Paint and parts invoices for bodyshops captured with Dext

A bodyshop buys paint, filler, clips, panels and parts from several suppliers every week, and the paperwork piles up on the office desk. Typing 150 invoices a month into the accounts at about 3 minutes each takes 7.5 hours, and a lost parts invoice is VAT you can't reclaim.

Dext captures receipts and supplier invoices from a phone photo, email or WhatsApp, reads the details and sends them to accounting software such as Xero for you to approve. Give your paint factor and parts suppliers your Dext email address so invoices go straight in, and photograph paper ones in the workshop the day they arrive. Check and publish them to Xero once a week.

A five-person bodyshop in Wakefield gets about 150 supplier invoices a month from its paint factor and parts suppliers, and already uses Xero. Dext's plan for 250 documents and 5 users covers it.

About $166£125€149A$240C$235 a month in office time: 5 hours saved at an assumed $33£25€30A$48C$47 an hour, against about $32£24€29A$46C$45 a month plus VAT for Dext billed yearly at $386£290€345A$557C$545 or roughly $40£30€36A$58C$56 billed monthly. Xero is already paid for here; if it isn't, add its cost (Grow is $52£39€46A$75C$73 a month plus VAT).

1. 1Choose a Dext plan for your monthly document count using the slider on its pricing page.
2. 2Connect Dext to Xero and set default categories for your main suppliers.
3. 3Send your paint factor and parts suppliers your Dext email address for invoices.
4. 4Photograph paper invoices with the Dext app the day they arrive.
5. 5Review and publish to Xero weekly, checking job references and VAT on each.

• Dext needs accounting software, priced separately; this example assumes Xero is already in place.
• Amounts read from faint or handwritten invoices can be wrong. Check the total and VAT before publishing.
• Splitting one parts invoice across several jobs needs line item extraction, an extra from $21.95£16.50€19.63A$31.68C$31.02 a month.