Dext (formerly Receipt Bank) stands as the definitive pre-accounting platform for UK businesses navigating the complexities of Making Tax Digital (MTD) compliance, expense management, and real-time financial data capture. In the 2025-2026 fiscal landscape, where HMRC's MTD for Income Tax Self Assessment (ITSA) looms and regulatory scrutiny intensifies, Dext has evolved beyond simple receipt scanning into a comprehensive "financial nervous system" that aggregates cost data, sales data, and bank feeds into a single source of truth before pushing it to the general ledger. Having processed over 1 billion documents and serving as the backbone for thousands of UK accountancy practices, Dext combines market-leading OCR accuracy (99%+), line-item extraction capabilities, and deep integration with UK-specific accounting platforms (Xero, Sage 50, QuickBooks Online, FreeAgent) to eliminate manual data entry whilst maintaining audit-ready digital archives that exceed HMRC's 6-year retention requirement.
Key Features
Dext's ecosystem comprises four integrated modules designed to handle every aspect of pre-accounting for UK businesses:
1. Dext Prepare: Universal Data Capture Engine
The foundational platform that replaces the physical in-tray and manual data entry clerk. Dext Prepare captures, extracts, and categorises financial documents through multiple ingress points optimised for real-world UK business workflows.
- **Mobile Application** with Single, Multiple (up to 50 receipts in rapid succession), and Combine modes for long UK supermarket/hardware store receipts
- **Dedicated Email-In** addresses for automatic invoice processing, with smart parsing to avoid email body/attachment duplication
- **Invoice Fetch** automated retrieval from 1000+ UK suppliers (British Gas, BT, Vodafone) with scheduled polling of supplier portals
2. AI-Powered OCR with 99%+ Accuracy
Unlike generic OCR, Dext's proprietary extraction engine utilises machine learning trained on 320 million documents annually to understand document context and UK-specific formats.
- **Semantic Parsing** identifies supplier name, date, total, VAT amount, invoice number, and currency with confidence scoring
- **Line Item Extraction** (premium feature) parses tabular invoice data for project-level cost allocation and mixed-rate VAT scenarios
- **Handwriting Recognition** for taxi receipts and tradesperson carbon copy pads, with automatic flagging of low-confidence fields for human review
3. UK Tax Compliance Arsenal
Dext is architected specifically for UK tax complexity, with features that generic expense tools cannot match:
- **Domestic Reverse Charge (DRC)** toggle for construction CIS subcontractors, ensuring T21 tax codes for Sage VAT returns
- **MTD ITSA Ready** with Dext Solo providing quarterly update submission directly to HMRC API for sole traders and landlords (April 2026 mandate)
Ease of Use
Dext balances power with accessibility through a hierarchy of automation. Initial setup requires configuring integrations (Xero OAuth2 authentication or Sage 50 Connect bridge installation) and establishing Supplier Rules—"Always categorise Adobe Creative Cloud as IT Software at Standard VAT." However, once these rules are embedded, the system achieves true "lights-out" processing. Auto-Publish can be enabled for trusted recurring expenses (monthly leases, subscriptions), allowing documents to flow from capture to published transaction without human intervention. The mobile app's edge detection and crop features work reliably, though users in low-signal areas (rural construction sites, basements) benefit from the background upload queue. The main friction points are external: Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) on supplier portals frequently breaks Invoice Fetch connections, requiring manual re-authentication—a challenge industry-wide, not unique to Dext. For accountancy practices, the unified dashboard provides multi-entity oversight, allowing senior staff to monitor the "Inbox" status of dozens of clients from a single screen, dramatically reducing the "chasing clients for paperwork" burden.
Pricing
Dext employs a tiered pricing model for direct business customers, with separate structures for accountancy partner bundles. All prices exclude VAT:
- Business (Essentials): £24.17/month. Core OCR, storage, Xero/QBO/Sage integration. Limited to 5 users. No line-item extraction. Suitable for micro-entities with straightforward expense volumes.
- Business Plus: £35-£45/month. Adds expense reports, **Line Item Extraction**, Auto-Publish, and supports up to 30 users. Ideal for VAT-registered SMEs requiring detailed cost allocation.
- Premium: £60+/month. Unlimited users, priority support, advanced insights. For mid-market organisations with high document volumes.
ROI for UK SMEs derives from labour savings: manual data entry processes 40 invoices/hour at £25/hour labour cost (£0.62/invoice); Dext processing achieves 200+ invoices/hour reviewing auto-extracted data (<£0.15/invoice). A construction firm case study reported saving 10+ hours/month on administrative work, achieving ROI within the first month.
Pros
- 99%+ OCR Accuracy with UK Tax Intelligence: Market-leading extraction trained on UK document formats, with specific handling for Domestic Reverse Charge, mixed VAT rates, and Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) nuances that generic tools miss.
- Comprehensive MTD Compliance: Dext Solo provides a complete solution for the looming April 2026 MTD ITSA mandate, whilst Prepare/Precision ensure VAT-registered businesses maintain digital records exceeding HMRC's 6-year retention requirement with full audit trails.
- Deep UK Accounting Platform Integration: Image sync to Xero transactions, Sage 50 Domestic Reverse Charge flag support, QuickBooks billable expenses, FreeAgent project tagging—integrations go beyond generic API connections to handle UK-specific workflows.
Cons
- Invoice Fetch Fragility: Automated supplier portal retrieval frequently breaks when suppliers implement 2FA, requiring manual re-authentication. Whilst not unique to Dext (industry-wide Open Banking / portal scraping challenge), it undermines the "set and forget" promise.
- Credit Economy Complexity: Accountancy partner plans utilise a "Credit" system for advanced features (Line Item Extraction, Bank Statement Extraction). Base allowances can be consumed rapidly by complex documents, leading to overage charges that are difficult to forecast.
Final Verdict
Dext remains the **essential operational infrastructure** for VAT-registered UK SMEs and accountancy practices managing complex tax scenarios. Its dominance is rooted not in flashy features but in the unglamorous necessity of **UK tax compliance**—Domestic Reverse Charge for construction, mixed-rate VAT for hospitality, MTD ITSA for sole traders, and audit-trail requirements for HMRC investigations. The platform's 99%+ OCR accuracy, line-item extraction, and deep integration with Xero/Sage/QuickBooks eliminate 75%+ of manual data entry labour whilst ensuring digital records meet or exceed statutory requirements. For **micro-entities below the VAT threshold** with simple expense volumes, free Hubdoc may suffice. However, for any business with project-level cost tracking needs, multiple VAT rates, or looming MTD ITSA obligations, Dext transitions from "useful tool" to "operational necessity." The ROI calculation is straightforward: construction firms save 10+ hours/month on CIS and material tracking; hospitality groups identify £2,000+ in unclaimed VAT annually; accountants reduce month-end closing time by 3 days per client. Dext Precision's Health Score and Flows transform reactive bookkeeping into proactive data quality management, allowing practices to scale client portfolios without proportional staff increases. Weaknesses—Invoice Fetch fragility, Credit economy complexity, limited weekend support—are real but not disqualifying. The **strategic recommendation for 2026** is clear: VAT-registered businesses and those preparing for MTD ITSA should budget Dext as a compliance expense, not an optional efficiency gain. For landlords and sole traders, begin piloting **Dext Solo immediately**—the April 2026 deadline requires 12-18 months to embed the behavioral shift from "shoebox" to "digital."
Recommended Tools
4.8 / 5
Bebop AI
"Your reports shouldn't take longer than your morning coffee."
$49/month
14-day trial
Affiliate Disclosure
4.8 / 5
Lindy
"The personal assistant that actually listens."
$59/month
7-day trial
Affiliate Disclosure
4.7 / 5
Apollo.io
"Find your next whale without leaving your desk."
$65/month
14-day trial
Affiliate Disclosure