Comparisons
Receipt capture software alternatives for UK accountants
For practices reviewing the tool they use to collect receipts and invoices from clients. This page compares the main options side by side, covering how each one bills, what it connects to and who it suits, then links to a full breakdown against whichever one you are using now.
The short answer
The receipt capture tools UK practices most often compare are Dext, AutoEntry, Hubdoc, Datamolino and Receiptflow. All of them collect documents from clients and push the extracted data into Xero or QuickBooks Online, and on core capture they are more alike than different. The axis that actually separates them is billing: flat monthly tiers, per-client charges, per-document credits, or bundled with a Xero subscription. Work out which of those suits your client count and the shortlist gets much shorter.
How the main options compare
One view of the whole market. Each vendor page below compares Receiptflow to a single competitor. This is the only place they are set against each other.
| Tool | Pricing model | Integrations | Best suited to | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Receiptflow | Flat tier: £150 / £275 / £500 per month, ex-VAT | Xero, QuickBooks Online, CSV export | Practices growing their client book | Has a floor, so less advantageous on a small, static client list |
| Dext | Per client: £391/mo at 50 clients, £1,542.00 at 300 (verified 18/09/2026, ex-VAT) | The longest list of the five | Practices needing an integration outside Xero and QuickBooks Online | The bill rises every time you win a client |
| AutoEntry | Per document credit, by volume (figures not verified) | Xero, QuickBooks Online, Sage | Variable or seasonal document volumes | Costs are harder to forecast month to month |
| Hubdoc | Included with most Xero subscriptions | Xero only | Xero-only practices already paying for it | No use for the part of your book that is not on Xero |
| Datamolino | From £25/mo plus £0.28 down to £0.15 per document (verified 11/09/2026) | Xero, QuickBooks Online, FreeAgent | Firms wanting unlimited users and companies | Bank statements bill separately, per page |
All figures ex-VAT and dated. We publish a competitor price only where we have read it off the vendor’s own page for the practice audience. Where we have not, the cell says so. Always check the current rate card before deciding.
First principles
The four billing models, and who each one suits
Almost every decision on this page reduces to one of these. Identify which one fits your practice and two or three options drop away immediately.
One figure per band of clients
You pay the same whether the tier is a quarter full or completely full. Predictable a year out, and it stops rewarding you for turning down small clients. The catch is the floor: a small practice pays the entry tier regardless. Suits practices that are growing.
The bill tracks your client list
Cheap at low counts, and it scales smoothly rather than in steps. But it moves every time you onboard or offboard, so the annual figure is a forecast rather than a number. Suits small or stable client books.
The bill tracks your volume
You pay for what you process, which is efficient if volume is genuinely low. The difficulty is that volume is driven by your clients’ trading, not your planning, so the busy months cost more. Suits low or predictable volumes.
Included with your ledger subscription
No separate line item, which is hard to beat on cost. The constraint is that a bundled tool works with the ledger it came from, so it covers only the part of your book on that ledger. Suits single-ledger practices.
Compare Receiptflow to your current tool
A full side-by-side for each, including cost at three practice sizes and what switching involves.
Dext alternative
Dext is the tool most UK practices are leaving when they arrive here, and almost always for the same reason: per-client billing that grew faster than the practice did. It is a capable product with the longest integration list of the five, and for practices that need a connection beyond Xero and QuickBooks Online it is often the right answer.
The comparison covers what you pay at 50, 150 and 300 clients on verified 18/09/2026 figures, what carries over to your ledger, the three situations where staying put is the better decision, and how long a migration realistically takes.
AutoEntry alternative
AutoEntry bills by document credit rather than by client, which suits variable volumes but makes the monthly cost harder to predict, particularly for a practice with a seasonal shape to its work.
Its acquisition by Sage also raised roadmap questions for practices on other ledgers. The comparison covers both, and is candid that the feared consequences of that acquisition have not so far materialised.
Hubdoc alternative
Hubdoc comes bundled with most Xero subscriptions, so the question is rarely cost. It is whether a Xero-only tool still works once a practice takes on clients using QuickBooks Online or anything else.
The comparison sets out a threshold for when running a second, manual process for those clients stops being cheaper than standardising on one tool.
Five criteria
What actually differs between these tools
On core capture they are similar. These five are where the real trade-offs sit.
Pricing model
Per client, per document credit, flat tier, or bundled. This is the single biggest cost difference between two tools that do the same job, and the one that changes most as a practice grows. Model the cost at the client count you expect in two years, not the one you have today, and check whether the vendor’s quoted figure assumes annual billing, because several do by default.
Accounting integrations
Most practices need Xero or QuickBooks Online, and mixed-software firms need both. Hubdoc is Xero-only, which rules it out for some practices immediately.
Check the specific ledger versions you run, not the logo wall:
- Desktop and online editions of the same product are frequently not the same integration
- A CSV export is not a native connection where a digital link is required
Submission methods
Client-side adoption decides whether any of this works. A mobile app, an email forwarding address and plain file upload cover most clients between them. The tool matters less than whether your least engaged client will actually use it, which is worth testing with that specific client during a trial rather than assuming.
Extraction accuracy and review time
Every tool extracts supplier, date, total and VAT, and every tool gets some of them wrong. What matters is how fast your team can spot and correct a bad field.
Trial it on your messiest documents, not the clean samples in a demo:
- Faded card receipts
- Multi-page invoices
- Foreign currency
- Photographs taken in poor light
Time twenty corrections and you have a number worth comparing.
Contract terms and support
Check the notice period, whether pricing is fixed for the term, and what happens to stored documents if you leave. Annual contracts that auto-renew are common, so diarise the renewal date the day you sign. Ask specifically about export on exit. Retrieving document images after an account closes is considerably harder than before, and the obligation to retain them does not move with the software.
What usually triggers a review
Four patterns account for most of it, and they tend to arrive in the same order.
Renewal pricing
The annual invoice arrives and the figure has moved more than expected, with no single decision to point at. See what UK practices pay for Dext in 2026.
Billing that outgrew the firm
A per-client model that was sensible at 40 clients stops being sensible at 200, and starts putting a price on winning small work.
Time lost to corrections
When the review step takes longer than the capture step saved, the tool is costing money twice: once on the invoice, once in chargeable hours.
A vendor acquisition
New ownership raises roadmap questions, particularly for firms on a different ledger. See AutoEntry and Sage.
Moving is less disruptive than most practices expect
The work splits in two
- Your half is an afternoon. Connect the ledger, load the client list, re-create categorisation rules
- Your clients’ half sets the timeline. Switching to a new forwarding address or app depends on them responding, not on you
Run both tools for one month-end, reconcile, then cancel at renewal.
That is what almost every practice that moves smoothly does, and cancelling at the renewal date rather than mid-term means the overlap is not paid for twice. Nothing changes in the ledger itself, only the capture tool in front of it. No historic data needs to move.
forget
Export before the old subscription lapses. Retrieve the document images and data you are required to retain.
That obligation stays with the practice whichever tool holds the files, and it is much harder to satisfy once an account has closed.
Common questions
What is the best Dext alternative for a UK practice?
There is no single answer, but there is a reliable shortcut: match the billing model to your client count and its direction of travel. Growing practices usually come out ahead on a flat tier; small, stable books sometimes do better on per-client or per-credit pricing. Run both figures at your own client count before switching.
Is there a cheaper alternative to per-client pricing?
Flat-tier pricing is the direct alternative: one monthly figure covering a band of clients, so adding clients inside the band costs nothing more. Whether it is cheaper for you depends on where you sit in the band; at the very bottom of a tier, a per-client tool can still win because flat pricing has a floor.
Which receipt capture tools work with both Xero and QuickBooks?
Receiptflow, Dext, AutoEntry and Datamolino all connect to both. Hubdoc works with Xero only. For a practice running a mix of ledgers, that single fact usually shortens the list before price is considered at all.
Can I keep my existing accounting software?
In most cases, yes. Receiptflow connects to Xero and QuickBooks Online directly, and data can be exported as CSV for other packages. One thing to check specifically: a bundled tool works with the ledger it came from, so it cannot standardise a mixed-software practice.
How long does migrating take?
Setup is typically an afternoon. The full switch usually takes one month-end cycle, because it depends on clients adopting the new submission route. Practices that allow a parallel month and cancel at renewal rather than mid-term report the fewest problems and never pay twice.
What happens to our stored receipts if we move?
Export what you are required to retain before the old subscription lapses. The retention obligation sits with the practice, not the software, and recovering images after an account has closed is considerably harder. Ask any vendor about export on exit before you sign, not when you leave.
Do I need a card to trial it?
No. Receiptflow’s free trial does not require a credit card. Load a few real clients, push your messiest documents through, and see how the extraction and review step holds up before committing.
See it against your current tool
Load a few real clients and compare the review time and the monthly figure with what you pay now.
No credit card required.
