Lightyear
Purchasing software
Accounts payable automation software
Telecom expense management (TEM) services
Procurement software
Accounting & finance software
- Features
- Ease of use
- Ease of management
- Quality of support
- Affordability
- Market presence
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$199 per month
Free Trial
Free version unavailable
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What is Lightyear
Lightyear is a telecom procurement and expense management platform that helps organizations source, manage, and optimize business internet, voice, and related connectivity services. It centralizes carrier quotes, contract and circuit inventory, and recurring telecom invoices to support purchasing and finance workflows. The product is typically used by IT/telecom teams in partnership with procurement and accounts payable to reduce manual work and improve visibility into telecom spend. It differentiates from general procurement suites by focusing on telecom-specific data (circuits, locations, carriers, and service terms) and invoice normalization.
Telecom-specific sourcing workflow
Lightyear supports telecom procurement processes such as requesting and comparing carrier quotes for specific locations and service types. This telecom focus can reduce the effort required to run sourcing events compared with general-purpose procurement tools. It also helps teams document service parameters (bandwidth, term, install dates) that are commonly needed for telecom decisions. The result is a more structured process for selecting carriers and services.
Centralized inventory and contracts
The platform maintains a repository of circuits/services, locations, carriers, and contract terms in one place. This can improve operational visibility for IT and finance teams that otherwise rely on spreadsheets and carrier portals. Having inventory tied to billing items supports audits and change management (adds, disconnects, renewals). It also helps with continuity when responsibilities shift between teams.
Invoice normalization and review
Lightyear is designed to ingest telecom invoices and map charges to services and locations for review. This can help identify billing discrepancies and reduce manual line-by-line checking in accounts payable. Normalized invoice data also supports reporting by carrier, site, and service category. These capabilities align with TEM use cases where invoice formats vary widely by provider.
Narrower than full S2P
Lightyear’s core value is telecom procurement and expense management rather than end-to-end source-to-pay across all categories. Organizations seeking broad capabilities such as complex supplier management, multi-category sourcing, or deep procurement policy controls may still require a general procurement suite. This can lead to a two-system model (telecom TEM plus enterprise procurement). Fit depends on how centralized procurement is across the business.
Integration requirements for AP
To automate payments and accounting entries, Lightyear typically needs integration with ERP/accounting and AP workflows. The level of out-of-the-box integration coverage and the effort to map GL coding, approvals, and vendor master data can vary by customer environment. Without strong integrations, teams may still export data or re-key information. Buyers should validate supported systems and implementation scope.
Best fit for telecom spend
The platform’s data model and workflows are optimized for telecom services (circuits, carriers, service addresses, recurring charges). For organizations with limited telecom complexity, the overhead of maintaining inventory and reconciling invoices may outweigh benefits. Conversely, companies wanting a single tool for all indirect spend may find the telecom specialization less applicable outside that domain. Value is highest where telecom invoices and service changes are frequent.
Plan & Pricing
| Plan | Price | Key features & notes |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | From $199 per month | Purchase orders; Expense management; Line-item data extraction; Automated approval workflows; Automatic statement reconciliation; Live chat/email/phone support; Available credit packages: 125 credits ($199/mo, $1.59/credit) and 250 credits ($319/mo, $1.28/credit). 30-day rolling contract, unlimited users/sub-entities. |
| Business | From $529 per month | All Starter features plus goods received notes, 3-way PO matching, inventory management; Credit plans from 500+ (e.g., 500 credits $529/mo, $1.06/credit). |
| Enterprise | From $839 per month | All Business features plus white labelling, Enterprise SSO (additional charge & setup), dedicated account manager, larger credit packages; bespoke pricing for >8000 credits (contact sales). |
Additional usage-based credit pricing (document-processing credits):
- 125 credits — $199/mo ($1.59 per credit)
- 250 credits — $319/mo ($1.28 per credit)
- 500 credits — $529/mo ($1.06 per credit)
- 1000 credits — $839/mo (~$0.84 per credit)
- 2000 credits — $1,529/mo (~$0.76 per credit)
- 4000 credits — $2,849/mo (~$0.71 per credit)
- 8000 credits — $5,099/mo (~$0.64 per credit)
- 8000+ credits — bespoke pricing (contact sales)
Notes: Pricing quoted in USD; 30-day rolling contracts; credits are consumed per document (e.g., 1 exported invoice = 1 credit; employee expenses consume 3 credits). Integration functionality may incur additional monthly cost. Free 30-day trial is offered (requires initial setup call).
