Dext alternative for chasing clients
Pick Dext if
- You need receipts and invoices turned into data: supplier, date, amounts, line items, published to the ledger.
- Your clients are happy to use the Dext app, email-in address or WhatsApp to send documents.
- Some of your clients are on QuickBooks, Sage, FreeAgent or another ledger.
Pick Chivvy if
- The transactions are already in Xero and what's missing is the receipt, invoice or statement.
- Your clients won't install an app, and you want them chased by email from your own address until it arrives.
- You want each upload checked against Xero and attached for you, at a fixed price per practice.
Dext and Chivvy, side by side
What each one does, side by side. Dext's details are from its own website and help pages, checked November 2026.
- What it does
DextCaptures receipts and invoices, extracts the data and publishes it to your accounting software. Also bank statement extraction, payments and practice dashboards.
ChivvyFinds spend with no receipt, bills with no invoice and statements due in Xero. After you approve, it chases the client, checks what they upload and attaches it in Xero.
- Who it's for
DextAccounting and bookkeeping practices, and businesses that process their own documents.
ChivvyUK bookkeeping practices whose clients are on Xero.
- Ledgers supported
DextXero, QuickBooks, Sage, FreeAgent and more: Dext says it connects to 36 or more.
ChivvyXero only, for now.
- How clients are chased
DextRequest Paperwork sends a notification to the Dext mobile app for a bank transaction with no paperwork. It's only sent to people signed in to the app, and no email goes out. The missing paperwork report can be exported for you to send yourself.
ChivvyBy email from your practice's own address and domain, on the schedule you set, only after you approve. VAT items go first and each email has a cap on how many items it asks for.
- What the client does
DextSends documents through the Dext app, an email-in address, WhatsApp (set up on their user profile) or drag and drop.
ChivvyOpens a private link on their phone and uploads a photo or file for each item. No login and no app.
- Checking uploads
DextExtracts and categorises each document, including line items, flags duplicates, and tries to match a requested upload to its bank transaction.
ChivvyReads each upload and checks the amount, date and supplier against the Xero transaction or bill. If it matches, it's attached in Xero. If not, the client is told why before it reaches you.
- Pricing unit
DextPer client a month, on an annual subscription billed monthly. Add-ons such as AI Assist are priced per client.
ChivvyPer practice, by clients chased each month. Team members are unlimited and connected clients you don't chase are free.
- Current price
DextSolo from £2.50 a client (5-client minimum), for sole traders and landlords under MTD for Income Tax. Essentials and Advanced have a 10-client minimum and are priced in Dext's plan builder. 14-day free trial.
Chivvy£29 a month for 5 clients, £79 for 15, £199 for 40, £449 for 100. 14-day free trial with no card.
Where Dext is better
Capture and data extraction
This is what Dext is for. It reads receipts, invoices and supplier statements, pulls out the supplier, dates, amounts and line items, and publishes them to the ledger. Chivvy does none of that: it checks an upload against a transaction that's already in Xero.
Many more ledgers
Dext works with Xero, QuickBooks, Sage, FreeAgent, KashFlow, Zoho Books and others. Chivvy is Xero only for now.
More ways for clients to send things
Clients can use the Dext app, forward to an email address, send on WhatsApp or drag and drop. Chivvy's clients upload through a link in an email.
A wider product
Payments, bank statement extraction, a deadlines dashboard and workflows on the higher plans. Chivvy only does chasing.
Where Chivvy is better
Chasing clients who don't use an app
Dext's paperwork requests go to the Dext mobile app, and only to people signed in to it. Chivvy emails the client from your own address, and they upload on their phone from a link, with no login and nothing to install.
It keeps chasing until it arrives
Chivvy sends a weekly or monthly roundup, or rolling reminders, within your working hours, lists only what's still missing, and stops after the number of emails you allow so you know to pick up the phone.
It works out what to ask for
Chivvy reads each client's Xero for spend with no receipt, bills with no invoice and statements due, and puts the list in front of you to approve. You don't export a report and send it yourself.
One price, no add-ons
Every feature is on every plan, priced by the clients you chase each month. Nothing is metered per document.
Can you use Dext and Chivvy together?
Yes, and for many practices that's the sensible set-up. Dext handles the documents clients send of their own accord: it captures them, reads them and publishes them to Xero. Chivvy looks at what's still missing after that and chases it.
Chivvy waits until a transaction is a few days old before asking for its receipt, because clients often send it in themselves. Anything that arrives through Dext and gets attached in Xero drops off Chivvy's list before the next email goes out.
What it costs at 5, 15 and 40 clients
A month, for the clients you chase or connect. Chivvy's prices are what's charged: we're not VAT registered.
| Clients | Dext | Chivvy |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Solo from £12.50, for MTD sole traders and landlords only. Essentials and Advanced start at 10 clients | £29 on Starter |
| 15 | Check Dext's plan builder | £79 on Pro |
| 40 | Check Dext's plan builder | £199 on Scale |
Dext prices Essentials and Advanced through a plan builder on its site, so we haven't put figures here. Add-ons such as AI Assist (£5 a client a month) are on top. Dext's prices are ex VAT.
They do different jobs, so the totals aren't like for like: Dext's price includes capture and data extraction, which Chivvy doesn't do.
Chivvy counts the clients you switch chasing on for in a month. Team members are unlimited and every plan has every feature. Founding practices pay half for as long as they use it, for the first 10 practices. See pricing
Questions
Is Chivvy a replacement for Dext?
Not if you use Dext to capture and extract receipts and invoices. Chivvy doesn't do data extraction. It finds what's missing in Xero, chases the client for it by email and attaches what they send. Many practices will use both.
Do my clients need the Dext app to answer a Dext paperwork request?
Dext's help centre says paperwork requests are sent as a notification to the Dext mobile app, only to users who have signed in to it, and that no email is sent. For clients who don't use the app, you can export the list and send it yourself. With Chivvy, the client gets an email from you and uploads from a link with no login.
Will Chivvy and Dext both put the same receipt in Xero?
Chivvy only asks about transactions and bills in Xero that have no attachment, and it checks Xero again before every email. If a receipt has come in through Dext and been attached, Chivvy stops asking for it.
Does Chivvy work with QuickBooks or Sage?
Not yet. Chivvy is Xero only for now. Dext supports many more ledgers.
What doesn't Chivvy do?
It works with Xero only, for now. It can't see unreconciled bank-feed lines, because Xero doesn't make them available to apps like Chivvy, so it works from transactions and bills already in Xero. It chases by email only, not WhatsApp or text. It doesn't extract data from receipts to create transactions, and it doesn't search your clients' inboxes. It's a chasing tool, not a receipt-capture tool.
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Dext, Uncat and Apron are trademarks of their owners. Chivvy isn't affiliated with any of them. Information checked November 2026. If we've got something wrong, email hello@chivvy.io and we'll fix it.
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