TL;DR: The Price Shock
- Dext moved from unlimited to per-client pricing in late 2023
- Some firms saw costs jump from £325/month to £900/month (175% increase)
- Per-client fees add up fast: 100 clients could cost £1000+/month
- Alternative: Zera Books offers unlimited conversions at $79/month flat
- No per-client fees, no per-user fees, no surprise price increases
What Happened with Dext's 2025 Pricing
In November 2023, Dext (formerly Receipt Bank) announced a fundamental change to its pricing model that sent shockwaves through the accounting community. The company transitioned from unlimited usage pricing to a per-client model, triggering immediate and dramatic cost increases for accounting firms across the UK and beyond.
The Numbers Don't Lie
£325 → £900/month: One accounting firm reported their Dext subscription nearly tripled overnight - a 175% increase.
£400 → £1,000/month: A firm with approximately 100 clients estimated their costs would jump from £400 to over £1,000 per month.
$500+ unauthorized increases: In 2025, users reported being charged $715 without permission after Dext transferred them to more expensive plans when original plans were discontinued.
The pricing change wasn't just about numbers - it fundamentally altered the economics of using Dext for multi-client accounting firms. What was once a predictable, scalable cost became a growth penalty where adding new clients directly increased software costs.
According to discussions on AccountingWEB, many accountants had never passed on Dext costs to clients, viewing it as an efficiency tool that benefited their own workflows. The dramatic price increases forced firms to make difficult decisions: absorb massive cost increases, pass fees to clients (reducing competitiveness), or find alternatives.
How Per-Client Pricing Hurts Accounting Firms
The shift to per-client pricing creates four critical problems for growing accounting practices:
Growth Penalty
Every new client you win increases your software costs. This penalizes success and makes scaling your practice more expensive.
Client Friction
Passing costs to clients makes you less competitive. Absorbing them erodes your margins. Either way, you lose.
Budgeting Chaos
Variable pricing makes financial planning impossible. Your software costs fluctuate with client churn and growth.
Hidden Add-Ons
Dext charges extra for bank statements and line-item processing. The base price is just the beginning.
The real damage? Per-client pricing creates perverse incentives. Instead of enthusiastically onboarding new clients, you're doing mental math about whether they're worth the additional software costs. That's not how growing practices should operate.
Cost Comparison at Scale
Let's examine the real cost difference between Dext's per-client model and Zera Books' unlimited pricing. These calculations use conservative estimates for Dext pricing (actual costs may be higher with add-ons).
| Number of Clients | Dext (Est.) | Zera Books | Annual Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 clients | $150/month | $79/month | $852/year |
| 25 clients | $350/month | $79/month | $3,252/year |
| 50 clients | $600/month | $79/month | $6,252/year |
| 100 clients | $1,100/month | $79/month | $12,252/year |
| 200 clients | $2,000/month | $79/month | $23,052/year |
The Math Is Simple
A mid-sized firm with 100 clients saves over $12,000 per year by switching from Dext to Zera Books. That's enough to:
- Hire a part-time bookkeeper
- Invest in additional practice management software
- Increase take-home profit by over $1,000/month
Why Zera Books is Different
Zera Books was built specifically to solve the problems created by per-client pricing models. Our philosophy is simple: your software costs shouldn't punish you for growing your practice.
Unlimited Conversions, Period
No per-client fees. No per-user fees. No per-page fees. No hidden add-ons. $79/month for unlimited bank statement, financial statement, invoice, and check processing. Process 10 documents or 10,000 - same price.
Growth-Friendly Economics
Whether you have 5 clients or 500 clients, your cost stays the same. Win a new client? Great - your software costs don't change. This is how pricing should work for growing firms.
Predictable Budgeting
$79 in January, $79 in December, $79 forever. No surprise price increases, no unauthorized plan changes, no variable costs to track. Budget once and forget about it.
Transparent, Honest Pricing
We believe in treating accounting professionals with respect. That means clear pricing, no bait-and-switch tactics, and no sudden 175% increases disguised as "pricing updates."
What You Get with Zera Books
For $79/month, you get a complete accounting workflow automation platform - not just a document converter.
4 Document Types
Bank statements, financial statements, invoices, and checks - all included. Dext charges extra for some of these.
AI Categorization
Auto-categorize transactions for QuickBooks/Xero. Save 30-45 minutes per client per month.
Multi-Account Detection
Automatically detect and separate checking, savings, and credit cards in a single PDF. No manual splitting.
QuickBooks/Xero Integration
Direct integration with pre-mapped fields. Export ready-to-import files in QBO, IIF, or CSV format.
Client Management
Organize by client, track conversion history, access past statements instantly.
Batch Processing
Upload 50+ statements at once. Process multiple clients simultaneously. Queue management for large volumes.
99.6% Extraction Accuracy
Powered by Zera AI - our proprietary machine learning model trained on 2.8M+ bank statements and 847M+ transactions. Dynamically processes any bank format without templates. No manual setup required.
Switching from Dext to Zera Books
Making the switch is straightforward. Here's the step-by-step process we recommend:
Export Your Client Data from Dext
Download any historical data you need to retain. Dext allows you to export processed documents and transaction data before canceling your subscription.
Sign Up for Zera Books Trial
Start with our one-week trial to test the platform with real client documents. No commitment required.
Upload Test Statements from 3-5 Clients
Choose a representative sample of your client base - different bank formats, account types, and complexity levels. This validates that Zera Books handles your specific needs.
Compare Accuracy and Categorization
Review the extracted data against Dext's output. Check transaction categorization accuracy, multi-account detection, and export file quality. Most firms find Zera Books matches or exceeds Dext's accuracy.
Migrate Remaining Clients in Batches
Once validated, use batch processing to upload statements for all clients. Organize by client in the dashboard for easy management.
Cancel Dext Subscription
Once you're confident in Zera Books, cancel your Dext subscription. Most firms complete the full migration in under two weeks.
Real Results from Accounting Firms
Accounting professionals who switched from Dext to Zera Books report significant time and cost savings. Here's what they're experiencing:
See the full case study in the testimonial section below, featuring a CPA manager who handles diverse client bank formats and eliminated hours of manual data entry each week.
