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Running Light and Control.dev together
Control.dev is the FP&A and reporting layer on top of the ledgers a group keeps, while Light runs the books and the bookkeeping agents. Light itself says deep planning, such as driver-based models, scenario trees, headcount plans and approvals across departments, belongs in a dedicated planning tool1, and that a group keeping many ERPs needs a consolidation layer2.
In the group view, entities consolidate with the intercompany eliminations in a column of their own and Currency CTA and Elimination CTA kept apart. The finance team keeps a layout per audience, such as the board, management and investors, on the same actuals. The P&L, balance sheet and cash flow are planned together in versions you can lock, and Claude or ChatGPT works on the group actuals over MCP and drafts budget values that each carry a reason.
Control.dev connects NetSuite, where several entities share one ledger, one subsidiary per entity, with read-only access by default. There is no Light connector yet; tell us your setup and we take it from there.
Who does what
Why we compare new-generation ERPs on these topics
| Topic | Light | Control.dev |
|---|---|---|
| 01 What each replaces | One new ledger for every entity Light describes itself as an ERP where one ledger for every entity replaces the ERP and the tools around it3, and its list of what it replaces runs from NetSuite and SAP to one Xero or QuickBooks per entity and consolidation spreadsheets4. | A layer on the ledgers each entity keeps Control.dev reads each entity’s books through official APIs with read-only access by default and does the consolidation, reporting and planning on top, so the accounting systems stay the books of record. |
| 02 Consolidation | At posting, inside one ledger Light’s intercompany entries eliminate as they post, with automatic FX revaluation and ownership structures modelled in Light5, and Multibook keeps local and group books from the same transactions6. | Across ledgers kept as they are Entities on different ledgers consolidate in full with intercompany eliminations and currency translation, the eliminations sit in a column of their own, and Currency CTA and Elimination CTA are kept apart. |
| 03 Planning and FP&A | Its own FP&A app, or a planning tool it feeds Light says its FP&A app, included in its subscription, builds the budget and forecast on the ledger’s own structure7, and that it connects to dedicated planning tools such as Abacum and Drivetrain for deeper planning8. | Three statements, locked versions, a reason on every value The P&L, balance sheet and cash flow are planned together, versions and scenarios keep their history and a locked version refuses every write, and an AI client drafts values that each carry a reason. |
| 04 AI | Agents that do the bookkeeping Light’s Bill, Contract and Accrual agents do routine work within the team’s policies and materiality limits9, and its MCP server lets Claude query the ledger and create entries under the same roles as the app10. | Claude, ChatGPT or Codex on the consolidated group They read the group over MCP from the statements down to the transactions, review a month’s bookings on request and draft the board pack with the basis for every table. |
| 05 What it takes to start | 4 to 16 weeks to the first close Light says to plan for 4 to 16 weeks from signature to the first month-end close, with Light or an implementation partner leading delivery11. | Live data in under two hours for most companies, no fee Our team sets up the connections, the account mapping and the first validation, and most companies have live data in under two hours. No implementation fee, no multi-year contract, and the notice period starts from one month. |
Control.dev consolidates the ledgers a group already runs into one group view with eliminations.
Where Light is the better choice
- One new ledger for every entity, with payables, receivables, cards and bill pay in the same system12. Control.dev works on top of the ledgers each entity keeps, so payables, receivables and cards stay in those systems.
- Agents that code bills, book accruals and do routine bookkeeping within the materiality limits the team sets9. Control.dev’s AI reviews the month and drafts the plan on the group numbers, and the bookkeeping stays in each ledger.
- Auditors who ask for SOC 1 Type II and SOC 2 Type II reports, which Light lists13. Finata Oy’s security management is certified to ISO/IEC 27001:2022 instead.
When teams look at Control.dev
From what finance teams have told us about the moment they started looking. We name no customers.
- A new entity is on its way and its ledger is not chosen yet, so the group view has to work whichever ledger it lands on.
- Some entities move to one new ledger this year while others stay on their local ledgers, and the group still closes every month.
- The books stay where they are, and the finance team wants the three statements planned and explained on the group actuals.
Which fits your finance team
Choose Light if you are ready to move every entity onto one new ledger, with payables, receivables, cards and bookkeeping agents in the same system.
Choose Control.dev if you want to consolidate and plan the group with your own AI client on the numbers, while the ledgers stay where they are. Our team sets it up in hours for most companies on the ledgers we connect, with no fee.
30 minutes on your ledgers and your first question.
Working with Control.dev
- Live in hours or days, not months Our team sets Control.dev up with you. Most companies have live data in under two hours from the first call, a larger group takes days, the hardest a few weeks, and there is no setup fee at any size. The comparison hub shows how long each vendor says its own rollout takes.
- Prices on one page, nothing billed on the side EUR 249, 499 and 999 a month excluding VAT, on the pricing page, with no multi-year contract and a notice period from one month. Support, user changes and settings changes are in the price, and nothing is billed per ticket or per request.
- Close support from the people who build the product Your questions go to the team that builds Control.dev, most are answered within minutes and almost all the same day, and we work through accounting and group-structure questions with you, not only software questions.
- Your AI client on a structure built for group accounting Claude, ChatGPT or Codex works on Control.dev over an MCP built and tested for group accounting. The client starts from the statements and the group structure, not a raw export of the general ledger: it finds what needs attention and traces it to the entries, within the access your role allows.
- Built with the finance teams that use it, at pace Our roadmap comes from our customers, demanding finance professionals, and a gap in a feature list is the best news we can get. A missing feature typically ships in days and a larger one in weeks. A ledger connector we would build anyway comes at no extra cost; today Control.dev connects Netvisor, Procountor, Easor (Talenom), Fortnox, Spiris (formerly Visma eEkonomi), Tripletex, e-conomic, Xero, QuickBooks, Zoho Books, Odoo, Xledger and NetSuite, plus Stripe.
- A younger product, and who it is for Control.dev is built by Finata Oy in Helsinki since 2024, by a team from finance roles and finance systems. It fits a team that already works with AI tools, or wants to, and would rather not keep data engineers or system consultants for its reporting. If AI is not something your company wants to work with, we are probably the wrong partner, and where another tool covers more than Control.dev, the page above says so.
What switching looks like
- 1 There is nothing to switch. Connect the ledgers you keep today: Control.dev reads them with read-only access by default, so nothing changes in your bookkeeping, and the 30-day free trial covers up to three integrations.
- 2 Send us screenshots of the three or four reports your board already knows, and we rebuild them in Control.dev first, so the first month looks familiar.
- 3 Run both. Light keeps the books of the entities on it, the other ledgers stay as they are, and Control.dev consolidates and plans the whole group, with your AI client on the same numbers.
Questions
Does Light replace our accounting system?
Yes, that is its design. Light replaces the ERP and the tools around it with one ledger for every entity3, and its migration page names NetSuite, SAP, Business Central, Sage Intacct, QuickBooks and Xero as source systems14. Control.dev does not replace a ledger: each entity keeps its accounting system, and Control.dev reads the books with read-only access by default.
What do setup and later changes cost?
With Control.dev, nothing moves, so our team sets you up with no setup fee and, on the ledgers we connect, most companies have live data in under two hours. Later changes to a mapping, a layout or a dashboard are made by your team or its AI client, with no consultants to pay. Light says to plan for 4 to 16 weeks from signature to the first month-end close11, and it replaces more tools, so compare its quote with what you would retire. Control.dev publishes its monthly prices, excluding VAT: EUR 249 for one entity and one integration, EUR 499 for consolidation with three integrations and EUR 999 with five, where a Stripe connection counts as one integration, with no implementation fee, no multi-year contract and a notice period from one month.
Can our own AI assistant work with the numbers?
Yes, with either. Light’s MCP help page lists Claude Code, OpenCode, Claude Desktop and n8n as clients, with more than 100 tools and access that follows the user’s role15. Control.dev serves the consolidated group to Claude, ChatGPT and Codex over MCP, across every connected ledger, and they draft the budget with a reason on every value. The client starts from the statements and the group structure, not a raw export of the general ledger. A client gets at most the access the user’s role allows, and a read-only session rejects write tools. The product docs show how to connect each client.
We are opening a new entity. Does its ledger have to be chosen first?
No. Control.dev connects each entity’s ledger on its own, so the group view works whichever ledger the new entity runs: one of the connected systems, NetSuite among them, connects directly, and an entity on Light joins through an export until a connector exists. The other entities stay as they are while you decide.
Can we try Control.dev before deciding on an ERP change?
Yes. Control.dev reads each ledger through its official API with read-only access by default, so nothing changes in your books while you compare. It connects Netvisor, Procountor, Easor (Talenom), Fortnox, Spiris (formerly Visma eEkonomi), Tripletex, e-conomic, Xero, QuickBooks, Zoho Books, Odoo, Xledger and NetSuite. Singa kept the systems its three entities already run and has its revenue data on day one, without an ERP project.
Where is the data stored?
Light runs its core backend on AWS in Ireland13. Control.dev’s data is hosted on Google Cloud in Hamina, Finland, encrypted in transit and at rest. Control.dev’s own AI features process data in the EU; an AI client you connect over MCP processes what it reads under your agreement with its provider.
What support do we get?
Close support on every plan. Your questions go to the team that builds Control.dev, most are answered within minutes and almost all the same day, and we work through accounting and group-structure questions with you, not only software questions. Support, user changes and settings changes are in the price, and Enterprise adds a dedicated Slack channel and priority support.
