The Archive & Reporting tab lets you search for documents across Lightyear and turn your results into reports. This is particularly helpful when you need to retrieve reports or data that was exported on a specific date.
Lightyear stores your documents for eight years from the document date. Any reference below to documents that "have ever been" in Lightyear means within these eight years.
Watch our Archive & Reporting video guide for a full walkthrough of this tab.
📌 Note: Archive search doesn't include documents in your Processing tab, as these haven't yet been matched to a supplier. If you're searching for Statements, use the Statements Archive instead.
Search for documents in your Archive
Click Archive & Reporting, then click Search to choose your search parameters and find the information you need. The Doc Type field controls which type of document you search for.
📌 Note: Archive search only returns results from the Lightyear account you're currently working in.
Bills, credits, and receipts
Use the All bills/credits/receipts doc type to find any bill, credit note, or receipt that's currently in Lightyear, or that has ever been exported.
In the Doc Type field, select All bills/credits/receipts.
In the Doc Status field, select the statuses you want to include, such as Approvals, Review, Signed Off, Disputed, Archive, or Trash.
In the Report Type field, select Document Level for header information, or Line Item Level for detailed information.
You can also group your results by Supplier, GL Code (General Ledger Code), Lightyear Department, or Product Code, to see an overview of total spend by that criteria. When searching by Supplier, GL Code, Category, Lightyear Department, or Keyword Rule, you can select up to 20 at a time.
😎 Tip:
To isolate one status, such as Signed Off, deselect every other status in the Doc Status field before running your search.
If you want to search by Keyword Rule, select a Supplier first.
This search displays 500 documents and lines directly in Lightyear. Export to CSV to see every result with no upper limit.
Purchase orders
Use the Purchase Orders doc type to find any purchase order (PO) in your account, including voided POs.
In the Doc Type field, select Purchase Orders.
In the Doc Status field, select the statuses you want to include, such as Draft, Pending Approval, Approved, Ordered, Completed, Trash, or Void.
In the Report Type field, select Document Level for header information, or Line Item Level for detailed information.
You can also group your results by Supplier, GL Code, Lightyear Department, or Product Code, to see an overview of total spend by that criteria.
📌 Note: Purchase Order reports display 2500 documents and lines directly in Lightyear. Export to CSV to see every result with no upper limit.
Exported batches
Use the Exported Batches doc type to see batches you've previously exported to your accountancy software or to inventory.
In the Doc Type field, select Exported Batches.
In the Type field, select whether you want to see batches exported to your accountancy software or to inventory.
In the File Created field, select the exact date and time you need.
Each batch lists the invoices it contains, so you can confirm the contents of your most recent export by locating it in the list. For more information, see Re-export from Archive.
Bank audit history
Use the Bank Audit History doc type to see historical changes made to supplier bank details.
In the Doc Type field, select Bank Audit History.
Leave the Supplier and User fields blank to see all changes, or select a value to filter by a specific supplier or user.
Your results show the supplier, the date of the change, the user who made it, the old and new details, any notes left on the change, the verification type, and any attachments.
Trashed processing
Use the Trashed Processing doc type to find documents that were deleted from the Processing tab before they were matched to a supplier.
In the Doc Type field, select Trashed Processing.
Find the document you need, then click Reinstate email to restore it.
Filter the Archive view
Filter the columns shown in your Archive results to match your workflow and company setup.
In the top-right corner of the Archive window, click the three dots.
Select or deselect the columns you want to show or hide, such as Bill number, PO number, Approver, or Exporter.
You can also use the Audit/Actor column to identify who moved a document to a specific status, or apply the Approved by filter to find documents approved by a specific user.
Edit a document from the Archive
You can't edit a document directly from within the Archive, but you can open certain documents in an editable area if they're still in an active workflow.
Bills and credit notes in Approvals, Review, or Disputed, and purchase orders in Approval or, permission-dependent, Ordered, show blue, underlined text in the Bill# and PO Number columns.
Click the blue, underlined text for the document you want to edit.
Make your changes on the Bill or PO screen that opens.
📌 Note: The Archive doesn't automatically update to show your changes. Run your search again to see the updated document.
Export documents from the Archive
Export your Archive results to a CSV file for use in reporting.
Filter the Archive view to show the columns you want to include.
Click Export.
When your account has more than 500 results, click Export Report to download a CSV with the full result set.
Large exports can take a while to generate. You can continue working elsewhere in Lightyear while your download completes in the background.
Understand document storage
Lightyear stores your documents for a set period, in line with our Terms and Conditions.
Lightyear stores bills, credit notes, and purchase orders for eight years from the document date, provided you exported or manually archived at least one bill for the cost of a paid credit.
Lightyear stores supplier statements for eight years from the statement date.
Lightyear stores attachments for the same period as the source document they're attached to.
⚠️ Warning: After eight years, documents and statements may be deleted and are no longer available to you. Any hyperlinks pointing to deleted documents may lead to nothing.
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