Cloud Accounting Software

Dext

The single biggest friction point in bookkeeping for most small businesses isn’t categorisation or reconciliation - it’s getting receipts, invoices, and expense documents into the system in the first place. A stack of paper receipts in a drawer. An inbox full of supplier PDFs. A shoebox that arrives in January. Dext removes that problem entirely.

Dext is a document capture and data extraction tool. You point your phone camera at a receipt, forward a supplier invoice to your Dext email inbox, or connect a supplier portal directly - Dext reads the document, extracts the data, and pushes it through to Xero or FreeAgent. The manual data entry step disappears.

In a nutshell: Dext is the tool that keeps your bookkeeping current by removing the capture bottleneck. It works alongside Xero or FreeAgent - not instead of them. For businesses with regular supplier invoices or employee expenses, bookkeeping becomes genuinely low-effort rather than a quarterly scramble.

How Dext works

Three ways to get documents into Dext:

The Dext app. Take a photo of a receipt using the Dext mobile app. Dext reads the supplier name, date, amount, and VAT, extracts them, assigns them to the right category and project if you’ve set those up, and queues them for review before they go to Xero or FreeAgent. Takes about five seconds per receipt.
Email forwarding. Every Dext account has a unique inbox address. Forward a supplier invoice from your email and Dext extracts the data automatically. Useful for businesses that receive a lot of invoices by email - set up a rule in your email client to forward from known suppliers, and it happens without any manual action.
Direct supplier connections. Dext can connect to supplier portals and pull invoices automatically - no forwarding required. Supports a growing list of suppliers and utilities.

Once the documents are in Dext, they’re queued for review. You (or we) approve them, and Dext pushes the data to Xero or FreeAgent with the source document attached. The original document stays in Dext as a searchable archive.

Why it matters for bookkeeping

Bookkeeping only stays current if the input reaches the system close to when it happens. When receipts and invoices pile up - in a drawer, an inbox, or a laptop downloads folder - the reconciliation catch-up at the end of the month or quarter becomes a significant job. Dext removes the pile by making the path of least resistance the capture.

For clients on a monthly or quarterly bookkeeping retainer with us, Dext is the tool that keeps the records in a state we can work with at any point in the period. For clients who run their own bookkeeping in Xero or FreeAgent, Dext removes the data-entry step and improves accuracy at the source.

Who benefits most from Dext?

Dext adds the most value for:

Businesses with regular supplier invoices - services, software subscriptions, trade suppliers, utilities. Anything arriving by email is a natural candidate for automatic forwarding.
Tradespeople and field workers with frequent cash or card purchase receipts for materials, fuel, and equipment.
Consultants and freelancers with regular expenses (travel, subscriptions, equipment) that need to be captured as they occur rather than at month-end.
Directors claiming expenses through the company - Dext captures the receipt at the time of purchase, so nothing gets forgotten or lost.
Businesses with multiple people submitting expenses - each person gets their own Dext capture method, and everything flows into one place. The expense claims can then be reviewed (by different people if required) and approved.

For businesses with very low receipt and invoice volumes, Dext is a useful but not essential tool. We’ll tell you whether it’s worth it for your situation.

Dext and Making Tax Digital

MTD for VAT requires digital records - not a shoebox. Dext’s document capture with automatic data push to Xero or FreeAgent meets the MTD digital record requirement as part of a compliant workflow. If you’re VAT-registered and still keeping receipts on paper, the combination of Dext and Xero or FreeAgent is the cleanest route to full MTD compliance.

Fixed fees, no surprises

Dext has its own subscription cost - current pricing on the Dext website - although we may be able to offer you a discounted price. Contact us to find out what our subscription charge would be. Whether it makes sense for your business depends on transaction volume and how you currently capture documents. We’ll tell you upfront whether we think it’s worth the cost for your situation.

We offer training on Dext, either in person or via video call.

Ask us about Dext

Tell us about your business, and we’ll recommend whether Dext is the right tool for you and how it fits into your accounting setup.

Frequently asked questions

Does Dext replace Xero or FreeAgent?

No. Dext is a capture and extraction tool - it feeds data into Xero or FreeAgent, not the other way around. You still need a full accounting platform for your records, reporting, and tax filings. Dext sits at the front of the process: getting documents into the system cleanly.

How accurate is the data extraction?

There are a number of data extraction softwares available. Xero and Freeagent have it built into their software too - however we believe Dext is the best software for the task. It reads and processes more documents than the others and it is very accurate. We believe it is worth having Dext running alongside Xero or Freeagent as it will save more money (through time-saving) than the subscription costs. The source document is always retained in Dext so you can check it against the extracted data.

Can multiple people in my business use Dext?

Yes. Dext supports multiple users, each with their own capture method. Useful for businesses where more than one person incurs expenses or handles supplier invoices. We set up the permissions to match how your business works.

What happens to the documents in Dext?

They’re stored in your Dext account as a searchable archive, alongside the accounting software record to which they’ve been posted. For VAT-registered businesses, this document archive is part of the MTD-compliant digital record. You have access to the archive independently of your accountant.

Ready to clear the capture backlog?

Three ways to start. Whichever’s easiest.

Call us Ask for a fixed fee quote Email us