Comparison · Light vs QAD
Light vs QAD
QAD sells Adaptive ERP to manufacturers, covering financials, manufacturing, purchasing, supply chain and quality, with ChampionAI agents for procurement, sales and accounts payable. Light is one agentic ledger where cards, expenses, bills, vendor payments, billing and consolidation sit in the same books.
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In detail
Light and QAD, compared
| Feature | Light | QAD |
|---|---|---|
| 01Architecture | One agentic ledger; consolidation posts as transactions happen | An ERP suite for manufacturers spanning financials, manufacturing, purchasing, sales, supply chain and quality |
| 02Implementation | Weeks, with a dedicated implementation team and account manager included | Deployments in weeks, with onboarding and advisory services |
| 03Agents | Agents complete work end to end inside your controls; every action logged and attributable | ChampionAI agents for procurement, sales, sourcing, accounts payable and trade compliance act under policies you set, with every action tracked |
| 04Global bill pay | AP and vendor payments executed on local rails in 80+ countries, from the ledger itself | Procure-to-pay through to vendor invoice payment, with 3-way matching and bank connections through custom drivers |
| 05Spend management | Corporate and virtual cards with Apple Pay and Google Pay, expense capture via Slack, Teams and email, native to the ledger | Purchasing spend tracked by commodity, product and supplier, with requisition and PO approvals |
| 06Subscription management | Contract-based invoicing and deferred revenue automated | Quotes, discrete and scheduled orders and pricing, with self-billing and retro-billing for automotive customers |
| 07Advanced reporting | Real-time multi-entity reporting with instant drill-down; no spreadsheet exports | Real-time general ledger with drill-down and report structures for organisation, region and management views |
| 08Global coverage | Local payment rails in 80+ countries; multi-entity, multi-currency by default | Country extensions for local tax, e-invoicing and statutory reporting, with multi-currency processing |
Also in Light
Cards and expenses built in
Spend posts to the same ledger as everything else.
Billing and revenue in the books
Contract invoicing and deferred revenue post straight to the ledger, so nothing needs a tie-out.
SaaS metrics from the ledger
ARR, MRR, NRR and churn are computed from the ledger and your contracts in real time, with no extra module.
Approvals built in
Spend policies and sign-offs run in the ledger, with receipts captured in Slack, Teams or email.
Cards and expenses in the ledger
QAD runs purchasing from requisition and PO approval to vendor invoice payment. Light issues corporate and virtual cards and captures expenses via Slack, Teams and email, and the spend posts to the same ledger as the bills.
- 01
Bill customers from the books
QAD covers quotes, orders and pricing, with self-billing and retro-billing for automotive customers. Light handles contract-based invoicing and deferred revenue in the ledger, and computes ARR, MRR, NRR and churn from it.
- 02
Run every entity on one ledger
QAD supports multi-currency reporting, multi-entity tax reporting and cross-company payments through shared services. Light holds every entity on one ledger and consolidates as transactions post, with intercompany eliminations included.
When to choose Light
- 01
Cards and expenses built in
Spend posts to the same ledger as everything else.
- 02
Billing and revenue in the books
Contract invoicing and deferred revenue post straight to the ledger, so nothing needs a tie-out.
- 03
SaaS metrics from the ledger
ARR, MRR, NRR and churn are computed from the ledger and your contracts in real time, with no extra module.
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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
Does QAD include a general ledger?
Yes. QAD Adaptive ERP includes a real-time general ledger alongside manufacturing, purchasing and supply chain modules. Light is a general ledger that is multi-entity and multi-currency by default, with cards, bills and billing in the same books.
Does QAD use AI agents?
Yes. ChampionAI agents cover procurement, sales, sourcing, accounts payable and trade compliance, acting under policies you set. In Light, agents complete finance work end to end inside your controls, with every action logged.
When does QAD fit?
When you are a manufacturer and want production, supply chain, quality and finance in one ERP family.
Does Light handle inventory?
Light handles inventory through the Inventory app in the Light App Store: manage physical orders, reserve stock, track shipments and returns, post FIFO costs to Light, and receive goods against purchase orders and bills.
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