80+
Countries with local payment rails, native to the ledger
Comparison · Light vs Moss
Light vs Moss
Moss is a strong spend platform for European SMEs, with a deep DATEV integration and GoBD-compliant document handling. It posts into your accounting system rather than being one, so the ledger, the consolidation and the ERP bill all stay where they were. Light is the agentic accounting platform that IS your system of record: spend, AP/AR, and multi-entity accounting in one platform.
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 Moss
| Light | Moss | |
|---|---|---|
| Implementation | Weeks, with a dedicated implementation team and account manager included | Fast for cards and invoices; the ledger remains a separate system, usually with your tax adviser |
| Architecture | One AI-native ledger; consolidation posts as transactions happen | Spend platform that posts into your accounting system (DATEV, Xero, NetSuite and many others) |
| Agents | Agents complete work end to end inside your controls; every action logged and attributable | AI in receipt and invoice capture; no ledger agents |
| Configuration | Astra learns from your data and suggests workflow and configuration changes to increase performance; applied in-product, no consultants | Self-serve, within spend scope |
| Subscription management | Contract-based invoicing and deferred revenue automated | Subscription spend tracking; revenue lives in your accounting system |
| Spend management | Corporate and virtual cards with Apple Pay and Google Pay, expense capture via Slack, Teams and email, native to the ledger | Native; Moss's core strength |
| Global bill pay | AP and vendor payments executed on local rails in 80+ countries, from the ledger itself | Invoice management and payments, centred on European markets |
| Advanced reporting | Real-time multi-entity reporting with instant drill-down; no spreadsheet exports | Spend and budget reporting; financial statements come from the connected system |
| SaaS metrics | ARR, MRR, NRR, churn and cohort metrics computed from the ledger and contracts, in real time | Lives in your accounting system or a separate tool |
| Global coverage | Local payment rails in 80+ countries; multi-entity, multi-currency by default | European SME focus, strongest in the German-speaking markets |
Why finance teams choose Light over Moss
Moss is excellent at what it is: corporate cards, invoice management and spend control for European SMEs, with a DATEV Unternehmen Online integration included on every plan and GoBD-compliant document handling. It is also explicit about what it is not. Moss posts into DATEV, Xero, NetSuite and many other systems, which means the accounting system question is still open, that bill is still due, and the close still reconciles the seam between the spend tool and the ledger.
Light answers the whole question at once: the ledger and the spend platform are one product. Cards, expenses, AP, procurement, consolidation and reporting share one audit trail, and agents run the flow from receipt to posted entry.
A layer versus a ledger
Every Moss deployment has a second system underneath it, and the month-end job of agreeing the 2. On Light there is nothing to agree: the card transaction, its receipt, its coding and its posting are one record on one ledger.
Beyond a single-country stack
Moss is strongest inside the German-speaking markets, paired with DATEV. Light runs multi-entity, multi-currency groups on local payment rails in 80+ countries, and consolidates them continuously rather than at period end.
Where Moss fits
A German SME happy with its DATEV setup that only wants better cards and invoice handling has a genuine case for Moss. A group that wants to stop running 2 systems, or that has entities beyond one country, is the case for Light.
Signs you’ve outgrown Moss
Moss is a layer, not a ledger
Moss is very good at cards, invoices and GoBD-compliant document handling, and by design it posts into a system of record it does not replace. You still run and pay for DATEV or your ERP underneath. Light is the ledger and the spend platform in one.
Your close spans 2 systems
Spend data lives in Moss, the books live in DATEV or your ERP, and month-end reconciles the seam between them. On Light there is no seam.
The group has outgrown the local setup
A DATEV-centred stack works well for a German company. Once the group has entities in several countries and currencies, the consolidation moves into spreadsheets. Light consolidates continuously as transactions post.
“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 Moss
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 an alternative to Moss?
Light replaces Moss plus the accounting system underneath it: one platform for the ledger and spend, with agents running the work. If you keep only Moss, you still need and pay for DATEV or your ERP.
Can Light match Moss on cards and invoices?
Light issues corporate and virtual cards with Apple Pay and Google Pay, captures receipts in Slack, Teams and email, and enforces expense policy at submission, natively on the ledger.
We work with a DATEV tax adviser. Does Light fit that?
Light is the system of record, so the accounts are produced in Light rather than assembled from exports. Advisers get direct access with a full audit trail instead of a monthly export to reconcile.
We have entities outside Germany. Does that change the comparison?
Yes. A DATEV-centred stack is built around one country. Light consolidates multi-entity, multi-currency groups continuously and pays vendors on local rails in 80+ countries.