Comparison · Light vs Unit4
Light vs Unit4
Unit4 ERPx is a cloud ERP for organisations that run on people: professional services, public sector, nonprofits and higher education. It covers the general ledger, payables and receivables, multi-entity consolidation, procurement, project accounting, HR and payroll, with the Ava agent built in. Light is the agentic ERP for multi-entity finance teams, with corporate and virtual cards issued from the ledger and vendor payments on local rails in 80+ countries alongside AP, AR and consolidation.
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Light and Unit4, compared
| Feature | Light | Unit4 |
|---|---|---|
| General ledger, accounts payable and accounts receivableUnit4: a full record-to-report cycle, with fixed assets and cash management | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-entity consolidation with intercompany eliminationsUnit4: a core strength, with local GAAP and IFRS reporting from the same data | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-currency accountingUnit4: multi-currency transactions with multiple exchange rate types | Yes | Yes |
| Procurement: requests, purchase orders and approvalsUnit4: requisition-to-payment purchasing with approval workflows and supplier catalogs | Yes | Yes |
| Budget, forecast and budget-vs-actual reportingUnit4: through Unit4 FP&A | Yes | Yes |
| Corporate and virtual cards issued from the ledgerUnit4: expenses and card statements come from your existing card provider | Yes | No |
| Vendor payments on local rails in 80+ countriesUnit4: payment runs are sent to your banks; bank connectivity through integrations and partner apps | Yes | No |
4 week implementation
KPMG global partnership
Remove 4+ tools
700+ apps
The world's most demanding finance teams run on Light.
Issue cards from the ledger
Unit4 brings expenses and card statements in from your card provider. Light issues corporate and virtual cards from the ledger, with receipts captured through Slack, Teams and email.
- 01
Pay suppliers from the ledger
Light executes vendor payments on local rails in more than 80 countries. Agents carry out routine work under your controls, with logged actions.
- 02
Check what the suite must cover
Unit4 includes HR, payroll and project accounting, and is built for services, public sector, nonprofits and education. Light fits a multi-entity finance team that wants the ledger, spend and payments in one system.
When to choose Light
- 01
Cards and expenses built in
Spend posts to the same ledger as everything else.
- 02
Pay suppliers from the ledger
Approved bills pay from your own bank accounts on local rails in 80+ countries.
- 03
Close every entity at once
Consolidation and eliminations update as transactions post.
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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
Does Unit4 consolidate entities?
Yes. Consolidation with intercompany eliminations and IFRS reporting is a core strength.
What happened to Agresso?
Agresso Business World became Unit4 ERP; the current platform is Unit4 ERPx.
When does Unit4 fit?
Services, public sector, nonprofit and education organisations wanting finance, HR, payroll and projects in one suite.
Do we have to replace our company cards?
No. Keep the cards you already use, whether Amex, your bank's cards or a spend management provider's. Add them to Light as an external card account and bring the transactions in by CSV upload or a continuous push through the Light API. From there the transactions are handled like Light card spend: cardholders are asked for receipts, AI matches and codes each transaction, and it posts to the ledger. Your cards and your plan stay with your card provider. If you later move to Light cards, the card transaction and the ledger entry become one record.
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