80+
Countries with local payment rails, native to the ledger
Comparison · Light vs SAP and NetSuite
Light vs SAP and NetSuite
SAP S/4 HANA and NetSuite are for mid-market and large enterprises and take a long time to implement. With Light you go live quickly, and get cards, AP, procurement controls as well as consolidated reporting and multi-entity accounting.
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 SAP and NetSuite
| Light | SAP and NetSuite | |
|---|---|---|
| Implementation | Weeks, with a dedicated implementation team and account manager included | 6–24 months, SI-led, for either |
| Architecture | One AI-native ledger; consolidation posts as transactions happen | Enterprise batch ERPs; period-end runs per entity |
| Agents | Agents complete work end to end inside your controls; every action logged and attributable | Copilots (Joule, Text Enhance); assistive only |
| Configuration | Astra learns from your data and suggests workflow and configuration changes to increase performance; applied in-product, no consultants | SI and admin-led change cycles |
| Subscription management | Contract-based invoicing and deferred revenue automated | Separately licensed modules (BRIM, SuiteBilling) |
| Spend management | Corporate and virtual cards with Apple Pay and Google Pay, expense capture via Slack, Teams and email, native to the ledger | Concur or marketplace partners |
| Global bill pay | AP and vendor payments executed on local rails in 80+ countries, from the ledger itself | Bank files and connectors, per entity |
| Advanced reporting | Real-time multi-entity reporting with instant drill-down; no spreadsheet exports | SAC and SuiteAnalytics, separately licensed |
| SaaS metrics | ARR, MRR, NRR, churn and cohort metrics computed from the ledger and contracts, in real time | Customization or separate tools |
| Global coverage | Local payment rails in 80+ countries; multi-entity, multi-currency by default | Deep coverage, at enterprise implementation cost |
Light vs the enterprise ERP shortlist
Most enterprise evaluations end with SAP and NetSuite on the same slide: the deep one and the broad one. They differ in scale, price and ecosystem, but they share the operating model that actually determines your team's week: batch processing, module seams, humans doing the work, and an implementation partner between you and every change.
Light is the alternative to the model, not just to either vendor: one AI-native ledger, native sub-ledgers, agents completing the work inside your controls, and a close that runs continuously.
Implementation: weeks against programmes
Either incumbent choice opens with an SI engagement: 6 to 18 months for NetSuite, 12 to 24+ for S/4HANA. Light implementations run in weeks with a dedicated in-house team, and the finance team operates the platform from the first close.
The add-on economics
Subscriptions need BRIM or SuiteBilling; spend needs Concur or marketplace partners; analytics needs SAC or SuiteAnalytics tiers; support has its own price list. On Light, AP, AR, cards, expenses, procurement, billing, consolidation, reporting and agents are one product.
Copilots vs agents
Joule and NetSuite's AI features assist a human who still does the work. Light's agents run AP, reconciliations, accruals and consolidation in production today, logged and inside approval thresholds.
Global operations
Both incumbents cover the globe at enterprise implementation cost. Light ships multi-entity, multi-currency consolidation with local payment rails and tax logic across 80+ countries as default platform behaviour, which is why multinationals from hundreds of millions to billions in revenue run on it.
Signs you’ve outgrown SAP and NetSuite
You are choosing between 2 batch eras
SAP and NetSuite differ in scale and price, not in operating model: humans do the work, the system records it. Light changes the model itself: agents do the work inside your controls.
The implementation is the product
Either choice starts with an SI engagement measured in quarters. Light implementations are measured in weeks, run by the team that built the product.
Every capability is another licence
Billing modules, analytics tiers, support plans. Light ships the platform whole: AP, AR, spend, consolidation, reporting and agents.
“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 SAP and NetSuite
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
Should we choose SAP, NetSuite, or Light?
If you need decades of industry-specific customization at Fortune-500 scale, the incumbents remain rational. For multi-entity companies that want the work done by agents rather than administered by humans, Light replaces the model both share. See the full landscape.
Is Light credible at our size?
Light runs multinationals across the US, Europe and APAC, from hundreds of millions to billions in revenue; Tillo processes $2B across 8 entities and customers with $500M ARR have completed audits on Light.
What does implementation look like versus an SI programme?
Weeks with a dedicated Light team and account manager included, versus quarters of integrator day-rates.
What happens to our spend tools?
Cards, expenses, AP execution and procurement are native to Light, so the Concur-and-connectors tier of the incumbent stack is not replaced, it is retired.
See the Light
Ready to un-ERP? The world's most complex finance teams already did.