80+
Countries with local payment rails, native to the ledger
Comparison · Light vs Fortnox
Light vs Fortnox
Fortnox is a small business accounting tool for single-entity business, but doesn't handle multi-entities. Avoid manual reconciliation and reporting out of spreadsheets, use Light's native Fortnox import to launch instantly.
Book a demo$2B
Revenue Tillo runs on Light across 8 entities
76%
Cut in Tillo's month-end processing time
4
People on the finance team scaling Lovable to $500M revenue
Compare Light vs Fortnox
| Light | Fortnox | |
|---|---|---|
| Implementation | Weeks, with a dedicated implementation team and account manager included | Self-serve for small companies; accountant-led beyond that |
| Architecture | One AI-native ledger; consolidation posts as transactions happen | Per-company Swedish SMB platform; the group lives outside it |
| Agents | Agents complete work end to end inside your controls; every action logged and attributable | Assistive features; no agents |
| Configuration | Astra learns from your data and suggests workflow and configuration changes to increase performance; applied in-product, no consultants | Static setup; changes are manual |
| Subscription management | Contract-based invoicing and deferred revenue automated | Recurring invoicing; no contract-based revenue automation |
| Spend management | Corporate and virtual cards with Apple Pay and Google Pay, expense capture via Slack, Teams and email, native to the ledger | Cards and expense features within the Swedish ecosystem |
| Global bill pay | AP and vendor payments executed on local rails in 80+ countries, from the ledger itself | Swedish rails (Bankgirot); international payments limited |
| Advanced reporting | Real-time multi-entity reporting with instant drill-down; no spreadsheet exports | SMB reports; group reporting in spreadsheets |
| SaaS metrics | ARR, MRR, NRR, churn and cohort metrics computed from the ledger and contracts, in real time | Not available; separate tools |
| Global coverage | Local payment rails in 80+ countries; multi-entity, multi-currency by default | Sweden-only by design |
Why finance teams choose Light over Fortnox
Fortnox is the default for Swedish SMBs, and inside Sweden it earns that position: bank connections, Bankgirot, an ecosystem accountants know. Its boundary is the border. The platform is per-company and Sweden-shaped, so the day a Norwegian, German or US subsidiary appears, the group starts living in spreadsheets.
Light is built for exactly that day: one ledger where Swedish and foreign entities consolidate continuously, with local rails in 80+ countries, Bankgirot included, and agents doing the daily work.
The second entity is the moment
Groups outgrow Fortnox in a predictable sequence: a foreign entity, a second currency, a consolidation spreadsheet, a month-end that doubles. On Light, adding an entity is adding a dimension; the group view, eliminations and FX are default behaviour.
From templates to agents
Fortnox automates with recurring templates and bank rules that execute what was predefined. Light's agents complete outcomes: they code against your history, match payments, reconcile continuously, chase receipts in Slack, and post within thresholds you set.
Where Fortnox fits
A single-entity Swedish company with a Swedish accountant is well served by Fortnox. The comparison starts when the group does.
Signs you’ve outgrown Fortnox
Entity number 2 is abroad
Fortnox is built for Swedish companies, and it is excellent at that. The day a Norwegian or German subsidiary appears, consolidation moves to spreadsheets. Light is multi-entity and multi-currency by default.
The group reports in Excel
Each company closes in Fortnox; the group view is assembled by hand every month. On Light, consolidation posts continuously across entities on one ledger.
Automation means templates
Recurring templates and bank rules execute what was predefined. Light's agents complete the work: coding, matching, reconciling and chasing, inside your controls.
“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
Top 3 reasons leaders pick Light over Fortnox
An all-inclusive platform
Leverage native products for AP, AR, Procurement and budgeting that seamlessly leverage AI and integrate to Slack and Teams.
Superior performance
Whether you are processing 100,000 or 50 million transactions, the Light Ledger is based on a hyper-performant database.
Beautiful reporting
Stop the reporting headache of spreadsheets, and get fast, intuitive reports with instant drill-down capabilities.
More reasons to love Light
Enjoy integrated products that both finance and the employees enjoy using.
Expense Management
Automate expense approvals, track spending in real-time, and gain insights with AI-powered analytics.
Vendor Management
Streamline vendor relationships with simplified onboarding, tracking supplier performance, and enforcing procurement policies.
Cards
Issue vendor and employee cards with Apple Pay and Google Pay globally. Upload receipts via Slack, Teams or email.
Frequently asked questions
Is Light a good alternative to Fortnox?
For groups, yes: multi-entity, multi-currency consolidation is Light's default, with Swedish rails intact and 80+ countries alongside. For a single Swedish entity, Fortnox remains reasonable.
Does Light support Swedish payments and reporting?
Yes: Bankgirot rails, Swedish VAT logic and Swedish entities run natively, on the same ledger as the rest of the group.
How long does migration from Fortnox take?
Weeks, with Light's implementation team moving accounts, balances and open items per entity into one ledger.
Can our Swedish accountant still work with us on Light?
Yes. Accountants get real-time access to the ledger and reports instead of period-end exports.