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.
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.
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.
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 configure:
Supplier
Category
These fields determine how the invoice is created in Xero 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 will automatically publish to Xero after successful payment under Purchases > Bills > Paid. If these fields are left blank, the invoice will not automatically publish to Xero.
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 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.
What happens after you pay the invoice?
After you click Confirm and Pay:
The invoice is paid from your wallet.
The invoice status updates from Open to Paid.
If Supplier and Category were configured:
The invoice is automatically published to Xero 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 were not configured:
The invoice will not automatically publish to Xero.
A corresponding transaction will still appear in the relevant bank feed in Xero.
You can reconcile the bank feed transaction manually if required.
Running fees then begin accumulating again for the next billing cycle.
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 (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; if left blank, the invoice will not publish, but a corresponding bank feed transaction will still be created.
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