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Rent collection for landlords: Direct Debit with GoCardless

GoCardless collects rent by Direct Debit on the due date, so there are fewer late standing orders to chase. From about $27£20€24A$38C$38 a month for 5 tenancies.

At a glance

  • What it costs$27–32£20–24€24–29A$38–46C$38–45 a month

  • Worth, in extra profit or time saved in the worked example$37£28€33A$54C$53 a month

  • Pays for itselfWithin the month

  • Sign up and configure; no technical skills neededEasy to set up

Figures come from the worked example below, using its stated assumptions. Tool prices checked . How we check prices

The problem

Standing orders get set for the wrong day, forgotten after a pay change or canceled. With 5 tenancies, checking each rent has arrived takes 5 minutes (25 minutes a month), and if 2 rents a month arrive late or short, at 20 minutes each to text, check again and chase, that is another 40 minutes: about 65 minutes a month.

What the AI does

GoCardless lets you collect recurring payments by Direct Debit from tenants who agree to it. You set up a monthly payment for each tenancy on the rent date, and GoCardless takes it from the tenant's bank and pays it to yours, showing each payment's status in its dashboard. Standard pricing is 1% + 20p a payment, capped at $5£4€5A$8C$8 plus VAT. Advanced and Pro add Success+, which the page says automatically recovers up to 70% of failed payments. A tenant chooses whether to pay this way; you can't require it as the only option.

A worked example

A landlord in Cardiff has 5 flats let at $1,264£950€1,131A$1,824C$1,786 a month each, paid by standing order, with about 2 rents a month arriving late or short. They offer every tenant Direct Debit through GoCardless's Standard plan and all 5 agree.

Before

About 65 minutes a month: 25 minutes checking 5 rents and 40 minutes chasing 2 late ones

After

About 10 minutes a month checking GoCardless's dashboard on rent day

What it's worth

About $37£28€33A$54C$53 a month saved, a little above the $27£20€24A$38C$38 to $32£24€29A$46C$45 cost. That is 55 minutes a month (65 down to 10), valued at $40£30€36A$58C$56 an hour. At $1,264£950€1,131A$1,824C$1,786 a month, each payment hits Standard's $5£4€5A$8C$8 cap, so 5 tenancies cost $27£20€24A$38C$38 a month plus VAT, $32£24€29A$46C$45 with VAT. It pays off mainly in fewer late rents; with only 2 or 3 flats, the time saved is smaller.

How to set it up

  1. Open a GoCardless account on the Standard plan and connect the bank account your rent goes into.
  2. Ask each tenant whether they'd like to pay by Direct Debit, explain the amount and date, and send them GoCardless's sign-up form. Keep standing orders for anyone who prefers them.
  3. Create a monthly payment for each tenancy on the rent due date.
  4. On each rent day, check the dashboard for failed or canceled payments and contact the tenant the same day.
  5. When rent changes after a proper rent increase, update the amount and give the tenant the advance notice the Direct Debit Guarantee requires.

What goes wrong

  • Fees are per payment: any rent over $505£380€452A$730C$714 hits the $5£4€5A$8C$8 cap on Standard (1% + 20p), so 5 tenancies cost about $27£20€24A$38C$38 a month plus VAT.
  • Standard doesn't include automatic retries of failed payments; that is Success+ on Advanced and Pro, at 1.25% + 20p (capped at $7£5€6A$10C$9) or more.
  • A tenant can cancel a Direct Debit at their bank at any time. GoCardless shows it, but only if you look.
  • Direct Debits over $2,660£2,000€2,380A$3,840C$3,760 carry an extra 0.3%, so check the fee before collecting a large one-off sum.

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Last updated October 17, 2026.