Why choose Datamolino
Set who needs to approve, let your finance or bookkeeping team continue editing after approval, and export once the coding is complete. Invoice approvals are included in your subscription.
Let clients approve the purchase. Finish the coding afterwards.
Dext locks approved invoice details. Datamolino lets your finance or bookkeeping team continue editing after approval when Keep documents editable is enabled. Clients can approve the invoice first, while your team finishes the coding afterwards.
The trade-off with Dext
Dext locks approved invoice details, so final coding needs to be completed before approval. Its broader tools include expense claims, mileage, invoice fetching, supplier-statement reconciliation and practice data-health tools.
Sources and product details
Datamolino configured invoice approval before accounting export. With Keep documents editable enabled, Admins and Users in the folder can edit after approval; Approver-only users cannot. Dext UK business and practice offers; plan and integration scope varies.
- Datamolino: invoice approval overview
- Datamolino: exporting when approval is enabled
- Dext: UK business offer
- Dext: UK accounting-practice offer
- Dext: supplier-statement reconciliation
- Dext: review permissions and approved-item locks
- Datamolino: invoice approval overview
Compare features and limits.
| Your work | Datamolino | Dext |
|---|---|---|
| Extract individual invoice lines | ✓YesWith line items included | ✓YesSeparate line-item credits; paid excess |
Details for Extract individual invoice linesDatamolinoCapture the descriptions and amounts printed on invoice lines, with quantity, unit price and tax where available. Choose a plan with line items to use line-item capture. Supplier invoices on a plan with line items; document quality affects completeness and available fields depend on the invoice.
DextDext extracts invoice lines using a separate credit allowance. Current practice and business plans include some line-item credits. After that allowance, you pay per use or buy a prepaid bundle. Practice plans include one line-item document per purchased business-client seat each month. Current Dext practice and business subscription documentation. The line-item credit model excludes France.
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| Reuse coding rules | ✓YesDescriptions and keywords | ✓YesSupplier rules, including rules-only mode |
Details for Reuse coding rulesDatamolinoDatamolino remembers line-item coding for the same supplier and line description and automatically applies it to future invoices. If descriptions vary, for example because they contain changing dates or reference numbers, create keyword rules to apply the right coding automatically.
DextDext supports supplier coding rules. Its Supplier rules mode applies a category only when a supplier rule is set, so automated coding does not have to rely on predicted categories. Dext Costs categorisation settings and supplier rules; a category selected in the mobile app can take priority.
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| Separate invoices in one PDF | ✓YesAutomatic PDF splitting | ✓YesAutomatic multi-document mode |
Details for Separate invoices in one PDFDatamolinoUpload a PDF containing multiple invoices and Datamolino automatically separates it into individual documents, including invoices that span multiple pages. For uploads, select Auto as the import option. For documents sent by email, add @split to the subject line.
DextDext's Auto-splitting upload option locates separate documents across the pages of a PDF. It also offers a separate one-document-per-page option. Dext web upload to Costs or Sales; the documented Auto-splitting PDF limit is 40 MB.
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| Allocate one bill across accounts | ✓YesOne-off, saved and automatic splits | ✓YesOne supplier rule; line extraction off |
Details for Allocate one bill across accountsDatamolinoBill Split lets you allocate a bill across multiple accounts using fixed amounts, percentages, or a combination of both. Apply the split once, save it as a rule to use again, or automate it for future bills from the same supplier. When Bill Split is applied, the new allocation lines replace the captured invoice lines.
DextDext Smart Split is a supplier or customer rule that applies fixed amounts first, then percentages, to every transaction from that supplier. Only an Admin can set it up, and line extraction must be switched off for the supplier. Dext does not document a saved split you can pick for a single bill. Dext supplier/customer Smart Split rules; an extracted non-zero total is required.
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| Require everyone in one stage to sign | ✓YesIncluded; configure an All stage | –Not offeredOne approver completes a stage |
Details for Require everyone in one stage to signDatamolinoSet a stage to All when every configured member must approve. Use Any when one of those members can complete the stage.
DextDext supports approval stages. Its Costs and Sales guide describes one assigned approver completing a stage when several people are assigned. The documented Dext Costs and Sales workflow.
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| Edit coding during and after approval | ✓YesFinish coding after client approval | !LimitedReview edits allowed; approved details lock |
Details for Edit coding during and after approvalDatamolinoWith the Keep documents editable setting enabled, your bookkeeping team can continue editing the invoice after approval and before export. Keep documents editable is an optional workflow setting. If your team needs to finish coding after approval, automatic export after approval must be switched off.
DextDext can allow selected document fields to change during approval review. Approvers cannot edit line items during that stage, and approved item details are locked. Dext Costs and Sales approval review; fields depend on stage permissions. The guide distinguishes review from the approved state.
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| Attach an approval record in Xero | ✓YesAudit Trail PDF; optional folder setting | ?Not confirmedNot documented for Xero |
Details for Attach an approval record in XeroDatamolinoTurn on Approval Audit Trail PDF in the folder. When an approved invoice is exported to Xero, Datamolino attaches a PDF with the invoice details, the approval history and the coding. Xero folders with the setting switched on. The PDF shows the final completed approval round; earlier rounds stay in Datamolino.
DextDext's guide to publishing to Xero mentions attaching the original document only. Dext documents an approval-history PDF for QuickBooks Online. Checked 28 September 2026 in the Dext publishing guides for Xero and QuickBooks Online.
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Compare the feature, plan, setup and regional scope. Open Details for evidence.
Require every approver in a stage to sign
Both products route invoices through approval stages. In Datamolino, you can choose whether Any or All members of a stage must approve. Dext's Costs and Sales guide describes a stage that completes when one assigned person approves.
- Start with
- An invoice needs approval from both the Finance Manager and Managing Director.
- In Datamolino
- Add both people to the same approval stage and set it to All.
- The result
- The invoice isn't fully approved until both people have approved it. If approval from either person were enough, you would set the stage to Any instead.
Datamolino handles this in one stage: set it to All and every approver in the stage must sign. In Dext, one assigned approver completes a stage, so two signatures need a second stage, and the second approver waits for the first.
See Any and All approval stagesSources and product details
Datamolino configured stage members and Dext's documented Costs and Sales stages.
- Datamolino: invoice approval overview
- Dext: cost and sales approval workflows
Finish coding after the client approves
Datamolino lets your finance or bookkeeping team continue editing an invoice after it has been approved when Keep documents editable is enabled. Dext allows selected edits during approval, but locks the invoice details once approved.
- Start with
- The client needs to approve an equipment purchase, but the bookkeeping team hasn't finished coding all the line items yet.
- In Datamolino
- Enable Keep documents editable and leave automatic export after approval switched off. The client approves the invoice, and your bookkeeping team can then finish the coding.
- The result
- The client has approved the invoice and your bookkeeping team can complete the coding before exporting it to the accounting system.
In Datamolino, your client can approve the invoice without waiting for your bookkeeping team to finish coding. In Dext, once the invoice is approved, further editing is locked.
See coding after approvalSources and product details
Datamolino editing after approval but before export needs the opt-in Keep documents editable setting: Admins and Users in the folder can edit, Approver-only users cannot. Dext review-field editing excludes line items; approved details lock.
- Datamolino: invoice approval overview
- Datamolino: exporting when approval is enabled
- Dext: review permissions and approved-item locks
Split one bill or automate the allocation
Both products split a bill into allocation lines, fixed amounts first, then percentages. Datamolino Bill Split lets you apply a split once, save it and pick it for any bill, or automate it for a supplier. Dext Smart Split is one rule per supplier or customer that applies to every transaction, set up by an Admin, with line extraction switched off for that supplier.
- Start with
- A £1,200 bill needs a fixed £200 allocation, then a 60/40 split of the remaining amount.
- In Datamolino
- Set £200 as a fixed amount, then split the remaining £1,000 by 60% and 40%. Review the preview and choose Apply Once.
- The result
- Bill Split creates three lines: £200, £600 and £400. They add up to £1,200 and replace the captured lines for this bill.
Apply Once leaves future bills unchanged. Save the rule if you want to select and apply it again manually, or automate it if the same split should be applied to future bills from that supplier.
See Bill Split allocationsSources and product details
Worked allocation uses Xero. Datamolino one-off/folder rules also support QuickBooks; recurring supplier rules also support FreeAgent. Dext Smart Split requires Admin setup and an extracted non-zero total.
- Datamolino: Bill Split
- Dext: Smart Split allocation rules
From the client's approval to a coded Xero bill
In this example, a supplier invoice has two lines: equipment hire and maintenance. The client approves the invoice, then the bookkeeping team completes the coding before export.
Prepare the handover
Set up the client's approval workflow, enable Keep documents editable and Audit Trail PDF, and leave automatic export after approval switched off. Send the document for approval.
The client approves the purchase
The client reviews the invoice and signs off. In this example, that completes the only approval stage. The approved document stays in Datamolino for final coding.
The bookkeeper completes both lines
The equipment-hire and maintenance lines are assigned to the appropriate Xero accounts. The bookkeeping team checks the tax and tracking fields and confirms that the line totals match the invoice.
Export the approved bill to Xero
The completed bill is exported to Xero. With Audit Trail PDF enabled, the approval record and coding overview are included with the invoice.
Xero receives the fully coded bill together with its approval record. The client approved the invoice, and the bookkeeping team completed the coding before export.
Sources and product details
Illustrative Xero workflow: a line-item plan and one completed approval stage. Keep documents editable and the Audit Trail PDF are enabled; automatic export is off. The Audit Trail PDF shows the invoice details, the approval history of the completed approval round and the coding; earlier rounds stay in Datamolino.
- Datamolino: extracted fields and line-item plans
- Datamolino: editing and checking invoice lines
- Datamolino: invoice approval overview
- Datamolino: exporting when approval is enabled
Line items in your plan, without a separate extraction bundle
With Datamolino, you can choose a plan with line-item capture included. Dext uses a separate line-item extraction allowance, with additional usage charged separately or available through prepaid bundles.
Sources and product details
Standard Datamolino pricing excludes line extraction. The Dext credit model described here covers current practice and business subscriptions outside France. Compare the total charge for the same document mix.
- Datamolino: extracted fields and line-item plans
- Dext: line-item extraction
- Dext: practice included credits and prepaid bundles
- Dext: business included credits and prepaid bundles
- Datamolino: invoice approval overview
See the relevant tools.
Try your invoice and approval workflow.
Start a free trial with a recurring supplier invoice and your approval steps, or check the plan for your volume. Prefer a walkthrough? Book a workflow demo and we will take you through the coding and approvals, right through to export.
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Comparison sources · checked 28 September 2026
- Datamolino: extracted fields and line-item plans
- Datamolino: saved line coding
- Datamolino: keyword rules
- Datamolino: automatic PDF document splitting
- Datamolino: Bill Split
- Datamolino: invoice approval overview
- Datamolino: exporting when approval is enabled
- Datamolino: editing and checking invoice lines
- Dext: line-item extraction
- Dext: supplier rules and categorisation settings
- Dext: upload and automatic PDF splitting
- Dext: Smart Split allocation rules
- Dext: cost and sales approval workflows
- Dext: review permissions and approved-item locks
- Dext: UK business offer
- Dext: UK accounting-practice offer
- Dext: supplier-statement reconciliation
- Dext: practice included credits and prepaid bundles
- Dext: business included credits and prepaid bundles
- Datamolino: invoice approval overview