Migration guide
Switching from Dext: Renewal, Export, and a Lighter Setup
Most firms do not stay with Dext because switching is impossible. They stay because the timing feels risky. Someone needs to find the renewal date, confirm who actually controls billing, export the existing data, and make sure the replacement workflow is live before the old one winds down. This guide is for that exact moment. It covers where to find the date that matters, what to export before you touch the subscription, and how a ZeroPaste setup compares step by step.
Clear summary
ZeroPaste at a glance
A short visible summary of the product, workflow, cost, alternative, and next step.
- What is ZeroPaste?
- ZeroPaste is an AI invoice extraction product for European bookkeepers. Forward invoices by email, upload PDFs, or capture them with Snap and get clean spreadsheet-ready rows with optional Xero draft bills and DATEV export for German practices.
- Who is it for?
- It is for solo bookkeepers and small bookkeeping firms that want clean invoice data in spreadsheets first, with a shared workspace, team invites, and optional Xero delivery when they are ready.
- What problem does it solve?
- ZeroPaste reduces manual invoice entry and copy-paste work when supplier, date, invoice number, total, and VAT would otherwise be typed by hand.
- How does it work?
- In Dext Business, go to Business settings > Subscription > Billing Details. Dext's current Help Centre flow also shows the expiry date and account status on the Subscription page itself. If you are on an annual plan, Dext says you need to cancel at least 30 days before the renewal date. If you are on a monthly plan, you can cancel at any time. If your accountant, bookkeeper, App Store account, Google Play account, or Dext partner relationship controls billing, confirm that owner first, because they may be the only party who can actually cancel. Export from the Costs or Sales inbox and from the Archive, not just the visible current queue. Dext's current export flow is Tools > Export or Export all, with CSV, PDF, and ZIP options depending on what you need. If your bookkeeping process depends on a specific spreadsheet shape, create or verify the custom CSV format first under Business settings > Exports so the exported columns match what you expect. Treat the source files and the extracted data as separate assets: rows are useful, but the PDFs and archived documents matter too. Start with one workspace, one intake path, and one export outcome. Upload a real supplier batch or forward invoices into ZeroPaste, review the extracted fields, and confirm the handoff format the team actually needs. The key change is that ZeroPaste does not ask you to recreate a broad pre-accounting environment before you see value. The workflow can be reduced to invoices in, review, export out, then expanded only if the team genuinely needs more structure.
- What does it cost?
- The entry point starts with 5 free invoices and no card required. After that, Solo is €29/month. Firm is €99/month and Studio is €229/month.
- What is the main alternative?
- The main alternative is still entering invoice data manually or using heavier tools like Dext, AutoEntry, or Hubdoc with more setup and higher cost.
- What should the user do next?
Run one real batch through ZeroPaste and compare the review time, export shape, and setup effort before committing to the switch.
Try one invoice
Who this is for
Who this guide is for
The problem
Why switching from Dext feels harder than it should
The hard part is usually not learning a new upload button. The hard part is sequencing. If you cancel too late, the renewal goes through. If you export too narrowly, you keep the spreadsheet rows but lose the source files or archive history you still need. If you delay the new setup until after cancellation, the team spends a stressful week bouncing between two half-working processes.
That is why a Dext migration should start with three practical questions. First: when does the current subscription actually renew or expire? Second: which data needs to leave Dext before anything changes? Third: what is the minimum new workflow that lets the team keep processing invoices without another long rollout?
ZeroPaste is relevant in that situation because the setup is intentionally narrower. It is not trying to replace a full practice platform. It is trying to make invoice intake, extraction, review, and export lighter so the switch feels operational rather than architectural.
Step by step
How to switch from Dext without losing time or data
The safest migration is date first, export second, replacement workflow third. That keeps billing risk, data risk, and operational risk in the right order.
Step 1
Find your Dext renewal or cancellation date before you do anything else
In Dext Business, go to Business settings > Subscription > Billing Details. Dext's current Help Centre flow also shows the expiry date and account status on the Subscription page itself. If you are on an annual plan, Dext says you need to cancel at least 30 days before the renewal date. If you are on a monthly plan, you can cancel at any time. If your accountant, bookkeeper, App Store account, Google Play account, or Dext partner relationship controls billing, confirm that owner first, because they may be the only party who can actually cancel.
Step 2
Export the data you want to keep before changing the subscription
Export from the Costs or Sales inbox and from the Archive, not just the visible current queue. Dext's current export flow is Tools > Export or Export all, with CSV, PDF, and ZIP options depending on what you need. If your bookkeeping process depends on a specific spreadsheet shape, create or verify the custom CSV format first under Business settings > Exports so the exported columns match what you expect. Treat the source files and the extracted data as separate assets: rows are useful, but the PDFs and archived documents matter too.
Step 3
Set up the ZeroPaste replacement workflow around one real batch, not a giant migration project
Start with one workspace, one intake path, and one export outcome. Upload a real supplier batch or forward invoices into ZeroPaste, review the extracted fields, and confirm the handoff format the team actually needs. The key change is that ZeroPaste does not ask you to recreate a broad pre-accounting environment before you see value. The workflow can be reduced to invoices in, review, export out, then expanded only if the team genuinely needs more structure.
Example
The difference between a stressful and controlled switch
The migration outcome usually depends more on sequencing than on technology.
Manual
Late renewal scramble
A firm realizes too late that the annual Dext renewal window is close, starts looking for cancellation steps while still processing live invoices, exports a CSV in a hurry, and only then notices that the source PDFs, archive, and workflow replacement still need separate attention.
Structured
Planned switch with a live test batch
The team checks the renewal date first, exports the rows and source files it wants to keep, then runs one real batch through ZeroPaste before the old subscription ends. The switch is judged on review speed and export quality, not on a rushed all-at-once migration.
The safest switch is not the fastest click-path. It is the one that separates billing timing, data export, and workflow replacement into clear steps.
Guide detail
1. How to find your Dext renewal or cancellation date
Do this first. If the date is wrong, every later decision becomes noisier.
Dext's current Help Centre says Business Admin users can cancel from Business settings > Subscription > Billing Details, and the Subscription view shows the plan expiry and active-until status. That is the date you should screenshot or record before you start planning the move.
The important distinction is the billing term. Dext's current guidance says annual subscriptions need at least 30 days' notice before renewal, while monthly subscriptions can be cancelled at any time. If the account is accountant-managed, partner-managed, or billed through Apple or Google, the cancellation path is different, so confirm that ownership before assuming the cancel button in Dext will be available.
- Check the role first: only the billing owner or Business Admin may see the relevant subscription controls.
- Check whether the plan is monthly or annual before assuming the same timing rules apply.
- Treat the displayed expiry or active-until date as the migration deadline, not the day you start investigating.
Guide detail
2. What to export from Dext before you switch
Do not think only in terms of one CSV. Think in layers: extracted rows, source files, archive history, and any custom export shape the team already depends on.
Dext's current export guidance allows exports from both the live inbox and the Archive. That matters because many firms only look at the current queue and forget that older processed items, published items, or archived items may still be relevant during handover, audit work, or historical checks.
If the team relies on a specific spreadsheet structure, verify the custom CSV configuration before exporting. Dext's current Help Centre places that under Business settings > Exports. If the format is not right when you export, you may still have your data, but the cleanup work reappears in the very week you are trying to reduce disruption.
| Asset to keep | Where to get it in Dext | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Extracted invoice data | Costs or Sales > Tools > Export / Export all as CSV | Keeps the structured spreadsheet rows you may need for handover, reconciliation checks, or historical reference. |
| Original invoice files | Export as PDF or ZIP from the inbox or Archive | Preserves the source documents, not just the extracted values. |
| Archived documents | Archive tab in Costs or Sales, then Export or Export all | Prevents older processed items from being missed during the switch. |
| Custom column layout | Business settings > Exports | Ensures your CSV export still lands in the shape your downstream sheet or import expects. |
| Supplier statements or special items | Check their dedicated detail pages and export paths separately | Some item types need extra attention and should not be assumed to follow the same bulk path. |
- Export before cancelling, not after the team has mentally moved on.
- If you need both data and documents, export both; one does not replace the other.
- If Dext is still live until the prepaid period ends, use that overlap window to verify exports calmly.
Guide detail
3. Dext setup versus ZeroPaste setup, step by step
The point is not to recreate Dext feature for feature. The point is to replace the part of the workflow that is actually causing friction.
Dext is broader. That can be useful, but it also means more surface area when the real job is still invoice extraction and export. ZeroPaste is narrower by design: upload or forward invoices, review the extracted fields, export the cleaned rows, and keep the process visible.
That narrower setup usually changes the migration shape. Instead of asking the team to redesign a wider capture environment, you can prove the replacement on one real supplier batch and then decide whether you need anything more elaborate.
| Stage | Typical Dext migration question | ZeroPaste equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| Billing timing | When does the subscription renew and who can cancel it? | No migration-specific billing dependency to discover first; you can open a workspace and test immediately. |
| Export format | Which CSV layout or archive export do we need to preserve? | Choose the export outcome you need after review, then validate it on one live batch. |
| Intake path | Do we keep email forwarding, uploads, app capture, or a mix? | Keep the intake path that already works best: upload, forwarding, or Snap. |
| Review flow | How much of the old process do we need to recreate before the team can work? | Start from one review queue with visible extracted rows instead of rebuilding a wider operating model. |
| Go-live test | Can the team survive the switch week without extra admin? | Run one real batch through ZeroPaste before the Dext term ends and compare cleanup time directly. |
Common mistakes
Mistakes that make a Dext switch harder
Starting with the replacement tool instead of the renewal date
If you do not know the billing deadline first, the rest of the migration plan stays vague and reactive.
Exporting only rows and forgetting the source files
Structured data is useful, but historical PDFs and archive items are often what the team still needs later.
Trying to rebuild every old behavior before testing one live batch
The switch gets slower when the team turns a practical workflow change into a full systems project.
When ZeroPaste helps
When ZeroPaste is the strongest replacement shape
ZeroPaste is strongest when the real goal is to keep invoice extraction and review moving while reducing setup weight.
Firms with a renewal approaching
Useful when the business needs a fast, low-drama way to evaluate the replacement before the current term ends.
Spreadsheet-first or export-first teams
Useful when clean CSV or XLSX handoff matters more than a broader platform layer.
Practices tired of wider operational overhead
Useful when the team wants invoices in, review, export out, without carrying more product surface than necessary.
When it is not the right tool
When not to switch to a narrower tool
A lighter extraction workflow is not automatically the right replacement for every Dext customer.
- Teams that rely heavily on broader expense-claim, approval, or practice-management behaviors and need those preserved intact.
- Organizations whose real problem is downstream accounting workflow, not invoice intake and extraction.
- Firms that do not currently have enough invoice-entry pain to justify any migration effort at all.
FAQ
These are the practical questions that usually come up first during a Dext replacement review.
Questions firms ask when switching from Dext
Where do I find the Dext renewal date?
For Dext Business, start in Business settings > Subscription, then review Billing Details and the subscription status shown on that page. Dext's current Help Centre also shows the expiry or active-until status there.
Can I cancel an annual Dext plan immediately?
Dext's current guidance says annual plans require at least 30 days' notice before the renewal date. Monthly plans can be cancelled at any time. If the account is partner-managed, accountant-managed, or billed through Apple or Google, the cancellation path may differ.
Do I lose access to my Dext data as soon as I cancel?
Not immediately. Dext's current guidance says the subscription remains active until the end of the prepaid period, and after expiry you can still access the account and download data. Dext also states that expired accounts may later be deleted under its terms, which is why exporting before cancellation is the safer plan.
What should I export before switching?
At minimum, export the structured data you need and the original documents you want to keep. For most firms that means CSV exports plus PDF or ZIP exports from both the active inbox and the Archive.
How quickly can ZeroPaste be tested as a replacement?
Quickly enough to judge it on a real batch. The practical test is one live set of supplier invoices through upload or forwarding, then a review of the extracted fields and export outcome the team actually needs.