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Comparison · Light vs Syft

Light vs Syft

Syft from Xero is an AI-first financial reporting platform for businesses, accountants and bookkeepers. It builds reports, dashboards, forecasts and multi-entity consolidations, with eliminations and FX, from Xero, QuickBooks, Sage, MYOB and other sources, and does that well. It reads from those accounting systems rather than being one. Light is the agentic ERP where every entity posts to one ledger, so the consolidated numbers are the books rather than a report assembled from several ledgers.

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At a glance

Light and Syft, compared

Light and Syft, compared
FeatureLightSyft
General ledger and accounting system of recordSyft: a reporting, consolidation and analytics platform that reads from Xero, QuickBooks, Sage, MYOB and other sourcesYesNo
Multi-entity consolidationSyft: a core strength: unlimited entities, account- or transaction-level eliminations, FX and ownership proportionsYesYes
Budget, forecast and budget-vs-actual reportingSyft: budgets, P&L and cash flow forecasts, and consolidated budgets and forecasts are part of the productYesYes
Accounts payable and accounts receivable ledgersSyft: AP and AR are kept in the connected accounting system; Syft reports on receivables and payables ageingYesNo
Corporate cards and spend managementSyft: Syft's products cover reporting, consolidation and analysis; cards and expenses sit in other toolsYesNo
Vendor payments on local railsSyft: not a payments product; payments run from the accounting system or a separate providerYesNo
Consolidation posts continuously as transactions happenSyft: consolidations refresh from the connected systems; eliminations are set up in Syft rather than posted in the booksYesNo

The world's most demanding finance teams run on Light.

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Report from the ledger itself

Syft reads from each entity's Xero, QuickBooks or Sage file. Light holds every entity in one ledger, so group reports are live views of the books with drill-down to source documents.

  1. 01

    Keep daily finance together

    Light runs bills, invoicing, cards and payments alongside the general ledger. Agents complete routine work within your controls, with a record of every action.

  2. 02

    Check who the report is for

    Syft is built for businesses and for accountants reporting across many separate clients. If that is your job, a reporting layer fits. Light fits a finance team running a growing group.

When to choose Light

  1. 01

    One ledger for every entity

    Add a company, a country or a currency without adding another system.

  2. 02

    Group reporting is always current

    Every entity rolls up in real time, with drill-down to the source document and no exports.

  3. 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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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
1 / 4

Built for the daily work

A bill open in Light on a laptop
01

Bills through to payment

Capture invoices, route approvals and pay vendors from the same system.

02

Room to grow

One ledger built to handle billions of transactions across your business.

A laptop with reports on a desk
03

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.

Managing expenses on the Light mobile app
01

Expenses

Collect receipts, approve expenses and track spend as it happens.

Light open on a laptop in a quiet booth
02

Vendors

Keep supplier details, bills and approvals together. Apply your purchasing rules as work moves through.

A Light card beside a phone and a laptop on a desk
03

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 Syft a general ledger?

No. It reports and consolidates data from Xero, QuickBooks, Sage, MYOB and other sources.

Can Light replace our Xero or QuickBooks files?

Light provides the ledger, payables, receivables, spend and consolidation for every entity in one platform.

When does Syft fit?

For a single company on Xero or QuickBooks, or an accountant reporting and reviewing across many clients.

See Light at work

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