Stop chasing receipts across your childcare centres
Childcare providers waste hours every week on reimbursements, shared credit cards, and manual reconciliation. Budgetly gives every centre its own cards, captures receipts at the point of purchase, and syncs to Xero automatically.
Get your centres off petty cash in 14 days ➜
Australia's favourite.
Trusted by organisations managing distributed teams and multiple budgets.
Built for the way childcare centres actually work
From excursion purchases to centre supply budgets, Budgetly handles the spending workflows your centre managers and finance team deal with every day.
A card for every centre
Issue physical or virtual cards to each centre, room coordinator, or staff member. No more shared credit cards, petty cash, or waiting weeks for bank cards.
Receipts captured at point of purchase
Staff snap receipts on the mobile app the moment they spend. No more chasing paper receipts at month-end or collecting forms from busy educators.
Real-time visibility across every centre
See who spent what, where, and when across all your centres and programs. Spot overspending before it affects your operating budget.
Audit-ready reporting in one click
Generate transaction reports with matched receipts for compliance reviews instantly. No more manual spreadsheets or missing documentation.
Eliminate financial stress with smart spend management
Childcare providers managing multiple centres, mobile staff, and tight operational budgets need real-time visibility, not month-end surprises. Budgetly replaces shared credit cards and manual processes with controlled cards, instant receipt capture, and one-click reporting. Aspire Education saves each of their 15 centres one day a week on expense management after switching to Budgetly.
Save each centre a day a week on admin
Aspire Education saves each of their 15 early childhood centres one day a week on expense management with Budgetly. Where staff previously collected receipts and reconciled two bank credit cards per centre manually, 28 Budgetly cards now handle everything centrally with automatic reconciliation.
Watch the 10-minute demo ➜
Eliminate overspending across centres
Hillsborough OOSH gained full visibility over staff spending by replacing their company credit card with Budgetly. Centre director Judy O’Leary can now set spending caps per category, so staff know exactly what they can spend on equipment and supplies, reducing the risk of overspending.
Watch the 10-minute demo ➜Remove reimbursements and paperwork
Aurora Southern Highlands Steiner School saved 3 to 4 hours a week by eliminating their manual reimbursement process with Budgetly. Teachers no longer spend their own money on school supplies, and the finance team no longer processes paper receipts or chases missing documentation.
Watch the 10-minute demo ➜
Trusted by childcare providers across Australia
Trusted by teams across Australia
Read verified reviews ➜Awards and recognition
Resources for Childcare businesses
Case Studies
Aspire Education saves each centre 1 day a week in expense management
Aspire Education Saves Each Centre One Day a Week in Expense Management With Budgetly
Aurora Southern Highlands Steiner School Saves 4 Hours a Week With Budgetly
Read how Aurora Southern Highlands Steiner School saves up to 4 hours a week on expense management with Budgetly.
How Hillsborough OOSH Saves Time and Achieves Greater Visibility with Budgetly
Budgetly's case study on how NSW childcare provider Hillsborough OOSH saved time and gained control with Budgetly's …
Resources
Free Staff Induction Checklist for Childcare industry
Free staff induction checklist for Childcare businesses. Cover day one essentials, policy review, and expense card …
Expense Tracker Template for Childcare industry
Free expense tracker template for Childcare businesses. Track employee spending by category and plan quarterly budgets.
Expense Process Audit for Childcare industry
Free expense process audit for Childcare businesses. Assess your workflows, find inefficiencies, and identify where …
Most companies still manage spending the hard way.
Finance teams are expected to control spending, but the tools they use were never built for it. Staff share corporate cards, receipts arrive weeks late, reimbursements are manual, budgets live in spreadsheets, and bookkeepers reconstruct reality after transactions occur.
Modern companies manage spending before it happens.
Instead of reacting to expenses after the fact, finance teams now control spending at the moment it occurs. Budgetly enables this shift. Spending rules, budgets, cards, and expense capture operate inside a single platform, giving finance teams live visibility and control.
Frequently asked questions
What is expense management software for the childcare sector?
Why should I use childcare-specific expense management software instead of generic tools or spreadsheets?
Childcare organisations manage diverse cost centres (rooms, centres, staff, activities), frequent small transactions, mobile purchases, and strict compliance requirements. Generic spreadsheets or standard expense tools often fail in areas like mobile receipt capture, automated policy enforcement, program-based budgets, and real-time tracking.
With Budgetly you gain:
- Real-time expense tracking and visibility across all centres
- Budget allocation by centre, room, or program
- Mobile receipt capture via the Expense Tracking App so staff upload receipts at the point of purchase
- Instant Virtual Cards for staff going on excursions or making ad hoc purchases
- Seamless sync with your ledgers via the Xero Integration
Aspire Education replaced two bank credit cards per centre with 28 Budgetly cards across 15 centres, saving each centre a full day a week on expense management.
What is the best expense management software for Australian childcare businesses?
The best solution for Australian childcare centres should support AUD transactions and GST, integrate with local accounting systems, enable centre and program-based budgets, and provide mobile support for staff making purchases off-site.
Budgetly meets these requirements with a unified platform built for Australia. Childcare-specific features include per-centre budget controls with automated resets, real-time visibility across multiple locations, and audit-ready reporting. Hillsborough OOSH saved at least 10 hours a week on manual admin after switching from company credit cards to Budgetly.
How can Budgetly improve decision-making for my childcare business?
Budgetly gives you real-time insights into expenditure across centres, rooms, and staff. Because every transaction, from card purchases to receipt uploads, is captured and categorised, you can spot overspending trends early, reallocate funds between budgets, and improve cash-flow forecasting.
As Judy O’Leary from Hillsborough OOSH explained, “I can now set a cap on my spending. Previously, staff would tell me that they would spend $400 on equipment, but now I can set how much they should spend, making it more transparent for staff and reducing the risk of overspending.”
How much does expense management software for childcare cost?
How to get started with Budgetly's expense management software for childcare?
Getting started is simple:
- Book a demo with the Budgetly team to see how the solution fits your centre workflows.
- During onboarding, define your centre and program budgets, set spending rules per card, issue physical or virtual cards to staff and centre managers, enable mobile receipt capture, and connect your Xero account.
- Once live, staff transact and capture receipts on the spot. Your finance team gets real-time dashboards and spend control across every centre.
Aurora Southern Highlands Steiner School went from a manual reimbursement process to saving 3 to 4 hours a week, with Principal Melissa Savill noting, “We don’t have to worry about reimbursements because of the improvements in our process.”
See how childcare providers eliminate petty cash across centres
10-minute recorded walkthrough. No commitment required.
Watch the 10-minute demo ➜