80+
Countries with local payment rails, native to the ledger
Comparison · Light vs Xero
Light vs Xero
Xero is an accounting tool for single-entity business, but doesn't handle multi-entities. Avoid manual reconciliation and reporting out of spreadsheets, use Light's native Xero import to launch instantly.
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 Xero
| Light | Xero | |
|---|---|---|
| Implementation | Weeks, with a dedicated implementation team and account manager included | Self-serve |
| Architecture | One AI-native ledger; consolidation posts as transactions happen | One organisation per subscription; no native consolidation |
| Agents | Agents complete work end to end inside your controls; every action logged and attributable | JAX assistant, assistive |
| Configuration | Astra learns from your data and suggests workflow and configuration changes to increase performance; applied in-product, no consultants | Self-serve but static; setup doesn't adapt to how you work |
| Subscription management | Contract-based invoicing and deferred revenue automated | Repeating invoices only |
| Spend management | Corporate and virtual cards with Apple Pay and Google Pay, expense capture via Slack, Teams and email, native to the ledger | No native card issuing; expense capture via add-ons |
| Global bill pay | AP and vendor payments executed on local rails in 80+ countries, from the ledger itself | Limited international payments; add-ons |
| Advanced reporting | Real-time multi-entity reporting with instant drill-down; no spreadsheet exports | Basic reports; group reporting via add-ons |
| SaaS metrics | ARR, MRR, NRR, churn and cohort metrics computed from the ledger and contracts, in real time | Not available; via add-ons such as ChartMogul |
| Global coverage | Local payment rails in 80+ countries; multi-entity, multi-currency by default | UK and ANZ-centred |
Why finance teams choose Light over Xero
Xero made accounting friendly, and for a single organisation in the UK, Australia or New Zealand it still is. Its limit is structural: one organisation per subscription, no native consolidation, and an app marketplace standing in for sub-ledgers. Groups run several Xeros and stitch the numbers together outside the system.
Light treats the group as the unit: entities, currencies and books are dimensions of one ledger, consolidation posts continuously, and agents run the daily work from invoice capture to reconciliation. It is the step after Xero for companies whose structure outgrew the org-per-subscription model.
Implementation in weeks
Light's implementation team migrates each Xero organisation into one multi-entity ledger, with historical balances and open items intact, in weeks, with an account manager included rather than a partner engagement.
Architecture: the group is the default
Where Xero consolidates via exports or third-party tools, Light consolidates continuously, intercompany eliminations and FX included. Reporting spans the group in real time and drills to the underlying entry, and the same is true for every entity added later.
Cards, AP and payments
Xero relies on add-ons for expense capture and offers no native card issuing. Light issues corporate and virtual cards, captures receipts in Slack, Teams and email, and executes vendor payments on local rails in 80+ countries, all posting natively to the ledger.
JAX vs agents that post
Xero's assistant answers questions; your team still does the accounting. Light's agents do the accounting: coding, matching, reconciling, chasing and posting inside your approval thresholds, logged and attributable throughout.
Cost of ownership
Several Xero subscriptions plus consolidation tools plus expense add-ons plus the manual hours between them usually costs more than it looks. Light collapses the stack into one platform and moves the mechanical work to agents.
Signs you’ve outgrown Xero
Each entity is another subscription
Xero's one-org model means multi-entity groups consolidate outside the system. Light treats multi-entity as the default, not an add-on.
Spend never touches the ledger
Cards and expense capture live in separate tools and sync in. On Light, spend is native, so agents follow every transaction from receipt to posted entry.
Beautiful books, manual work
Xero made accounting friendly; humans still do the accounting. Light's agents do the coding, matching and reconciling themselves, inside your controls.
“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 Xero
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
Is Light a good alternative to Xero?
For groups running more than one Xero organisation, or heading that way, yes. Light replaces the per-org model with one multi-entity ledger, native spend, and agents doing the work.
How long does migration from Xero take?
Weeks per group, handled by Light's implementation team with an account manager included. Each organisation's history and open items move into the unified ledger.
Does Light work outside the UK and ANZ?
Yes. Light runs multi-entity, multi-currency accounting with local payment rails and tax logic across 80+ countries, including the UK, Europe, the US and APAC.
Can Light replace our Xero add-on stack?
Cards, expenses, bill pay and reporting are native to Light, so the add-on constellation around Xero is retired with it.