The Dext mobile app lets you capture receipts and invoices, create expense and mileage claims, securely store files in Vault, and publish items to your accounting software from your phone. This article covers how to accept your invitation, log in, and find your way around the app.
Accept your invitation to Dext on your phone
To start using the Dext mobile app, accept the invitation you received by email or text message, set a password, then open the app.
Open your invitation
Your invitation to Dext arrives by email or by text message (SMS). Open it on your phone:
Email: open the email and tap Accept invite.
Text message: open the message and tap the invitation link.
Set your password
After you open the invitation, a Dext page opens in your browser where you create your password:
Enter a password that meets the listed requirements.
Tap Sign up to accept the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.
Download the app and sign in
Once your password is set, download the Dext mobile app and sign in from the same browser page:
Download the app from the App Store (iPhone) or Google Play (Android).
Go back to the invitation page in your browser.
Tap Sign in to the mobile app. If your phone asks, tap Open.
The app opens and signs you in to the account you were invited to.
Log in to the Dext mobile app
If you closed the invitation page before signing in, or you're logging in on a new phone, log in from the app itself:
Open the Dext mobile app and tap Log in.
Enter the email address you were invited with, then tap Log in.
Enter your password.
You can also log in with Apple, Google, Intuit or Xero, under Or continue with.
Find your way around the Dext mobile app
The Dext mobile app has a tab bar at the bottom of the screen. Regular Dext accounts show these tabs:
Costs: supplier invoices, receipts and bills
Sales: sales invoices you've issued to customers
Expenses: expense claims. You only see the buttons to create a claim if you have permission to create expense claims. For details, go to Roles and permissions in Dext
Vault: business documents you want to store and organise
More: your logins, settings, integrations and support
Dext Solo accounts show these tabs:
Costs: supplier invoices, receipts and bills
Sales: sales invoices and documents. Tap + Add to upload or create one.
Quotes: quotes for your customers. Tap + Create quote to start one.
Bank: your bank feeds. Tap + Add to connect a feed.
More: your logins, settings, integrations and support. Vault is here too.
Use the buttons on each tab
The Costs tab shows how most tabs work. Each number matches the screenshot:
Bell: opens your messages and paperwork requests. Accountants and bookkeepers don't see the bell while they work in a client's account.
+ creates a mileage or expense claim, adds files to Vault, or uploads a photo or PDF.
… opens Select items and Costs archive.
Search and Filter: find an item on the tab.
Add (camera icon): opens the camera so you can scan a receipt or invoice.
The other tabs have their main button in the same place:
Sales: the same Add button, and an archive button at the top right.
Expenses: + Create claim at the bottom right if you have permission to create expense claims, and an archive button at the top right.
Vault: + Add files at the bottom right, and … at the top right to change the view and create folders.
Find items with Search and Filter
To find an item on a tab, use Search and Filter under the tab's title:
Search: on Costs, search matches the supplier name. On Sales, it matches the customer name, description, notes, text from the document and the total.
Filter: sort by submission date or transaction date, and filter by user, supplier (or customer on Sales) and who submitted the item.
Work with items in a list
On the Costs and Sales tabs, tap an item to open its details, where you can check and edit its fields. You can also act on an item without opening it:
Swipe right to publish it or request approval, depending on your account setup.
Swipe left to archive or delete it.
To select several items on the Costs tab, press and hold an item, or tap … > Select items. You can then add the selected items to an expense claim or create a new one.
A few sections appear at the top of the list only when they have something in them:
Processing shows uploads on Costs or Sales while Dext extracts their details.
Approvals shows items waiting for approval.
If an upload is rejected, a "You have 1 rejected upload" banner appears at the top of the screen. To find out why, go to Why was my document rejected?
Check your messages and paperwork requests
To read messages about your items or respond to paperwork requests, tap the bell at the top right of any tab. The Communications screen has 2 tabs:
Messages: conversations about specific items, for example a question from your accountant about a receipt
Paperwork requests: requests for the receipt or invoice that goes with a bank transaction
For details, go to How to use item messaging in Dext and How to request paperwork for bank transactions in Dext
What's in the More tab
The More tab in the Dext mobile app holds your logins, extra features, settings and support. What you see depends on your account and role:
Switch logins: switch between saved logins, add a login or log out.
Subscription: buy or manage a plan bought through the App Store. Only the account owner sees this.
Do more with Dext: Vehicles for mileage claims and your Extract by email addresses. Dext Solo also shows Vault here.
Integrations: connect and manage your accounting software.
Settings: app settings for the camera, sign-in and notifications.
Support: Ask us a question to contact Dext, or View existing feature requests.
If your accountant or bookkeeper pays for your Dext subscription, you won't see Subscription or Integrations.
For details on managing accounting software integrations in the mobile app, go to How to connect your accounting software using the Dext mobile app
Change your app settings
To change how the Dext mobile app works on your phone, go to More > Settings:
Open on camera: the app opens straight on the camera.
Save to gallery: photos you take in Dext are also saved to your phone's photo gallery.
Camera shot suggestions: the camera detects your document, suggests a crop and warns you if a photo looks blurry. For details, go to Use camera shot suggestions in the Dext mobile app
Biometrics: unlock the app with your face or fingerprint. For details, go to How to set up biometric authentication on the mobile app
Marketing notifications: turn marketing notifications from Dext on or off.
Scan and upload receipts and invoices in the Dext mobile app
To scan a paper receipt or invoice in the Dext mobile app, use the Add button on the Costs or Sales tab:
Go to the Costs or Sales tab.
Tap Add (the camera icon) at the bottom right.
Take a photo of your document.
Check the image and add any details.
Tap Submit.
The camera uploads to the tab you opened it from. To upload to the other tab, tap Costs or Sales at the bottom right of the camera.
To upload a photo or PDF that's already on your phone, go to Costs > +, then under Upload, choose Photos or PDF. For a sales document, open the camera from the Sales tab and tap the gallery button at the bottom left.
After you submit, the upload appears in the Processing section at the top of the list while Dext extracts its details. For camera modes and more ways to upload, go to How to scan and upload documents in the Dext mobile app
Create an expense claim in the Dext mobile app
To create an expense claim in the Dext mobile app, start from the Expenses tab:
Go to the Expenses tab and tap + Create claim.
Tap the cost items you want to include, then tap Create.
Choose who the claim is Owned by, then enter an End date and a Claim name.
Tap Create.
You can also start from the Costs tab. Press and hold an item, or tap … > Select items, then tick the items and choose Create expense claim from the actions button.
To submit, approve and publish a claim, go to Manage expense claims in the mobile app
Note: Dext Solo doesn't have expense claims. If you see Quotes instead of Expenses in the mobile app, you're viewing a Dext Solo account.
Create a mileage claim in the Dext mobile app
To record business travel in the Dext mobile app, create a mileage claim from the Costs tab:
On the Costs tab, tap +.
Tap Mileage claim.
Tap Log trip manually, or Start GPS tracking to record the trip as you drive.
Enter or check the trip details, including the vehicle.
Tap Create.
You need a vehicle to claim mileage. You can add one from the claim's Vehicle field, or from More > Vehicles. For step-by-step instructions, go to How to add a mileage claim using the mobile app
Add files to Vault in the Dext mobile app
To store a file in Vault from the Dext mobile app, upload it from the Vault tab:
Go to the Vault tab.
Tap + Add files.
Choose your files, then tap Open.
Check the Folder, then tap the send button.
You can also go to Costs > + > Add files to Vault. If you use Dext Solo, go to More > Vault, then tap + Add files. For folders, tags and more, go to How to use Vault in the Dext mobile app
Publish items from the Dext mobile app
If your account is connected to accounting software, you can publish items from the Dext mobile app:
Open the item.
Check its details.
Tap Publish. The button can show your software's name, for example Publish to Xero.
You can also swipe right on an item in the list and tap Publish. If an approval workflow applies to the item, the button reads Request approval instead, and the item must be approved before you can publish it.
For details, go to Publish items from the Dext mobile app
Turn on push notifications for the Dext mobile app
Push notifications from the Dext mobile app let you know about your uploads and items without opening the app. You may get a notification when:
Dext has finished extracting data from your documents
An upload was rejected
You get a message about an item from your accountant
It's time to upload your expenses
To turn on push notifications on your iPhone:
Open your phone's Settings.
Tap Notifications.
Tap Dext.
Turn on Allow Notifications.
Switch between accounts in the Dext mobile app
If you use more than one Dext login or account, you can switch between them in the app:
To switch logins, go to More > Switch logins, then tap the login you want. You can also add a login or log out here.
To switch between the accounts under one login, tap the round button with the account's initial at the top left. Then choose an account.
For step-by-step instructions, go to Log in and switch between accounts in the Dext mobile app
Common questions about the Dext mobile app
These are the questions people ask most about using the Dext mobile app.
Where's the camera button in the Dext mobile app?
The camera button in the Dext mobile app is the Add button (camera icon) at the bottom right of the Costs and Sales tabs. It used to sit in the middle of the tab bar. You can also go to Costs > + and tap Camera under Upload.
How do I upload a photo that's already on my phone?
To upload a photo that's already in your phone's photo library, go to Costs > +, then under Upload, tap Photos. Choose the photo, check the details and tap Submit. For a sales document, go to the Sales tab, tap Add, then tap the gallery button at the bottom left of the camera.
Why can't I see the Expenses tab?
You only see the Expenses tab if you have permission to create expense claims. Ask an admin on your account to give you the Create expense claims permission. Dext Solo doesn't have expense claims, so its tab bar shows Quotes and Bank instead.
Where's Vault in the Dext mobile app?
Vault has its own Vault tab in the Dext mobile app. If you use Dext Solo, go to More > Vault instead.
Where are my archived items?
Archived items in the Dext mobile app are in each tab's archive:
Costs: tap … > Costs archive.
Sales and Expenses: tap the archive button at the top right.
I uploaded a receipt and it disappeared. Where did it go?
If a receipt disappears from the Dext mobile app after you upload it, Dext has usually treated it as a duplicate:
The same file uploaded twice is rejected, and a rejected upload banner appears. For details, go to Why was my document rejected?
A different photo or file of a purchase that's already in Dext follows your account's duplicate setting. If the setting is Automatic, Dext deletes the duplicate, and you can only find it in Submission history in the Dext web app. If it's Review, the item stays on the Costs tab with a Duplicate label.
To restore a deleted duplicate or check what it matched, go to Why was my Cost item marked as a duplicate?
My invitation expired. How do I get a new one?
If your Dext invitation expired before you accepted it, ask the person who invited you to send a new one. Then follow the steps in the new email or text message.
Do I use the same login for the app and the web app?
You log in to the Dext mobile app with the same email address and password you use for the Dext web app. You don't need a separate account for your phone.
The camera shows a black screen. What can I do?
If the camera in the Dext mobile app shows a black screen, check that Dext is allowed to use your camera. Open your phone's Settings, tap Dext and turn on Camera. If that doesn't help, close the app and open it again.