Inspire Learning Trust Cuts Reconciliation Time From Hours to Minutes
Inspire Learning Trust Cuts Reconciliation Time From Hours to Minutes

Sage 200
accountancy software

David Hodgson, Finance and Site Lead
Marked Down for Duplication
David Hodgson, the Trust's Finance and Site Lead, explained that before implementing Lightyear, when invoices were received via email, the team had to manually download and attach each one before entering the details into Sage.
"When invoices came into our inbox, at that stage, the team had to download and prepare the invoices manually, which could take hours, or even days."
"One of the biggest issues we faced was the risk of duplicate invoices coming in without us spotting them. We had to monitor the folder to make sure everything was captured constantly. Also, when statements were coming in, somebody had to manually check all those statements to make sure that there wasn't anything missing."
The team adopted Lightyear as their AP automation solution to eliminate these challenges and process invoices faster.
Top of the Class Technology
Top of the Class Technology
David explained why the Lightyear AP automation solution perfectly fits the Trust.
"Once you’ve taught the system, which is like teaching a five-year-old to read and do maths. It just gets it. Now I can look at it and think, ‘There’s nothing I need to do here.’ It’s taken the headache out of chasing invoice numbers and dates."
David further elaborated that implementing Lightyear helped them avoid double payments as the system automatically flags duplicate invoices.
"We had a statement from Amazon come through with invoices we’d accidentally paid twice, and it took quite a while to sort it out, especially with how frequently we use Amazon across all four sites. Now, thanks to Lightyear, invoices are flagged automatically if there’s a duplicate, so it’s really easy to spot and avoid double payments."

Reconciling Statements Went From 3 Hours to 10 Minutes
Reconciling Statements Went From 3 Hours to 10 Minutes
"My team was spending around 3 hours a month managing supplier statements, and we were getting about 84 each month. Now, that’s been brought down to about 10 minutes each month. We are also able to see straight away what's missing and what's not. The statement section has become almost minimal for us compared to what it used to be."
Alongside time savings, David explained how the Lightyear platform has made it easier for the team to support each other during staff absences.
"The system helped us cover for Nikki while she was on leave, without overwhelming the team. It’s user-friendly, much cleaner, and now that she’s back, smiling, it’s clear how much time it’s saving her to focus on more important things."
When asked what advice David would give someone looking at Lightyear for AP automation, he said:
"I'd definitely say go for it, but be prepared to put the work in upfront. The more you invest at the start, the better the results. Clean up your suppliers, nominals, and systems first because it makes the transition to automation much smoother.”