UK firms logged £109.2 billion in overdue invoices in the first nine months of 2025 — and 62.6% of all SME invoices were paid late. Equisettle, Kolleno, and Satago each claim to fix this, but they target very different businesses. This comparison breaks down pricing, AI capability, UK accounting integrations, and outreach channels so you can choose the right one for your finance team.
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| Equisettle | Kolleno | Satago | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting price | £49/month | Custom (sales-required) | £45/month (free tier available) |
| Free trial | Yes — no credit card | No | Yes — free tier |
| AI-powered predictions | Yes — 14-week forecast, 94% accuracy | Yes — workflow AI | No predictive AI |
| WhatsApp outreach | Yes | Not confirmed | No |
| SMS outreach | Yes | Not confirmed | No |
| Email outreach | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Experian credit checking | No | No | Yes — built-in |
| Invoice financing | No | No | Yes — in-platform |
| Xero integration | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| QuickBooks integration | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| FreeAgent integration | Yes | No | No |
| Sage integration | Yes | No | Yes |
| NetSuite / ERP | No | Yes | No |
| Transparent pricing | Yes | No | Yes |
| Setup time | 48 hours | Sales-led (longer) | ~3 minutes to first reminder |
| Best for | UK SMEs, all accounting stacks | Mid-market / enterprise ERP | SMEs wanting credit risk + financing |
Pricing as of July 2026. Kolleno requires a sales conversation for all pricing.
Equisettle is an AI-powered accounts receivable platform built specifically for UK SMEs and growth companies. Its machine learning model predicts invoice payment risk up to 14 weeks ahead with 94% accuracy — enabling finance teams to intervene before a payment goes late, not after.
The platform automates collections across email, SMS, and WhatsApp, integrates natively with all four major UK accounting platforms (FreeAgent, Xero, QuickBooks, and Sage), and has teams live within 48 hours. Pricing starts at £49/month with a free trial and no credit card required.
Best for: UK SMEs that want predictive, AI-led AR automation with multi-channel outreach and fast setup across any UK accounting stack.
Kolleno is an AR automation platform built "by and for finance professionals," positioned toward mid-market and enterprise businesses with complex data environments. It connects to Xero, QuickBooks, NetSuite, Salesforce, and other ERPs and CRMs simultaneously — giving finance teams a unified view of receivables across multiple systems.
Its 2026 feature set includes AI-powered workflow automation, customer portfolio payment limits, a global document repository, and embedded reconciliation. There is no free trial and no published pricing — all engagements are sales-led, making it inaccessible for SMEs evaluating on a budget.
Best for: Mid-market and enterprise finance teams operating across multiple ERPs and CRM systems that need deep integration and custom workflow logic.
Satago is a UK-based credit control and AR automation platform with a distinct focus on credit risk management. Its built-in Experian partnership gives users live credit scores, credit limit recommendations, and payment trend data on their customers — something neither Equisettle nor Kolleno offer natively.
Satago also includes an optional invoice financing feature, allowing businesses to access cash against due and overdue invoices directly within the platform — without a separate lender application. It integrates with Xero, QuickBooks, and Sage, and claims invoices are paid up to 72% faster after implementation.
The free tier covers basic AR management but limits automation depth. Paid plans start from £45/month. WhatsApp and SMS outreach are not available.
Best for: UK SMEs that prioritise knowing the creditworthiness of their customers before extending terms, or that want integrated invoice financing alongside collections automation.
Equisettle is the only platform of the three with true predictive AI — its model scores each invoice 14 weeks before the due date, flagging which customers are most likely to pay late based on historical behaviour, sector data, and payment patterns. This allows finance teams to prioritise proactively, not reactively.
Kolleno uses AI to make collections workflows context-sensitive — pulling data from all connected systems to determine the right action at the right time. This is sophisticated but reactive: it optimises collections after the invoice is issued, rather than predicting risk beforehand.
Satago has no predictive AI. Its credit risk capability comes from Experian data pulled at onboarding and on demand — a different mechanism, but one that helps businesses assess risk before extending credit terms rather than chasing payment afterwards.
Winner: Equisettle for predictive analytics; Satago for upfront credit risk assessment; Kolleno for complex workflow logic.
With 62.6% of UK SME invoices paid late in 2025, the ability to reach debtors across multiple channels is increasingly important. Email-only outreach consistently underperforms SMS and WhatsApp for response rates.
Winner: Equisettle — the only three-channel platform here.
For UK SMEs, the accounting stack almost always includes one of Xero, QuickBooks, FreeAgent, or Sage. Coverage of all four is rare.
Winner: Equisettle — only platform covering the complete UK SME accounting stack.
With 36% of UK SMEs reporting that late payments affect their ability to pay suppliers, cost matters. Affordable AR software should not itself become a cash flow burden.
Winner: Satago on entry point (free tier); Equisettle on value for full automation capability.
This is where Satago stands apart. Its built-in Experian integration surfaces a customer's credit score, credit limit recommendation, and payment trend direction — before you issue an invoice. No equivalent exists in Equisettle or Kolleno.
Satago's invoice financing feature also allows businesses to unlock cash against overdue invoices from within the platform, without a separate application to a lender. For businesses in cash flow stress due to late payments, this can be a meaningful differentiator.
Neither Equisettle nor Kolleno offer credit checking or invoice financing.
Winner: Satago — uniquely positioned on credit risk and financing.
Winner: Satago for raw speed-to-first-action; Equisettle for speed-to-full-AI-automation.
| Equisettle | Kolleno | Satago | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Free trial (no card) | None | Yes — ongoing free tier |
| Starting price | £49/month | Custom | £45/month |
| Pricing transparency | Published | Not published | Published |
| Contract type | Monthly | Annual (assumed) | Monthly |
Pricing as of July 2026. Verify current rates directly with each vendor.
UK businesses recorded £109.2 billion in overdue invoices in the first nine months of 2025 — a record. 90% of UK companies experienced late payments, and 38 small businesses closed every day as a direct consequence of cash flow stress caused by overdue invoices.
In this environment, the question isn't whether to automate AR — it's which platform gives you the best chance of recovering cash before it becomes a write-off. For most UK SMEs, that means a tool that combines proactive AI, multi-channel outreach, and fast setup at a price that doesn't require a sales negotiation.
That's Equisettle's positioning. But if your priority is credit risk assessment before the invoice is even raised, Satago fills a gap that Equisettle doesn't claim to address. And if you're running a complex multi-system finance operation, Kolleno's depth justifies its complexity.
For UK SMEs: Equisettle wins on AI capability, outreach channels, and full UK accounting stack coverage. Satago is the better choice if credit risk data or invoice financing is the primary need.
For mid-market and enterprise: Kolleno is the only credible option for businesses with multi-ERP environments — but expect a longer sales process and higher cost.
For teams wanting zero commitment to start: Satago's free tier is the lowest-friction entry point in this comparison.
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