Accounting Software

Top 4 Dext Alternatives

by Envoice
9 min read

With over a million customers, Dext, formerly Receipt Bank, is among the best-known tools for managing expenses. Dext streamlines and automates the pre-accounting process, reducing time spent on month-end or year-end close – at least, in theory. 

While many users find Dext to be just the tool they need to speed up bank reconciliation and bookkeeping, it’s not always the case. Smaller companies and accounting providers working with multiple clients now find the cost prohibitive.

Substantial Price Increase

Cost reduction is still the top priority for 51% of CFOs in the next 12 months – no wonder many companies are rethinking renewing their Dext subscription after the substantial price increase in 2023. 

Dext discontinued the unlimited subscription. Now, users can choose between two sets of subscriptions – one for accounting or bookkeeping firms and another for small to medium businesses. 

Accounting or Bookkeeping Firms have two plans:

  • Dext Essentials – $229.99 per month billed monthly and $199.99 per month billed annually
  • Dext Advanced – $247.23 per month billed monthly and $214.99 per month billed annually

Pricing for Small to Medium Businesses subscriptions varies depending on the number of users. Here’s a sample plan  from Dext

  • Up to 5 users, 250 documents per month – $30 per month billed monthly and $24 per month billed annually. This is also the minimum subscription fee in the SMB price range.
  • Up to 10 users, 500 documents per month – $57.5 per month billed monthly and $46.5 per month billed annually

Users also have the option to build their own plan but there is a minimum subscription fee of $30 /$24 per month. At this price point, small businesses and individuals may find the tool to be too expensive.

Following the substantial price hike, firms and businesses have begun exploring Dext alternatives, offering similar features at more affordable prices.

Inadequate Tools

Apart from pricing concerns, power users may find Dext’s automated data extraction capabilities lacking. While generally reliable, the software sometimes struggles with extracting information from invoices, such as vendor names and amounts, particularly when dealing with multiple currencies. Manual edits are often necessary, consuming valuable time, especially for companies handling numerous invoices.

Poor Customer Support 

If customer support is a deal breaker for you, Dext may not be the best software to consider. Many report dissatisfaction with the level of support provided, citing it as a major drawback. 

While Dext continues to be one of the best expense management tools in the market today, you have other options. Consider these software solutions if you’re in the market for Dext Alternatives with similar features at a fraction of the price.

1. Envoice

Screenshot of the Envoice website homepage
Source: Envoice

Envoice Main Features

Like Dext, Envoice is a tool designed for two consumer groups – bookkeeping and accounting firms looking for an easier but affordable way to speed up closing, and small to medium businesses looking to make the accounting process more efficient.

Eliminate Human Error: Envoice uses optical character recognition to extract data from invoices. With this technology, the software could automatically take information from a PDF or an image and auto-populate fields. Less time spent entering data manually speeds up processing while reducing mistakes.

Share Workspaces With Teams or Customers: With Envoice, you can make collaboration easier within your company or with your clients. Everyone can be on the same page on the status of an invoice through the centralized platform for managing expenses. Changes within the app leave a clear audit trail, making it easier to track historical data if needed.

Manage Invoices in One Place: Using one location for storing all invoices reduces time wasted hunting for emails with attachments or going after clients and employees for invoices related to a line item on their credit card statements or bank statements. Since you can see all invoices in one place, you can stay on track of all expenses, create accurate forecasts, and provide a status update to vendors, clients, or team members requesting information.

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Approve Invoices Faster: Envoice provides an easy way for companies to approve invoices uploaded into the software. Users can use the tool to approve invoices, request additional changes, and keep a record of all discussions related to the invoice. You can customize rules to automate approvals, assign approvers and sub-approvers, and make changes needed to match your company’s expense policy. 

Price

Pricing starts at $7 per company monthly for the Essential Plan and $14 for the Business Plan. 

The price for both plans includes 30 free documents per month. Additional documents cost $0.15. 

Why Choose Envoice over Dext?

Envoice has data extraction features that are similar to Dext, but this tool goes beyond simple expense reporting and management. With Envoice, you have financial management software that automates several aspects of the invoice processing workflow. Envoice integrates with popular accounting software like Quickbooks Online, Xero, and Microsoft Dynamics – allowing you to push extracted data within the software directly into your accounting software. 

You’re not just saving time from automated data extraction; you can also reduce time spent on the financial management process by reducing manual data entry and duplicative work. Plus, the clean user interface makes navigation easy within the platform.

2. Hubdoc

Screenshot of the Hubdoc website homepage
Source: Hubdoc

Hubdoc Main Features

Thanks to these key features, Hubdoc makes it to the number two spot of Dext Prepare alternatives.

Auto-fetch Bills: Hubdoc has an auto-fetch function, making it easier to collate and extract data from bills, receipts, and bank statements. With this feature, you can automatically transmit receipts, bills, and bank statements from online vendors, utility companies, telecom providers, and financial institutions to your Hubdoc account.

Extract Key Data Automatically: Like Dext, Hubdoc uses OCR to extract information like date, invoice amount, vendor name, and description from the invoice.

Organize Data With Ease: Hubdoc makes it easier for accountants and their clients to stay organized. The system sorts invoices by vendor and automatically creates folders, reducing time wasted categorizing invoices manually.

Price

Hubdoc charges $12 per month per client.

Cons of Hubdoc

  • Some users report issues with the auto-fetch function that randomly stops for some partners and vendors.
  • Issues adding the right currency into the system, especially when businesses work with multiple currencies 

Why Choose Hubdoc over Dext?

If you’re struggling with time spent manually fetching bills and financial documents from various billers each month, Hubdoc may be a better choice. Auto-fetch could save you hours of manual work if the billers you’re working with are Hubdoc partners.

Like other alternatives to Dext Prepare, Hubdoc has a lower price point at only $12 per month.

3. Bill

Screenshot of the Bill website homepage
Source: Bill

Bill Main Features

Improve Enforcement of Company Policies: Bill has customizable controls that users can set up to align with company expense policies. Using a system with built-in controls that automatically flag out-of-policy transactions aids in reducing policy violations and providing clear explanations when expenses exceed allowable thresholds. 

Monitor Budgets: One of Bill’s biggest selling points is helping you stay on track with budgets. You can match current expenses with multiple budgets, making it easier to understand how your business is doing and how it compares to expected expenses for the period.

Reduce Fraud Risks: With Bill, you can connect your account with virtual credit cards for one-time and recurring subscriptions. Virtual cards make it easier to track every spend while reducing the risk of fraud for your business.

Price

Bill.com starts at $45 per user per month for the Essentials subscription and $55 for each user per month for the Team subscription.

Cons of Bill

  • Limited integration with popular accounting systems, including MS Dynamics Business Central and Quickbooks Desktop
  • Some users feel that the budget management feature needs improvement to be easier to navigate and customize

Why Choose Bill over Dext?

Larger companies looking for more automation and reducing manual work may find Bill.com to be worth considering. Compared to Dext, Bill appears to have more advanced features that are better suited to larger organizations looking to boost productivity while saving time.

4. Zoho

Screenshot of the Zoho website homepage
Source: Zoho Expense

Zoho Expense Main Features

With Zoho Expense, users can do the following:

Scalable System: With Zoho’s custom plans, users can create a subscription plan that fits their needs. Since subscriptions start with a free plan, small businesses and entrepreneurs can use the tool at any stage of their business. 

Integrates with Zoho CRM: As part of the Zoho ecosystem, Zoho Expense integrates easily with Zoho CRM and other Zoho products. For users already using Zoho for other needs, adding Zoho Expense provides an added benefit through easy integration with the rest of your systems.

Automated Expense Reminders: Zoho Expense has a notification feature that reminds you of any invoices waiting for review. With these alerts, you can keep track of what’s on your plate without constantly opening the app to check.

Price

Zoho offers the following plans:

  • Free plan – 20 scans per user per month
  • Standard – $4 per month billed monthly, $3 per month billed annually – 20 scans per user per month 
  • Premium – $6 per month billed monthly, $4 per month billed annually

Users can also create a custom quote based on their requirements.

Cons of Zoho Expense

  • Some users report a steep learning curve when using the tool for the first time. 
  • Issues with proper integration with third-party applications

Why Choose Zoho Expense over Dext?

Zoho Expense is part of the Zoho CRM, which includes Zoho Books and various add-ons, Zoho Inventory Management, and Zoho Bills. If you are using Zoho for accounting, it makes sense to consider Zoho Expense to manage your receipts and expenses. Prices are also lower compared to Dext, and you can opt for the free plan if you have few expenses to process per month.

Conclusion

With the changes in Dext’s pricing structure, users are exploring alternatives with the same or better features to meet their needs. It all boils down to the requirements you have for your new software. 

If you’re looking for an expense management tool that lets you manage receipts and approve invoices before moving them to your accounting software – consider Envoice. With Envoice, you can go paperless and finally make your AP process less labor-intensive and more efficient. For users with similar needs who are using tools in the Zoho ecosystem, 

Zoho Expense is an option. 

Searching for the right Dext alternative can be confusing and challenging, given all the options available. Review can help, but there’s no better way to evaluate an alternative than to try it yourself.

Sign up for a trial account and start with Envoice – it’s free!

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