Dext vs Zera Books for CPAs: Per-User Fees vs Flat Rate
Dext charges $35-50 per user for receipt and expense management. Zera Books offers unlimited bank statement processing at $79/month flat. For CPAs managing client bookkeeping, here's which actually saves time and money.
As a CPA, your time is your most valuable asset. Every hour spent on manual data entry is an hour not spent on advisory work, tax strategy, or growing your practice. The right document processing tool can recover 10+ hours per week—but choosing the wrong one costs you both money and productivity.
This comparison examines two fundamentally different approaches to accounting automation:
Dext
Receipt capture and expense management platform. Per-user pricing model ($35-50/user/month). Primary focus on employee expenses and supplier invoices.
Zera Books
Bank statement and financial document processing platform. Flat rate ($79/month unlimited). AI-powered categorization for QuickBooks/Xero.
The core question: Do you need receipt scanning for employee expenses, or do you need bank statement processing for client reconciliation? Most CPAs doing external bookkeeping need the latter—but are paying for the former.
What CPAs Actually Do: Bank Statements, Not Receipts
Let's be honest about CPA workflows. When you're doing client bookkeeping, what documents consume 80% of your processing time?
Typical CPA Monthly Client Workflow
Bank Statement Processing
60-70% of timeClients send PDF bank statements. You extract transactions, categorize them, import to QuickBooks/Xero. This is the core of client bookkeeping.
Invoice Processing
15-20% of timeExtract vendor invoices for accounts payable. Line items, totals, tax amounts.
Receipt Processing
5-10% of timeMost small business clients don't send you 50 receipts monthly. They send bank statements. Receipt scanning is for corporate expense reimbursement—not external CPA bookkeeping.
The Workflow Mismatch
Dext was built for corporate accounting teams managing employee expenses. Zera Books was built for CPAs and accountants processing client bank statements. When you're doing external bookkeeping, you need bank statement automation—not receipt scanners your clients will never use.
Per-User vs Flat Rate: CPA Firm Cost Analysis
Dext's per-user pricing creates a tax on growth. Every new team member adds $35-50/month. Zera Books' flat rate means you can scale your team without scaling your software costs.
| CPA Firm Size | Dext Monthly | Zera Books Monthly | Annual Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
Solo Practitioner 1 CPA | $35-50/month | $79/month | -$348/year* |
Small Practice 2-3 CPAs | $70-150/month | $79/month | +$0-852/year |
Mid-Size Firm 5 CPAs + staff | $175-250/month | $79/month | +$1,152-2,052/year |
Growing Firm 10+ team members | $350-500/month | $79/month | +$3,252-5,052/year |
* Solo practitioners may pay less with Dext's entry tier, but Zera Books includes AI categorization, multi-account detection, and unlimited clients that Dext charges extra for.
What's Included in Zera Books $79/Month
Feature Comparison: What CPAs Actually Need
Side-by-side comparison of features relevant to CPA client bookkeeping workflows
| CPA Workflow Feature | Dext | Zera Books |
|---|---|---|
Bank Statement Processing Core CPA bookkeeping task | Limited | Primary focus |
AI Transaction Categorization Auto-map to chart of accounts | ||
Multi-Account Detection Checking + savings in one PDF | ||
Financial Statement Extraction P&L, balance sheet, cash flow | ||
Check Processing MICR line, payee extraction | ||
Invoice Processing Vendor invoices, line items | ||
Client Management Dashboard Organize by client | ||
QuickBooks/Xero Integration Direct API export | ||
Receipt Scanning (Mobile) Employee expense capture | Primary focus | Not needed |
Expense Approval Workflows Multi-level approvals | Not needed | |
| Monthly Cost (5-person firm) | $175-250 | $79 |
Key insight: Dext's strength (receipt scanning) is rarely used in CPA client bookkeeping. Zera Books' strengths (bank statements, multi-account detection, financial statements) are used daily.
Real CPA Perspective: Bank Statements Over Receipts
How a CPA firm manager prioritizes workflow efficiency
"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."
Ashish Josan
Manager, CPA at Manning Elliott
The CPA Reality
As a Manager at a CPA firm, Ashish oversees bookkeeping for multiple small business clients. The challenge isn't scanning receipts—it's processing the PDF bank statements that clients email every month from different banks with different formats.
What Mattered
Receipt scanning would require clients to change their behavior—photographing expenses, using mobile apps. Bank statement processing works with how clients already operate: download PDF from bank, email to accountant.
The Result
10 hours per week recovered. Time that used to go into manual transcription now goes toward advisory work and taking on additional clients. The firm can scale without scaling manual labor.
When to Choose Dext vs Zera Books
Both tools serve valid use cases. Here's an honest assessment of when each makes sense for CPA workflows.
Choose Dext When
- You manage corporate expense reimbursements with multi-level approvals
- Clients have 50+ employee receipts per month requiring mobile capture
- You're a solo practitioner and $35/month entry tier works
- Internal corporate accounting (not external client bookkeeping)
Choose Zera Books When
- You process bank statements for external clients (core CPA bookkeeping)
- You have 2+ team members (flat rate beats per-user fees)
- Clients send statements from various banks in different formats
- You need AI categorization for QuickBooks/Xero reconciliation
- You want to scale without scaling software costs
The 80/20 Rule for CPAs
80% of CPA client bookkeeping work involves processing bank statements. 20% (or less) involves employee receipts. When you pay for Dext's receipt-focused platform, you're paying premium prices for features most clients never use. Zera Books focuses on the 80% that matters.
Common Questions from CPAs
What is the main difference between Dext and Zera Books for CPAs?
Dext focuses on receipt scanning and expense management with per-user pricing ($35-50/user/month). Zera Books focuses on bank statement processing with AI categorization at a flat $79/month unlimited rate. For CPAs doing client bookkeeping, Zera Books offers better value since bank statements are the primary workflow, not employee receipts.
How does Dext pricing compare to Zera Books for a 5-person CPA firm?
A 5-person CPA firm would pay $175-250/month with Dext (5 users x $35-50). With Zera Books, the same firm pays $79/month flat regardless of team size. That's annual savings of $1,152-2,052 per year, plus no per-client or per-page fees.
Does Zera Books process bank statements from any bank?
Yes. Zera AI is trained on millions of financial documents and dynamically processes any bank statement format without templates. This includes all major US banks (Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, etc.), regional banks, credit unions, and international institutions.
Can Zera Books handle multiple document types beyond bank statements?
Yes. Zera Books processes four document types: bank statements, financial statements (income statements, balance sheets, cash flow), invoices (with line item extraction), and checks. This is a key advantage over Dext, which focuses primarily on receipts and expense documents.
Which tool has better QuickBooks integration for CPAs?
Both integrate with QuickBooks, but Zera Books provides direct API integration with AI-powered auto-categorization that maps transactions to your chart of accounts. Transactions are pre-formatted and categorized before import, reducing manual work significantly.
Focus on Bank Statements. Stop Paying for Receipt Scanners.
CPAs process bank statements, not employee receipts. Get unlimited conversions, AI categorization, and direct QuickBooks integration for $79/month flat—no per-user fees.
No per-user fees. No per-page fees. Just $79/month unlimited.