Straight comparisons against the tools South African small businesses actually shortlist.
Most comparison pages are written to make one product look good. These aren't. Each one sets out what the other tool does well, who it's genuinely the right choice for, and where SparkReceipt differs, with the differences that matter for a South African business rather than a generic feature list.
Business Owners in 175 Countries Trust SparkReceipt
Pick the tool you're weighing SparkReceipt against.
Dext's business plan is R366.46/month billed annually (excluding VAT) for 5 users and 250 documents, with a small monthly allowance for line-item and bank statement extraction and paid bundles beyond it. SparkReceipt Elite is R182.50/month billed annually with 1 user included, more at a per-user rate, unlimited documents, and both of those capabilities as standard. Dext's practice tooling for accountancy firms is more developed than ours, and the comparison covers where that matters.
Read this if: you're a sole trader or small company paying for five Dext seats you don't use, or you've outgrown the line-item and bank statement allowances.
SparkReceipt is a pre-accounting tool for people who keep their own books: sole traders, freelancers, contractors, and small company directors, plus the accountant who works alongside them.
It scans receipts and invoices with AI that reads the whole document in context rather than matching against merchant templates. It extracts bank and credit card statements from PDF, CSV, or Excel, then matches each transaction to the receipt that proves it, flagging the ones with nothing attached. It pulls receipts out of your past emails too: email history extraction goes back through your inbox as far as you choose. It tracks income as well as expenses. It handles 190 currencies at purchase-date exchange rates. And it syncs to Xero and QuickBooks Online with the receipt image attached.
What it doesn't do: raise invoices, run payroll, or file your return. SparkReceipt sits upstream of your accounting software and your filing software, keeping the underlying records clean and complete.
SARS can ask for the tax invoice behind any deduction, and the Tax Administration Act has you keep those records for five years from the date you submit the return. SparkReceipt covers the record-keeping half: every receipt captured digitally, the VAT read off each one, and each transaction linked to the document that proves it. It is not filing software and does not submit your VAT201 or income tax return. Pair it with your accountant or your accounting package, which will have far less to chase at year end.
Each extra user: R15.00/month, billed R180 annually. Accountant access is free.
The essentials for keeping your receipts and expenses organised.
Total for 1 user · R1,190.00 billed annually
+ VAT/GST where applicable
Get Started7-day free trial
50 documents / month
For receipts and invoices
More receipts, more automation. Less to do yourself.
Total for 1 user · R2,190.00 billed annually
+ VAT/GST where applicable
Get Started7-day free trial
Unlimited documents*
Everything in Pro, plus:
Elite, with hands-on setup from a SparkReceipt founder.
R6,900 one-time setup + R2,190.00/year Elite for 1 user
+ VAT/GST where applicable
Get the Founder packAnnual plan only · No free trial
Everything in Elite
Plus a working session with a founder:
Unlimited linked accounts on every plan.
Unlimited document scanning on Elite is subject to fair use. Bank statement extraction uses monthly renewable credits. Historical email imports include a free allowance; larger imports use credits, with the cost shown before you start.
“I used to send my accountant a bag of slips every month hoping they capture everything. With SparkReceipt I now have a realtime view of how much the business owes me.”
Daniel Esterhuizen
Esterhuizen Consulting · South Africa
“Excellent software to manage income and expenses, and have the relevant info at your fingertips at any given time.”
Melvin Hoods
MJD Brokers · South Africa
“The scan accuracy is the most precise out there. Just try it!”
Christina Sust
INMIZE · Spain
