Dext Receipt Bank Pricing Hidden Fees: What They Don't Show on the Pricing Page
Dext (formerly Receipt Bank) advertises flexible pricing that scales with your firm. What the pricing page doesn't show: mandatory 10-client minimums, per-document processing overages, and bundled features you may not need. Here's what accounting firms actually pay.
TL;DR
- →Dext Practice Plans start at $239.19/month for 10 clients minimum ($207.99 annual) - you pay for 10 even if you manage 3 clients
- →Bank statement processing uses credit-based units - each plan includes a limited allowance, then overage fees apply
- →You're paying for receipt scanning and invoice processing even if you only need bank statement conversion
- →Per-client pricing scales from $239/month (10 clients) to $849/month (50 clients) - growth increases costs
- →Zera Books offers $79/month flat pricing with unlimited conversions and no hidden overage fees
Hidden Fee #1: The 10-Client Minimum Trap
Dext's Practice Plans don't start at one client. They start at ten clients minimum, with a base price of $239.19/month (or $207.99/month billed annually).
What This Means
If you're a solo bookkeeper managing 3 clients, you're paying for 7 client slots you don't use. The effective per-client cost is $79.73/client instead of the advertised ~$20-24 per client at full capacity.
This minimum commitment structure benefits mid-size firms already managing 10+ clients, but penalizes small practices and solo practitioners trying to scale gradually. You're locked into paying for capacity you don't need.
Hidden Fee #2: Bank Statement Processing Overages
Dext's pricing includes "credits" for bank statement extraction, line item extraction, and supplier statement reconciliation. Each plan comes with a limited allowance of these units. Once you exceed the included amount, you pay extra.
How Credits Are Consumed
- •Bank statement extraction: Each statement (potentially multiple pages) consumes credits based on complexity and page count
- •Line item extraction: Processing invoice line items consumes additional credits
- •Multi-account statements: A single PDF with checking, savings, and credit card accounts may consume 3× the credits of a single-account statement
The problem: credit consumption is unpredictable. A client with multiple bank accounts will burn through your included units faster than expected, triggering overage fees that aren't obvious until you receive your bill.
Hidden Fee #3: Feature Bloat You Don't Need
Dext bundles receipt scanning, invoice processing, and bank statement extraction into one platform. This sounds convenient until you realize you're paying for features you don't use.
Bundled in Dext
- Receipt scanning (OCR)
- Vendor invoice processing
- Bank statement extraction
- Supplier statement reconciliation
- Expense management
What You Actually Need
- Receipt scanning (clients handle this)
- Vendor invoices (use accounting software)
- Bank statement conversion
- Supplier statements (niche use case)
- Expense management (QuickBooks does this)
For bookkeepers and accountants focused on month-end close and bank reconciliation, you're paying for an all-in-one platform when you only need bank statement processing. This "feature bloat" inflates costs without adding value to your specific workflow.
Hidden Fee #4: Per-Client Cost Scaling
Dext's per-client pricing model means every new client increases your monthly bill. While the per-client rate decreases with volume discounting, your total cost grows linearly with your client roster.
| Client Count | Dext Cost/Month | Per-Client Rate | Annual Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 clients | $239.19 | $23.92 | $2,870 |
| 25 clients | ~$520 | ~$20.80 | $6,240 |
| 50 clients | $848.99 | $16.98 | $10,188 |
| 100 clients | ~$1,400 | ~$14.00 | $16,800 |
The Growth Tax
As your firm grows from 10 to 100 clients, your Dext costs increase by $1,160/month ($13,920/year). This creates a "growth tax" where business development directly increases your software expenses—making profitability harder to scale.
Hidden Fee #5: No AI Transaction Categorization
Dext extracts bank statement data, but it doesn't auto-categorize transactions for QuickBooks or Xero. After paying for extraction, you still need to manually categorize every transaction before importing—or pay for additional software to handle categorization.
The Hidden Time Cost
For a client with 200 transactions per month:
- •Manual categorization: 30-45 minutes per client (200 transactions × 8-12 seconds each)
- •AI categorization: 2-3 minutes review time (95%+ auto-categorized)
- •Time saved per client: 27-42 minutes monthly
Dext's lack of AI transaction categorization means you're paying for data extraction but not workflow automation. You save time on manual data entry, but still spend significant time on categorization—reducing the ROI of the platform.
Total Cost of Ownership: A 50-Client Example
Let's calculate the true cost of Dext for a mid-size accounting firm managing 50 clients with typical bank statement processing needs:
Dext Total Cost Breakdown
The hidden fees aren't just about money—they're about time. Processing overages and manual categorization create unpredictable costs that make budget forecasting difficult and reduce profitability as you scale.
Table of Contents
Why Unlimited Flat Pricing Eliminates Hidden Fees
Predictable Costs
$79/month. Every month. No matter how many clients you add, how many statements you process, or how many documents you convert. Budget forecasting becomes trivial.
No Growth Penalty
Onboard 5 new clients? Your bill stays $79. Grow from 10 to 100 clients? Still $79. Business development doesn't trigger software cost increases.
No Overage Tracking
Process 10 statements or 1,000 statements—unlimited conversions means you never track usage, never worry about exceeding limits, never get surprise bills.
What's Included in Zera Books' $79/Month
No per-client fees. No processing overages. No hidden costs. Just complete workflow automation for one flat monthly rate.
Dext vs Zera Books: True Cost Comparison
This comparison includes base pricing, estimated overages, and the time cost of manual categorization. All costs are monthly.
| Client Count | Dext Total Cost | Zera Books Cost | Monthly Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 clients | $789 (base + overages + time) | $79 | $710/month |
| 25 clients | $1,394 (base + overages + time) | $79 | $1,315/month |
| 50 clients | $2,269 (base + overages + time) | $79 | $2,190/month |
| 100 clients | $4,180 (base + overages + time) | $79 | $4,101/month |
Why the Gap Widens at Scale
A 100-client firm saves $4,101/month ($49,212/year) with Zera Books compared to Dext's total cost of ownership. The savings come from three sources: no per-client fees, no processing overages, and AI categorization that eliminates manual work.
How One CPA Escaped Per-Client Pricing Traps
Real results from a Manager at Manning Elliott
"My clients send me all kinds of messy PDFs from different banks. This tool handles them all and saves me probably 10 hours a week that I used to spend on manual entry."
Ashish Josan
Manager, CPA at Manning Elliott
20+ clients
Managed with no per-client fees
10 hours/week
Saved on bank statement processing
$79/month
Fixed cost regardless of client growth
Ashish manages bookkeeping for 20+ small business clients at Manning Elliott. Before Zera Books, he was tracking software costs per client and worrying about processing overages. Now he pays $79/month flat and focuses on growing his client base instead of calculating software tier upgrades.
When Dext's Pricing Model Makes Sense
Despite the hidden fees, Dext works for specific scenarios where the bundled feature set aligns with workflow needs:
Receipt Scanning Is Core to Your Process
If your clients rely heavily on receipt management (restaurants, retail, field services) and you need all-in-one document processing, Dext's bundled approach reduces software stack complexity. You're paying for features you'll actually use.
You Manage Exactly 10 Clients with No Growth Plans
If you're at the 10-client minimum and don't plan to scale, Dext's base tier ($239/month) fits within a predictable budget—though you're still paying 3× more than Zera Books' $79/month.
Low Document Volume Per Client
Clients who generate minimal bank statement activity (single account, few transactions monthly) won't trigger processing overages. In this scenario, base per-client pricing represents the true cost.
When Dext Becomes Prohibitively Expensive
Firms managing 25+ clients with multiple bank accounts each will hit processing overages quickly. A client with checking, savings, and two credit cards consumes 4× the credits of a single-account client—making per-client pricing misleading.
Additionally, if you only need bank statement processing, you're paying for receipt scanning and invoice processing you don't use—feature bloat that inflates costs without adding value.
Eliminate Hidden Fees. Process Unlimited.
Zera Books offers transparent $79/month unlimited pricing with no per-client fees, no processing overages, and no feature bloat. Just complete bank reconciliation automation for one flat rate.
Try for one week