The true cost of typing invoices by hand
Based on average UK accounting practice data · March 2026
2–4 min
Average time per invoice
Find supplier, type amounts, allocate VAT, categorise
4–8%
Human error rate
Miskeyed amounts, wrong VAT codes, missed invoices
30+ hrs
Per month at 500 invoices
Nearly a full working week, every month
~2–4 minutes per invoice
~5 seconds per invoice
Manual data entry seems free, but staff time is the most expensive input. Based on UK bookkeeper rates of £12–20/hour.
| Volume | Manual (staff cost) | Distil | You save |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 invoices/mo | £50–100 | £19 | £31–81/mo |
| 300 invoices/mo | £150–300 | £19 | £131–281/mo |
| 500 invoices/mo | £250–500 | £59 | £191–441/mo |
| 1,000 invoices/mo | £500–1,000 | £89 | £411–911/mo |
Based on 2–4 minutes per invoice at £15/hour average bookkeeper rate. Distil Solo (£19/mo) covers 300 pages; Starter (£59/mo) covers 1,500 pages.
Manual entry only gets data into your books. Distil does that and more — in one platform.
AI Categorisation
Two-tier supplier rules that auto-learn from your corrections.
Auto-Publish as Drafts
Known suppliers auto-publish to Xero or QuickBooks. Review and approve new ones.
VAT Returns
Box 1–9 calculations from processed invoices.
MTD ITSA
Quarterly submissions to HMRC for sole traders.
P&L & Cash Flow
Reports generated automatically from your data.
Mileage Tracking
HMRC-approved rates. Auto-creates expense records.
Bank Statements
Upload PDFs, every transaction extracted and categorised.
Bank Reconciliation
Auto-match bank transactions to invoices. One-click reconciliation.
Client Portal
QR code upload links — no app or account for clients.
6-Year Storage
HMRC-compliant document retention in UK data centres.
Industry average: 4–8% error rate
95%+ extraction accuracy
Try Distil free for 14 days. From £19/month. Cancel anytime.