Lightyear Expense Management: The first AI-native system to automate telecom billing and payments

Managing telecom billing has forever been a complex and painstaking endeavor for enterprises of all sizes. While telecom services have simplified since the days of legacy voice - with their arcane line, feature, and usage charges - Telecom Expense Management systems were mostly concocted in the early days of the internet, and have yet to evolve to provide data capture and automation that fit the networks in production today.

As a result, businesses still struggle immensely with a seemingly simple problem set: accessing carrier invoices, allocating costs accurately, auditing for errors, and making on-time payments. And it continues to take a significant toll: vast overspend on network, major operational disruptions, and repeated manual work by IT and Finance teams.

This problem set, albeit simple, requires a sophisticated solution, and we’re finally solving it within the Lightyear platform.

Today, we're excited to announce the launch of Lightyear Expense Management, a groundbreaking solution that combines a thoughtfully architected data structure within Lightyear’s telecom lifecycle management platform with AI-native billing workflows to truly automate Telecom Expense Management for the first time.

See below for more detail on what we’ve launched, and join our webinar on December 17th at 2 PM ET where we’ll cover the launch in depth and provide a detailed product demo.

The Core Problem, Finally Solved With AI

Telecom carrier bills are notoriously complex and convoluted, containing an array of charges that make it extremely difficult to simply tell how much you are being charged for a circuit or at a location. Along with no standardization of invoicing data or format across carriers, the problem multiplies into hours of manual data extraction and poor auditing capability for IT and Finance teams.

Having already built a substantial data set on telecom billing, Lightyear developed a RAG-optimized AI model to extract and categorize carrier invoice charges into a standardized, digestible service-based data structure. Each invoice line item is assigned a category (service charge, taxes, provider fees, etc.) and is 100% allocated to a known and validated Inventory service - all in a matter of seconds through AI.

What does that achieve? It’s the underpinning that allows Lightyear to truly automate telecom billing workflows. Charges can now be automatically audited at the most granular level, service by service. Cost allocation is automatically created with 100% accuracy to the service, location, and ultimately internal company code level. Inventory changes, such as new circuit orders or MACDs (Moves, Changes, Disconnects), flow smoothly into and are reconciled with billing data.

The core problem in telecom billing has always been inaccessible, indigestible data. Lightyear Expense Management has finally solved this with AI-powered data extraction tied into a closed data lifecycle system - truly removing the pain of telecom billing for your IT and Finance teams.

The Full Solution

Global Invoice Receipt & Processing

Lightyear Expense Management provides comprehensive invoice coverage across your entire global carrier ecosystem and all service types. Whether your carriers deliver invoices via PDF, EDI, Excel/CSV, API, or good old-fashioned snail mail, we've got you covered. Our platform seamlessly ingests and processes invoices regardless of format, eliminating the need for manual data entry or multiple systems.

100% Accurate Cost Allocation

Every dollar matters. Our AI-powered data extraction ensures invoice costs are fully allocated to validated inventory services only—no mystery charges, no orphaned line items. While AI handles the heavy lifting of data extraction, each invoice undergoes human review to guarantee accuracy you can trust.

Automated Audit / Variance Analysis

Stop catching billing errors months after the fact. Each invoice is automatically audited against configurable variance rules including:

• Costs vs. contracted rates

• Costs vs. last month's billing

• Billing start dates vs. installation dates

• Disconnected services that are still billing

Your team can focus on exceptions that matter while Lightyear handles the routine validation.

Full Lifecycle Management

Lightyear Expense Management isn't a bolt-on solution—it's deeply integrated with our procurement and service lifecycle platform. When you order a new circuit or execute a MACD (Move, Add, Change, Disconnect), those actions automatically flow into billing recognition. No manual handoffs, no spreadsheets, no missed updates.

Rich Reporting and API Availability

Access granular service, location, and line item data directly in the platform or through the Lightyear API. Our AI-powered natural language query system lets you build custom reports by simply asking questions—no SQL required.

Smooth AP Handoff & Tailored Bill Pay Options

Every organization has different payment workflows. Choose the approach that works best for you:

• No Bill Pay:

  Lightyear will deliver each invoice to you in the exact data format and allocation needed, allowing your AP team to quickly process and make payment

• Bill Consolidation:

  Lightyear will provide you a single monthly bill with all telecom costs, and take responsibility for on-time payment for each of your vendor invoices

Interested in Learning More?

If you’re interested in learning more about Lightyear’s Expense Management solution, join our webinar on December 17th at 2 PM ET, or simply book a demo with sales today.

Current Bill Consolidation Customer?

If you’re an existing Lightyear Bill Consolidation customer, we’ll be rolling out the new Expense Management feature sets and functionality to you in the coming months! Your account representative will be in touch over the next few weeks with details, but feel free to reach out proactively if you have any specific questions of note.