What is Hubdoc and how does it work with an Indian bookkeeper?

Hubdoc is a document collection and data extraction tool owned by Xero. You upload receipts and invoices (via the mobile app, email, or direct supplier connection), and Hubdoc extracts the key data — supplier, date, amount, GST — and publishes the coded transaction to Xero for your Indian bookkeeper to review and reconcile. Your bookkeeper accesses Hubdoc via their own Xero login — no password sharing needed.

What is Dext and how is it different from Hubdoc?

Dext (formerly Receipt Bank) is a standalone document management platform that integrates with both Xero and MYOB. It is more feature-rich than Hubdoc — with better mobile OCR, supplier rules, multi-currency support, and team management features. Hubdoc is free with Xero's Business and higher plans; Dext is a paid add-on (approximately A$30–A$70/month). For MYOB users, Dext is the primary option as Hubdoc is Xero-native.

Do I need Hubdoc or Dext if I outsource bookkeeping to India?

You do not strictly need either — you can email invoices and statements to your bookkeeper, or share them via Xero or MYOB attachments. However, Hubdoc or Dext significantly improve the workflow: you capture receipts in real time via your phone, they are automatically extracted and published to Xero or MYOB, and your bookkeeper reconciles them without any email back-and-forth. For businesses with high receipt volume, the time saving is significant.

How do I give my Indian bookkeeper access to Hubdoc?

Hubdoc access is managed through Xero. When you invite your bookkeeper as an Advisor user in Xero, they automatically get access to your Hubdoc account linked to that Xero organisation. They can see all uploaded documents, review extracted data, and publish transactions to Xero — without any separate invitation needed.

How do I give my Indian bookkeeper access to Dext?

In Dext, go to Settings → Team Members → Invite Team Member. Enter your bookkeeper's email and assign them the Bookkeeper role. They receive an invitation email, create their own Dext login, and can access your account to review and publish documents — no password sharing needed. Their access can be revoked at any time.

Hubdoc and Dext with an Indian Bookkeeper

The Problem These Tools Solve

Without Hubdoc or Dext, the document workflow between you and your Indian bookkeeper typically looks like this: you accumulate receipts, scan or photograph them, email batches of PDFs, and wait for your bookkeeper to manually enter them. This creates delays, risks lost receipts, and generates enormous email clutter on both sides.

With Hubdoc or Dext, the workflow becomes: you photograph a receipt immediately with your phone, the tool extracts the data and sends it to Xero or MYOB within seconds, and your bookkeeper reconciles it the same day — no email required. The receipt image is stored permanently against the transaction for ATO audit purposes.

Hubdoc vs Dext — Which Should You Use?

Feature	Hubdoc	Dext
Cost	Free with Xero Growing/Business plans	~A$30–A$70/month
Works with Xero	✅ Native (owned by Xero)	✅ Full integration
Works with MYOB	❌ Xero only	✅ Full integration
Mobile app OCR quality	Good	Excellent (industry-leading)
Supplier rules / auto-coding	Basic	Advanced — learns your coding
Multi-currency	Limited	✅ Full multi-currency
Bank statement fetch	✅ Auto-fetch from banks	✅ Auto-fetch from banks
Team member access	Via Xero user invitation	Dedicated Dext invitation
Best for	Xero users with standard receipt volume	MYOB users or high receipt volume

Recommendation: If you are on Xero Growing or above, start with Hubdoc — it is free and sufficient for most SMEs. If you are on MYOB, or if you process 50+ receipts/month and want better automation, use Dext.

How to Set Up Hubdoc for Your Indian Bookkeeper

Hubdoc setup — step by step:

Ensure you are on Xero Growing, Business Edition, or higher plan (Hubdoc is included)
In Xero, go to Settings → Users → Invite a User and assign your bookkeeper the Advisor role
Your bookkeeper's Xero Advisor access automatically includes Hubdoc access — no separate invitation needed
In Hubdoc, set up your supplier rules — tell it how to code common suppliers (e.g. Bunnings = Materials, GST 10%). Your bookkeeper can help set these up
Download the Hubdoc mobile app — photograph receipts immediately, they appear in your Hubdoc queue within seconds
Connect bank accounts and card accounts to auto-fetch statements monthly

How to Set Up Dext for Your Indian Bookkeeper

Dext setup — step by step:

Create a Dext account and connect it to your Xero or MYOB organisation
Go to Settings → Team Members → Invite Team Member
Enter your Indian bookkeeper's email and assign the Bookkeeper role
They accept the invitation and create their own Dext login — no password sharing
Set up supplier rules in Dext — it learns your preferences and auto-codes recurring suppliers over time
Download the Dext mobile app — photograph receipts in the field, they are extracted and queued for your bookkeeper within minutes

The Full Receipt-to-Reconciliation Workflow

You photograph the receipt using the Hubdoc or Dext mobile app immediately after purchase
OCR extraction — the tool reads supplier name, date, amount, and GST within seconds
Auto-coding — supplier rules apply your preferred GL account and tax code automatically
Published to Xero or MYOB — the transaction appears in your accounting software as a draft bill or expense
Your Indian bookkeeper reviews the queue — checks the auto-coding, corrects any errors, and matches the transaction to the bank feed
Reconciled — the transaction is matched, the receipt image is stored permanently against it for ATO records

The result: your books are reconciled weekly (or even daily for high-volume businesses) without a single email attachment sent to India. All source documents are stored in the cloud, linked to transactions — instantly retrievable for BAS or ATO audit purposes. This satisfies your 5-year ATO record retention requirement automatically.

What Hubdoc and Dext Cannot Do

They cannot replace a human review of complex transactions — your bookkeeper still needs to manually code unusual or ambiguous receipts
OCR is not 100% accurate — receipts with faded ink, unusual layouts, or handwriting may extract incorrectly. Your bookkeeper checks the queue and corrects errors before publishing
They do not handle sales invoices you issue — these should be raised directly in Xero or MYOB

For more on how we structure the full bookkeeping workflow with Australian clients, see our Xero and MYOB outsourcing guide or contact us to discuss your specific setup.

About This Article
Written by Sharma Jyoti, CA (ICAI). We work with Hubdoc and Dext as standard tools in our Australian client workflow, integrated with Xero and MYOB. Contact us to set up your document workflow →

Frequently Asked Questions

Hubdoc is a document collection tool included free with Xero. You upload receipts and invoices via mobile app or email; Hubdoc extracts supplier, date, amount, and GST; and publishes the coded transaction to Xero for your Indian bookkeeper to review. Your bookkeeper accesses it via their Xero Advisor login — no separate invitation needed.

Dext is a standalone document platform (paid, ~A$30–A$70/month) that integrates with both Xero and MYOB. It has better mobile OCR, more advanced supplier rules, multi-currency support, and works with MYOB — where Hubdoc does not. For high receipt volumes or MYOB users, Dext is the better choice.

Not strictly — you can share invoices via Xero attachments or email. But Hubdoc or Dext eliminates email back-and-forth, stores all source documents against transactions for ATO records, and enables real-time receipt capture via mobile. For businesses with more than 30 receipts/month, the time saving is significant.

Invite your bookkeeper as an Advisor user in Xero (Settings → Users → Invite a User). Xero Advisor access automatically includes Hubdoc access — no separate Hubdoc invitation is needed. They see your Hubdoc document queue via their own Xero login.

In Dext: Settings → Team Members → Invite Team Member. Enter your bookkeeper's email and assign the Bookkeeper role. They accept the invitation and create their own Dext login. No password sharing needed. Access can be revoked at any time from the same Team Members screen.

How to Use Hubdoc and Dext with an Indian Bookkeeper — Australian Business Guide