The best payment plan software in 2026 are Paidnice, Partial.ly, GoCardless and Denefits. Payment plan software lets you offer customers a structured way to pay an invoice or balance in installments, rather than all at once.
Paidnice is the best fit if you run on Xero or QuickBooks: it writes the payment plan back onto the invoice and collects by card, ACH or BACS direct debit via Stripe, alongside reminders and enforcement, from $69 a month. Partial.ly is the pure-play option for e-commerce and service businesses, GoCardless is best for collecting installments straight from a customer's bank account, and Denefits offers financed, no-credit-check plans for healthcare and services (with some caveats). Pick by where your invoices live and which payment rails you need.
This guide covers software that lets you set up a payment plan on your own invoice and collect it over time. That is different from buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) such as Square via Afterpay or PayPal Pay Later, where a third party funds the purchase and pays you in full upfront. BNPL suits retail and B2C checkouts; the tools below suit invoice-based and B2B payments.
How we ranked them
We scored each tool on what actually matters for this category, drew on verified reviews from G2, Capterra and Trustpilot, and used each vendor's public pricing as of June 9, 2026. We do not take payment for placement, and we only put a tool at the top where the evidence supports it.
The best payment plan tools
Paidnice: All-in-one AR automation with real enforcement
Paidnice is an all-in-one accounts receivable platform for Xero and QuickBooks. It goes beyond reminders to enforce payment terms with automatic late fees, interest, statements and escalations, and now adds a shared inbox for email and SMS plus AI that drafts and queues next actions from customer replies for a human to approve. It is also a standout for multi-entity businesses: you can share one plan's invoice volume across all your Xero and QuickBooks entities, which is a major saving for company groups that would otherwise pay per entity. Won the 2025 Xero Global Small Business App of the Year.
Strengths
- Plans start at $69 a month with unlimited users and scale with invoice volume
- Real enforcement: automatic late fees, interest and escalations, not just reminders
- Shared inbox for email and SMS, with AI that queues human-approved actions
- Excellent for multi-entity groups: share one plan's invoice volume across all entities, a major saving
- Handles Xero parent and child account relationships
Watch-outs
- Best suited to Xero and QuickBooks rather than larger ERPs
- Most powerful when you configure enforcement rules to your terms
| Plan | Monthly price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Starter and up | from $69/mo | Unlimited users, late fees, interest, statements, escalations and a shared inbox; plans scale up based on monthly invoice volume |
Partial.ly: Dedicated payment-plan and deposit platform
Partial.ly is the closest thing to a pure-play payment-plan tool: it lets you offer down payments and custom installment schedules, runs on your Stripe account, and automates the collection. It is a strong fit for e-commerce and service businesses, less so for invoice-based AR inside an accounting system.
Strengths
- Purpose-built for flexible payment plans and deposits
- Runs on your own Stripe account
- No credit check, flexible approval
- Good value and well rated (Capterra 4.4)
Watch-outs
- Limited platform integrations (Shopify and WordPress gaps)
- Not tied to Xero or QuickBooks invoices
- Transaction-fee model rather than flat pricing
- Card and ACH only, no native direct debit
| Plan | Monthly price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Pay-as-you-go | Transaction-based | Runs on your Stripe account; fees per plan collected |
GoCardless: Bank direct-debit installment collection
GoCardless is the direct-debit specialist: it collects a fixed set of installments straight from a customer's bank account, which suits UK, EU and Australian businesses where direct debit is standard. It is a payment rail rather than a full AR tool, so pair it with your invoicing.
Strengths
- Collects installments directly from the bank, reducing failed payments
- Low pay-as-you-go pricing
- Connects to Xero, QuickBooks and many billing tools
- Intelligent retries on failed collections
Watch-outs
- Bank direct debit only, no cards
- A payment rail rather than full collections software
- Direct debit mandates take time to set up
- Best in direct-debit markets (UK, EU, AU)
| Plan | Monthly price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | from 1% + 20p (capped £4) | Pay-as-you-go; monthly plans add features |
Denefits: Payment plans with financing and no credit check
Denefits offers payment plans with no credit check plus an optional financing and guarantee layer, aimed at healthcare, dental and service providers. It can approve customers others would not, but there are material negative reviews about the financing and guarantee side, so read the terms carefully.
Strengths
- Approves customers with no credit check
- Optional financing and guarantee layer
- Free tier to start
- Multi-currency installment plans
Watch-outs
- Material negative reviews about the financing and guarantee side, including reports of non-payment
- Pricing is opaque (transaction and financing fees)
- Not a Xero or QuickBooks native AR tool
- Best for healthcare and services, not general AR
| Plan | Monthly price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Financed plans | Free tier + fees | Transaction and financing fees; quote for specifics |
At a glance
| Criteria | Paidnice | Partial.ly | GoCardless | Denefits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Xero and QuickBooks businesses, including multi-entity groups, that want chasing plus enforcement in one tool | E-commerce and service businesses wanting flexible installment plans | UK, EU and AU businesses collecting installments straight from bank accounts | Healthcare, dental and service providers wanting financed plans |
| Payment plans | True payment plans written back onto the Xero or QuickBooks invoice, with a customer self-service portal and automatic installment reminders | True installment plans with down payments and custom schedules | True installment schedules pulled automatically from the customer's bank | True installment plans, multi-currency, with an optional financing and guarantee layer |
| Payment rails | Card, ACH and BACS direct debit via Stripe | Card and ACH via Stripe | Bank direct debit | Card and ACH |
| Pricing model | Plans from $69/mo; payment plans on Pro and above, scaling with invoice volume | Transaction-fee based on top of Stripe, no fixed monthly SaaS tier | Pay-as-you-go from 1% + 20p, capped £4 per transaction in the UK | Free tier plus transaction and financing fees |
| Integrations | Xero and QuickBooks, including Xero parent and child relationships and multi-entity groups | Stripe, WooCommerce and invoicing tools | Xero, QuickBooks and many billing and invoicing tools | Payment-processor centric, not Xero or QuickBooks native |
| Reviews & ratings | Capterra 4.9, Xero App Store 5.0 | Capterra 4.4 (~91) | Well rated as a payments platform | Mixed; material negative themes on Trustpilot about the financing and guarantee side |
Pricing compared
All prices are monthly and current as of June 9, 2026. Always confirm the latest with each vendor.
| Tool | Starting price | Billing model |
|---|---|---|
| Paidnice | from $69/mo, unlimited users | Unlimited users; scales by invoice volume |
| Partial.ly | Transaction-based (runs on Stripe) | Published monthly |
| GoCardless | from 1% + 20p per transaction (capped £4 in the UK) | Published monthly |
| Denefits | Free tier; transaction and financing fees (quote) | Quote-based |
Paidnice pricing in detail
| Plan | Monthly price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Starter and up | from $69/mo | Unlimited users, late fees, interest, statements, escalations and a shared inbox; plans scale up based on monthly invoice volume |
Partial.ly pricing in detail
| Plan | Monthly price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Pay-as-you-go | Transaction-based | Runs on your Stripe account; fees per plan collected |
GoCardless pricing in detail
| Plan | Monthly price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | from 1% + 20p (capped £4) | Pay-as-you-go; monthly plans add features |
Denefits pricing in detail
| Plan | Monthly price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Financed plans | Free tier + fees | Transaction and financing fees; quote for specifics |
Which should you choose?
If your invoices live in Xero or QuickBooks, Paidnice is the best payment plan software because the plan sits on the invoice and collects by card, ACH or direct debit alongside your reminders, from $69 a month. Choose Partial.ly for e-commerce and service plans, GoCardless to collect installments straight from the bank, and Denefits for financed, no-credit-check plans in healthcare or services, reading its terms carefully. For retail and B2C, a BNPL option such as Square (Afterpay) or PayPal Pay Later may suit better.
Frequently asked questions
What is payment plan software?
Payment plan software lets a business offer customers a structured installment schedule to pay an invoice or balance over time, then automates the collection and reminders. It is different from buy-now-pay-later, where a third party funds the purchase and pays you upfront.
What is the best payment plan software?
It depends on where your invoices live. Paidnice is best for Xero and QuickBooks businesses that want plans tied to the invoice; Partial.ly is the pure-play tool for e-commerce and services; GoCardless is best for bank direct-debit installments; Denefits suits financed, no-credit-check plans in healthcare and services.
Is payment plan software the same as buy-now-pay-later (BNPL)?
No. With BNPL, such as Square via Afterpay or PayPal Pay Later, a third party funds the purchase and pays you in full upfront, then collects from the customer. Payment plan software means you set the installment schedule on your own receivable and collect it over time. BNPL suits retail and B2C; payment plans suit invoices and B2B.
Can I offer payment plans on Xero or QuickBooks invoices?
Yes. Paidnice creates the payment plan on the Xero or QuickBooks invoice itself, with a customer self-service portal and automatic installment reminders, and collects by card, ACH or BACS direct debit through Stripe.
How do payment plan tools collect the money?
Most collect by card and ACH (Partial.ly, Denefits, and Paidnice via Stripe). GoCardless specialises in bank direct debit (Bacs, SEPA, ACH-equivalent), which tends to have fewer failed payments. Choose the rail that fits your customers and region.
Last updated June 9, 2026. Independent comparison; pricing and ratings from public sources and subject to change.