Xero Me vs Lightyear
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Xero Me
This app simplifies expense management for employees by allowing them to capture, track, and submit claims on the go. It automates receipt transcription and mileage tracking, ensuring faster reimbursement. Employers can also use it to review and approve claims.
- Capture expenses on the go
- Automatic receipt transcription
- Track and submit mileage claims
- Submit claims in any currency
- Approve expense claims
- Setup receipt analysis and claim accounts
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Xero Me Capture, track and manage expense claims as they happen, on the go. Xero Me is a self service employee tool that helps small businesses reduce the time spent gathering and fielding requests. Save time on expense management by empowering your employees to self-serve work admin tasks. To log in to Xero Me you must be granted permission by your employer. Access to Expenses requires a Xero Expenses subscription and access permission granted by your employer. Check with your employer if you are having trouble logging in. Note. You will only have access to mobile features your organisation has enabled, based on your role (not all mobile features may be available to you). Key features include: - Capture cost as they happen: scan and submit expenses, company card and mileage claim, anytime, anywhere. - Automatic receipt transcription: Details are scanned from your photo receipt to auto fill the expense claim. - Track your mileage: use the map in Xero Me or select from recent locations to accurately enter, track and submit mileage claims to get reimbursed faster. - Submit expense claims in any currency: make it easier to keep track of actual costs and maintain accurate records. - With approver permissions, review and approve expense claims on the go. - With admin permissions, setup receipt analysis, claim accounts, team roles and bank accounts. ABOUT XERO Xero is a beautiful, easy-to-use global cloud-based accounting software that connects people with the right numbers anytime, anywhere, on any device. For accountants and bookkeepers, Xero helps build a trusted relationship with small business clients through online collaboration. We’re proud to be helping over 2.7 million+ subscribers worldwide transform the way they do business. We started Xero to change the game for small business. Xero is one of the fastest growing Software as a Service companies globally. We lead the New Zealand, Australian, and United Kingdom cloud accounting markets, employing a world-class team of more than 3,500+ people. We’re proud to be helping over 2.7 million+ subscribers worldwide transform the way they do business and seamlessly integrates with over 1,000 apps. And we’re just getting started.
Lightyear
Automate purchasing and accounts payable processes for large businesses. Streamline approvals, extract data with AI, and gain real-time financial insights. Offers a secure, reliable solution to eliminate errors and improve cash flow management.
- Automated purchase orders and bill approvals
- AI-powered data extraction
- Real-time payables overview
- Business intelligence for cash flow
- Eliminates human error
- Mobile document upload and approval
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Lightyear is an award-winning, 5* cloud app built to automate large SMEs & Enterprise level Purchasing & Accounts Payables processes. Our end-to-end approvals workflows allow purchase orders & bills to be approved in seconds, saving businesses more than 80% of their costs and time. Lightyear's instant AI data extraction enables businesses to get a real-time overview of their payables data & our business intelligence feature allows them to make smarter & better-informed cash flow & forecasting decisions. Lightyear provides a reliable, secure, stress-free automation solution that eliminates human error, so businesses can confidently move forward with their business goals. With 24-hr local support, partnership programs & referral schemes, plus our 30-day free trial, you can be sure of a smooth transition into automated success! —----------------------------------------- Please note: This is a companion mobile app for Lightyear’s desktop app. You must have a Lightyear account to use the app. The Lightyear mobile app is designed to create purchase orders, scan bills, receipts and credit notes and approve bills on the go. —------------------------------------------- Mobile App Features Upload documents including bills, receipts and credit notes Approve bills Attach documents to a bill Leave notes against bills View received and actioned tasks Switch between entities or accounts View mentions from other users Create purchase orders Cloud accounting integrations: Xero, Sage Intacct, Quickbooks Online, Oracle NetSuite, MYOB, Abcom, WCBS, Iplicit, AccountsIQ Desktop accounting integrations: Sage 50, Sage 200, Pronto, Infor, SunSystems, Sassu, Reckon, Adept Inventory sync: Bepoz, SDS POS Magic, SwiftPOS, SenPOS, IdealPOS, Order Mate, Retail Technology, iControl
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Xero Me at 4.7 against Lightyear's 3.0. Xero Me also leads on ratings volume (109 vs 2) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 5 weeks). Lightyear's advantage is monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). On price, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Xero Me holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Xero Me has 109 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 38% of Xero Me's written reviews are positive against 33% of Lightyear's.
Xero Me ships an update fortnightly, Lightyear every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Xero Me | Lightyear |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (109 ratings) — better | 3.0 (2 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 38.4% of reviews — better | 33.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 109 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Every 5 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 69 MB | 24 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Xero Ltd | Access UK Ltd |
Customer experience
Xero Me
Lightyear
Bugs and requests
Xero Me
Reported bugs
5 issues- App crashes on launch for many users
- Issues with uploading receipts and expenses
- Timesheet data not syncing properly
- Login and authentication problems
- Payslip and leave request functionality not working as expected
Requested features
5 requests- Add ability to enter start and finish times instead of just total hours
- Include option to add notes or comments to timesheets
- Implement a search function to find jobs easily
- Allow users to set default pay rates and job selections
- Integrate leave management and approval process within the app
Lightyear
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Xero Me
No in-app purchases
Lightyear
No in-app purchases









