# Top 6 AI bookkeeping software tools for UK accountants (2026)

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Compare bookkeeping tools for UK practices, including Briefcase, Dext and AutoEntry, plus capture and automation already available in Xero and QuickBooks.

There are plenty of promises flying around about AI in accounting but which tool is actually delivering for firms, and how can you set yourself and your team up for success? We'll compare capture, coding, financial close and more across the top options that are out there to see which one is right for you.

![Alex Dernie](https://briefcase.so/marketing/authors/alex-dernie.webp)

By Alex DernieUpdated 11 September 2026

With so many options available, it can be overwhelming to figure out the right option for you. The ranking below prioritises bookkeeping automation, UK VAT handling and month-end work. Each review sets out the features, extra costs and limitations that matter when choosing for your practice.

## 1.Briefcase

**Summary:** Briefcase automates bookkeeping and financial close, from reading a supplier invoice to preparing the adjustments and working papers needed at month-end. It uses the document, the business’s transaction history and UK VAT guidance to code entries and explain its decisions. Your team reviews exceptions while eligible documents publish through Autopilot. AI, expenses and financial close are included in the licence. Supplier payments are charged separately.

Built from the ground up around AI, Briefcase learns how each client’s books are kept and gets smarter as your team uses it. It learns from transaction history and coding corrections, so more of the work can happen automatically over time, without setting up supplier rules. Firms who are looking to improve efficiency and free up time in their team often pick Briefcase for these reasons.

### Key features

-   **Convenient capture.** Send documents by WhatsApp, email or web upload. Whole-inbox forwarding picks out invoices and filters out junk.
-   **Learns over time.** Contextual account coding learns from each client’s transaction history and your coding corrections, getting better as you use it without supplier rules to maintain.
-   **UK VAT decisions.** Tax treatments come with explanations linked to HMRC guidance, so your team can check the reasoning.
-   **Auto-publishing with verification.** Autopilot adds checks for document legibility, completeness and consistency with past transactions. It publishes only when those checks pass with high confidence, and holds exceptions for review. As it learns your work, it can take on more of the repetitive bookkeeping.
-   **Transparent decisions.** Hover over the AI indicators to see why Briefcase chose a code or treatment. Autopilot also explains why a document was published or held for review.
-   **Working papers.** Manage financial close with balance sheet reconciliations, aged debtors and creditors, P&L analysis and supporting evidence in one place.
-   **Automatic detection of adjustments.** Identify prepayments, fixed assets, deferred income and missing-cost accruals, with schedules and draft adjustments ready for review.
-   **Supplier statement reconciliation.** Match supplier statements against the books to identify missing invoices and discrepancies.
-   **Expenses and mileage.** Collect employee claims through the web or WhatsApp, with route calculations for mileage.
-   **Full ledger included.** Briefcase Ledger brings together double-entry accounts, bank feeds, AI cash coding, sales invoicing, approvals, supplier payments and financial reports. You can also use Connect with an existing Xero or QuickBooks ledger.

#### Pros

-   No supplier rules to maintain: coding uses document context and client history, and learns from categorisation and tracking corrections.
-   Reviewers can follow the reasoning behind a tax code or a held document, instead of checking an unexplained suggestion.
-   Bookkeeping feeds into close schedules and working papers, reducing the work of rebuilding them separately at month-end.
-   Clients can submit documents and expense claims through WhatsApp.
-   Choose an integrated ledger or improve bookkeeping while retaining Xero or QuickBooks.
-   No separate AI, expense or close-module add-ons. Supplier payments are charged separately.

#### Cons

-   No billable-expense tagging to recharge a purchase or expense line to a customer.
-   If you choose Connect, it works only with Xero or QuickBooks, not Sage or FreeAgent. Briefcase Ledger is the better option if you want a single, automated tool across all workflows.

AI Autopilot

Legibility: passedCompleteness: passedConsistency: passed

This document was autopublished because it was legible, all data points were extracted and there were at least 3 historically consistent transactions.

Example of a document published by Autopilot. All three checks passed, and the explanation shows why it qualified.

[Connolly Accountants’ published case study](https://briefcase.so/customers/connolly) reports a 65% autopublish rate and 99% accuracy across fields. The practice replaced Dext, brought bookkeeping back in-house and increased client count without increasing headcount. These results come from its use of Briefcase with an existing ledger.

**Prepayment detected**

This transaction has been identified as a prepayment and journal schedule has been created automatically.

Briefcase detects a prepayment and creates a schedule for review. The reviewer can inspect the schedule or correct the classification.

For a closer look at the publishing checks, see [Briefcase Autopilot](https://briefcase.so/blog/introducing-ai-autopilot). Compare the relevant Ledger or Connect subscription on the [pricing page](https://briefcase.so/pricing).

## 2.Dext

**Summary:** Dext combines document capture with collection, approvals and other practice workflows. Its included category predictions learn from past coding without requiring supplier rules. Optional AI Assist adds contextual category, tax-code and description suggestions, explanations and controls for applying them. Supplier rules and automatic publishing are also part of the core product.

[Category predictions](https://help.dext.com/en/articles/416739-how-dext-auto-categorises-your-costs-items) and [AI Assist](https://help.dext.com/en/articles/500051-what-is-dext-ai-assist)are distinct features. AI Assist covers Costs and Sales, not the Bank workspace; its line-item actions require line-item extraction. [Bank Match](https://help.dext.com/en/articles/377054-how-does-bank-match-work-in-dext) identifies matching payments, with functionality varying by integration. It does not itself complete reconciliation in the ledger.

Dext’s [practice plans](https://help.dext.com/en/articles/273220-dext-plans-for-accountants-and-bookkeepers) use per-client pricing with a minimum of ten clients and optional additions. Compare the complete plan your team would use. If you already use Dext and are considering leaving, our [Dext alternatives guide](https://briefcase.so/blog/dext-alternative-uk-accounting-firms) looks specifically at that decision.

#### Key features

-   **Document capture.** Collect documents by email and reconcile supplier statements.
-   **Expenses and mileage.** Manage employee claims and approvals.
-   **Coding suggestions.** Included category predictions, plus optional AI Assist for contextual suggestions and explanations.
-   **Matching and prepayments.** Bank Match identifies matching payments; prepayment journals use allocation dates you set.
-   **Publishing workflows.** Supplier rules, auto-publishing and approval workflows.

#### Pros

-   Combines capture with broader practice workflows.
-   Supports both reviewed suggestions and automated publishing.

#### Cons

-   Practice plans have a minimum ten-client commitment.
-   Line-item AI Assist actions depend on extraction allowance.
-   AI Assist is a paid addition for practice clients except Dext Solo; Payments also costs extra.
-   Line-item and supplier-statement extraction incur charges beyond the included allowances.

## 3.AutoEntry

**Summary:** AutoEntry is worth considering when document extraction is the main job you need to improve. It captures invoice data, including line items, and supports saved defaults and automatic publishing. The practical question is how well those defaults handle your supplier mix and how often someone must correct the output. It also supports supplier statement reconciliation and employee expense reports, including mileage and approvals. See AutoEntry’s[product overview](https://help.autoentry.com/en/articles/1782618-what-is-autoentry) and [automation documentation](https://help.autoentry.com/en/articles/15325864-automation-in-autoentry).

Its [pricing uses credits](https://www.autoentry.com/pricing). An invoice costs one credit for totals-only extraction or two with line items. A credit allowance is therefore not the same number of invoices. Check the target ledger connection, rollover rules and the cost of a busy month before choosing a subscription.

#### Key features

-   **Invoice extraction.** Capture invoice data, including line items.
-   **Saved defaults.** Reuse settings for repeat documents.
-   **Automatic publishing.** Publish using configured defaults.
-   **Statements and expenses.** Supplier statement reconciliation, expense reports, mileage and expense approvals.

#### Pros

-   Credit purchasing ties the allowance to usage.
-   Defaults and publishing automation can reduce repeat processing.

#### Cons

-   Line-item invoice extraction uses twice the credits of totals-only extraction.
-   You need to model busy months and credit rollover to compare cost reliably.

## 4.Apron

**Summary:** Apron is relevant when a practice wants to consider capture alongside supplier payments. Its [William automation](https://getapron.com/william) includes auto-publishing eligible purchase invoices and receipts to Xero or QuickBooks after checks.

Apron’s [auto-publish documentation](https://support.getapron.com/en/articles/15064137-understand-auto-publish) excludes supplier statements, sales invoices and credit notes from that workflow. It also describes supplier-history and document checks, with items held for review when they do not qualify. Include these exceptions in a trial, especially if they account for much of your team’s work.

Check which capture, William and payment features the quote includes. Apron has published a [pricing change effective 1 December 2026](https://support.getapron.com/en/articles/16819956-apron-pricing-is-changing-on-1-december); its pricing pages distinguish current and future terms. Use the terms that apply when you will buy.

#### Key features

-   **Document capture.** Capture purchase documents and search a connected inbox.
-   **Expenses and mileage.** Submit claims through approval workflows.
-   **Auto-publishing.** William checks eligible documents before publishing to Xero or QuickBooks.
-   **Supplier payments.** Make payments as part of the wider Apron offering.

#### Pros

-   Relevant when capture and supplier payments are both buying priorities.
-   Auto-publishing checks hold ineligible documents for review.

#### Cons

-   Auto-publish excludes supplier statements, sales invoices and credit notes.
-   Supplier-history requirements can leave documents needing review.
-   Supplier-payment charges apply beyond the selected plan’s allowance.
-   William currently requires Silver, Gold or Platinum partner status. New pricing takes effect on 1 December 2026.

## 5. Xero + Hubdoc

**Summary:** Hubdoc collects purchase documents and publishes them to Xero, with supplier settings for automatic publishing. Xero lists Hubdoc with its UK Simple, Ignite, Grow, Comprehensive and Ultimate subscriptions when connected to the subscription. That makes it a sensible capture baseline for an existing Xero client. See [Xero’s UK plans](https://www.xero.com/uk/pricing-plans/) and [Hubdoc publishing settings](https://central.xero.com/0/article/Publish-Hubdoc-documents-to-Xero-UK).

Xero also offers automatic bank reconciliation through JAX. Its UK documentation lists this with Grow and higher plans, with the AI Automate add-on available for Simple and Ignite. Higher-confidence transactions can be reconciled automatically; others remain for review. Check [Xero’s reconciliation features and plan conditions](https://www.xero.com/uk/accounting-software/reconcile-bank-transactions/) for the client’s entitlement.

For a client with a handful of documents per month, Hubdoc may cover capture without another subscription. As volume or complexity increases, test how much coding, review and close work remains. “Included” means part of the paid Xero subscription.

**Where users report friction.** On the [Xero App Store’s Hubdoc reviews](https://apps.xero.com/uk/app/hubdoc/reviews), Louise Doig describes missed receipt details and more manual work than expected; Anna Giamarelos reports disconnections interrupting reconciliation. Other reviewers report time savings from email forwarding. Test extraction and publishing on your own documents before relying on the included workflow at scale.

#### Key features

-   **Document capture.** Collect documents and extract data through Hubdoc.
-   **Publishing settings.** Configure supplier publishing settings for Xero.
-   **Bank reconciliation.** Reconcile in Xero, including plan-dependent JAX automation.

#### Pros

-   Hubdoc is included with the listed UK Xero subscriptions.
-   Capture and bank reconciliation can sit within an existing Xero setup.

#### Cons

-   JAX automatic reconciliation may require a higher plan or an add-on; ordinary bank matching and rules are separate.
-   Hubdoc credit notes need manual publishing. Multi-line documents can still require manual line entry.
-   This combination is for Xero clients; it does not cover a mixed-ledger portfolio on its own.

## 6. QuickBooks Online

**Summary:** QuickBooks Online lets clients upload or email receipts and supplier bills, or photograph them in the mobile app. It extracts information for review, after which you can add the transaction or match an existing one. Intuit’s [UK receipt-capture guide](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-uk/help-article/import-transactions/upload-receipts-bills-quickbooks-online/L862MmZHn_GB_en_GB) describes the review-and-match process, including tax-rate extraction for receipt line items.

QuickBooks’ [Accounting AI](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/uk/accounting-agent/) suggests bank-transaction categories from past activity. AI features are available on UK plans below Advanced, although their scope varies by plan. For repeatable bank transactions, [QuickBooks bank rules](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-uk/help-article/banking/set-bank-rules-categorise-online-banking-online/L0mjJl0nD_GB_en_GB) can categorise transactions and auto-add those meeting the conditions you set. Treat receipt review and bank-rule automation as separate workflows. Check UK subscription availability rather than assuming features advertised for the US product also apply.

For a handful of receipts per month, the included capture tools may be enough. At higher volumes, repeated review and corrections can add up across clients. Use a trial to measure how much of that work a dedicated tool saves.

#### Key features

-   **Receipt and bill capture.** Upload by app, email or computer.
-   **Review and matching.** Review extracted transactions before adding or matching them.
-   **Bank-feed coding.** AI suggestions and categorisation rules with optional auto-add.
-   **Expenses and approvals.** Employee expense submissions and configured approvals on Advanced.
-   **Assets and schedules.** Advanced offers AI-assisted fixed-asset setup after expense coding, plus depreciation and revenue-recognition schedules.

#### Pros

-   Uses tools already available within relevant QuickBooks subscriptions.
-   Clients can photograph receipts in the accounting app they already use.

#### Cons

-   The documented receipt workflow still involves review, adding or matching.
-   Bank-rule auto-add applies to transactions meeting configured conditions; it is separate from receipt processing.
-   Employee claim submission, configured approvals and the fixed-asset and revenue-schedule workflows require Advanced.

## The final feature checklist

Compare the work each tool covers, from collecting an invoice to closing the books. Read the short notes alongside the ticks for product, plan and workflow differences.

**Briefcase includes AI, line-item extraction, expenses and financial close in the relevant product subscription.** Supplier payments carry an extra charge. Pricing scales with document volume; Ledger and Connect cover different accounting setups. [See what is included](https://briefcase.so/pricing).

**At a glance**What the symbols mean

**Included**In the product or plan noted**Extra cost**Add-on, upgrade or usage charge**Partial workflow**Setup or scope differs; see note**Not available**In the workflow compared**Not verified**Unconfirmed in the sources checked

On smaller screens, scroll each table across to see all six options.

### Capture and coding

Compare how documents reach the books, how coding improves with transaction history, and what still needs review before publishing.

Capture and coding: six UK bookkeeping options
| Feature | [Briefcase](https://briefcase.so/blog/best-ai-bookkeeping-software-uk-accountants#briefcase-connect) | [Dext](https://briefcase.so/blog/best-ai-bookkeeping-software-uk-accountants#dext) | [AutoEntry](https://briefcase.so/blog/best-ai-bookkeeping-software-uk-accountants#autoentry) | [Apron](https://briefcase.so/blog/best-ai-bookkeeping-software-uk-accountants#apron) | [Xero + Hubdoc](https://briefcase.so/blog/best-ai-bookkeeping-software-uk-accountants#included-tools) | [QuickBooks](https://briefcase.so/blog/best-ai-bookkeeping-software-uk-accountants#quickbooks) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Receipt and invoice capture | Included. | Included. | Included. | Included. | Included. Hubdoc | Included. |
| Collect invoices from email | Included. Whole-inbox forwarding + filtering | Included. Email-in; Fetch also available | Included. Email-in | Included. Inbox search + email-in | Included. Forward to Hubdoc | Included. Email receipts and bills |
| Coding that learns over time | Included. Document context + history | Included. Learns and applies categoriesAI Assist: paid add-on² | Not verified. Saved defaults; learning not verified | Included. William learns from historyPartner eligibility³ | Included. Xero bill-code suggestions; after 150 approved bills | Included. Bank-code suggestions learn from correctionsAvailable below Advanced |
| VAT decision transparency | Included. Reasoning + HMRC guidance links | Extra cost. AI Assist explanationsPaid add-on² | Not verified. | Included. William reasoning logPartner eligibility³ | Not verified. | Not verified. |
| Automatic purchase-document publishing | Included. Autopilot checks | Included. Supplier rules includedAI Assist: paid add-on² | Included. Configured defaults | Included. William; eligible invoices and receiptsPartner eligibility³ | Included. Hubdoc settings; credit notes excluded | Not available. Receipt workflow needs review |
| Line-item extraction | Included. | Extra cost. Allowance includedPaid bundles beyond allowance² | Extra cost. 2 credits per invoiceTotals-only extraction: 1 credit | Included. Included with Capture | Not verified. | Partial workflow.Receipt line-tax extraction; full invoice detail unverified |
| Supplier statement reconciliation | Included. Included in Briefcase | Extra cost. Allowance includedCharges beyond allowance² | Included. | Not verified. | Not verified. | Not verified. |

### Financial close

Look beyond data entry to the adjustments and evidence needed at month-end. These rows distinguish automatic detection from schedules you set up yourself.

Financial close: six UK bookkeeping options
| Feature | [Briefcase](https://briefcase.so/blog/best-ai-bookkeeping-software-uk-accountants#briefcase-connect) | [Dext](https://briefcase.so/blog/best-ai-bookkeeping-software-uk-accountants#dext) | [AutoEntry](https://briefcase.so/blog/best-ai-bookkeeping-software-uk-accountants#autoentry) | [Apron](https://briefcase.so/blog/best-ai-bookkeeping-software-uk-accountants#apron) | [Xero + Hubdoc](https://briefcase.so/blog/best-ai-bookkeeping-software-uk-accountants#included-tools) | [QuickBooks](https://briefcase.so/blog/best-ai-bookkeeping-software-uk-accountants#quickbooks) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Automatically detect prepayments | Included. From invoice lines | Partial workflow.Set dates; journals generated | Not verified. | Not verified. | Not verified. | Not verified. |
| Automatically detect fixed assets | Included. Identify assets + prepare depreciation | Not verified. | Not verified. | Not verified. | Partial workflow.Draft asset after account coding | Partial workflow.Assisted setup after expense codingAdvanced plan |
| Automatically detect missing-cost accruals | Included. Draft for human review and posting | Not verified. | Not verified. | Not verified. | Not verified. | Not verified. |
| Automatically detect deferred income | Included. From uploaded sales invoices | Not verified. | Not verified. | Not verified. | Not verified. | Partial workflow.Advanced; schedules after setup |
| Working papers with supporting evidence | Included. Connect | Not verified. | Not verified. | Not verified. | Included. Classic for existing users; new product in beta | Not verified. |

### Expenses, payments and ledger

Check how staff submit claims, who approves spending and where payments happen. Ledger compatibility shows which accounting system each workflow uses.

Expenses, payments and ledger: six UK bookkeeping options
| Feature | [Briefcase](https://briefcase.so/blog/best-ai-bookkeeping-software-uk-accountants#briefcase-connect) | [Dext](https://briefcase.so/blog/best-ai-bookkeeping-software-uk-accountants#dext) | [AutoEntry](https://briefcase.so/blog/best-ai-bookkeeping-software-uk-accountants#autoentry) | [Apron](https://briefcase.so/blog/best-ai-bookkeeping-software-uk-accountants#apron) | [Xero + Hubdoc](https://briefcase.so/blog/best-ai-bookkeeping-software-uk-accountants#included-tools) | [QuickBooks](https://briefcase.so/blog/best-ai-bookkeeping-software-uk-accountants#quickbooks) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Employee expense claims | Included. Web + WhatsApp; included | Included. | Included. | Included. | Extra cost. Grow and above£2.50 per extra user/month⁴ | Extra cost. Employee submissionsAdvanced plan |
| Mileage claims | Included. Route calculation + HMRC rates; included | Included. Manual entry or GPS tracking | Included. Enter distance; configured rate | Included. Route distance + company rate | Extra cost. Grow and above£2.50 per extra user/month⁴ | Included. Track trips + record reimbursement |
| Approval workflows | Included. Ledger | Included. | Included. Expense reports | Included. Payments + reimbursements | Included. Basic bill approvalExpense claims: plan-dependent⁴ | Extra cost. Configured workflowsAdvanced plan |
| Initiate supplier payments | Extra cost. Ledger | Extra cost. Dext Payments£10/client/month + usage² | Not verified. | Extra cost. Plan allowanceFees beyond allowance³ | Extra cost. UK bill payments£0.20 beyond allowance⁴ | Not verified. UK availability unconfirmed |
| Ledger compatibility | Briefcase LedgerOr Xero / QuickBooks via Connect | Xero + QuickBooksExternal integrations | Xero + QuickBooksExternal integrations | Xero + QuickBooksExternal integrations | Xero onlyOwn ledger | QuickBooks onlyOwn ledger |
| Own full double-entry ledger | Included. Ledger¹ | Not available. External ledger | Not available. External ledger | Not available. External ledger | Included. | Included. |
| Automated bank-feed coding or matching | Included. Ledger¹ | Included. Bank MatchIntegration limits; not ledger reconciliation | Not verified. Statement extraction; manual fast-coding | Not verified. Missing-document checks documented | Included. Matching and bank rulesJAX auto-reconciliation: plan-dependent⁴ | Included. AI suggestions; rules / auto-add |

Competitor UK product documentation checked 11 September 2026. Feature availability, not a performance score.

How to read the tablesWorkflow differences, costs and product scope

**Reading the table.** A dash means the capability was not verified in the UK documentation reviewed; it is not a claim that the product lacks it. A half-circle identifies a related workflow that still needs manual setup or coding. A green £ marks an add-on, higher-plan requirement or charge beyond an included allowance; the cell explains which. Standard subscriptions and ordinary document allowances are not, by themselves, marked as feature add-ons.

**1\. Briefcase products.** Connect works with Xero or QuickBooks. The own-ledger and bank-feed features belong to Ledger. Working papers here refers to Connect. This column covers the product range, not a single subscription.

**2\. Dext costs.**[AI Assist is a paid addition](https://help.dext.com/en/articles/615854-getting-started-with-dext-ai-assist) for practice clients, with an exception for Dext Solo. Its £5/client/month launch offer runs to 31 October 2026. Line-item and supplier-statement extraction have included allowances, with charges beyond them. Category predictions and supplier-rule publishing are included without AI Assist.[Payments adds £10/client/month](https://help.dext.com/en/articles/595967-dext-payments-understanding-usage-and-invoicing), plus applicable usage fees. Core expense claims and approvals are included.

**3\. Apron costs.**[Current partner pricing](https://getapron.com/pricing/accountants-archived) includes line-item extraction in Capture; William access requires Silver, Gold or Platinum partner status. Payment fees apply beyond the relevant plan allowance. [Terms change on 1 December 2026](https://getapron.com/pricing/accountants), including charges for additional connected inboxes. Use the pricing that applies to your start date.

**4\. Xero costs.**[Grow, Comprehensive and Ultimate](https://www.xero.com/uk/pricing-plans/) include expense and mileage claims for 1, 5 and 10 users respectively; additional users cost £2.50/month. Domestic payments beyond included allowances cost £0.20 each. JAX auto-reconciliation is included from Grow and costs £3.50/month as an Ignite add-on. Published charges exclude VAT.

**Other plan differences.**[AutoEntry includes all features](https://www.autoentry.com/pricing); document type and extraction detail determine credit use. Invoice line items use two credits versus one for totals-only extraction. The £ in that row marks increased consumption, not a separate module licence. [QuickBooks Advanced](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/uk/quickbooks-advanced/) is required for the employee-claim, configured-approval, fixed-asset and revenue-schedule features noted here; budget for a plan upgrade if you currently use a lower tier.

**Learning over time.** This row covers coding informed by previous transactions or corrections, including suggestions that still need review. It does not mean every entry is published automatically. Dext can apply learned categories, William learns from ledger history and corrections, and Xero and QuickBooks offer coding suggestions. AutoEntry’s documented saved defaults do not establish the same learning behaviour.

**Automatic detection.** The close rows ask whether software identifies the adjustment from documents or transaction history. A manually configured schedule or asset register is a different starting point. Briefcase’s accruals are drafted for a person to review and post. Dext generates prepayment journals after you select dates and the allocation method. Xero can create a draft asset after an invoice is coded to an asset account. QuickBooks Advanced offers assisted asset setup after expense coding, and revenue-recognition schedules after configuration.

**Autopublish rates.**[Connolly Accountants reports 65% with Briefcase](https://briefcase.so/customers/connolly). That is one customer’s result. We have not found comparable, consistently measured rates across this shortlist, so we have not ranked vendors by percentage.

Sources and availability notesVendor documentation and comparison methodology

**Briefcase:**[whole-inbox forwarding and junk filtering](https://briefcase.so/articles/automatic-transaction-detection-and-junk-filtering), [VAT checks](https://briefcase.so/articles/how-does-briefcase-automate-vat-compliance), [fixed assets and depreciation](https://briefcase.so/articles/how-does-briefcase-handle-fixed-assets-depreciation), [working papers](https://briefcase.so/articles/how-does-briefcase-working-papers-work) and [product plans](https://briefcase.so/pricing).

**Dext:**[AI Assist](https://help.dext.com/en/articles/500051-what-is-dext-ai-assist) and its [licence pricing](https://help.dext.com/en/articles/615854-getting-started-with-dext-ai-assist), [collection and supplier statements](https://help.dext.com/en/articles/416741-ways-to-add-documents-to-dext), [expenses, mileage and approvals](https://dext.com/uk/blog/single/enhanced-expense-management-all-in-one-place) and [UK payments](https://help.dext.com/en/collections/1071338-dext-payments). Additional checks: [included category predictions](https://help.dext.com/en/articles/416739-how-dext-auto-categorises-your-costs-items), [Bank Match and integration limits](https://help.dext.com/en/articles/377054-how-does-bank-match-work-in-dext), [prepayment setup](https://help.dext.com/en/articles/386537-how-to-use-prepayments-in-dext),[statement allowances](https://help.dext.com/en/articles/183198-reconcile-supplier-statements-in-dext), [mileage and GPS](https://help.dext.com/en/articles/278978-how-to-add-a-mileage-claim-using-the-mobile-app).

**AutoEntry:**[publishing automation](https://help.autoentry.com/en/articles/15325864-automation-in-autoentry), [email collection](https://help.autoentry.com/en/articles/1312878-email-documents-to-autoentry), [statement reconciliation](https://help.autoentry.com/en/collections/5536870-supplier-statements), [mobile expenses and mileage](https://help.autoentry.com/en/articles/1312856-autoentry-mobile-application) and [expense approvals](https://www.autoentry.com/travel-and-expense-management-automation). Additional checks: [line-item credit use](https://help.autoentry.com/en/articles/1482856-upload-documents-to-autoentry), [manual mileage entry](https://help.autoentry.com/en/articles/5187099-add-a-mileage-expense), [statement fast-coding](https://help.autoentry.com/en/articles/1585265-fast-coding-statement-transactions).

**Apron:**[capture and inbox search](https://getapron.com/capture), [William’s decision explanations](https://getapron.com/william), [learning from history and corrections](https://support.getapron.com/en/articles/15056940-teach-william-about-your-policies), [William auto-publish eligibility](https://support.getapron.com/en/articles/15064137-understand-auto-publish), [expenses and mileage](https://getapron.com/reimbursements) and [reimbursement controls](https://support.getapron.com/en/collections/19632083-reimbursements). Additional checks: [category and tax reasoning](https://support.getapron.com/en/articles/15056963-track-william-s-decisions-and-the-reasoning-behind-them), [mileage route calculation](https://support.getapron.com/en/articles/15083641-submit-a-mileage-claim), [missing-document checks](https://support.getapron.com/en/articles/9323827-understand-missing-documents).

**Xero:**[Hubdoc collection](https://central.xero.com/0/article/Upload-or-email-documents-into-Hubdoc),[account suggestions and draft assets](https://central.xero.com/0/article/Bill-fields), [machine-learning coding predictions](https://blog.xero.com/uk/product-updates/favourite-automation-features-in-xero/), [expenses and mileage](https://www.xero.com/uk/accounting-software/claim-expenses/), [UK bill payments](https://blog.xero.com/uk/product-updates/pay-bills-without-leaving-xero/)and [partner workpapers](https://www.xero.com/uk/xero-workpapers/). Classic Workpapers remains available to existing users; the replacement is in beta. Check your practice’s access. Additional checks: [Hubdoc credit notes and multi-line publishing](https://central.xero.com/0/article/Publish-Hubdoc-documents-to-Xero-UK), [bank matching and JAX](https://www.xero.com/uk/accounting-software/reconcile-bank-transactions/).

**QuickBooks:**[UK Advanced features, employee claims and approvals](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/uk/quickbooks-advanced/), [revenue recognition](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-uk/help-article/accounting-standards/set-revenue-recognition-schedule-quickbooks-online/L0edAQ1Eg_GB_en_GB) and [mileage reimbursement](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-uk/help-article/track-mileage/reimburse-employees-mileage-vehicle-expenses/L56CoOD1b_GB_en_GB). Advanced features should not be assumed to be included with a lower-priced plan. Additional checks: [UK AI features by plan](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/uk/intuit-intelligence/), [assisted fixed-asset setup](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-uk/help-article/fixed-assets/add-manage-fixed-assets-quickbooks-online-advanced/L19788yU0_GB_en_GB), [receipt extraction and review](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-uk/help-article/import-transactions/upload-receipts-bills-quickbooks-online/L862MmZHn_GB_en_GB).

## Frequently asked questions

Do I need another tool if my clients already use Xero or QuickBooks?

For a handful of documents each month, Xero with Hubdoc or QuickBooks’ receipt tools may cover the client’s capture needs. As document volumes grow, repeated coding, review and corrections create more scope for a dedicated tool to save time. Complex VAT and close requirements also matter. Use your trial to check the quality of the output and whether the time saved justifies the cost.

[See Xero + Hubdoc and its plan conditions](https://briefcase.so/blog/best-ai-bookkeeping-software-uk-accountants#included-tools).

Can AI bookkeeping software handle UK VAT?

Check both extraction and coding. Reading the VAT printed on a document does not establish that the posted tax code is right for the client. Include relevant mixed-rate or unusual transactions in your evaluation and have the responsible reviewer inspect the ledger output.

An accounting integration alone does not establish suitability for every VAT scenario. Ask the vendor to demonstrate the cases your practice handles.

Does automatic publishing also reconcile the bank?

Publishing a purchase document and reconciling a bank transaction are separate steps. Briefcase Connect publishes to Xero or QuickBooks, where bank reconciliation remains. Briefcase Ledger handles bank-feed work within its own accounting system. Ask each vendor to show exactly where its workflow ends.

Can one tool cover the whole practice?

Check every ledger and workflow you intend to support. A practice with different accounting systems, document volumes and approval needs may use included ledger tools for some clients and a dedicated service for others. Confirm staff access and portfolio management as well as document processing.

How should we test software before rolling it out?

Look for a free trial and use it to test your own documents and workflows before paying. Check that the trial includes the features you need. Record setup time separately from ongoing processing, inspect the ledger entries and compare the time saved with the cost at your usual volume.

Use the same sample across your shortlist: regular and new suppliers, credit notes, mixed line items and documents that usually need corrections. Start in a test organisation or with automatic publishing disabled, then check the resulting entries. Include historical documents if you need to test month-end work during a short trial.

How does Briefcase Connect differ from Briefcase Ledger?

Briefcase Connect adds document-processing automation to Xero or QuickBooks. Briefcase Ledger is a separate accounting product. Ledger includes bank feeds, AI cash coding and financial reports. Connect lets you keep your current accounting system while adding Briefcase’s bookkeeping and close workflows.

## Put Briefcase on
your shortlist

Explore AI bookkeeping and financial close with Briefcase Ledger, or connect Briefcase to your existing Xero or QuickBooks ledger.

[Try Briefcase](https://app.briefcase.so/sign-up) [View pricing](https://briefcase.so/pricing)