What is this page about: When you log in to Light, you land on either the Assistant view or the Dashboard view, depending on your role and what you last used. This page walks through the navigation sidebar that appears on every screen, how to switch between Assistant and Dashboard, and what each button, tab, and widget does.
On this page
- The navigation sidebar
- Switching between Assistant and Dashboard view
- The Assistant view
- The dashboard header
- Your default widgets
- Adding more widgets
- FAQ and troubleshooting
- Related articles
Not everyone in Light lands on the same home screen after logging in. If you're an admin or auditor, you'll see the sidebar and the Assistant and Dashboard views described below. If you have a different role, such as an approver or cardholder, you'll go straight to your own work list instead, for example your Payables, Cards, or Tasks page. The sections below follow the screen top to bottom: the sidebar on the left, the view toggle above everything else, then the Assistant view or the Dashboard view depending on which you have open.
The navigation sidebar
On the left side of the screen, a sidebar stays with you wherever you go in Light. It's split into two groups:
Personal
- Home: takes you back to the Assistant/Dashboard screen described in this article
- Tasks: opens your list of pending tasks
- Apps: if this is enabled for your account, opens the Apps page, where you can browse and open the apps available to you (for example, statement or audit-export tools)
- Expenses: opens your expenses
- Cards: opens your cards
- Skills: opens the skills you can use with Light's assistant
If you have any active or recently minimized conversations with Light's assistant, a Threads section appears below Personal, listing those conversations so you can jump back into one.
Platform
- Revenue & Invoicing, Spend management, and Planning & Reports each expand into their own set of pages when clicked
- Accounting expands to show Journal entries, Bank reconciliation, Releases, Transactions, Accounting documents, and Accounting periods
- Business partners expands to show Customers, Vendors, and Users
At the bottom of the sidebar are a few small icons: one collapses or expands the sidebar, one switches between light and dark theme, one opens help, one opens search, one opens settings, and one opens your notifications. A compact Ask Light… box also sits at the bottom of the sidebar, so you can ask a question without leaving the page you're on.
A few keyboard shortcuts work from anywhere in Light: Cmd+K (Mac) or Ctrl+K (Windows) opens search, Shift+B toggles the sidebar, and Shift+T toggles the theme.
The Assistant and Dashboard views are desktop screens. On a mobile-sized screen, Home isn't part of the navigation menu, so use the menu to reach specific areas like Expenses or Tasks instead.
Switching between Assistant and Dashboard view
At the top center of the screen are two buttons: Assistant and Dashboard. The first time you log in, you'll open into Assistant view. After that, Light remembers whichever view you used last and opens that one the next time you log in.
The Assistant view
Assistant view opens with a greeting based on the time of day, for example "Good morning, {your name}."
Below the greeting is a row of category tabs, in this order: Approvals, Bills, Invoicing, Expenses, Reports, Procurement, Cards, Vendors, Customers, Accounting, and Learn. You'll only see the categories you have access to. Since they don't all fit on screen at once, use the left/right arrows at either end of the row to scroll through them; See more at the end of the row takes you to the Skills page instead of scrolling further. Clicking a tab shows a short list of quick-action links for that category. Examples of what you'll find under each tab:
- Approvals: "Summarize what's waiting for me," "Approve everything under $500," "What's been pending the longest?"
- Bills: "Unpaid bills due this week," "Top vendors by spend this quarter," "Draft bills awaiting submission"
- Invoicing: "Who owes us money?," "Create a draft invoice," "Post ready draft invoices"
- Expenses: "Submit my draft expenses," "Transactions missing receipts," "Where's my reimbursement?"
- Reports: "P&L for last quarter," "Balance sheet as of today," "Chart our monthly spend"
- Procurement: "Create a purchase request," "Open purchase orders," "Find a vendor"
Cards, Vendors, Customers, Accounting, and Learn work the same way, each with their own set of quick-action links for that topic.
Clicking a quick-action link starts the assistant on that topic. It's a shortcut, not necessarily the exact words that get sent, so you may see the assistant respond to a slightly more detailed version of what the link said.
Below the quick actions is the Ask Light… box, where you can type your own question or instruction. Icons under the box, Attach file and Run skill, let you attach a file or use a saved skill, and a button on the right sends your message.
Underneath the chat box, you may see up to three cards, which only appear when there's something to show:
- Tasks: your pending tasks, with a count
- Agent activity: a list of your recent automated tasks (for example, one that flags missing receipts or drafts contract amendments), each with how long ago it ran
- Recent threads: your recent conversations with Light's assistant, so you can click one to pick it back up
The dashboard header
Switch to Dashboard to see your widget grid instead. At the top, you'll see the page title and an Edit button. Click Edit to enter edit mode: the Edit button is replaced by Cancel and Save, each widget gets a small X you can click to remove it, and a toolbar appears at the bottom of the screen with:
- Widget: opens the widget picker so you can add one (see below)
- Two more icon controls, Auto-layout (arranges your widgets into a tidy layout) and Restore default layout (resets to the original widgets and arrangement)
Drag a widget to reposition it. When you're done, click Save to keep your changes or Cancel to discard them.
Your default widgets
Depending on your permissions, you may see some or all of the following widgets when you first open your dashboard.
Card accounts: Shows each card account's name, card count, and available funds. From here you can click See all cards to view the full card list, click a row to open that account's details, or click Add funds to top up the account.
Balance by bank accounts: Shows a donut chart of your balance across bank accounts, plus the total and when it was last updated. Click Bank reconciliation to open reconciliation for your bank accounts.
Tasks: Shows your pending tasks, listed by title, what they're related to, and when they were created. Click any task row to open it.
You'll only see a widget if you have the matching permission, so your dashboard may look different from a colleague's.
Adding more widgets
Click Edit, then click Widget in the bottom toolbar to open the widget picker. Widgets are grouped by category:
- Revenue & invoicing: Aging (your accounts receivable aging), Cash in, Credits, Invoices, and Revenue
- Budget: includes the widget titled "Budget YTD planned accuracy" on screen (YTD means year-to-date), showing how your spending compares to plan so far this year
These are available based on your permissions, so you may not see every category or widget.
FAQ and troubleshooting
Why don't I see a dashboard when I log in?
Only admins and auditors see the Assistant or Dashboard view. If you have another role, Light takes you directly to your work list instead, such as Payables or Tasks.
Why did I land on Assistant instead of Dashboard?
Assistant is the default view the first time you log in. After that, Light remembers whichever view you used last.
Why do I see fewer widgets or categories than a colleague?
Widgets and quick-action categories are shown based on your permissions. For example, if you don't have access to cards, you won't see the Card accounts widget or the Cards category tab.
Can I change which widgets I see?
Yes. Switch to Dashboard view, then click Edit to add, remove, or rearrange widgets, or to restore the default layout.
What's the difference between Assistant and Dashboard view?
Assistant gives you a greeting, quick action links by category, a chat box to ask Light questions, and cards for recent activity. Dashboard shows your accounts, cards, and tasks as widgets in a grid.
Why can't I find Home on my phone?
The Assistant and Dashboard views are desktop-only. On a mobile-sized screen, use the menu to go directly to the area you need, such as Expenses or Tasks.
Related articles
- Issuing and Managing Corporate Cards
- Automated Bank Reconciliation
- Your approval tasks
- Light Apps Overview