Running a small business means juggling a lot: sales, customer service, marketing—and of course your numbers. For many, bookkeeping and accounting are the less popular parts of the job. Yet they’re essential. Mistakes cost you money, wasted time, stress—and sometimes worse.

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This is where tools like DEXT and Hubdoc come in. They’re not magic, but they go a long way in automating, simplifying and safeguarding your bookkeeping and accounting workflows.

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In this post, we will walk through how they work, what benefits they bring, and what to watch out for. If you're a small business owner in the UK, this will help you decide whether one of these could save you time, effort—and possibly help your bottom line.

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What are DEXT and Hubdoc?

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Before jumping into comparisons, here’s a quick summary:

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• DEXT (formerly Receipt Bank) is a cloud-based tool for capturing invoices, receipts, bank statements etc., extracting the data via OCR and machine learning, automating categorisation, integrating with accounting software, and generally helping with bookkeeping automation.

• Hubdoc is a document & data capture tool: uploading/photographing/scanning receipts, bills and statements, extracting key info (supplier, amount, date, invoice number etc.), organising documents, storing them in the cloud, integrating with accounting systems (especially Xero and QuickBooks).

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So both are tools in the same space: helping small businesses and accountants reduce manual entry, reduce human error, and keep records up to date.

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Key ways they help with bookkeeping and accounting

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Here are the main ways DEXT and Hubdoc assist small businesses, especially from an accountant/ bookkeeper POV:

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1. Data capture & digitisation

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You no longer have to stash receipts in shoeboxes or sort piles of paper at month end. With both tools you can snap a photo with a phone, forward bills by email, or upload scans. OCR (Optical Character Recognition) technology extracts the details: date, amount, supplier etc.

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2. Automated categorisation and matching

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Once data is captured, these tools (especially DEXT) use rules, prior history, or smart suggestions to categorise expenses and invoices. Matching with bank transactions or supplier invoices becomes more reliable. That helps in keeping ledger clean and avoids manual reconciliations dragging on.

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3. Integration with accounting software

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A crucial advantage is that the data doesn’t stay isolated. Both tools push the extracted data into accounting systems directly: Xero, QuickBooks, etc. This means your accountant or bookkeeper has up-to-date accounting records. It streamlines accounting tasks and reduces delays.

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4. Expense management and control

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DEXT offers features such as expense approvals, supplier rules, tracking outstanding documentation, and dashboards that help you stay on top of what invoices are missing, what needs approving etc. That’s great for preventing bottlenecks or surprise expenses.

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5. Time & error reduction

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Manual entry is slow and error-prone. These tools reduce data entry, reduce mis-keyed values, misfiled documents, forgotten receipts. That saves you time and reduces risk (important for both bookkeeping accuracy and in accounting, especially around tax and audits). Also, keeping real-time or near real-time books means financial insights are timely.

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6. Security, storage, compliance (including UK-specific needs)

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Document storage in cloud, with secure backups, helps avoid lost paperwork. DEXT keeps documents for long periods, complies with relevant data-rules. For UK businesses subject to Making Tax Digital (MTD) and other regulations, having digitally stored, well organised receipts and invoices means easier auditing and compliance.

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How to choose (and pitfalls to watch)

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While these tools offer big gains, there are some trade-offs / decisions to make. Here are things to think about:

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• Transaction volume: If your business only has a handful of invoices or receipts per month, simpler tools might suffice. But if you have lots of transactions, then features like bulk upload, supplier rules, fast categorisation (offered by DEXT) will matter more. Hubdoc is very good, especially if you’re already on Xero, but may have fewer advanced features compared to DEXT in high-volume settings.

• Costs: These tools charge monthly, and more advanced plans cost more. You’ll want to weigh cost against time saved, and also whether extra features (approvals, reporting, integrations) are ones you’ll use. Sometimes paying more for better efficiency still results in net savings. Datamolino+2Capterra+2

• Learning curve and change management: Even though these tools are quite user-friendly, there will be an initial setup cost: onboarding, teaching staff, cleaning up past receipts/invoices, establishing category rules, connecting bank feeds etc. If you ignore that, you’ll get messy or partial adoption which reduces benefits.

• Accuracy / oversight needed: Automation is great, but you cannot fully “set and forget” when money, taxes, or compliance are involved. Sometimes OCR misreads, or supplier invoices arrive late, or categories need adjusting. Having regular reviews (weekly or monthly) helps maintain accuracy.

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Conclusion

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If you’re a small business in the UK, using software like DEXT or Hubdoc can genuinely transform how you do bookkeeping and accounting. They cut down manual tasks, help avoid errors, improve your financial visibility, and free up you (or your team) to focus on running and growing the business rather than chasing receipts.

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Which one’s “better” depends on your situation—transaction volume, how many people in your team, whether you need advanced features, how tight you are on cost etc. Often, trying both (if there are free trials) or talking to your accountant/bookkeeper about what fits your workflow is the best approach. Contact us for assistance info@xenithwealth.co.uk