Receipt Bank vs Zera Books: Bank Statement Focus
Receipt Bank (now Dext) was built to scan receipts and invoices. Zera Books was built specifically to convert bank statements. When you need bank statement automation, platform specialization matters.
If your primary workflow is monthly bank statement conversions for bookkeeping, a receipt-focused tool won't have the depth you need.
Platform Specialization
Receipt and invoice capture platform. Bank statements added as secondary feature after core product was established.
Bank statement conversion platform. Zera AI trained on 2.8M+ bank statements specifically for accounting workflows.
Why Platform Specialization Matters
Receipt Bank (now Dext) was founded in 2010 as a mobile receipt capture app. The platform was designed to help accountants photograph receipts, extract vendor names and amounts, and push data to QuickBooks and Xero. Bank statement processing was added years later as a secondary feature.
Zera Books was built specifically for bank statement automation. The platform was designed from day one to handle the unique challenges of bank statement conversion: multi-account detection, transaction categorization, reconciliation workflows, and handling any bank format without template training.
If your primary workflow is monthly bank reconciliation for multiple clients, the difference between a receipt-focused tool and a bank-statement-focused tool becomes clear within the first week.
The Core Question
If you're doing monthly bank reconciliation for 10+ clients, do you want a tool that specializes in bank statements, or a tool that treats bank statements as an add-on feature to receipt capture?
Bank Statement Features You Won't Find in Receipt Bank
Specialized bank statement tools have features receipt platforms don't prioritize.
Multi-Account Auto-Detection
Zera AI detects checking, savings, and credit card accounts in a single PDF and creates separate Excel files automatically. Receipt Bank requires manual splitting.
Transaction Categorization
Zera Books automatically maps transactions to QuickBooks/Xero categories (Income, Expense, COGS). Receipt Bank focuses on receipt vendor matching.
Bank Format Adaptability
Zera AI dynamically processes any bank format without templates. Receipt Bank supports major banks but struggles with regional credit unions.
Reconciliation Workflow
Zera Books includes duplicate detection, fuzzy matching, and transaction linking for reconciliation. Receipt Bank is designed for expense capture, not reconciliation.
Batch Processing Speed
Upload 50 bank statements simultaneously during month-end close. Receipt Bank processes receipts quickly but was not built for bulk statement processing.
Scanned Statement OCR
Zera OCR trained on scanned bank statements, not receipts. Handles blurry PDFs, skewed images, and poor-quality scans with 95%+ accuracy.
Bank Statement Workflow: Receipt Bank vs Zera Books
Compare the actual steps to process a multi-account bank statement.
Receipt Bank (Dext) Workflow
Upload bank statement PDF to Dext
1 minWait for OCR processing
2-3 minManually identify account boundaries (checking, savings, credit card)
5-8 minExport each account separately
3-5 minManually categorize transactions in Excel/QuickBooks
15-20 minImport to accounting software
2-3 minZera Books Workflow
Upload bank statement PDF to Zera Books
1 minZera AI auto-detects all accounts, categorizes transactions
2-3 minDownload organized Excel (separate tabs per account, AI-categorized)
1 minQuick review of categorizations
3-5 minImport to QuickBooks/Xero
2 min
"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
Pricing at Scale
Receipt Bank (Dext) charges per-client. Zera Books charges flat.
| Client Count | Receipt Bank (Dext) | Zera Books | Monthly Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 clients | $234.99/month | $79/month | $155.99 |
| 20 clients | $460-520/month | $79/month | $381-441 |
| 30 clients | $690-780/month | $79/month | $611-701 |
| 50 clients | $1,150-1,300/month | $79/month | $1,071-1,221 |
At 50 clients, Receipt Bank (Dext) costs $1,071-1,221 more per month than Zera Books. That's $12,852-14,652 per year in software savings alone.
When Each Platform Makes Sense
Use Receipt Bank (Dext) If:
Use Zera Books If:
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Receipt Bank (Dext) convert bank statements?
Yes, Receipt Bank (now Dext) added bank statement conversion as a feature. However, the platform was designed for receipt capture, and bank statement functionality is limited compared to specialized tools. You won't get multi-account auto-detection, AI transaction categorization, or the same level of bank format coverage.
Does Zera Books process receipts and invoices?
Zera Books processes invoices (line item extraction, vendor info, totals) but is optimized for bank statements, financial statements, and checks. If receipts are your primary document type, Receipt Bank/Dext may be better. If bank statements are primary, Zera Books is the better choice.
How much time does multi-account auto-detection save?
For a bank statement with 3 accounts (checking, savings, credit card) and 100+ transactions, manually splitting accounts takes 30-45 minutes. With Zera Books multi-account auto-detection, you get organized Excel files in 2-3 minutes. That's 25-40 minutes saved per multi-account statement.
Why does platform specialization matter for bank statements?
Bank statements have unique challenges: varying formats across 1,000+ banks, multi-account structures, reconciliation workflows, and transaction categorization needs. A platform built specifically for bank statements (like Zera Books) has deeper feature development than a platform where bank statements are a secondary add-on.
Can I use both tools together?
Yes. Many accounting firms use Receipt Bank/Dext for receipt capture and Zera Books for bank statement conversion. This gives you specialized tools for each document type without paying for overlapping features you don't need.
Compare Other Receipt & Invoice Tools
See how Zera Books compares to other document processing platforms.
Ready for a Bank Statement-Specialized Platform?
$79/month unlimited bank statement conversions. Multi-account auto-detection, AI categorization, and batch processing built for monthly reconciliation workflows.