Landlords & letting · Getting paid
Collect rent by Direct Debit with Xero repeating invoices and GoCardless
- Set-up time45 min
- DifficultyMedium
- AppsXero GoCardless Zapier
The problem
Chasing rent and matching transfers to tenants takes hours each month.
The result
A repeating rent invoice is collected by Direct Debit on the due date, and you get an email if a payment fails.
Option 1: Xero + GoCardless
- Connect GoCardless to Xero (see the GoCardless + Xero integration page).
- Create a repeating invoice for each tenancy with the rent amount and due date.
- Ask each tenant to set up a Direct Debit mandate.
- GoCardless collects on the due date and Xero marks the invoice paid.
Option 2: Optional alert: Zapier
- Create a Zap with GoCardless "Failed Payment".
- Add Gmail "Send Email" or Microsoft Outlook "Send Email" to alert yourself.
Get AI to help you build it
Paste this into ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini or Claude:
Write a short, friendly UK-English letter to a tenant inviting them to pay rent by Direct Debit, mentioning the Direct Debit Guarantee and that they'll be notified before each collection.
AI tools can get menu names wrong. Check against the sources below.
Before you start
- GoCardless charges per payment. Check current UK pricing.
- Your tenancy agreement should allow Direct Debit payment.
- Repeating-invoice button names are partly verified (see the Xero repeating invoices recipe).
Integrations used
GoCardless + Xero
Built-in integrationYes. Add GoCardless as a payment service in Xero and it can collect Direct Debit automatically on the invoice due date.
GoCardless + Zapier
Works via connectorYes. GoCardless on Zapier can start Zaps on payment and mandate events, and can create mandate requests, payments and subscriptions.
Sources
- xero.com/partnerships/gocardless/
- zapier.com/apps/gocardless/integrations
- xero.com/uk/accounting-software/send-invoices/
Last checked 22 October 2026. Software changes; check the vendor's docs before you rely on this.