Lightyear vs Xtract

Lightyear is an accounts payable, purchase order and expense management platform for automating finance administration. It extracts invoice data, supports approval workflows and statement reconciliation, and keeps searchable documents for archiving and reporting. Teams can create and approve purchase orders, record goods received and match orders and receipt notes against supplier bills. Its iOS and Android apps support document capture, approvals and collaboration; mobile approvals require Double Approval or higher in company settings. Lightyear offers API and integration options for accounting software, ERPs and other finance systems, with an additional monthly fee possible depending on requirements. Essentials costs $199 a month for 125 credits, while Standard costs $319 a month for 250 credits. Exported invoices, supplier statements and purchase orders use one credit each; an employee expense report uses three. Browser uploads are limited to 10 MB and supported image and document formats. There is no free plan, but a 30-day trial is listed. The maker is based in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Xtract automates purchase invoice handling, from reception and reading through approval, reporting, and posting to accounting systems. It reads PDF invoices across layouts, countries, and languages, including line items and taxes. Invoices can be routed automatically to approvers, with reminders, conditional routing, and an approval audit trail. Approved invoices can be posted through Xtract APIs or exported as a flat file for ERP import; named integrations include SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics 365, QuickBooks Online, Odoo, and NetSuite. Xtract generates custom invoice reports and can connect purchase information to dashboards such as Power BI or Tableau. Its expense app supports expense uploads, administrator approval, reimbursement, and ERP posting, and is available for iOS and Android. The service operates in the cloud and does not require administration downloads or computer installation. Xtract also offers accounting firms client account divisions and bookkeeping features. It lists Android, iOS, web, and API access.