Comparison · Light vs Mercury
Light vs Mercury
Mercury is business banking for US companies with the finance tools built around the account: checking and treasury through partner banks, debit and charge cards, bill pay, invoicing, expense management, an AI operator that stages actions for your confirmation, and Mercury Books, its own double-entry accounting for a single entity in US dollars. Light is the agentic ERP for the international group: one ledger for every entity and currency, with AP, AR, corporate cards, vendor payments on local rails in 80+ countries and consolidation in the same system.
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Light and Mercury, compared
| Feature | Light | Mercury |
|---|---|---|
| General ledger and financial statements | Yes | Yes |
| Bill pay with approval rules | Yes | Yes |
| Customer invoicing | Yes | Yes |
| Corporate and virtual cards | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-entity consolidation and group reporting | Yes | No |
| Accounts and books in currencies other than US dollars | Yes | No |
| Local books for entities outside the United States | Yes | No |
4 week implementation
KPMG global partnership
Remove 4+ tools
700+ apps
The world's most demanding finance teams run on Light.
Run the whole group on one ledger
Mercury keeps US-dollar accounts and one entity's books. Light holds every entity and currency on the same ledger, with continuous consolidation and intercompany elimination.
- 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
Pay and get paid across borders
Light pays suppliers from the ledger on local rails in more than 80 countries and invoices customers in their own currency.
When to choose Light
- 01
One ledger for every entity
Add a company, a country or a currency without adding another system.
- 02
Built for the group abroad
Each entity keeps its own currency and local books and rolls up to one group view, with payments on local rails in 80+ countries.
- 03
Every currency, one set of books
Transactions post in their own currency and consolidate into the group's, with FX handled natively.
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 Mercury an accounting system?
Mercury Books is its own double-entry accounting for a single entity, built into a US business banking account.
What does Light add?
Consolidation across entities and currencies, local books outside the US, and supplier payments on local rails in more than 80 countries, on the same ledger.
When does Mercury fit?
A US startup that wants its bank account, cards, bill pay, invoicing and simple books in one place.
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