Lightyear

By Lightyear

Accounts payable automation that extracts line-item invoice data and syncs it to accounting software.

AP AutomationInvoice ExtractionPurchase OrdersApproval Workflows
Overview

What is Lightyear?

Lightyear is an accounts payable automation platform that extracts header and line-item data from emailed bills, credit notes, and statements. It matches invoices to purchase orders, routes them through approval workflows, reconciles supplier statements, flags duplicates, and verifies bank details before syncing approved data to accounting and POS systems. Finance teams, bookkeepers, and AP staff in hospitality, construction, healthcare, and retail use Lightyear to cut manual data entry and keep invoices archived and searchable.

Best for
Accounts Payable TeamsSmall Business BookkeepersFinance ManagersHospitality GroupsConstruction Firms
Product snapshot
Category
Data Extraction & Collection
Best for
Invoice data capture
Deployment
Cloud / Mobile
Free trial
Yes
Integrations
Xero, QuickBooks, Sage, NetSuite
AI features
Yes
Key features

Key features of Lightyear

Line-item extraction

Captures supplier, totals, and line items from emailed invoices automatically.

Purchase order matching

Matches bills to purchase orders and goods received notes.

Approval workflows

Routes invoices to the right approvers with status tracking throughout.

Statement reconciliation

Checks supplier statements against bills and requests missing invoices.

Duplicate and fraud checks

Flags duplicate invoices and verifies supplier bank details before payment.

Invoice archive

Stores bills online for eight years with search and download.

Reviews

Lightyear reviews

20 reviews

Overall

4.9/5

  • Ease of use4.9/5
  • Features4.8/5
  • Value for money4.8/5
  • Customer support4.9/5

What users like

  • Cuts manual invoice data entry
  • Simple approvals for non-finance staff
  • Fast and responsive support team
  • Easy search of archived invoices

What users dislike

  • Initial mapping setup takes effort
  • VAT rounding cannot be adjusted
  • Extraction occasionally picks wrong amounts
  • POS exports need extra steps

Claire B.

Management accounting

“Liked that it suits all skill levels, shows key details on one screen, and offers reports, search, archiving, and duplicate flags. Found VAT cannot be edited manually and processing sometimes loops.”

Lawrence D.

Finance Assistant

“Liked the keyword, product, and description rules that speed up invoice processing. Found that smart extraction can misread amounts on large invoices with many lines.”

Amanda O.

Accounts Manager

“Liked the quick invoice processing, reduced manual entry, ease of use, and accurate smart extraction. Found that figures entered as line items get rounded and need manual correction.”

Claudia Q.

Accounts

“Liked how promptly and effectively the support team resolves any issues whenever they come up during daily invoice work. Noted no major drawbacks.”

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Alternatives

Top Lightyear alternatives

  • Dext Prepare

    Best for

    Bookkeepers and accountants

    Why choose it

    Fast receipt and invoice data capture

  • ApprovalMax

    Best for

    Multi-step approvals

    Why choose it

    Detailed approval workflows for Xero and QuickBooks

  • Bill

    Best for

    US small businesses

    Why choose it

    Combines AP automation with built-in payments

  • Tipalti

    Best for

    Global payables

    Why choose it

    Supplier payments and tax compliance at scale

Integrations

Lightyear integrations

Lightyear sits between supplier inboxes and the general ledger, so most of its integrations are with finance systems. It syncs approved bills, credit notes, and coded line items to Xero, QuickBooks, Sage, MYOB, Oracle NetSuite, AccountsIQ, and iplicit, using the chart of accounts and tracking categories already set up there. It also connects to inventory and point-of-sale systems used in hospitality and retail, although some POS links rely on an export and import step. Suppliers send invoices to a dedicated email address, and approvers can review and approve bills from the mobile app for iOS and Android. Purchase orders created in Lightyear are emailed to suppliers automatically after approval.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions about Lightyear