - Pricing (accurate as of October 2026) https://gocardless.com/pricing/
- Xero - Developer API: invoice reminders (accurate as of October 2026) https://developer.xero.com/documentation/api/accounting/invoicereminders
- Adfin - Pricing (accurate as of October 2026) https://www.adfin.com/pricing
- Adfin - Credit control (accurate as of October 2026) https://www.adfin.com/credit-control
