Access Group to Acquire AP Automation Provider Lightyear

Business management software provider the Access Group agreed to acquire accounts payable (AP) automation provider Lightyear.

Subject to regulatory reviews, the acquisition will extend the Access Group’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) software offering globally, the companies said in a Friday (May 10) press release.

“Lightyear is a great fit for our business,” Claire Carter, managing director of Access ERP, a division of the Access Group, said in the release. “The proven success and innovation of the Lightyear team excite us and show huge potential for the future of this world-class product in conjunction with the other solutions we provide today.”

Access ERP offers software that enables customers to streamline their operations by sharing data across different business operating systems, according to the release. It offers solutions tailored for industry verticals like construction, supply chain, waste management, professional services and facilities management.

With the addition of Lightyear’s suite of finance automation solutions, Access ERP will deliver an integrated solution that handles the spending needs of its customers, the release said.

Lightyear’s solutions eliminate manual tasks by automating financial processes across AP, purchasing and expenses, per the release.

“Joining the Access Group is a tremendous milestone for our team and our customers,” Lightyear CEO Chris Gregg said in the release. “Together we can innovate faster and deliver more benefit to our mutual customers.”

The PYMNTS Intelligence study “Accounts Payable and Receivable Trends: What’s Next in Automation” found that full AP automation can act as a catalyst for scaling business operations and improving financial management, leading to cost savings and increased cash flow for firms.

Among mid-sized firms that plan to automate further in the next three years, over 90% expect to see accurate, efficient and streamlined processes, and more than half expect improved data availability and insights.

In another development in the space, AP automation company Basware said in April that it launched a new fraud/error protection system called AP Protect.

In March, HighRadius introduced a solution called Accounts Payable Automation that uses generative artificial intelligence to automate invoice processing and supplier communications.

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