What Dext Offers Bookkeeping Firms
Dext (formerly Receipt Bank) positions itself as an all-in-one document processing platform for accountants and bookkeepers. The platform bundles multiple capabilities into a single subscription:
Receipt Scanning
Capture receipts via photo, email, or WhatsApp with 99.9% OCR accuracy
Invoice Processing
Extract line items, tax amounts, and totals from vendor invoices
Expense Management
Track mileage using GPS, manage expense claims and reimbursements
Bank Statements
Extract transactions from PDF bank statements and live bank feeds
With integrations to 11,500+ financial institutions and 30+ accounting software platforms (QuickBooks, Xero, Sage), Dext provides broad coverage for diverse document processing needs. The platform uses AI and OCR to automate data extraction across all document types.
For bookkeeping firms serving clients with complex expense workflows—restaurants tracking receipts, construction companies managing vendor invoices, or consultants needing mileage tracking—Dext's bundled approach offers comprehensive coverage.
The Feature Bloat Problem for Bank Statement Work
The challenge with Dext's all-in-one model becomes apparent when your primary workflow centers on bank statement processing rather than receipt and invoice capture.
Paying for Features You Don't Use
If 80% of your work involves converting bank statements to QuickBooks and only 20% touches receipts or invoices, you're paying Dext's full per-client fee for capabilities that sit unused.
Many bookkeeping firms focus exclusively on bank reconciliation, transaction categorization, and month-end close—workflows that don't require receipt scanning or expense management features.
This is where focused solutions for bookkeepers create value. When your workflow centers on bank statement processing:
- You need specialized bank statement OCR that handles scanned PDFs, not general-purpose receipt scanning
- You want AI transaction categorization trained specifically on accounting workflows, not expense categorization for employees
- You require multi-account auto-detection to separate checking, savings, and credit cards from single PDFs
- You need batch processing to handle 50+ bank statements at month-end without manual uploads
Feature bloat isn't about Dext lacking capabilities—it's about paying for the wrong capabilities when your workflow has different requirements. Learn more about how feature bloat impacts bookkeeping efficiency.
Dext's Per-Client Pricing vs Unlimited Model
Dext charges bookkeeping firms using a per-client pricing model that scales with your client base. Pricing ranges from approximately $12-25 per client per month depending on the plan tier (Essentials vs Advanced) and volume discounts.
Dext Pricing Breakdown
Note: Actual pricing varies based on custom quotes. Advanced tier adds $5-10/client for additional features.
Compare this to Zera Books' unlimited model: $79/month for unlimited bank statement conversions across all clients. No per-client fees, no volume tiers, no usage tracking.
The break-even point occurs at approximately 4-7 clients depending on Dext's tier. With 10 clients, you'd pay $180-250/month with Dext versus $79/month with Zera Books—a difference of $101-171/month or $1,212-2,052/year.
For detailed pricing analysis, see our Dext per-client pricing breakdown and comprehensive pricing comparison.
Multi-Client Dashboard Comparison
Both platforms recognize that bookkeeping firms need organized multi-client workflows. Here's how they compare:
Dext Client Management
- Organize documents by client account
- Client collaboration features
- Activity tracking per client
- Costs increase with every client added
Zera Books Client Management
- Organize conversions by client
- Unlimited conversion history per client
- Batch processing (50+ statements at once)
- No cost increase as client base grows
The critical difference isn't whether client management exists—both platforms offer it—but rather how pricing scales with your firm's growth. Dext's per-client model creates a direct relationship between client acquisition and software costs. Adding 10 new clients means adding $120-250/month to your Dext bill.
Zera Books removes that constraint. Add 10 clients, 50 clients, or 100 clients—your software cost remains $79/month. This pricing model better aligns with bookkeeping firm economics where client acquisition should increase revenue without proportionally increasing software overhead. Learn more about multi-client management strategies.
Workflow Efficiency: Receipts vs Bank Statements
The fundamental workflow difference between receipt processing and bank statement processing reveals why specialized tools often outperform generalized platforms.
Receipt Processing Workflow (Dext's Strength)
Client captures receipt photo via mobile app
OCR extracts merchant, amount, date, category
Bookkeeper reviews and approves expenses
Expense syncs to accounting software
Bank Statement Processing Workflow (Zera Books' Strength)
Upload 50+ bank statement PDFs in single batch
Zera AI auto-detects multiple accounts per PDF (checking, savings, credit cards)
AI categorizes all transactions for QuickBooks chart of accounts
Export pre-categorized QBO files ready for import
Receipt processing emphasizes individual document capture and approval workflows. Bank statement processing emphasizes bulk extraction, multi-account detection, and automated categorization at scale.
When your workflow centers on month-end bank reconciliation across dozens of clients, the AI transaction categorization and batch processing capabilities matter more than mobile receipt capture. Learn more about optimizing client bookkeeping workflows.
When Dext Makes Sense for Bookkeeping Firms
Despite the focus on bank statements, Dext remains the right choice for specific bookkeeping scenarios:
Small Client Base (Under 4 Clients)
With 3 clients at $20/client, you'd pay $60/month—less than Zera Books' $79 flat fee. Dext's per-client model works financially at small scale.
Receipt-Heavy Client Mix
Restaurants, retail businesses, and service contractors generate significant receipt volume. If 50%+ of your work involves receipt capture and expense tracking, Dext's bundled features deliver value.
Diverse Document Processing Needs
Clients requiring vendor invoice extraction, mileage tracking, and expense management alongside bank statements benefit from Dext's comprehensive document coverage.
Direct Bank Feed Priority
Dext's integration with 11,500+ banks allows direct transaction feeds. If your workflow relies heavily on live bank feeds rather than PDF statements, Dext's infrastructure provides broader coverage.
The key is honest workflow assessment. If these scenarios match your practice, Dext's bundled features and per-client pricing can make economic sense despite higher costs at scale.
When Zera Books Wins for Bookkeeping Workflows
Zera Books optimizes for the specific workflow pattern where bookkeeping firms process bank statements at volume:
Zera Books Workflow Advantages
Unlimited Scale Economics
Process 10 clients or 100 clients for the same $79/month. Software costs don't increase as your firm grows.
Bank Statement Specialization
Zera AI trained on 2.8M+ bank statements handles any format dynamically. No template training required.
Multi-Account Auto-Detection
Automatically separates checking, savings, and credit cards from single PDF. Eliminates manual splitting.
AI Transaction Categorization
Pre-categorize transactions for QuickBooks/Xero using AI trained on 847M+ real transactions. 95%+ auto-match rate.
Batch Processing Power
Upload 50+ statements at once during month-end close. Process entire client portfolio simultaneously.
Scanned PDF Excellence
Zera OCR handles image-based statements, blurry scans, and poor-quality PDFs with 95%+ accuracy.
The math becomes compelling quickly. A firm with 15 clients doing monthly bank reconciliation would pay approximately $225-375/month with Dext versus $79/month with Zera Books. That's $146-296/month saved—$1,752-3,552/year.
Beyond cost, workflow efficiency matters. Batch processing 50 statements with multi-account detection and AI categorization reduces month-end close from days to hours. That time savings translates to capacity for additional clients without proportional software cost increases.
For bookkeeping firms where 70%+ of document processing involves bank statements rather than receipts, Zera Books' focused approach eliminates feature bloat while dramatically reducing per-client costs. See how this applies to bank reconciliation workflows.
Cost Comparison: Real Bookkeeping Firm Scenarios
Let's examine actual cost scenarios for bookkeeping firms at different scales:
| Firm Size | Dext (Est.) | Zera Books | Annual Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 clients | $100/mo | $79/mo | $252/year |
| 10 clients | $180/mo | $79/mo | $1,212/year |
| 20 clients | $300/mo | $79/mo | $2,652/year |
| 30 clients | $420/mo | $79/mo | $4,092/year |
| 50 clients | $600/mo | $79/mo | $6,252/year |
These calculations assume Dext Essentials tier with volume discounts. Advanced tier pricing would increase costs by $5-10 per client, widening the gap further.
ROI Beyond Software Costs
Time savings from AI categorization and batch processing create additional ROI. If Zera Books saves 30 minutes per client per month through automation:
- 20 clients × 30 min = 10 hours/month recovered
- At $75/hour billing rate = $750/month value created
- Combined with $221/month software savings = $971/month total value
The comparison extends beyond simple subscription costs to encompass workflow efficiency, scale economics, and growth potential without proportional software overhead increases.
