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Payments & finance

Email receipts to Dext and Xero automation

Receipt capture automation picks up receipts and supplier invoices that arrive by email, sends them for data extraction and files them in your accounting software. Each expense reaches Xero with its original document attached, so the records are complete before anyone reconciles the bank.

An example of how the studio would build it. No live services are connected.

From an emailed receipt to a filed expense.

  1. Step 01

    Receipt received

    A Gmail label or filter spots a supplier email that carries a receipt or invoice attachment.

  2. Step 02

    Attachment collected

    Save the PDF or image with its sender and date, and skip any file that has already been processed.

  3. Step 03

    Sent for extraction

    Send the file to Dext, which reads the supplier, date, total and VAT from the document.

  4. Step 04

    Category checked

    Apply your supplier rules for account code and tax rate, and hold anything unfamiliar for review.

  5. Step 05

    Filed in Xero

    Publish the checked item to Xero with the original receipt attached, ready to match against the bank feed.

The result

No shoebox of receipts at year end.

Each attachment is processed once, even if the email is forwarded again. Unknown suppliers and unclear amounts wait for a person rather than being guessed.

Before we connect it.

Where this is useful

Useful when receipts are scattered across inboxes and someone downloads or forwards them in a batch before each VAT return. A sensible first version watches one labelled folder or a short list of known suppliers, and sends every item to review before it is published.

What we need to connect

  1. 01Access to the mailbox or label where receipts arrive, with agreed rules for which emails count.
  2. 02A Dext account with its upload route and its publishing connection to Xero set up.
  3. 03Your chart of accounts, supplier categories, tax rates and a person who reviews exceptions.

What needs careful handling

The same purchase often arrives twice, once as an order confirmation and again as an invoice. Record a unique reference for each file and email, and use any duplicate detection in the extraction tool as a second check. Some suppliers only link to a receipt behind a login, so those still need a manual download or a supplier-specific route.

Questions people ask.

Will it categorise everything correctly without me?

Not at first. Known suppliers with a fixed category can be filed automatically, while new suppliers, mixed purchases and anything with unclear tax wait for a person to check before they reach Xero.

Do I need Dext, or can receipts go straight to Xero?

Xero has its own ways to receive documents, but a dedicated extraction tool reads totals, dates and tax in more detail. The right route depends on your volume, your plans with each tool and how your accountant prefers to work.

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