The problem
Cleaners, gardeners, lift engineers and utilities all send invoices, and each needs keying in against the right block's service charge accounts. At about 90 invoices a month and 4 minutes each, that is 360 minutes, 6 hours a month, and an invoice coded to the wrong block surfaces at year-end accounts.
What the AI does
Dext captures invoices from email or a phone photo, reads the supplier, date, amount and VAT, and sends them to Xero for you to approve. Before publishing you check the supplier, tax rate and tracking category, using tracking categories synced from Xero, so each cost lands against the right block. Dext remembers your settings for each supplier, and nothing crosses to Xero until you press publish. Dext needs accounting software; this example already keeps its service charge accounts in Xero with a tracking category per block.
A worked example
A block manager in Reading looks after 12 blocks and receives about 90 contractor and supplier invoices a month, keyed into Xero by hand. They forward invoices to Dext and approve them in a weekly session.
Before
90 invoices a month keyed in at 4 minutes each: 360 minutes
After
90 invoices a month checked and published at 1.5 minutes each: 135 minutes
What it's worth
About $149£112€133A$215C$211 a month saved, against a $32£24€29A$46C$45 to $40£30€36A$58C$56 cost. That is 225 minutes, 3.75 hours a month, valued at $40£30€36A$58C$56 an hour. Dext's page shows $32.15£24.17€28.76A$46.41C$45.44 a month plus VAT billed annually ($386£290€345A$557C$545 a year) for 250 documents and 5 users; monthly billing costs more, estimated at roughly $40£30€36A$58C$56. Xero is priced separately and already in place here.
How to set it up
- Set up a tracking category in Xero with one option per block, or check how Dext connects if each block has its own Xero organization.
- Start Dext's trial, connect it to Xero and give contractors Dext's email address for invoices, or forward them yourself.
- Set supplier rules for regular contractors so their invoices go to the right block and account.
- Once a week, check each invoice's block, VAT and amount against the order or contract and publish to Xero.
- Keep the original invoices together, since leaseholders can ask to see the invoices behind the service charge.
What goes wrong
- Dext needs accounting software, priced separately. If your block accounts are in specialist block management software rather than Xero, check whether Dext connects to it.
- A supplier who works on several blocks needs checking every time; a rule can't know which block a visit was for.
- The price depends on documents a month and users; 90 invoices fits the 250-document band shown, but check before adding receipts too.