Receipt Scanning Pricing: Per-Doc vs Per-Client | Receiptflow
Per-Document vs Per-Client Pricing for Receipt Scanning: Which Model Saves Your Practice More?
Tanvir Alam•Jul 31, 2026•5 min read•Comparisons
Per-document pricing looks cheaper at low volumes but almost always costs more at scale. Flat-tier models like Receiptflow's deliver better value from around 20 active clients upward.
Why Your Receipt Scanning Pricing Model Matters More Than the Headline Price
The receipt scanning pricing model accountants in the UK choose affects far more than a line item on the monthly card statement. Get it wrong and you are quietly subsidising your software costs out of your own margin every month, for every client.
There are two dominant models on the market right now. Per-document pricing charges you based on how many receipts and invoices your clients submit. Per-client pricing (sometimes structured as flat-rate tiers) charges a fixed amount based on how many clients you have active on the platform.
Both can look reasonable on a product pricing page. Neither tells you the full story until you do the actual maths for your practice.
This post does that maths. We run worked examples at three practice sizes with 10, 50, and 100 clients and give you a clear framework for deciding which model suits how you work.
How Per-Document Pricing Works
With per-document pricing, you pay a set fee for each document processed, typically a receipt, invoice, or bank statement line item. AutoEntry has historically used this model, with rates that vary by document type.
On the surface, it sounds fair. You only pay for what you use.
The problem is that document volume is highly unpredictable. A sole trader client might submit 30 receipts in a quiet month and 200 in December. A small limited company with multiple employees submitting expenses can generate hundreds of documents each month without either of you noticing until the invoice arrives.
According to HMRC's business population estimates, there are approximately 5.5 million small businesses in the UK as of 2023, and the vast majority run on variable expense patterns tied to seasonal trading, staff changes, and project cycles. That variability passes directly onto your software bill under a per-document model.
The hidden cost of per-document billing
Most accountants underestimate their clients' average monthly document volumes. A common working assumption is 40-60 documents per client per month. In practice, once clients get comfortable submitting receipts digitally, that number often climbs, particularly for trades businesses, hospitality operators, and anyone with regular supplier invoices.
At £0.50 per document (a typical mid-market AutoEntry rate), 60 documents across 50 clients equals £1,500 per month. That is before any overage from a busy month.
How Per-Client and Flat-Rate Tier Pricing Works
Per-client pricing charges a fixed fee per active client on your account each month. Flat-rate tier pricing, which is how Receiptflow is structured, fixes your price based on a client count band rather than charging per individual client.
Dext operates a per-client model for UK practices. At 50 clients, their published 2026 rate is £391 per month. At 150 clients, that rises to £894.15 per month.
Receiptflow uses a tiered flat-rate model. The Essential plan covers up to 50 clients at £150 per month. The Pro plan covers up to 150 clients at £275 per month. The Scale plan covers up to 300 clients at £500 per month. Within each tier, adding a new client costs nothing extra.
Worked Examples: The Cost at 10, 50, and 100 Clients
All figures below are monthly costs excluding VAT. Document volume assumptions for per-document models: 50 documents per client per month (a conservative estimate for active practices).
At 10 clients
Model
Tool
Monthly cost
Per-document (50 docs/client)
AutoEntry
~£250
Per-client
Dext
~£90
Flat-rate tier
Receiptflow
£150
At 10 clients, per-document pricing can look competitive but only if your clients submit well below average volumes. The moment document submission picks up, costs climb. Receiptflow's flat-tiered rate holds, regardless of how many receipts those 10 clients send.
At 50 clients
Model
Tool
Monthly cost
Per-document (50 docs/client)
AutoEntry
~£1,250
Per-client
Dext
£391
Flat-rate tier
Receiptflow
£150
This is where the gap becomes hard to ignore. At 50 clients, a practice on per-document billing with AutoEntry is paying roughly £1,250 per month, more than eight times what Receiptflow charges for the same client count. Even Dext's per-client model at £391 is 2.6x the Receiptflow rate.
Receiptflow saves a 50-client practice up to £241 per month versus Dext, and up to £1,100 per month versus per-document models at typical volumes. That is £2,892 and £13,200 per year respectively.
At 100 clients, a practice on per-document billing is spending more on receipt scanning software each month than many small practices charge for a full bookkeeping service. The Receiptflow Pro plan holds at £275, covering up to 150 clients at that same rate, so adding the next 50 clients costs nothing extra in software.
The right pricing model depends on how you work, not just how many clients you have right now.
Per-document pricing may suit you if:
You have a very small number of low-volume clients (under 15, submitting under 30 documents each per month)
You run a project-based practice with irregular, infrequent receipt scanning needs
You want to pass document-level costs directly to clients as a line-item charge
Per-client or flat-tier pricing suits you if:
You have a growing practice and want predictable software costs as you add clients
Your clients submit variable document volumes and you cannot absorb unpredictable monthly bills
You price your bookkeeping services as fixed monthly packages and need your software costs to behave the same way
You want to add clients without dreading the next invoice
For most independent UK practices, the third point is the deciding factor. Fixed-fee bookkeeping packages are now standard across the sector. Pairing them with variable per-document software costs creates a structural margin risk that compounds as the practice grows.
The Breakeven Point
Per-document pricing at £0.50 per document breaks even with Receiptflow's Essential plan (£150/month, up to 50 clients) at exactly 300 documents per month across all clients combined. That is an average of just six documents per client on a 50-client book.
Most active practices exceed that within the first week of the month.
The maths is not subtle. Once your practice is past 20 active submitting clients, flat-rate tier pricing almost always wins.
FAQs
Common Questions with Clear Answers
What is the difference between per-document and per-client receipt scanning pricing?
Per-document pricing charges a fee for each receipt or invoice processed. Per-client pricing charges a fixed amount per active client regardless of document volume. Flat-rate tier models fix your cost for a band of clients, so growth within the tier costs nothing extra.
Which receipt scanning pricing model is cheapest for a 50-client UK practice?
At 50 clients with typical document volumes, flat-rate tier pricing (Receiptflow at £150/month) is significantly cheaper than Dext's per-client model (£391/month) and per-document models from providers like AutoEntry (approximately £1,250/month at 50 documents per client).
Does Dext charge per document or per client?
Dext uses a per-client model for UK practices, charging a fixed monthly rate per active client, with the total rising as your client count grows.
What happens to per-document costs during busy months?
They increase. Per-document billing reflects actual submission volumes, which spike at year-end, VAT quarters, and whenever clients catch up on a backlog, there is no ceiling on what you pay.
Is flat-rate receipt scanning pricing available for UK accountants?
Yes. Receiptflow offers flat-rate tier pricing for UK practices starting at £150 per month for up to 50 clients, with no per-document or per-client fees within each tier.
