Comparison · Light vs Sumary
One AI-native system, or your ledger plus Sumary
Sumary is an AI platform for accounting firms and finance teams. It sits on top of the ledger you already run, such as QuickBooks, Xero or Business Central, and prepares the close, VAT, reporting and consolidation for sign-off. Light is one AI-native system: the general ledger, the agents, consolidation, bills, billing and cards together.
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In detail
Light and Sumary, compared
| Feature | Light | Sumary |
|---|---|---|
| 01Where the books live | One agentic ledger; consolidation posts as transactions happen | Sits on top of the ledger you already run: QuickBooks, Xero, Business Central and NetSuite connect directly, and any other ledger can come in as an export. Approved changes go back to that ledger as drafts. |
| 02AI agents | Agents complete work end to end inside your controls; every action logged and attributable | Scheduled agents run month-end, VAT, year-end and the workflows a firm builds itself, and flag what needs a person. Nothing is written to the ledger until someone approves it, and every agent action is logged. |
| 03Month-end close | Agents code, match and post inside the controls you set. Every action is logged. | Payroll journals, the AP sub-ledger tie-out, accruals, prepayments, deferred income and depreciation are prepared for review, transactions are checked for VAT, coding and pricing errors, and a month stays open until every required step is approved, with up to two approvers per task. |
| 04Group consolidation | Consolidation and eliminations run on the same ledger and update as transactions post. | Consolidates entities that run on different ledgers and in different currencies, with AI-proposed account mapping, intercompany balances matched, eliminations proposed, FX at your own or European Central Bank rates, and no limit on entities. |
| 05Questions about the numbers | Light's MCP server connects Claude directly to your books: ask about balances, run reports and search transactions in plain language, with Light's permissions and audit trail underneath. | An AI CFO on every page answers questions across the P&L, balance sheet and cash flow, traced to the transactions, and builds cash-flow forecasts with base, bull and bear cases. Claude, ChatGPT and Copilot can connect through its MCP server. |
| 06Financial reporting | Real-time multi-entity reporting with instant drill-down; no spreadsheet exports | Management and board packs built from a prompt, with written commentary and your branding, shared as a live link or a PDF, and saved as templates that rerun every month. |
| 07Paying suppliers | AP and vendor payments executed on local rails in 80+ countries, from the ledger itself | Supplier payments stay in your ledger or your bank. |
| 08Cards and expenses | Corporate and virtual cards with Apple Pay and Google Pay, expense capture via Slack, Teams and email, native to the ledger | Cards and expenses stay in the tools you use today. Invoice and receipt capture from Gmail and Outlook is coming soon. |
| 09Customer invoicing | Contract-based invoicing and deferred revenue automated | Customer invoices are raised in your ledger or billing tool, and Sumary works from the transactions there. |
| 10Getting started | Weeks, with a dedicated implementation team and account manager included | No migration: connect the ledger you have and set up workflows from the checklists and working papers you use today, with forward deployed accountants working alongside your team from the start. |
Also in Light
Pay suppliers from the ledger
Approved bills pay from your own bank accounts on local rails in 80+ countries.
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.
Implementation is included
A dedicated Light team moves your entities onto Light in weeks, with an account manager included.
What it replaces
Replace the ERP.
Lose the Frankenstack.
The ERP was built for a different era. The Frankenstack just patched its gaps. Light replaces both, and what you keep connects as an app.
The Frankenstack ERP · Accounts payable · Accounts receivable · Cards · Bank · CRM · Spreadsheets · Bank connectors · Tax software
Two ways to put AI on the books
There are two ways to bring AI to the books. One keeps the ledger you have and adds AI on top. Sumary does this well: its agents prepare the month-end close, VAT and year-end work for every entity or client, check transactions for VAT, coding and pricing errors, and answer questions about the numbers, traced to the transactions behind them. Nothing reaches the ledger until someone approves it, every action is logged, and approved journals arrive there as drafts.
The other way is a ledger built with AI from the start. In Light, agents code, match and post inside the controls your finance team sets, with every action logged, on the same ledger that holds the books.
- 01
The AI and the books in one system
When the AI and the ledger are one system, there is no hand-off between them. Every entity sits on one ledger, and consolidation and intercompany eliminations update as transactions post. Supplier bills are paid from the ledger on local rails in 80+ countries, cards and expenses post to the same books, and contract-based invoicing and deferred revenue are handled there too. With Light's MCP server, Claude can ask about balances, run reports and search transactions directly against your books, with Light's permissions and audit trail underneath.
- 02
Where Sumary fits
Pick Sumary when you are keeping your current ledger, such as QuickBooks, Xero or Business Central, and want AI to prepare the close, VAT and reporting on top of it, or when you are an accounting firm running many clients on different ledgers. Pick Light when you are ready to replace the ledger and the tools around it with one AI-native system, with every entity consolidated as transactions post.
When to choose Light
- 01
The ledger is included
Light is the system of record: spend, AP, AR and the general ledger in one platform, with no ERP decision left open.
- 02
Agents post inside your controls
Agents code, match and post on the same ledger, inside the controls your finance team sets, with every action logged.
- 03
Less close to run
Consolidation posts as transactions happen, so the period end has less to reconcile in the first place.
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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 Sumary an accounting system?
Sumary sits on top of the ledger you already use, such as QuickBooks, Xero, Business Central or NetSuite, and approved changes go back to that ledger as drafts. Light is the general ledger itself, with the AI built in.
Does Sumary consolidate entities on different ledgers?
Yes. It consolidates entities across ledgers and currencies, with intercompany balances matched and eliminations proposed. In Light, every entity sits on one ledger and consolidation updates as transactions post.
When does Sumary fit?
When you are keeping your current ledger and want AI to prepare the close, VAT and reporting on top of it, or when you are an accounting firm running many clients on different ledgers.
Can I ask Light questions about my numbers?
Yes. Light's MCP server connects Claude directly to your books: ask about balances, run reports and search transactions in plain language, with Light's permissions and audit trail underneath.
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