Inside Budgetly, The Company Redefining Business Spending.

Budgetly is transforming how Australian businesses manage their finances, offering a streamlined, automated platform that makes tracking expenses, setting budgets, and handling payments effortless. Built to give companies greater financial control while removing the inefficiencies of traditional systems, Budgetly isn’t just simplifying spend management—it’s rethinking how businesses operate at their core.

 

The idea started with a simple but powerful observation. Founder & CEO Simon Lenoir had firsthand experience with the pain points of business spending while scaling his previous company, Rezdy. Managing expenses was slow, approvals were clunky, and finance teams were caught up in unnecessary admin. Then came a conversation with a longtime friend, the CEO of Spriggy—a financial app that helps kids manage money. If parents could trust a 12-year-old with a prepaid card, why couldn’t businesses trust employees with their own company spending? That moment sparked the vision for a platform that eliminated excessive controls and inefficiencies, giving businesses a faster, smarter, and more employee-friendly way to manage finances. When Lenoir couldn’t find a suitable solution in Australia, he built one.

 

But the mission behind Budgetly went beyond just fixing financial workflows. From day one, the company set out to challenge not only how businesses manage expenses but also how they manage their teams. That ethos—one that prioritises autonomy, ownership, and long-term thinking over bureaucracy and micromanagement—has shaped Budgetly into one of Australia’s most loved companies to work for, earning them a Culture 100 Award.

Budgetly was built on the belief that the best work happens when people are given the freedom to take ownership. Their core principle, Carte Blanche, strips away unnecessary layers of approval and replaces them with clear company goals, trust in individual decision-making, and a shared sense of responsibility. Employees are given the space to innovate, move quickly, and contribute in ways that go beyond rigid job descriptions. Rather than prescribing every step, leadership focuses on setting the vision and allowing teams to figure out the best way to get there.

 

Ownership at Budgetly isn’t just a mindset—it’s quite literally part of the business model. 25% of the company is employee-owned through an Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP), meaning every team member has a direct stake in the company’s success. That structure isn’t just about financial incentives; it creates a deeper level of engagement, ensuring that decisions are made with long-term impact in mind. Employees aren’t just executing tasks—they’re helping shape the company’s future. The flexibility built into Budgetly’s product extends to how they run their own company. A fully remote team operates without rigid schedules or outdated productivity metrics. Performance isn’t measured by hours logged at a desk but by results. Employees manage their own time, balancing work in a way that suits them best. Instead of unnecessary check-ins and meetings for the sake of meetings, communication is streamlined to maximise efficiency while keeping teams connected and aligned.

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That autonomy comes with a strong foundation of transparency and communication. Weekly leadership updates ensure every team member understands how the company is performing, where it’s heading, and how their work ties into the bigger picture. There’s no gatekeeping of information or closed-door decision-making—financial performance, key objectives, and strategic direction are shared openly. The company’s internal knowledge base is fully accessible, allowing anyone to tap into resources, processes, and historical decisions whenever they need.

 

Unlike many high-growth companies that prioritise speed at the expense of sustainability, Budgetly actively works to prevent burnout and protect work-life balance. Employees are encouraged to take breaks, set boundaries, and step away when needed, reinforced by five weeks of annual leave—a clear signal that the company doesn’t just talk about balance but actively builds it into its culture. Performance is seen as something sustainable, not relentless, and the company operates with the belief that great work happens when people are given the time and space to recharge. Attracting the right talent is just as intentional as the culture itself. Budgetly seeks out people who thrive in environments where autonomy is the default. Employees who embrace Carte Blanche don’t wait for instructions—they take initiative, make decisions, and drive impact without needing permission.

 

The hiring process is designed to filter for individuals who align with this approach, ensuring that every new team member strengthens the company’s values. Once inside, employees are set up for success through structured goal-setting, performance reviews, and continuous feedback loops that provide clarity on expectations, growth opportunities, and career development.

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Why Culture 100?

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The Culture 100 Award isn’t just another "best places to work" list. It goes beyond perks and surface-level benefits, focusing on what truly makes a workplace exceptional—the people behind it. The selection process involved analysing thousands of companies and gathering insights from over 20,000 employees to identify the businesses that are redefining what a great workplace looks like. Companies where "people-first" isn’t just a slogan—it’s something employees genuinely feel and experience every day.

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To ensure authenticity, the methodology centred around employee sentiment surveys, capturing real insights from the people who experience the culture firsthand. Employees were asked: What’s one moment that showed you your company truly cares about its people? What’s the secret to your connection with the culture? What initiatives make you feel valued? These open-ended responses, combined with Employee Net Promoter Scores (eNPS) and satisfaction metrics on career growth opportunities, helped paint a detailed picture of which companies are truly prioritising their people.