Credit control software for startups (2026): 4 options compared

Facts checked July 2026.

Summary

• Xero’s built-in reminders: the free baseline you already have. Fine if you invoice a handful of reliable payers and don’t mind sending statements by hand.
• Statey: the cheapest way to automate statements, from £8/month. A sensible first step, but it only sends statements - it doesn’t chase.
• Trove: the fit for most startups. Fixed at £50/month, Xero-native, chases from your own domain, and takes about five minutes to set up.
• Satago: worth a look if you also need to unlock cash from unpaid invoices to extend runway.
• Upflow: for once you’ve hired a finance team and need dashboards and cash application, not just chasing.

The features startups need in their credit control tool

Startups looking for credit control software for the first time usually have a few of these things in common:

1. Small team. A maximum of one or two people in the finance team. Chasing unpaid invoices may even sit with someone else who already has a full time role. This means you can’t have a major, complex system that needs an entire person to operate it. This is also where AI credit control tools are starting to make a difference for small teams.

🕵 Look for: An intuitive tool can largely run itself.

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2. Growing quickly. Startups are often categorised by outgrowing their existing systems every few months. Some software penalises growth. Per-seat and per-invoice pricing looks cheap at first but the price tag increases quickly as you grow.

🕵 Look for: A tool with features and pricing that grow with you.

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3. Existing tech stack. You probably already use a few tools like Xero, Gmail, Slack, Hubspot. If you add another unconnected tool into the mix, you will spend your whole life wondering why the number of customers is off by two between the different tools. There’s more on connecting Xero, Gmail and Slack here.

🕵 Look for: A tool that plugs into your existing tech stack so data stays consistent.

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4. Optionally, it unlocks cash. If runway is genuinely tight, some tools let you draw cash against unpaid invoices rather than wait for them. Most startups won’t need this, but it’s worth knowing which tools offer it.

🕵 Look for: Software that adds in invoice financing.

4 credit control tools for startups compared

All of these tools cover the basics: an automatic sync with Xero and (apart from Xero’s own option) the option to send from your own business email.

	Price	Own-domain sending	Automated chasing	Integrations	Invoice finance
Xero built-in	Free	No	Limited	-	-
Statey	From £8/mo (£40 for own domain)	From £40	No	-	-
Trove	£50/mo fixed	Yes	Yes	Slack, MS Teams, HubSpot	-
Satago	From £45/mo (£80 for own domain)	From £80	Yes	-	Yes (£100k+ turnover)
Upflow	Priced by revenue (ARR)	Yes	Yes	-	-

Xero’s built-in reminders

Every startup on Xero already has this and it’s a good starting point. Xero can send basic automated invoice reminders and you can send customer statements manually in batches.

Here are some of the first limitations startups hit:

1. Statements aren’t part of the automation and need to be sent manually
2. Reminders come from Xero’s email (@xero.com) rather than your own email
3. All reminders use the same template so there’s no way to treat a serial late payer differently from a good one

Best for: a startup invoicing a handful of reliable payers that doesn’t yet mind doing the chasing by hand.

Statey tackles the first of Xero’s limitations: it automates customer statements for Xero. At £8/month on its Starter plan it’s the cheapest way to take statements off your plate, and it connects to Xero in about five minutes.

On the £8 plan, it fails the second limitation and still sends from a @statey email. Furthermore, statements are watermarked. To solve both limitations, you will move to the £40/month plan.

None of Statey’s plans solve the third limitation. As the name suggests, Statey only sends statements, not payment reminders. If you want a closer look at how the statement-only tools stack up, we’ve compared the main Xero statement add-ons here.

Best for: a startup that just wants the monthly statement automated as a first step, before it needs full chasing.

Trove is does cover all of Xero’s limitations:

1. Statements are automated to send on a chosen day of the month as required
2. Reminders come from your own email address with your signature
3. You can segment your customer base easily to send different reminders to different contacts

In addition, Trove also automates late fees and payment plans to nudge customers to pay more quickly. This is all offered on its £50/month plan, which also includes unlimited users. It sits alongside the best invoice chasing tools for Xero users as the fixed-price, Xero-first option. The only watch out is it doesn’t offer invoice financing options.

If you need software that plugs into your other tools, Trove also integrates with Slack, MS Teams and Hubspot on the next tier up (£135/month).

Best for: startups on Xero that want a tool that runs itself at a fixed price.

Satago is three tools in one: it chases invoices, gives you credit-risk insights, and lets you draw cash against unpaid invoices. This last feature is interesting for startups. If your real problem is runway rather than chasing, invoice finance lets you get up to around 90% of an invoice’s value, often within hours, instead of waiting 30 or 60 days for the customer to pay.

Two things to know. The finance side generally needs £100k+ of turnover to qualify, so very early-stage startups may not be eligible yet. And you’re paying for a bundle: if you only need the chasing, you’ll usually get it cheaper elsewhere. We’ve broken down the alternatives for chasing and for invoice financing here, since most businesses lean on one side and barely touch the other.

Best for: a startup that also needs to unlock cash from unpaid invoices to extend runway, and will genuinely use the finance side.

Upflow is the most expensive of these tools and best suited to seriously scaling startups. It automates more of the accounts receivable workflow and is designed for B2B finance teams. It sits on top of your accounting system and adds live DSO and collection dashboards, cash application, a branded payment portal, and multi-step collection workflows that several people can collaborate on.

Pricing is hidden behind a quote on the website, but third party sites put the entry point at around $440. In all honesty, Upflow could sit in both startup and mid-market. You can see how Upflow stacks up against more comprehensive tools in our comparison of mid-market and enterprise credit control software.

Best for: once you’ve grown a real finance team and need visibility and cash application across your ledger, not just chasing.

How to choose

The honest version, in one line each:

• A few reliable payers and you don’t mind sending statements manually: Xero’s built-in reminders are fine for now.
• You just want statements automated as a cheap first step: Statey.
• You need chasing that runs itself on Xero at a fixed price: Trove.
• Runway is the real problem and you need cash from invoices now: look at invoice finance through Satago.
• You’ve hired a finance team and need dashboards and cash application: Upflow.

Most startups on Xero land on Trove, because the problem is usually “no one has time to chase” rather than “we need a finance platform”. If you’re weighing the cheaper end more broadly, here’s how the affordable options are priced, and our full guide to choosing credit control software covers the whole picture.

Frequently asked questions

Does a startup actually need credit control software, or is Xero enough?

Xero is enough while you invoice a few reliable payers and don’t mind the manual work. The moment chasing starts eating your time, or an overdue invoice slips through because no one followed up, a dedicated tool pays for itself. For most startups that tipping point comes earlier than expected, because the founder is the one doing the chasing.

What’s the cheapest credit control software for a startup?

For statements only, Statey starts at £8/month. For actual chasing, Trove is £50/month at a fixed price. The thing to avoid is per-seat or per-invoice pricing, which looks cheap at first and climbs as you grow.

Is credit control for startups different from small businesses generally?

The tools are mostly the same. Startups just tend to care more about fixed, predictable pricing and are likelier to need invoice finance to manage runway. If you’re a bit further along, credit control software for UK small businesses covers the wider set of options.

Can I chase invoices from Slack or Gmail?

Yes. Trove plugs into Gmail, Slack and HubSpot, so overdue nudges can show up where your team already works rather than in a separate system. There’s more on how that connects here.