Comparison · Light vs Fathom
Light vs Fathom
Fathom is a reporting, analysis and forecasting platform for businesses, accountants and advisors. It connects to Xero, QuickBooks, MYOB and Sage, and does management reporting, three-way cash flow forecasting, KPI tracking and multi-entity consolidation well. It is not a ledger: the books stay in the accounting systems it reads from. Light is the agentic ERP where every entity posts to one ledger, so group reporting is the books rather than a report built on top of several of them.
Book a demoAt a glance
Light and Fathom, compared
| Feature | Light | Fathom |
|---|---|---|
| General ledger and accounting system of recordFathom: a reporting, analysis and forecasting platform that reads from Xero, QuickBooks, MYOB, Sage or Excel | Yes | No |
| Multi-entity consolidationFathom: a genuine strength: up to 300 entities in a group, 97 currencies and inter-company eliminations, across different accounting systems | Yes | Yes |
| Budget, forecast and budget-vs-actual reportingFathom: a strength: three-way cash flow forecasts, budgets, driver-based plans and scenarios, reported against actuals | Yes | Yes |
| Accounts payable and accounts receivable ledgersFathom: AP and AR are kept in the connected accounting system; Fathom reports and forecasts on them | Yes | No |
| Corporate cards and spend managementFathom: Fathom's products cover reporting, forecasting and analysis; cards and expenses sit in other tools | Yes | No |
| Vendor payments on local railsFathom: not a payments product; payments run from the accounting system or a separate provider | Yes | No |
| Consolidation posts continuously as transactions happenFathom: consolidated reports stay connected to the source systems and refresh from them; eliminations are applied in the report, not posted in the books | Yes | No |
4 week implementation
KPMG global partnership
Remove 4+ tools
700+ apps
The world's most demanding finance teams run on Light.
Report from the ledger itself
Fathom reads from each entity's Xero, QuickBooks or MYOB file. Light holds every entity in one ledger, so group reports are live views of the books with drill-down to source documents.
- 01
Keep daily finance together
Light runs bills, invoicing, cards and payments alongside the general ledger. Agents complete routine work within your controls, with a record of every action.
- 02
Check who the report is for
Fathom is built for businesses and for advisors reporting to many separate clients. If that is your job, a reporting layer fits. Light fits a finance team running a growing group.
When to choose Light
- 01
One ledger for every entity
Add a company, a country or a currency without adding another system.
- 02
Group reporting is always current
Every entity rolls up in real time, with drill-down to the source document and no exports.
- 03
One product for all of finance
Ledger, cards, bills, billing and consolidation run in one product, so no data has to move between systems.
Trusted by the world's
fastest growing companies
See how finance teams run lean and global on Light.
Read customer stories-
“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.”
Tanja, Director of FinanceOmnea -
“Even though we’re three entities, it’s like I’m running a finance department for one entity.”
Thobias, Finance ManagerAlva Labs -
“I really like that Light’s AI already gives me suggestions, GL accounts, cost centers, tax codes. I don’t have to start from scratch.”
Cédric, Finance ManagerOper Credits -
“Nine times out of ten the AI matches everything and posts it to the right account. One click and you’re done.”
Jeppe, CFOKeyShot
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 Fathom a general ledger?
No. It reports, analyses and forecasts on data from Xero, QuickBooks, MYOB, Sage or Excel.
Can Light replace our Xero or QuickBooks files?
Light provides the ledger, payables, receivables, spend and consolidation for every entity in one platform.
When does Fathom fit?
For a single company on Xero or QuickBooks, or an accountant reporting and forecasting for many clients.
See Light at work
