How to auto-publish documents in Dext

Auto-publish only sends items that are already complete, and the rules that run before it, such as supplier and customer rules, payment method rules and Smart Split, are what complete them. So set those rules up first. Which category a supplier rule should give its documents is a question for your accountant, not for Dext.

Then pick the suppliers to start with. Dext points to ones whose documents never vary: the same category every time, a steady paid status and due date, and a supplier rule that already codes them fully. It suggests leaving out suppliers you seldom deal with, ones whose category changes with the purchase, and ones whose documents you find yourself editing most months. Dext also flags likely suppliers itself, with a sparkle icon beside the toggle, and Review suppliers in the costs inbox filters your list down to them.

Decide how wide the rule should reach. Dext recommends the narrowest level that does the job, and says the account-wide switch is the usual source of documents going out that nobody meant to publish. Dext also says published items can't be unpublished, which is another reason to begin with a handful of suppliers and check the results.

Some connections can't auto-publish at all: desktop accounting software such as Sage 50 and QuickBooks Desktop. Mileage claims made with Dext's Mileage feature and items from a Commerce lite connection are left out too, so publish those by hand or add them to an expense claim.

1. Go to Costs and open the Suppliers tab. For a customer, go to Sales and open the Customers tab instead.
2. Find the supplier or customer you want to switch on.
3. Check the rules already set for it, such as its Category, so its documents arrive complete.
4. Turn its Auto-publish toggle to Yes.
5. To hold certain document types back, go to Business settings, then Connections, click Manage next to your accounting software and open Settings.
6. In the Cost items exceptions section, choose the types you don't want published automatically, such as credit notes or supplier statements.
7. When new documents have come through, open one and go to its History tab to confirm how it was published.

From then on, each new document covered by the rule goes to your accounting software once Dext has processed it, without anyone pressing Publish. Documents of an excepted type stay in the inbox for you to look at, even from a supplier that auto-publishes, so a supplier's invoices can go straight through while its monthly statement waits.

When rules overlap, Dext follows an order. An approval workflow holds a document until it's approved, ahead of every auto-publish rule. Payment method rules override supplier and customer rules, which in turn override the account-wide setting. Where a broader rule is publishing items you'd rather check, Dext suggests setting the payment method to Never.

The History tab tells the two routes apart: an automatically published item says it was published and archived by Dext, while one published by hand names the user. If something goes across wrongly, Dext's fix is to clear its publishing data, then correct the item and publish it again. The how-to on clearing publishing data walks through it, starting with the earlier copy in your accounting software.

An item missing a field it needs for publishing stays in the inbox at To review, and hovering over the status shows what's missing. Dext gives several other reasons: the document arrived before the rule existed; its type is listed as an exception; an approval workflow is still waiting on it; Dext couldn't pull out essential details or marked it as suspicious; or the submitter has Auto Expense claims turned on, so it went into their open expense claim.

If nothing ever gets a category, open Business settings, then Automation, then Categorisation. If Auto-categorisation is on Never, Dext won't fill in a category by itself, and an item with no category can't be published.