Lightyear

Accounts payable automation with AI line-item extraction, purchase orders and expense management for SME finance teams.

Data entry & receipts11–50 practice Editor's score: 4.1 / 5

About Lightyear

Lightyear is an accounts payable, purchase order and expense management platform aimed at SME finance teams. Its AI-based extraction reads bills and receipts down to line-item level, then exports them to the accounting system the business already uses.

The vendor lists integrations with Xero, Sage, QuickBooks, MYOB, NetSuite and AccountsIQ. Beyond capture it offers supplier price checking, bank detail verification against the business's own records, three-way matching of purchase orders, goods received notes and invoices, and automatic supplier statement reconciliation. Every plan includes unlimited users and sub-entities. Lightyear displays an ISO/IEC 27001 certification badge and says it hosts on AWS in a GDPR-approved jurisdiction.

The vendor says it is trusted by more than 9,500 businesses in over 20 countries (vendor claim), and names customers such as City Golf, Starboard Hotels and Ulster Rugby. Pricing is credit based and sold in US dollars on the US page. It suits finance teams and bookkeepers who want line-item payables automation without an enterprise rollout.

Key Features

AI line-item extraction from bills and receipts
Price checks against supplier price lists and bank detail verification
Three-way matching of purchase order, goods received note and invoice
Automatic supplier statement reconciliation and approval workflows

The AI Ledger

Our in-depth review

Lightyear is a payables tool that goes a step beyond invoice capture. The pitch is line-item extraction, then checks on price and bank details, then matching to purchase orders, which is where many capture-only products stop.

What it does well. The control features are the strongest point. Price checking against supplier lists, bank detail verification and three-way matching address real payables risk, not just typing. Every plan includes unlimited users and sub-entities, which suits groups and bookkeepers with several clients. The ISO/IEC 27001 badge and the stated GDPR-approved hosting on AWS give security reviewers something concrete to read. Integrations are broad, covering Xero, Sage, QuickBooks, MYOB, NetSuite and AccountsIQ, and the vendor's claim of more than 9,500 businesses is backed by named customers.

Where it falls short. Credit pricing needs care. One credit covers an invoice, credit note or receipt with line items, a supplier statement costs one and an employee expense report costs three, so a mixed workload is harder to forecast than a flat fee. Integrations may carry a separate monthly fee quoted on request, and enterprise single sign-on costs extra. We could not find a statement on whether customer data trains its AI models, so ask before onboarding client data.

Best for. SME finance teams and bookkeepers who process supplier bills with many lines and need purchase orders or approvals alongside. Hospitality and multi-site operators are the named examples. Very small practices with a handful of bills a month may find a simpler capture tool cheaper. Teams without purchase orders will use fewer of the controls, so the Standard plan is only worth paying for if goods received notes and three-way matching match how you buy.

Verdict. A credible mid-market payables platform with real controls and a 30 day free trial. In the trial, test line-item accuracy on your messiest suppliers, count credits across a realistic month, and confirm the integration fee for your ledger before committing. Compare it with Dext in this directory if you only need receipts and bills captured, since Dext is simpler and may be cheaper for low volumes. Ask for a written quote that covers every integration you need, because that is where final cost most often drifts from the headline plan price.

Lightyear pricing

Plans as published on the vendor's site, checked 2026-11-05. Practice and partner pricing is often lower.

Plan	Price	Billed	Includes
Essentials	$199 a month	monthly	125 credits a month, purchase orders, expense management, line data extraction, approval workflows, statement reconciliation, unlimited users
Standard	$319 a month	monthly	250 credits a month, everything in Essentials plus goods received notes, three-way PO matching and inventory
Professional	On request	monthly	500 or more credits, white labelling, enterprise single sign-on at extra cost, dedicated account manager

Free trial: 30 day free trial

Who Lightyear is for

Finance teams and bookkeepers at SMEs that process supplier bills with many lines and want price checks, purchase order matching and approvals in one tool. Unlimited users and sub-entities suit groups and multi-client bookkeepers.

Look elsewhere if: Very small practices with only a few bills a month, or firms that need a stated no-training AI commitment and a named hosting country, should ask the vendor first.

Compared with the nearest alternatives

The closest scored tools in Data entry & receipts. Scores are independent and never for sale.

Tool	Score	From	Best for	In one line
Lightyear	4.1 / 5	$199 a month	11–50	Accounts payable automation with AI line-item extraction, purchase orders and expense management for SME finance teams.
Dext	4.7 / 5	£12.5 a month	All sizes	The UK default for receipt, invoice and statement capture, now with AI Assist automations and MTD for Income Tax
AvidXchange	4.1 / 5	On request	50+	US accounts payable automation covering invoice capture, AI approvals, PO matching and supplier payments
Nanonets	4.1 / 5	$100 a month	All sizes	AI document extraction and process agents that read invoices and finance documents and post them to Xero, QuickBooks, Sage and NetSuite.

Compare Lightyear side by side

Ready to try Lightyear?

Check the current plans, free plan or trial on Lightyear's own site.

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Common questions about Lightyear

What does Lightyear do?

Lightyear is accounts payable, purchase order and expense management software for SME finance teams. The vendor says its AI reads supplier bills down to line-item level, checks prices and bank details, matches purchase orders and invoices, and exports to your accounting system. Approvals can be done on mobile.

Does Lightyear connect to Xero, QuickBooks and Sage?

Yes, the vendor names Xero, Sage, QuickBooks, MYOB, NetSuite and AccountsIQ as integrations. It also mentions unspecified ERP, inventory and point of sale systems. The pricing page says some integrations may carry an additional monthly fee quoted on request, so confirm yours before signing.

Is there a free trial for Lightyear?

Yes, the vendor offers a 30 day free trial with no credit card required, on a 30 day rolling contract. Plans are credit based, with unlimited users and sub-entities on every plan. It recommends speaking to the team for setup help, and an optional onboarding package is available.

How does Lightyear handle data security?

The vendor displays ISO/IEC 27001 certification and says its information security management system covers more than 30 policies. It also states data is handled in a GDPR-approved jurisdiction hosted on AWS. We did not find a statement on whether customer data is used to train AI models.

How much does Lightyear cost?

From $199 a month for 125 credits (US page); 30 day free trial, unlimited users. We last checked the price on 5 November 2026. See current pricing on Lightyear's site.

Who is Lightyear best for?

SME finance teams and bookkeepers who process supplier bills with many lines and need purchase orders or approvals alongside. Hospitality and multi-site operators are the named examples. Very small practices with a handful of bills a month may find a simpler capture tool cheaper. Teams without purchase orders will use fewer of the controls, so the Standard plan is only worth paying for if goods received notes and three-way matching match how you buy.

Is Lightyear worth it?

We score Lightyear 4.1 out of 5. A well-controlled payables platform with line-item extraction and matching, though credit pricing and integration fees need checking.

What are the alternatives to Lightyear?

The highest-scored alternatives in Data entry & receipts are Dext (4.7/5), AvidXchange (4.1/5), Nanonets (4.1/5), Clerked (4.1/5) and LayerNext (4.1/5). Compare them side by side.

Answers checked 5 November 2026.

At a glance

Category: Data entry & receipts
Best for: 11–50 practice
Editor's score: 4.1 / 5
Pricing: From $199 a month for 125 credits (US page); 30 day free trial, unlimited users.
Client data hosted: AWS, in a GDPR-approved jurisdiction (country not stated)
Trains AI on your data: Not stated
Ledger access: Not stated
Customers: "Trusted by 9,500+ businesses globally" (vendor claim)
Last verified: 2026-11-05