As a bookkeeper, I spend a lot of time in the trenches with receipts, invoices, statements, and all the nitty-gritty that makes a business run smoothly.
But just because we’re deep in the detail doesn’t mean we can’t have a little fun with it.
Inspired by The Sound of Music, I told ChatGPT what I loved most about Dext – the platform formerly known as Receipt Bank – and asked (I’m always polite to her) for a light-hearted (yet very true) list of my favourite features, set to the tune of My Favourite Things.
🎶
ABNs are valid, no GST blunders
Dext checks them swiftly, avoiding tax wonders
Clients send duplicates, receipts in a fling
Dext’s smart detection stops double billing!
Supplier rules set with categories and dates
Line items extracted, easing my rates
Statements reconciled with minimal rings
These are a few of my favourite things!
When the bills stack,
When the forms clash,
When I’m feeling swamped,
I simply remember my favourite things,
And then I don’t feel so stomped!
Supplier rules making life automated,
No more re-keying – I’m so liberated!
It files by supplier, assigns the right codes,
All without me in repetitive modes.
So if you’re a business that’s drowning in paper,
Receipts that arrive now, three months (or years) later,
Give us a call – you’ll get a thrill,
At Dollars + Sense, we’ll cover Dext’s bill.
No more guessing if GST applies,
No more errors that grow to a size,
That makes your BAS turn into a fright –
We’ll get it sorted and sleep well at night.
🎶
Why I’m Singing Dext’s Praises
Let’s break it down beyond the rhyme and look at why these features make such a difference – not just for me as a bookkeeper but for every small business owner who wants their financial systems to run like a well-oiled machine.
The fact is, Dext can do SO SO many wonderful things that Hubdoc – the alternative that comes free with most Xero accounts – simply can’t do.
“Supplier rules set with categories and dates
Line items extracted, easing my rates
Statements reconciled with minimal rings
These are a few of my favourite things!”_____________________________
1. ABN Checks That Keep You (and Your Clients) Out of Trouble
Dext pulls ABNs directly from uploaded documents and checks them against the Australian Business Register. I cannot overstate how helpful this is.
I regularly uncover three very different situations for our clients, thanks to the power of Dext:
- One supplier was charging GST but wasn’t even registered for GST.
- Another supplier was registered, but wasn’t charging GST at all, which raises serious red flags for both parties.
- A third supplier had an ABN that showed up as registered, but after some digging, we found out the ABN was no longer active as the owner hadn’t lodged a tax return in years.
These are the kinds of compliance issues that get expensive fast. Being able to check ABN and GST status instantly in Dext gives me peace of mind and helps protect my clients from unwanted ATO attention.
2. Duplicate Document Detection (Because it’s Easy to Send Some Things Twice)
You know what is easy to do when you’re busy? Sending through a sales order, the invoice, the payment receipt and the remittance advice for the exact same transaction.
Dext’s duplicate detection feature picks up 95% of those cases before they even land in Xero. It flags suspected duplicates with a neat little amber icon so I can review them quickly and avoid double-ups in the books. It saves hours of back-and-forth and, more importantly, ensures the financial records stay clean and accurate.
3. Supplier Rules That Save My Sanity
One of my favourite automations in Dext is setting supplier rules. Once I’ve done it once, Dext remembers the category, payment terms, GST setting, even the contact name and any specific notes I like to include.
It’s the kind of tool that might seem “small” – but when you’re processing dozens (sometimes hundreds!) of supplier invoices a week, not having to manually enter those details every time is a total game-changer.
4. Line Item Extraction – When You Need the Fine Print
Sometimes, I need to dig into the details of an invoice – especially when clients want to track individual product sales or services separately. Dext’s line item extraction breaks an invoice down into its component parts, making it easy to review and categorise every item.
Gone are the days of copy-pasting lines from PDFs into spreadsheets. It’s fast, accurate, and honestly? A bit of a lifesaver.
Dext can even accurately identify which parts of a bill have GST applied and which charges are GST-free.
5. Supplier Statements Matched in Minutes
Matching supplier statements to invoices used to be a tedious task, but now it’s something I can do in minutes.
Dext checks what’s been submitted, compares it to what’s in Xero and Dext, and flags any gaps.
And GET THIS – it can even automatically request missing invoices it identifies on the statements you upload – no need to wait for monthly reconciliations.
This helps me keep client records up to date without chasing paperwork for days.
Still Doing Things the Hard Way? Let’s Fix That
Whether you’re DIY-ing your books or working with a bookkeeper, Dext is one of those tools that can transform your day-to-day. It’s not about making bookkeeping fun (although the parody might help with that), it’s about making it faster, more accurate and far less stressful.
And let’s be honest – if you’re not using a tool that can read documents, check GST, flag errors, and automate categorisation… you’re working way harder than you need to.
Customers who engage Dollars + Sense for our ongoing BAS audit services or full bookkeeping support enjoy a complimentary subscription to Dext – that’s one less cost to worry about while we work together 🙂