Light vs Datarails
Datarails is an Excel-native finance platform for FP&A, consolidation, month-end close management and cash visibility. Finance teams keep working in their own Excel models while Datarails pulls in data from ERPs, CRMs, HRIS, banks and other sources, and it handles budgeting, forecasting and scenario modelling well. It is a layer that reads from your accounting system rather than the accounting system itself. Light is the agentic ERP where the ledger, the consolidation and budget-versus-actual are the same system, so the numbers you plan against are the books.
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Light and Datarails, compared
| Feature | Light | Datarails |
|---|---|---|
| General ledger and accounting system of record | ||
| Multi-entity consolidation | ||
| Budget, forecast and budget-vs-actual variance | ||
| Accounts payable and accounts receivable ledgers | ||
| Corporate cards and spend management | ||
| Vendor payments on local rails | ||
| Drill-down from group figures to the source bill or invoice |
Budget on the books
Datarails plans on actuals synced from your ERP into Excel. Light budgets and forecasts on the same keys as the ledger, and every variance drills to the documents behind it.
Keep daily finance together
Light runs bills, invoicing, cards and payments alongside the general ledger and consolidation. Agents complete routine work within your controls, with a record of every action.
Check the planning requirements
Datarails covers driver-based and scenario planning in Excel. Light budgets and forecasts on the ledger, and its own FP&A and Management Reporting apps are free with your Light plan. If you need those, Light also connects to dedicated planning tools such as Abacum and Drivetrain.
When to choose Light
Budget against the books
Budget and forecast on the same keys as the ledger, with variance split into operational and FX.
Group reporting is always current
Every entity rolls up in real time, with drill-down to the source document and no exports.
One product for all of finance
Ledger, cards, bills, billing and consolidation share one data model, so nothing moves between systems.
“We evaluated several vendors. Light won because it covers our full finance stack, revenue, AR, AP, expenses, and consolidation, without stitching together a patchwork of point solutions.”
TanjaDirector of Finance, Omnea
Built for the daily work
Bills through to payment
Capture invoices, route approvals and pay vendors from the same system.
Room to grow
One ledger built to handle billions of transactions across your business.
Trace every number
Open a report and drill straight into the transactions behind it.
Spending, under control
Expenses, vendors and cards connected to your ledger.
Expenses
Collect receipts, approve expenses and track spend as it happens.
Vendors
Keep supplier details, bills and approvals together. Apply your purchasing rules as work moves through.
Cards
Issue cards for employees and vendors. Pay with Apple Pay or Google Pay. Send receipts through Slack, Teams or email.
Frequently asked questions
Is Datarails a general ledger?
No. It plans and reports on data from your ERP and other connected systems, inside Excel.
Can Light replace our planning tool?
Light does budget, forecast and variance on the ledger. If you need driver-based models or scenarios, a dedicated planning tool is the right answer.
When does Datarails fit?
When your team wants to keep planning in Excel on top of an ERP you plan to keep.