Summary
- Most tools offer a trial but they vary on length. Statey, Trove and Chaser publish trial lengths; Satago and Credit Hound offer one but don’t say how long; Upflow has one but only for limited functionality; Kolleno doesn’t advertise one at all. Jump to the table
- Setup time is the first real test. If connecting your accounting system takes a day, that tells you something about the rest of the product.
- Support is the second. Ask a question or break something deliberately in week one and see what happens.
- Money recovered is the third. The software should help you recover money during the trial. If it doesn’t, what’s the point?
Which credit control tools offer a free trial
| Tool | Trial length | Card required |
|---|---|---|
| Statey | 32 days | No |
| Trove | 30 days | No |
| ezyCollect | 14 days | Not published |
| Chaser | 10 days | Not published |
| Satago | Offered, length not published | Not published |
| Credit Hound | Offered, length not published | No |
| Upflow | Offered, reports only | No |
| Kolleno | Not advertised | - |
Trial terms checked September 2026.
Where a tool doesn’t advertise a trial, it usually means a demo and a sales process instead. That isn’t automatically worse - a guided walkthrough of an enterprise platform may be more useful than a self-serve trial but it does limit what you can test before committing.
For what each of these costs once the trial ends, see credit control software pricing for the mid-market platforms and affordable credit control software for the sub-£100 tier. For the full field, start with the credit control software guide.
What to test during your free trial
Three things. Test them in this order because each one tells you whether the next is worth doing.
1. How long does it take to set up
Start the clock when you sign up and stop it when the first reminder is queued and ready to send.
What good looks like: connecting your accounting system takes minutes and pulls your invoices in automatically. You’re reviewing a draft reminder the same morning.
The warning sign: an onboarding call is required before you can connect anything. That’s not always bad but it generally means two things:
- The product is more expensive. Otherwise it costs the company too much to run sales calls for everyone that wants to trial.
- The product is harder to use. It’s not intuitive enough to get started and first requires explanation.
Ideally, it’s simple enough for you to understand how it works under your own steam.
2. How support responds when something breaks
Break something on purpose in the first week or ask a question about something more technical. Then time how long it takes to get a response.
What good looks like: a person answers, within hours, and the answer solves your problem.
The warning sign: a ticket number, days of waiting, customer service that doesn’t know the answer. During a trial a vendor will be on their best behaviour so if trial support is bad, customer support is worse.
3. Whether you recover any actual money
The big question: does the product work?
What good looks like: money lands before the trial ends. Even one invoice paid will give you data on ROI.
The warning signs: you finish the trial having barely used the platform because it was too unintuitive or you sent the wrong reminders and upset customers. Either is a bad outcome.
The only exception here is when you didn’t use the trial because you had too much on your plate. If that’s the case, ask for an onboarding call in week 2 and see if the vendor can get you set up and running on the call.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a card to start a credit control software trial? It varies by vendor. Trove, Statey and Credit Hound don’t ask for one. As a rule, the self-serve tools tend not to charge until the trial ends, and the enterprise platforms don’t offer a self-serve trial at all.
Can I connect my real accounting data during a trial? Yes, and you should. A trial run against sample data tests nothing. Connect Xero, QuickBooks or Sage from day one, and disconnect it if you don’t continue.
Will my customers get emailed during the trial? Only if you let them. Most tools default to a review mode where reminders queue as drafts until you approve them. That’s worth keeping on for the first few days, then switching off, because staying in review mode for the whole trial is how you get to the end without having tested anything.
What happens to my data if I don’t continue? Ask before you start. The answer should be a clear retention period and a way to export what you’ve logged.
Trove runs a 30-day free trial, connects to Xero in about five minutes, and doesn’t need an onboarding call to get going. Most people put their worst ten invoices through it in the first week, which is the fastest way to find out whether it works for you. Start a free trial or book a demo if you’d like a look first.
