Comparison · Light vs Planful
Light vs Planful
Planful is a financial performance management platform that connects planning, close, consolidation and reporting. It is strong at budgeting and forecasting, what-if scenarios, workforce planning and a structured close with automated eliminations and currency translation. It is not a general ledger: it connects to your ERP and picks up where the ERP ends. Light is the agentic ERP where budget, forecast, variance and consolidation run on the posted ledger itself, so the plan and the group numbers are the books rather than a layer above them.
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Light and Planful, compared
| Feature | Light | Planful |
|---|---|---|
| General ledger and accounting system of recordPlanful: a financial performance management platform that connects to your ERP, not a ledger itself | Yes | No |
| Budget, forecast and budget-vs-actual reportingPlanful: a genuine strength: budgeting, forecasting, what-if scenarios and budget owners tracking actuals, plus workforce and compensation planning | Yes | Yes |
| Actuals come straight off the posted ledger, with no import stepPlanful: actuals come from connected source systems such as your ERP, HRIS and CRM | Yes | No |
| Multi-entity consolidationPlanful: a core strength: multi-entity consolidation with automated intercompany eliminations, minority interest and currency translation, plus close task management | Yes | Yes |
| Accounts payable and accounts receivable ledgersPlanful: not covered; AP and AR stay in the connected ERP | Yes | No |
| Corporate cards and spend managementPlanful: not offered; Planful is a planning, close and reporting platform | Yes | No |
| Vendor payments on local railsPlanful: not a payments product | Yes | No |
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The world's most demanding finance teams run on Light.
Budget and consolidate in the ledger
Planful works on data from your ERP. Light runs budget, forecast, variance and consolidation on the posted ledger, with every number drilling to its source documents.
- 01
Keep daily finance together
Light runs the general ledger, bills, invoicing, cards, payments and consolidation in one product. Agents complete routine work within your controls, with a record of every action.
- 02
Check the planning requirements
Planful covers what-if scenarios and workforce and compensation planning. 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 deeper planning than that, Light also connects to dedicated planning tools such as Abacum and Drivetrain.
When to choose Light
- 01
Budget against the books
Budget and forecast on the ledger's own structure, with variances split into operational and currency effects.
- 02
Close every entity at once
Consolidation and eliminations update as transactions post.
- 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.
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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 Planful a general ledger?
No. It plans, closes and reports on data from your connected ERP.
Does Light do budgeting and consolidation?
Yes. Budgets are built on the ledger's own structure, and consolidation updates as transactions post.
When does Planful fit?
When you keep several ERPs, or need scenario and workforce planning alongside close.
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