Help Center / AI Features

Natural Language Q&A in Slack

Light integrates with Slack to let you ask financial questions in plain language using @Light. Get reports, check balances, and access financial insights without leaving Slack.

Overview

The Light Slack integration brings financial data into your team's communication workflow. You can ask questions about spending, payables, receivables, and other financial metrics directly in Slack, and Light responds with relevant data and insights.

How It Works

Light's AI processes your natural language questions and translates them into queries against your financial data. The system understands context like time periods, departments, and expense categories from how you phrase your questions.

Getting Started

Installation

  1. Navigate to Settings (gear icon) → Integrations → Slack
  2. Click Connect
  3. You're redirected to Slack to authorize
  4. Authorize Light to access your Slack workspace
  5. The Light app (bot) is added to your Slack workspace

Basic Usage

Once Light is installed in your Slack workspace:

  1. Send Light a direct message, or mention @Light in a channel
  2. Ask your financial question in plain language
  3. Light processes your question and responds with the answer — for channel mentions, the reply is posted in a thread
  4. Light's response includes relevant data and summaries

Good to know: In a direct message, Light remembers your recent conversation, so you can ask follow-up questions. When you mention @Light inside a channel thread, Light reads the earlier messages in that thread as context for its answer.

Example Questions

You can ask Light questions like:

  • "What did we spend on travel last month?"
  • "Show me top vendors by spending in Q4"
  • "How much do we owe to Acme Corp?"
  • "What's our current cash balance?"
  • "Give me a summary of overdue invoices"
  • "How much was spent on office supplies this quarter?"
  • "Which departments exceeded budget?"

Light understands variations of these questions and responds intelligently.

Question Types

Spending and Expenses

  • "How much did we spend on [category]?"
  • "Top vendors this month"
  • "Expenses by department"
  • "Travel spend for [employee name]"

Payables and Receivables

  • "What invoices are outstanding?"
  • "How much do we owe [vendor]?"
  • "Show me overdue bills"
  • "When are payments due?"

Cash and Liquidity

  • "What's our cash balance?"
  • "Upcoming cash obligations"
  • "Days of cash on hand"

Reports and Summaries

  • "Monthly spending summary"
  • "Budget vs actual"
  • "Reconciliation status"
  • "Open items by category"

Good to know: Light understands context. If you ask "Show me last month's spending" in February, Light knows you mean January. If your question is ambiguous, Light may ask you to clarify the time period.

Permissions and Access

Light respects your access controls:

  • You can only see financial data you have permission to view
  • Questions about restricted departments or entities will be declined
  • Confidential financial information requires appropriate access levels

Tip: Use direct messages with @Light for sensitive questions. This keeps financial queries private from your channel history.

Understanding Light's Responses

Light's responses typically include:

  • Summary: A brief answer to your question
  • Details: Line-by-line data if relevant, formatted as Slack text
  • Source: A link to the relevant policy section when your question is answered from a company policy
  • Clarifications: Questions if Light needs to clarify what you asked

Slack responses are text-based. Charts and visual report views are available in Light's web interface.

Limitations

Some questions cannot be answered through Slack:

  • Highly complex analyses requiring multiple steps
  • Multi-page reports
  • Questions requiring interactive drill-down
  • Real-time data not yet synced to Light

For these, Light suggests accessing Light's web interface for a fuller analysis.

Privacy and Security

Your Slack conversations with Light are:

  • Encrypted in transit
  • Logged for audit purposes
  • Not shared with external services
  • Subject to the same security standards as Light's main platform

Sensitive questions can be asked in direct messages for extra privacy.

Troubleshooting

Light Doesn't Respond

  • Verify Light is installed in your Slack workspace
  • Make sure your Slack account email matches the email of your Light user account — this is how Light identifies you
  • Ensure you have access to the financial data you're asking about
  • Try rephrasing your question more simply

Incorrect Answers

  • Light may have misunderstood your question. Try rephrasing it.
  • Provide more context (specific time periods, departments, entities)
  • Use specific category names rather than vague terms

Access Denied

  • You may not have permission to view the data you asked about
  • Contact your Light administrator to request access

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