Lightyear Reviews

Pros

Lightyear is visually pleasing-it's quite simple to use and understand. From the user perspective who inputs data on invoices and approves them, it's straightforward and the layout of the software does not show you more than what you need to see, however, underneath the simple processes there is complexity. Lightyear makes supplier creation, GL code settings linked to export files such as Excel, and GST codes etc are somehow made simple to set up. One thing I find particularly great is whenever I input an ABN number during the Supplier Creation process, it autofills the Supplier Name field. Additionally, this is a drop down menu, so i am able to choose ANY of the Business Names linked to this ABN.

Cons

Sometimes, there have been system bugs and I'm unable to export data for a brief amount of time, or when we top up credits to use the system, the old credits are not rolled over their expiry date. It would be great if there was a notification in place to let us know that our credits are expiring soon or we are running low. Also, there are some things which cannot be customised. For example, the Export to File which is a function that exports invoice data into a spreadsheet, cannot be modified from my end. Lightyear do add features from time to time, but I'm not sure if consumer recommendations are actually involved in the process.

Pros

Integrates seamlessly and easily with Xero - our accounting software

The option for single, double or exec approval process within Lightyear - meaning bills can be directly exported to the payment tab in Xero rather than draft.

Ability to file statements within the software - very handy with suppliers that send multiple dkts then ask you to pay on a statement

Cons

Minor wish list item:The archive tab for completed bills would be handier to search if located on the horizontal tab area where reviews, approvals are shown - rather than only accessible from the left-hand menu bar.

Pros

The Manager function has worked well for us as we have offices in different locations which has made the approval of invoices more efficient.
Easy to see where the approval process is up to.
Exporting invoices to our accounting system is great.
Also like the audit trail feature.

Cons

We haven't used the PO system yet but looking forward to the enhancements that will suit the way we use them. Yes they have listened to us and adding options to suit our business.

Pros

After the initial set up of LightYear and suppliers, we noticed the time savings immediately. I love that I can live chat with a LightYear Staff member whenever I am having trouble with something. They give me mini lessons each time I ask a question, are helpful and have a sense of humor! We have still not implemented all the features the product has to offer, but we are off to a good start.

Cons

It was a bit slow to set up and I did require assistance to work out the best way forward for our organization's requirements, however, the assistance received was wonderful.

Pros

Having data extraction & approval within one system is a game changer for us.
The approval process is simple to use once you spend the time to set it up.
The Keyword feature works really well when working with multiple locations.
The mobile phone app is easy to use and easy to switch between companies.

Cons

No ability on the mobile app to add a note to the receipt/invoice and no feature for multiple page or long receipts / invoices.

Alternatives Considered

EzzyBills

Reasons for Choosing Lightyear

Needed an all in one app for bill approval & accounts payable automation

Switched From

Hubdoc and Dext Prepare

Reasons for Switching to Lightyear

Single e-mail address for incoming bills Mobile phone app easier to use Approval process easier to set up

Pros

First of all, Lightyear is a standalone application that you can, but don't have to integrate with your accounting software. Second of all, strightaway you know the costs of adding it to your business. The price list is on their website and it's fair.
The setup did require some thinking about workflows and user experience, so I took my time there.
But once the suppliers and maps are set up and automation rules kick in, the whole AP process becomes much less painful. I almost enjoy it now ;). The most important features like reading the invoices, accurately mapping them, and assigning them to correct approvers work very well. It saves time, effort and annoyances. The Lightear support team is a very helpful and friendly bunch. I even did a small survey among colleagues and asked what they thought of Lightyear. No surprise - everyone likes it. I highly recommend this product!

Cons

No option to add multiple attachments to invoice at once.

Alternatives Considered

Adobe Acrobat Sign

Reasons for Switching to Lightyear

It's standalone and doesn't need costly integrations with accounting software or involving IT support.

Pros

- Invoice Processing: Significant amount of time saved for me to focus on other aspects of the business, with confidence, knowing that I have accurately captured and processed all invoices.- Security: bank fraud detection is a very powerful feature of the lightyear system as well as its ability to flag duplicate invoices.- Support: the Lightyear team are incredible. From implementation to processing/mapping support, Lightyear are unreal.

Cons

N/A: We have currently used Lightyear for < 6 months but have explored a significant amount of its functionality and capability, which has been an incredibly positive experience for myself and the business.

Alternatives Considered

Tipalti

Reasons for Switching to Lightyear

Far superior invoice processing functionality and advanced P/O system that could not be matched on quality and price.

Pros

Great value for money, time saving, user friendly, outstanding customer service, provides everything you need to process creditors invoices

Cons

I have never had a bad experience with Lightyear. Whenever something doesn't work (which barely happens), their team is always very responsive and the problem gets solved super quickly

Alternatives Considered

Hubdoc

Reasons for Switching to Lightyear

Much better product than the other alternatives

Pros

The system is simple and handles the basics well such as invoice coding and linear approval workflows.Bank account detail changes, duplicate invoice flagging and statement reconciliation are also very clear and useful.The support team both for implementation and ongoing support are responsive and effective.

Cons

The approval workflow for invoices is at the individual supplier level so you can't create an approval chain for a department and attach a group of suppliers to that department. Each supplier is configured individually.

Alternatives Considered

SAP Concur

Reasons for Switching to Lightyear

Value for moneySpeed and ease of implementation

Pros

Easy to use and has vastly improved the time to process our payments while providing significantly more oversight for our executive team.

Cons

Integration with existing procedures was very easy but would require the company's accounts/purchasing team to be hands on during the process.

Alternatives Considered

Medius

Reasons for Switching to Lightyear

Cost and Lightyear took our queries more seriously and responded with much more urgency.

Pros

The approval options definitely is the differential of Lightyear. From a simple 2 steps approval, to up to 3 executive approval, there are many options that can suit the most complex business.
Another strong point from Lightyear is their support. You usually gets a response on the same day.

Cons

Their subscription is based on the number of transactions, so if your business manages a large quantity of bills, it might become a bit expensive.

Alternatives Considered

Hubdoc and Dext Prepare

Reasons for Switching to Lightyear

Due to their approval options.

Pros

Complete visibility across supplier invoices either via the dashboard as a quick view or in detail across all stages of approvals. This is especially helpful at the end of the month to see if all invoices have been through the entire approval process and exported to our accounting system before close off.
Search functionality is helpful and shows which stage of the process each invoice is at - search results can be exported.
The audit trails and notes show full history of the life of the invoice and save a lot of external communication and queries.
Implementation was easy after the demonstrations given to us by [SENSITIVE CONTENT] who took the time to understand what we wanted (which was a little bit out of the ordinary!) and configure the settings accordingly. We gained confidence in Lightyear through the demonstration/training process and the additional webinars.

Cons

Looking forward to enhancements to the mobile app to allow more functionality while on site.

Pros

We never lose an invoice. Even if we accidently delete an invoice we can return it for processing. We have reached our goal of being almost paper free. The processing, approval, review and signing off tabs are wonderful and provides us with a simple system that provides accountability from our department managers. So easy to use and saves so much time.

Cons

A very small number of our supplier invoices can't be mapped but with the overall benefits of this system it is just a minimal issue.

Pros

The Lightyear software is very affordable, user friendly and easy to implement. It does have many functionalities and the integration to NetSuite ERP system is very robust. The accuracy of data extraction is impeccable. What I valued most though is the customer service. The Lightyear team has made the implementation and ongoing operation of the software a breeze.

Cons

The Lightyear software is feature packed. However, more could be done in the space of multi level coding and exporting capabilities.

Alternatives Considered

PaperSave

Reasons for Switching to Lightyear

Cost.

Pros

This software does things that other software could not offer us and was not as user friendly

Once the software was set up correctly the we saved 12-20 hours a week

Cons

General I am very happy with Lightyear and no negitives

Alternatives Considered

Xero

Reasons for Switching to Lightyear

Service and ability to do what we needed

Pros

Having Lightyear enables us to do in minutes what used to take hours of manual data entry to enter suppliers bills into our accounting software.

Cons

I find it annoying that I have to set up a supplier in Xero, raise a test bill, then pull that back into Lightyear to set up a supplier in Lightyear.

Pros

The integration was seamless - around the clock support from [SENSITIVE CONTENT HIDDEN] and the team meant that we were up and running immediately. Our invoice storage and processes pre-lighyear were quite complex and very time consuming. Since we started Lightyear, I have saved atleast 4 hours a week in wages.

I like that our bookkeepers have instant access and can export invoices within seconds. We run two entities and I was able to create a sister company at no extra cost.

Cons

Honestly, nothing. If I could add one function, it would be to add the ability to mark an invoice as paid. As we don't have direct access to our companies MYOB account, this would be handy but I realize this is not the case for majority of users.

Pros

Have always found Lightyear to be a terrific and easy to use product. Dual authorisation of bills is something that many products do not have and the data extraction is very fast and accurate.

Cons

It can sometimes have speed issues and lag.

Pros

The ease of set up and use and ability to export automatically to Xero.

Cons

Very little. Initially in the change from Invitbox to Lightyear there were some issues but they have been quickly resolved and in fact Lightyear just gets better and better.

Pros

Ability to login from anywhere, searchability and storage of invoices (great for looking up contact or invoice information from years ago), approval process is recorded by user.

Cons

A few little bugs here and there but always resolved with a sense of urgency.

Pros

It took all manual inputting invoices and reconciliation to statements away saving huge amount of time, was 100% accurate taking away human error, provided great audit trail and reporting, clear lines of authorisation of invoces.

Cons

There were no obvious cons that we could see

Pros

Lightyear has completely transformed the whole business and made life so incredibly easy. From the transparency of data extraction and approval process through to the electronic filing this system is truly brilliant. I cannot recommend it enough.

Cons

I really can't think of any cons. If there is a feature that is missing, the development team appears to take on board suggestions to incorporate it into the next update and they appear to regularly update and upgrade features.

Pros

Saves so much time, easy to use, friendly and knowledgeable staff.
Easy to train our Farm Managers to use to code invoices.

Cons

Can't think of anything. We have been really pleased with Lightyear.

Pros

The best feature is the direct integration with our Oracle NetSuite which has enable the team to save a lot of time printing, posting, and filing paper invoices.

Cons

Nothing of note - integration was a success and really well supported by the Lightyear team, and they also support closely with any queries as we use the software on a daily basis.

Pros

Very much user friendly, well programmed and mostly importantly very secured.

Cons

Nothing yet that I have experienced any bad so far.