Lightyear, the AI-powered accounts payable automation platform, has announced a new partnership with Hops, the hospitality management software built specifically for hospitality businesses. Together, the two platforms close a gap that's cost hospitality finance teams for years: purchasing and stock control on one side, invoicing and payment on the other, with no visibility between them. Businesses adopting the integration can save more than £25,000 annually.
In the past, hospitality businesses have had to compromise when implementing software solutions: finance-first tools, which handle financial processes well, are limited in operational capabilities, or hospitality-first tools, which understand the sector inside out but offer basic financial processing. Either way, purchasing and finance end up running on two different numbers. Without a connection between the two, someone on the finance team has to manually check every invoice against what was actually ordered and received — a slow, error-prone process that eats hours every week.
This partnership removes that compromise. Hops brings the operational backbone hospitality businesses already rely on: purchasing, stock control, and goods-received data. Lightyear takes that data and automatically matches it against incoming invoices, flagging only the exceptions that need a human look. No manual checking, no chasing suppliers over mismatched amounts, no double-entry between systems. Together, they give finance teams one accurate view of spend, from the moment stock arrives to the moment the invoice is paid, purpose-built for the volume and pace of mid-market hospitality finance functions.
For finance leaders running hospitality businesses, the result is 90% less time spent on manual admin, because invoices are matched against orders and deliveries automatically, fewer invoice errors, a clearer, real-time view of spend, and a cost saving of over £25,000 annually. That means less time reconciling paperwork and chasing down mismatched invoices, and more time focused on what actually matters to the business: the guest experience.
For Hops customers already using the platform to manage stock and purchasing, this partnership means their invoices are now matched and processed automatically, without any extra work. For Lightyear customers in hospitality, it means working with a system that speaks the same language as their operations, keeping finance and the floor connected in real time.
Speaking about the partnership, Callum Smallwood, Director of Lightyear, said, "Hospitality is in Lightyear's DNA. It's what we were built on, and it's still where we have a strong presence today. This partnership with Hops lets us take that further, bringing together a platform that understands hospitality operations just as well as we understand hospitality finance."
Aaron Resch, Managing Director at Hops, added, "Every integration we add makes the Hops platform more valuable for our customers. Lightyear brings best-in-class AP automation into our ecosystem, and it's exactly the kind of partnership that reflects our commitment to building a system that fits how our customers already work."
The partnership is available to all hospitality businesses wanting to connect their back-office with their front of house.
About Lightyear
Lightyear is an AI-powered accounts payable automation platform that helps mid-market finance teams eliminate manual invoice processing and gain full visibility and control over their AP process.
About Hops
Hops is the hospitality management software built for hospitality businesses, giving operators the tools they need to manage purchasing, stock, and day-to-day operations in one place.
