How to export data from Dext

Use the Dext web app. Dext offers exporting there only, not in its mobile app.

Pick the format for what you need. A CSV is a spreadsheet of the extracted data, for opening in a spreadsheet or importing into other software, and if Image sharing is on in your export settings it also carries links to the images. A PDF combines the document images into one file and takes up to 250 items per export. A ZIP holds the documents in their original file formats, with no limit on the number of items but a cap of 1 GB per export.

For a CSV, make sure every selected item has a total amount, because an item without one makes the export fail with an error. A total of zero counts.

Defaults for every export live under Business settings, Exports: the usual CSV format for each kind of document, the columns in a custom CSV, the order of items in a PDF and whether each item starts with a page showing its ID, how files inside a ZIP are named, and Image sharing. Admin users can set up a custom CSV format there.

1. Go to the Costs or Sales inbox and open the tab that holds the items: Inbox, Approvals or Archive.
2. Tick the items to export. To export the whole list, leave every item unticked; the checkbox at the top of the list ticks just the items on the page you're viewing.
3. With items ticked, select Export; with none ticked, select Export all. Where accounting software is connected, look for both under the Actions menu.
4. Choose the CSV, PDF or ZIP tab.
5. For a CSV, pick a format from the CSV format dropdown.
6. If you're exporting from the inbox, decide whether to tick Archive items after export.
7. Select Export, then select Download when the file is ready.

Exporting leaves items where they are in the inbox, unless you tick Archive items after export. To archive them automatically, turn on Archive after exporting to CSV or Archive after exporting to PDF under Business settings, Automation; with the CSV setting on, the Archive items after export box is ticked for you. Before a PDF or ZIP file reaches you, Dext runs a virus check on it, and a finished export can be downloaded again for a limited period. Archived items can be unarchived later.

For a full copy of every document, new ones included, Dext suggests a backup. An Admin user connects Dext to Dropbox, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive or another supported storage service from Business settings, Connections, Back up, then selects Backup all to copy existing documents and turns on Autobackup for new ones.

Expense claims and bank transactions are exported separately. For claims, go to Costs, Expense claims, tick them and choose Actions, then Export, as a CSV or PDF. For bank transactions, go to Bank, Transactions and select Export all, or tick some and select Export. Exporting bank transactions is limited to Admin users.

Documents can still be exported after a subscription is cancelled, because the account stays available. Dext keeps the right to delete data once a subscription ends, though, so it advises exporting or backing up what you need before cancelling.

A set total amount error means at least one selected item has no total, not even zero. In the Costs inbox or Costs Archive, select the Total column header to sort from the highest amount down, which puts items without a total at the bottom. Open each one, enter a total (zero is fine), click outside the field to save it, and run the CSV export again.

A PDF stops at 250 items, so choose ZIP for more. A ZIP over 1 GB needs splitting into smaller batches, or a backup instead. Items in the Archive can't be sent by email until they've been unarchived.