foundU
foundU is an Australian cloud-based workforce management SaaS platform providing natively-integrated onboarding, rostering, payroll, and award-compliance tools to businesses with flexible workforces across ten verticals, now operating inside Citation Group.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersBrisbane, Australia
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What foundU does
foundU is an Australian cloud-based workforce management SaaS platform serving businesses with flexible workforces across ten vertical industries, with labour hire as the primary segment and secondary focus on hospitality, healthcare, aged care, childcare, retail, cleaning, pharmacy, manufacturing, and logistics. The platform provides a unified suite of natively-built modules — onboarding, rostering, time and attendance, payroll, employee management, leave management, invoicing, and an employee app with earned wage access — engineered as a single integrated stack rather than assembled from third-party integrations. Its core technology centres on an in-house award interpretation engine and Single Touch Payroll (STP) compliance tooling built specifically around Australia's industrial award framework and Fair Work legislation, with ISO 27001:2022 certification, an Open API, and integrations into the ATO, Department of Home Affairs (VEVO), Equifax, Beam (superannuation), Flare HR, HubSpot, SMSGlobal, and Google Analytics.
FoundU operates a per-active-user subscription pricing model across three tiers — Essential at $3.25 per active user per week (or $12/month), Everyday at $3.75 per active user per week (or $15/month), and Performance with custom quoting under multi-year contracts — and reaches customers through direct enterprise field sales, a channel partner program covering 750+ customers, a customer referral program (rewardU), and self-serve product tours. In 2025, foundU was acquired by Citation Group, a strategic acquirer that supports over 12,000 businesses across Australia and New Zealand with workplace compliance, HR, employment law, work health and safety, ISO, and NDIS certification services. The company is headquartered in Milton, Queensland, runs Australian-based implementation and support teams available seven days a week, and has 51–100 employees.
foundU firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- foundU
- Legal name
- foundU Holdings Limited
- Website
- https://foundu.com.au
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- foundU is an Australian cloud-based workforce management SaaS platform providing natively-integrated onboarding, rostering, payroll, and award-compliance tools to businesses with flexible workforces across ten verticals, now operating inside Citation Group.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
foundU industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Workforce Management Software
- NAICS
- Payroll Services (541214), Accounting, Tax Preparation, Bookkeeping, and Payroll Services (5412)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Payroll Software & Payroll-as-a-Service (SaaS) (BPACAIAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Employer Payroll Processing (SMB & Enterprise) (FSAMAKAA), Managed Payroll Services (Full-Service Payroll Outsourcing) (BPAAAHAA), Pay Card Programs & Earned Wage Access (EWA) Administration (BPACAIAK)
Keywords
Where foundU is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Brisbane
- HQ country
- Australia
- HQ region
- Oceania
Offices1 record
Markets served
foundU business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Subscription - Active User Pricing: Weekly or monthly subscription pricing based on number of active users (employees entitled to be paid). Only pay for employees that are actually paid, not everyone saved in the platform. Three tiers: Essential, Everyday, and Performance.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Essential tier - basic workforce management features including onboarding, scheduling, payroll, and reporting |
| Subscription | Monthly | Everyday tier - sophisticated technology with setup and configuration support from dedicated implementation team |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Performance tier - integrated solution configured to specific needs with SSO, APIs, full support, and customised training |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels10 records
foundU product offering
Product offeringCore offering
foundU provides a cloud-based workforce management platform that natively integrates employee onboarding, rostering, time and attendance, payroll, and award compliance into a single system for Australian businesses with flexible workforces. The platform automates Single Touch Payroll reporting to the Australian Taxation Office, applies an award interpretation engine for complex Modern Awards and EBAs, and provides real-time wage cost visibility. Pricing is subscription-based per active user across three tiers (Essential, Everyday, Performance).
Product overview
foundU is a cloud-based workforce management platform offering a unified suite of natively-built tools including onboarding, rostering, time and attendance, payroll, employee management, employee app, earned wage access, leave management, and invoicing. The platform differentiates through its integrated approach where all core features are built in-house rather than through third-party integrations, enabling real-time data flow and compliance updates when legislation changes. FoundU operates on an active-user pricing model across three tiers (Essential, Everyday, Performance) and expanded in 2025 through acquisition by Citation Group, gaining access to HR and compliance services. The platform serves multiple industries including labour hire, childcare, health clubs, cleaning, aged care, pharmacy, healthcare, manufacturing, logistics, and hospitality.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- rewardU: Customer rewards program that allows foundU customers to earn discounts and rewards by referring new business to foundU, with tiered credits based on monthly active users.
Products and services
- foundU Workforce Management Platform
Quantifiable outcome
- Up to 70% reduction in payroll processing times
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use foundU
Customer profileNamed customers12 records
Segments10 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
foundU technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration8 records
Feature6 records
foundU partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Partner NetworkcoreDiverse network of partners and integrators reaching over 750 customers across Australia. Partners receive partnership launches to client base including EDMs, in-platform pop-ups, and client-facing webinars. Multiple co-marketing opportunities throughout the year.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
foundU competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Rippling: US-headquartered all-in-one workforce management platform combining HR, payroll, IT, and spend. Increasingly entering Australia and competing with foundU's bundled HR+payroll value proposition for multi-country employers.
Direct peers
- Deputy: Australian-founded workforce management platform offering scheduling, time & attendance, and payroll for shift-based businesses. Closely aligned with foundU on rostering core, vertical coverage (hospitality, healthcare, retail), and ANZ market focus.
- Employment Hero: Australia-headquartered all-in-one HR, payroll, and benefits SaaS platform serving SMB and mid-market employers. Directly comparable to foundU on target customer, Australian regulatory focus, and bundled workforce management functionality.
- Tanda: Australian workforce management SaaS focused on rostering, time & attendance, and award interpretation with STP-compliant payroll. Directly competes with foundU in labour-hire and award-heavy verticals.
- PayGroup: Australian/NZ payroll SaaS provider with multi-country payroll capabilities, serving mid-market and enterprise employers. Comparable on payroll-first architecture and regulatory compliance positioning in the ANZ region.
Broad incumbents
- Workday: Enterprise HCM and payroll cloud platform expanding into mid-market. Comparable at the workforce-management and payroll layer, though typically competing for larger and more complex employers than foundU's typical customer.
- ADP: Global payroll and HR services leader with significant Australian presence through ADP Workforce Now and RUN Powered by ADP. Overlaps with foundU's payroll and STP capabilities as part of a much broader enterprise portfolio.
- Dayforce (Ceridian): Global HCM platform with payroll, workforce management, and talent offerings. Targets similar mid-market and enterprise customers as foundU but at much greater scale and across multiple geographies.
- Xero: New Zealand-headquartered accounting SaaS with built-in payroll for Australian SMBs and a Xero-powered STP integration ecosystem. Adjacent competitor where payroll overlaps with foundU's offering for smaller employers.
- MYOB: Australia/NZ accounting and payroll software provider with embedded STP-compliant payroll. Competes with foundU for Australian SMB payroll customers, though broader in accounting than in workforce management.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
foundU social profiles
Digital presencefoundU compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
foundU financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
foundU leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
foundU funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
foundU M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about foundU
What does foundU do?
foundU provides a cloud-based workforce management platform that natively integrates employee onboarding, rostering, time and attendance, payroll, and award compliance into a single system for Australian businesses with flexible workforces. The platform automates Single Touch Payroll reporting to the Australian Taxation Office, applies an award interpretation engine for complex Modern Awards and EBAs, and provides real-time wage cost visibility. Pricing is subscription-based per active user across three tiers (Essential, Everyday, Performance).
Is foundU a public or private company?
foundU is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was foundU founded?
foundU was founded in 2013. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is foundU based?
foundU is headquartered in Brisbane, Australia, in the Oceania region.
How does foundU make money?
One revenue line is on record: subscription - Active User Pricing.
Who are foundU's main competitors?
Rippling is listed as an emerging player. Direct peers are Deputy, Employment Hero, Tanda and PayGroup. Broad incumbents are Workday, ADP, Dayforce (Ceridian), Xero and MYOB.
Does foundU have an API?
Yes. foundU provides an Open API that allows customers and third parties to connect with the platform. The API enables Customer Applications to access or interface with the Platform. The API is governed by Annexure C of the foundU Agreement Terms, which specifies that customers must ensure their applications require users to be legally bound to specific terms of use and privacy policies. Third parties and contractors must enter binding agreements to access the API. Unless otherwise agreed, access to the API is free of charge. foundU may add, remove, or modify API features, impose eligibility requirements, or discontinue access at its discretion without notice. Developer documentation is at foundu.zendesk.com/hc/en-us.
What industry is foundU in?
foundU's product category is Workforce Management Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPACAIAB, Payroll Software & Payroll-as-a-Service (SaaS), with a secondary code of FSAMAKAA, Employer Payroll Processing (SMB & Enterprise). Its NAICS code is 541214 and its SIC code is 7370.