Best Collections Software for Marketing Agencies (2026)

Disclosure: Abivo is our product. Facts about other tools come from their own websites as of October 2026.

The short answer: If your account and finance people spend hours each week chasing late retainers and project invoices, Abivo takes that follow-up off their plate: its AI agent Kate calls, texts and emails clients about overdue invoices in your agency's name and hands scope disputes and sensitive accounts to the person who owns the relationship. If you want an agency-focused reminder tool with broad accounting integrations, look at Chaser. If you want AR agents with a self-serve portal for clients on many billing cycles, look at Invoiced. Mid-market agencies on NetSuite or Sage Intacct should also compare Kolleno, Upflow, Versapay and Quadient AR. If you only need basic reminders and already run your agency in Productive or Scoro, start with their built-in invoice reminders.

Agencies have a collections problem that looks small on paper and big in the bank account. Retainers bill monthly, projects bill by milestone, and media or production costs are often fronted by the agency and passed through. Clients approve the work in a creative review and then the invoice waits for a PO, an AP portal upload, or a marketing director who has moved on. Many disputes are not about money at all: a deliverable is still in revision, a scope change was agreed on a call, or the wrong cost center is on the invoice. Once two or three people are spending real time on follow-up and the aging report still grows, dedicated collections software pays for itself.

This guide compares nine tools. We left out pricing, because it changes often and most vendors quote by volume.

Comparison table

1. Abivo

Best for: Marketing, creative and digital agencies whose account managers or finance team spend the week on routine follow-up with clients, especially teams with three or more people involved in collections.

What it does: Abivo's AI agent, Kate, follows up on overdue invoices by phone, text and email, in your agency's brand. Reminders name the details a client's AP team needs to release payment, such as the PO, the project or campaign and the billing period, and one message can cover every open invoice on a client account instead of a separate email for each retainer month and milestone. Kate records promises to pay, disputes and next steps on every conversation. When a client says a deliverable is still in revision, questions a scope change, or asks for a person, Kate hands the account to your team.

Controls that matter in an agency: set the follow-up cadence per client or per segment (a monthly retainer client is not a one-off project), pause follow-up on a single invoice while a revision round or change order is settled, and flag key accounts so replies go straight to the account owner instead of a generic finance inbox. Agencies with several entities keep follow-up separated by subsidiary.

Proof: OFS Group went from four collectors on the phones to one while recovering $842,518 in four months and cutting DSO by more than 30 days. Read the OFS Group case study.

Integration notes: Abivo connects to QuickBooks, Xero, NetSuite, Sage Intacct, Microsoft Dynamics 365, SAP, Chargebee and CSV. See collections software for marketing agencies for how follow-up works on retainers and milestone invoices.

Worth knowing: Abivo focuses on the follow-up conversation with your client. It does not replace the system that creates your invoices or tracks time.

2. Chaser

Best for: Agencies that want multichannel reminders, payment plans and late fees on top of a wide range of accounting systems.

What it does: Chaser automates receivables chasing with email and SMS reminders, automated phone calls, in-app calling and letters, plus a customer payment portal, payment plans, late payment fees and early payment discounts. It offers an AI email generator, AI debtor risk insights, a debt collection service and a credit control specialist service. It has a dedicated page for advertising, marketing and creative agencies and lists integrations including Xero, QuickBooks Online, Sage, NetSuite, Business Central, HubSpot and Salesforce.

Comparing the two? See our Chaser alternative page.

3. Invoiced

Best for: Agencies managing different client billing cycles and changing project budgets that want AR agents and a self-serve client portal.

What it does: Invoiced (part of Flywire) describes specialized AI agents for invoicing, collections and cash application, per-customer reminder timing ("Smart Chasing"), late fee automation and a portal where clients pay, set up AutoPay and download statements. It has an AR solution page for agencies and lists NetSuite, Sage Intacct, Microsoft Dynamics 365, QuickBooks, Xero, Workday and Salesforce integrations.

4. Kolleno

Best for: Mid-market agencies moving off spreadsheets that want AI agents working inside their own credit policy.

What it does: Kolleno describes an order-to-cash platform with modules for collections, a payment portal, cash application, disputes, credit risk and forecasting, with task-specific AI agents that can give insights, act as a copilot or execute on their own. It lists NetSuite, QuickBooks, Microsoft Dynamics, Xero and Sage.

Comparing the two? See our Kolleno alternative page.

5. Upflow

Best for: B2B finance teams that want named AI agents for collections, cash application and AP portals.

What it does: Upflow lists Collections, Insights, AP Portal and Cash App agents with autonomy controls from suggestion-only to fully autonomous, and outreach by email, SMS, calls, letters and tasks. It states integrations with NetSuite, Sage Intacct, QuickBooks Online and Xero, and with Stripe Billing, Chargebee, Salesforce and HubSpot.

Comparing the two? See our Upflow alternative page.

6. Versapay

Best for: Agencies whose invoices stall because clients have questions about line items and want to resolve them online.

What it does: Versapay automates collections and dunning notifications and gives clients a self-serve portal to pay, manage their account and resolve disputes, with AI built for accounts receivable to prioritize high-risk accounts. It lists professional services as an industry and integrates with NetSuite, Sage Intacct and Microsoft Dynamics 365.

Comparing the two? See our Versapay alternative page.

7. Quadient AR

Best for: Agencies on NetSuite, Sage, Microsoft or Acumatica that want rule-based reminders and payment prediction.

What it does: Quadient AR (formerly YayPay) covers credit, invoice delivery, collections workflows that send reminders and escalate by your rules, disputes, payments and cash application. It describes agentic AI that reads incoming AR emails and prepares the next action for review.

Comparing the two? See our Quadient AR alternative page.

8. Paidnice

Best for: Small agencies on Xero or QuickBooks Online that want reminders, late fees and payment plans without a big rollout.

What it does: Paidnice sends reminders before, on and after the due date by email, two-way SMS, WhatsApp and post, applies late fees or interest, offers payment plans and statements, and runs call tasks through escalations. Its AI reads client replies and drafts next steps for approval.

9. Productive and Scoro (built into agency management)

Best for: Agencies that already run projects, time and billing in one agency management system and only need basic reminders.

What they do: Productive creates retainer, fixed-fee and time-and-materials invoices and can send a custom email reminder sequence that stops once the invoice is paid. Scoro creates recurring, milestone and time-based invoices and lets you set up late payment reminders. Both export invoices to accounting systems such as Xero and QuickBooks. Neither describes phone follow-up or AI collections, so agencies with a large past-due balance usually add a collections tool on top.

How to choose for a marketing agency

1. Separate billing from collecting. Your agency management or accounting system creates the invoice. Collections software is what happens after the due date passes.

2. Group the touches. Retainer months, milestones and pass-through costs pile up on one client. Prefer tools that can cover every open invoice on an account in one message.

3. Respect the relationship. Make sure sensitive clients can be routed to the account lead, and that one invoice can be paused while a revision or scope question is settled.

4. Check the channels. Email reminders to a busy AP inbox get ignored. A phone call still moves the oldest balances.

5. Measure. Track DSO, the share of invoices over 60 days, and the hours your team spends on follow-up before and after.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best collections software for a marketing agency? It depends on the job. For routine follow-up by phone, text and email in your agency's name, Abivo. For agency-focused reminders with broad integrations, Chaser. For AR agents plus a client portal, Invoiced. For mid-market finance teams on NetSuite or Sage Intacct, compare Kolleno, Upflow, Versapay and Quadient AR.

How can a marketing agency get paid faster? Put the PO, campaign and billing period on every invoice, follow up on a set cadence instead of when someone remembers, call the oldest balances, and route real disputes to the account lead quickly so they do not sit in finance.

Can AI call agency clients about overdue invoices? Yes. Abivo's agent Kate calls, texts and emails clients in your agency's brand, records promises to pay, and hands disputes to your team.

Is this the same as client content collection software? No. Tools such as Content Snare collect files and copy from clients. Collections software in this guide is about getting invoices paid.

Want to see how Kate would follow up on your agency's invoices? Book a demo.