Hielda vs Xero, QuickBooks and FreeAgent invoice reminders
Your accounting software already sends payment reminders, so why would you pay for something else? Because a reminder and a chase are different things. This page sets out what the built-in reminders in Xero, QuickBooks and FreeAgent do, what they leave out, and when Hielda is worth adding.
A reminder is not a chase
Built-in reminders are good at one thing: telling a client who forgot. Xero's send around the due date at intervals you set; QuickBooks and FreeAgent offer the same kind of templated sequence. For the client who meant to pay and lost the email, that is all it takes, and it costs nothing extra.
They are not designed for the client who read the invoice and decided to pay later. Each reminder asks for the same amount, in the same tone, and after the last one the software goes quiet. Nothing in the sequence makes delay cost the client anything, which is precisely what the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 exists to do.
Hielda vs accounting software reminders at a glance
| Hielda | Xero / QuickBooks / FreeAgent reminders | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £3.99 a month, or £34.99 a year | Included in your subscription |
| Reminders before the due date | Five days and one day before | Yes |
| Reminders after the due date | Days 1, 7, 14, 21, 30, then monthly until paid | A few at set intervals, then stops |
| Statutory interest calculated daily and added to each email | Yes | No |
| Fixed recovery cost (£40 / £70 / £100) added | Yes | No |
| Tone escalates from polite to formal | Yes | Same template each time |
| Letter Before Action drafted from the invoice | Yes | No |
| Pauses on dispute and tells the client | Yes | Manual |
| Part payments credited, interest on the balance | Yes | Reminder shows the balance |
| Lives inside your accounting system | No | Yes |
| Bookkeeping, VAT, bank feeds | No | Yes |
| You confirm each email | Yes | Automatic once enabled |
Reminder features differ by package and plan and change over time. The claim that none of them adds statutory interest automatically reflects their published features and forums as of October 2026; Xero has said publicly it has no plans to. Check your own package's current settings.
What the reminders leave on the table
A £3,000 invoice paid 60 days late has earned about £58 in statutory interest at 11.75% a year plus the £70 fixed cost: £128 the Act says you can add. A reminder sequence that asks for £3,000 five times collects, at best, £3,000. Over a year of invoices that gap is the difference between late payment being free for your clients and being expensive for them, and clients notice which one you are.
What the accounting software does that Hielda doesn't
Everything else. Your package is where the bookkeeping, VAT returns, bank feeds and year-end live, and Hielda does not replace any of it. Hielda is one job: getting a late invoice paid with the charges the law allows. If your invoices rarely go late, the built-in reminders are enough and you should keep your money.
How to decide
Stick with the built-in reminders if a nudge or two is all your clients ever need.
Add Hielda if invoices regularly pass 30 days, you have never claimed the interest you are entitled to, or you want someone else to be the one asking. Put one overdue invoice through the calculator first and see what it is actually owed.
Frequently asked questions
One email: what to put on every invoice, when to chase, what to charge, and the letter that gets stubborn clients to pay.
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