This article covers how Dext Payments usage is recorded, how fees are invoiced each month, and how to pay your invoice from your wallet. If you use Dext Payments to make supplier payments or top up your wallet, this is where to start.
Important: Dext Payments is available for Xero and QuickBooks Online integrated accounts in the UK. In Canada, Dext Payments is in open beta for QuickBooks Online integrated accounts.
How to view usage and running fees in Dext Payments
You can monitor your Dext Payments usage at any time from the Payments section.
To view usage and fees:
Go to Payments.
Select Usage & Fees.
You’ll see:
Running fees - fees accumulated but not yet invoiced
Invoiced fees - fees already billed
A breakdown of:
Deposits
Paid domestic or local payments
Free allowance usage
Note: All Dext Payments usage and billing activity is managed from the Payments > Usage & Fees section. Usage updates in near real time as transactions move into processing.
How Dext Payments usage is recorded
Dext Payments records usage for:
Each eligible transaction contributes to your usage totals. Depending on your plan and available free allowance, a fee may apply.
Usage is automatically calculated and reflected in Payments > Usage & Fees.
Note for accountants and bookkeeping practices: The subscription add-on fee (£10/client/month) is charged to your practice via your Dext subscription. The usage fees described in this article — for transactions beyond your client's free allowance — are invoiced directly to your client's business and managed from within the client's Dext account.
Understanding your free domestic or local payment allowance
Your Dext Payments plan may include a free allowance for domestic or local payments each month. If it does:
Free transactions are applied automatically first.
Once the allowance is used, additional payments are charged (for example, £0.25 per payment).
The system shows:
Remaining free transactions
Which payments are free versus chargeable
The per-transaction fee
You can check your remaining allowance at any time in Payments > Usage & Fees.
When Dext Payments invoices are generated
Dext Payments fees are invoiced monthly.
Invoices are generated on the first day of each month.
The invoice covers usage from the previous calendar month.
An invoice notification email is sent shortly after the invoice is generated. Delivery times may vary.
For example, on 1 March, you will receive an invoice for February usage.
Who receives the invoice email?
The invoice email is sent to:
Note: For clients managed by an accounting or bookkeeping practice, these roles are typically held by the client or by staff within the practice who have been granted access to that client's account.
How Payments fees invoices work
This invoice is raised against the client's business, not the practice's Dext subscription.
Dext Payments fees invoices are:
Separate from your Dext subscription invoice
Grouped monthly (all running fees are combined into one invoice)
Available only in Payments > Usage & Fees
Each invoice includes:
A unique invoice number
Total deposits recorded
Domestic or local payments (free and paid)
Quantity of chargeable transactions
Per-unit fees
Total fee amount
Important: Payments fees invoices do not appear in the Costs inbox or Supplier invoices section. They are available only in Payments > Usage & Fees.
How to view and download your Dext Payments invoice
To view or download your invoice:
Go to Payments > Usage & Fees.
Select the download icon next to the invoice.
Select Download to save a PDF copy.
How to pay your Dext Payments invoice
To pay your invoice:
Go to Payments > Usage & Fees > Invoices.
Click Pay next to the relevant invoice.
Click Confirm and Pay to complete the payment.
If this is your first Dext Payments invoice, you will automatically be prompted to set:
Supplier
Category
These fields determine how the invoice is created in Xero or QuickBooks Online after payment.
The invoiced amount is deducted from your Dext Payments wallet. Make sure your wallet has sufficient funds before confirming payment.
Important: If Supplier and Category are completed, the invoice automatically publishes after successful payment—to Xero under Purchases > Bills > Paid, or to QuickBooks Online as a paid Bill under Expenses > Bills. If these fields are left blank, the invoice won't automatically publish to Xero or QuickBooks Online.
Once payment is completed, the invoice status changes from Open to Paid.
Updating your Supplier and Category settings
You can update the Supplier and Category settings for Dext Payments invoices at any time. These settings control how invoices are created in Xero or QuickBooks Online after payment.
To update these settings:
Go to Payments > Usage & Fees > Invoices.
Select the cog icon next to the Dext Payments invoice.
Edit the Supplier and/or Category.
Changes apply to how future Dext Payments invoices are published to Xero or QuickBooks Online.
What happens after you pay the invoice?
After you click Confirm and Pay, Dext updates the invoice status and, if Supplier and Category are set, publishes it to your accounting software.
The invoice is paid from your wallet.
The invoice status updates from Open to Paid.
Running fees then begin accumulating again for the next billing cycle.
If you use Xero
If Supplier and Category are set, Dext automatically publishes the paid invoice to Xero:
The invoice is published under Purchases > Bills > Paid.
A corresponding payment record is created in Xero.
The transaction appears in Accounting > Bank Accounts via bank feeds.
You can reconcile the bank feed transaction against the invoice in Xero.
If Supplier and Category aren't set:
The invoice won't automatically publish to Xero.
A corresponding transaction still appears in the relevant bank feed in Xero.
You can reconcile the bank feed transaction manually if required.
If you use QuickBooks Online
If Supplier and Category are set, Dext automatically publishes the paid invoice to QuickBooks Online as a Bill, with a linked Bill Payment:
The Bill appears under Expenses > Bills, with the Supplier and Category you set.
The linked Bill Payment carries the Supplier and bank account, but not the Category—that sits on the Bill itself.
If Supplier and Category aren't set, the invoice won't automatically publish to QuickBooks Online.
Note: QuickBooks Online doesn't support bank feeds for Dext Payments, so the wallet transaction for the invoice payment does not appear automatically. Export the transaction from Payments > Wallet > Export and upload it in QuickBooks Online, then use Match to reconcile it against the published Bill Payment. For the full steps, go to Dext Payments: Pay supplier invoices and expenses with Dext Payments.
What happens if a Dext Payments invoice payment fails?
An invoice payment may fail due to:
Authorisation being declined
Insufficient wallet balance
When this happens:
The invoice status changes to Failed.
A clear failure message is displayed.
You can retry the payment.
How to retry a failed invoice payment
If a Dext Payments invoice payment fails, you can retry it directly from the failed invoice.
To retry payment:
Open the failed invoice.
Click Retry payment.
Complete the new authorisation request.
If successful:
The payment moves to Processing.
The invoice status updates to Paid in full.
A corresponding invoice and payment record are created in Xero or QuickBooks Online (if connected).
If the failure was due to insufficient funds, deposit enough money into your wallet before retrying.
Key things to remember about Dext Payments invoicing
Here's a summary of the most important points about how Dext Payments invoicing works.
Free allowances are applied automatically.
Running fees accumulate until the monthly invoice is generated.
Payments fees invoices are separate from your Dext subscription invoice.
Payments fees invoices are raised against the client business, separate from the practice's subscription invoice.
Invoices are generated on the first day of each month.
Invoices are available only in Payments > Usage & Fees.
Supplier and Category must be completed for the invoice to automatically publish—to Xero under Purchases > Bills > Paid, or to QuickBooks Online as a paid Bill under Expenses > Bills.
QuickBooks Online doesn't support bank feeds for Dext Payments, so you'll always need to export and manually reconcile the wallet transaction in QuickBooks Online, whether or not Supplier and Category are set.
Invoices can be downloaded as a PDF.
Invoices are paid directly from your Dext Payments wallet.
Failed invoice payments can be retried.
If you need help with Dext Payments usage or billing, contact Dext Support