Receipt Bank vs Zera Books for Small Business: Receipt Scanning vs Bank Statement Focus
Receipt Bank (now Dext) was built for photographing receipts. Zera Books was built for converting bank statements. Most small businesses track expenses through bank statements—not receipt photos. Compare which approach fits your bookkeeping workflow.
The Receipt-First vs Bank Statement-First Divide
Receipt Bank—now rebranded as Dext—pioneered the receipt scanning approach: snap a photo, OCR extracts data, expense gets logged. It works great for companies with traveling employees submitting expense reports. But here's what most small business owners discover: they already track expenses through their bank statements.
When you pay for office supplies with your business debit card, that transaction appears on your bank statement. When you pay a vendor, it shows up on your statement. The receipt becomes backup documentation—not the primary record. Yet Receipt Bank charges for receipt-scanning infrastructure most small businesses never fully utilize.
Two Different Approaches to Bookkeeping
Receipt Bank Approach
- Photograph every receipt
- OCR extracts vendor/amount
- Manual categorization or learning rules
- Match receipts to bank transactions
Best for: Expense reimbursement workflows
Zera Books Approach
- Upload bank statement PDF
- Zera AI extracts all transactions
- AI auto-categorizes for QuickBooks
- Direct import to accounting software
Best for: Bank reconciliation workflows
Zera Books focuses on what small business owners actually do: download bank statements, convert to Excel, categorize transactions, import to QuickBooks. $79/month flat, unlimited conversions, no per-user fees, no receipt-scanning features you won't use.
Receipt Bank vs Zera Books: Feature Comparison for Small Business
See which features actually matter for small business bookkeeping
| Feature | Receipt Bank (Dext) | Zera Books | Small Business Need? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank Statement Processing | |||
| AI Transaction Categorization | |||
| QuickBooks/Xero Integration | |||
| Multi-Account Auto-Detection | |||
| Invoice Processing | |||
| Financial Statement Extraction | |||
| Receipt Scanning Mobile App | |||
| Email Receipt Forwarding | |||
| Expense Approval Workflows | |||
| Receipt-to-Transaction Matching | |||
| Monthly Cost | $24-50+ per user | $79 flat | Unlimited users |
Key insight: Green highlighted features are what small businesses use daily. Gray highlighted features (receipt scanning, email forwarding, approval workflows) are designed for corporate expense management—most small business owners handle these scenarios via bank statements.
Why Small Businesses Don't Need Receipt Scanning
Receipt Bank was built for a specific problem: employees photographing receipts for expense reimbursement. But most small businesses operate differently—the owner or one bookkeeper handles all finances, and expenses flow through bank accounts.
Receipt Scanning Workflow
- Employee photographs receipt with mobile app
- Receipt data extracted via OCR
- Expense submitted for approval
- Manager approves expense
- Accountant matches to bank transaction
- Transaction categorized and posted
Bank Statement Workflow
- Download bank statement PDF
- Upload to Zera Books
- AI extracts and categorizes transactions
- Review and export to QuickBooks
Receipts Are Backup
Most accountants want receipts for IRS documentation—not as the primary expense record. Bank statements capture the authoritative transaction data.
Cards Capture Everything
When you pay with a debit or credit card, the transaction appears on your statement. Photographing the receipt is duplicate data entry.
Owner-Operated Reality
Small businesses typically have 1-3 people handling finances. You don't need approval workflows when you're approving your own purchases.
The Zera Books Approach for Small Business
Instead of building around receipt scanning, Zera Books focuses on bank statement processing—the actual source of truth for small business finances. Upload your statement, Zera AI extracts every transaction, categorizes for QuickBooks, and exports clean data ready for import.
Result: $79/month flat for unlimited processing. No receipt apps. No approval chains. Just the workflow small businesses actually use.
How Accounting Professionals Handle Small Business Clients
See how a CPA processes bank statements for multiple small business clients
"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
The Challenge
Ashish handles bookkeeping for multiple small business clients across different industries—retail, professional services, hospitality. Every client has different banks, different statement formats. Manual data entry from bank statements consumed 2-3 hours per client per month.
Why Not Receipt Bank?
His small business clients don't have employees submitting expense reports—the owners make purchases directly. Receipt scanning would be duplicate work since all transactions appear on bank statements. The per-user pricing model would add cost for each client added.
The Result with Zera Books
Processing time dropped from 2-3 hours to 15-20 minutes per client. Upload statement, download categorized transactions, import to QuickBooks. The AI handles different bank formats without any template training required.
10 hrs
saved weekly
20+
small business clients
$79
flat monthly
Receipt Bank vs Zera Books Pricing for Small Business
Receipt Bank (Dext) uses per-user pricing that scales as you add team members or accountant access. Compare to Zera Books flat $79/month unlimited model.
Receipt Bank (Dext)
Per-user pricing + receipt features
Includes: Receipt scanning, email forwarding, approval workflows you may not use
Zera Books
Flat rate, unlimited users
Small business with accountant
Save $50-100+/month vs Receipt Bank
The Small Business Cost Reality
A typical small business needs: the owner, maybe a bookkeeper, and their accountant to access financial tools. With Receipt Bank, that's 3 users at $90-150/month—plus you're paying for receipt features designed for corporate expense management.
$79/mo
All users included
Unlimited
Bank statement conversions
4 types
Documents supported
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Receipt Bank or Zera Books better for small business bookkeeping?
For most small businesses, Zera Books is the better choice. Receipt Bank was built for photographing receipts and expense management workflows—features that small business owners rarely need when they track expenses through bank statements. Zera Books provides bank statement processing with AI categorization at $79/month flat, without per-user fees.
What happened to Receipt Bank?
Receipt Bank was acquired and rebranded as Dext in 2021. The core functionality remains similar—receipt scanning, expense capture, and document management for accountants. If you're a small business owner searching for Receipt Bank alternatives for bank statement processing, Zera Books is purpose-built for that workflow.
Does Zera Books work with QuickBooks for small businesses?
Yes. Zera Books has direct QuickBooks Online and Xero integration. You can export categorized transactions with AI-assigned categories that match your chart of accounts. The output formats are pre-formatted for error-free import—no manual column mapping required.
What if my small business needs receipt scanning?
If you have employees submitting expenses for reimbursement, Receipt Bank (Dext) may be the right choice. However, most owner-operated small businesses track expenses through bank statements—receipts are stored for audit purposes, not processed as primary records. Consider whether you actually use receipt capture daily or just think you might need it.
Can I switch from Receipt Bank to Zera Books?
Yes. Many small businesses switch when they realize receipt scanning isn't their primary workflow. Zera Books handles bank statements, financial statements, invoices, and checks with AI categorization. You can start with a one-week trial to see if it fits your workflow.
What document types can Zera Books process for small businesses?
Zera Books processes four document types: bank statements (any bank format), financial statements (income statements, balance sheets), invoices (vendor invoices with line items), and checks. Receipt Bank focuses primarily on receipts and invoices. Zera Books covers the complete financial document processing needs of small businesses.
Related Receipt Bank vs Zera Books Comparisons
Explore more in-depth comparisons on specific features
Pricing Comparison
Deep dive into Receipt Bank vs Zera Books pricing models and total cost of ownership.
Read comparisonBank Statement Focus
Compare receipt-centric vs bank statement-specialized approaches for accounting.
Read comparisonFor CPAs
Compare Receipt Bank vs Zera Books for CPA firms managing multiple clients.
Read comparisonBest Bank Statement Tools
Compare all bank statement conversion tools and find the best fit.
View guideAll Alternatives
Explore all Receipt Bank alternatives and detailed comparisons.
Browse allFor Bookkeepers
See how Zera Books serves professional bookkeepers.
Learn moreBank Statement Processing Built for Small Business
Stop paying for receipt scanning features you don't use. Get unlimited bank statement processing, AI categorization, and QuickBooks integration for $79/month flat.
Try for one weekNo receipt apps. No expense approval chains. Just bank statement processing.
$79/mo
Flat rate, no per-user fees
4
Document types supported
99.6%
Extraction accuracy