What Smart Ease does

Smart Ease (legally Energy Lease Pty Ltd) is an Australian commercial payment-solutions provider founded in 2014 by Guy Olian and headquartered in Melbourne with a regional office in Sydney. The company finances solar, storage, energy-efficiency, and broader smart-technology equipment for Australian and New Zealand businesses, serving customers ranging from SMBs through education and government to enterprise accounts (e.g., Komatsu Australia, My Furniture). End customers must originate through Smart Ease's accredited Channel Partner network of 300+ commercial solar installers, HVAC vendors, energy-efficiency suppliers, and smart-tech integrators — Smart Ease does not underwrite direct-to-consumer.

The company offers five financing structures: Rental Payment Plans (2-10 years, equipment owned by Smart Ease, tax-deductible OPEX), Chattel Mortgages (2-10 years, customer owns from day one, balance-sheet CAPEX with depreciation), Subscription Plans (Rental plus ongoing monitoring/maintenance), Power Purchase Agreements (7-30 years, energy pay-as-you-go), and Services Funding Agreements (up to $20K over 5 years for soft costs such as installation, training, and licences). Ticket sizes range from $3,000 to $10 million, with $0 upfront cost and a 4-minute online application yielding on-the-spot pre-approval for up to $150K without financials. Suppliers are settled within 48 hours of installation, supporting partner cash flow.

The technology stack is a digital-first origination and decisioning portal accessed via paymentplan.smartease.com.au, with integrations to installer ecosystems including OpenSolar and Pylon. Revenue is generated on the spread between the cost of funding the receivable portfolio and the contracted customer payments — i.e., interest income, rental yield, or PPA energy-spread margin depending on product. The portfolio is funded via undisclosed warehouse/debt facilities, and Smart Ease retains ownership of equipment under Rental, Subscription, and PPA structures. The company rebranded from Energy Ease to Smart Ease in 2024 to reflect an expanded scope beyond solar into the full smart-technology equipment stack, and has subsequently added EV financing (2026) and Strata/strata company funding (2025) as new product lines.

Name

Smart Ease

Legal name

Energy Lease Pty Ltd

Website

https://smartease.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Smart Ease is a Melbourne-headquartered commercial funder that provides $0 upfront payment plans (Rental, Chattel Mortgage, Subscription, PPA, Services Funding) for solar, energy-efficiency, and smart-technology equipment, distributed exclusively through a network of 300+ accredited Channel Partners across Australia and New Zealand.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Melbourne

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Rental Payment Plans: Smart Ease owns the equipment for the duration of the payment plan. Customer pays fixed monthly instalments over a fixed term (typically 2-10 years). In most cases, treated as a fully tax-deductible operating expense. Customer has option to buy equipment at end of term.
2. Chattel Mortgage: Customer owns the equipment from start of agreement. Customer may claim interest and depreciation expenses as tax-deductible. Fixed monthly instalments over 2-10 years. Typically $0 upfront cost.
3. Subscription Plan: Like a Rental Plan but with addition of ongoing system monitoring and scheduled maintenance for life of agreement. Separate Service Agreement between customer and installer.
4. Power Purchase Agreement (PPA): Available for solar and storage only. Smart Ease's PPA partner owns, maintains and insures the system. Customer buys electricity back at agreed rate, generally lower than grid-sourced energy. Terms of 7-30 years. Customer can buy out at any time.
5. Services Funding Agreement (SFA): Funds consulting, training, installation, maintenance and licenses to implement smart technologies. Can be bundled with equipment (equipment cannot exceed 25% of total). Up to $20K total. Terms up to 5 years.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Smart Ease provides commercial payment solutions that finance smart and energy-efficiency equipment (solar/storage, EV chargers, HVAC, lighting, heat pumps, water heating, building automation, etc.) for Australian businesses. Funding ranges from $3,000 to $10 million via Rental Payment Plans, Chattel Mortgages, Subscription Plans, Power Purchase Agreements, and Services Funding Agreements, with $0 upfront cost and terms from 2 to 30 years.

Product overview

Smart Ease is a commercial payment solutions provider that offers a suite of financing products to help businesses access smart and energy-efficiency equipment without upfront capital. The core products include Rental Payment Plans, Chattel Mortgages, Subscription Plans (Rental with maintenance), Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), and Services Funding Agreements. The platform funds two main equipment categories: (1) Energy-efficiency equipment covering solar/storage, EV chargers, HVAC, efficient lighting, heat pumps, water heating/purification, and power generators; and (2) Smart equipment including building automation, communication systems, AV/multimedia, security/monitoring, and energy-management technology. Smart Ease operates exclusively as a commercial funder through an accredited Channel Partner network, not offering residential solutions. The company rebranded from Energy Ease to Smart Ease to reflect expanded scope beyond solar.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Rental Payment Plan A commercial financing product where Smart Ease retains ownership of the smart or energy-efficiency equipment during the payment term. Customers pay $0 upfront and fixed monthly instalments over 2-10 years, and the payments are typically fully tax-deductible as an operating expense. Customers have the option to buy the equipment at end of term. Available via accredited Channel Partners.
• Chattel Mortgage A commercial financing product where the customer owns the smart or energy-efficiency equipment from the start of the agreement. Equipment appears on the customer's balance sheet with the loan as liability, and customers may claim interest and depreciation expenses as tax-deductible. Amounts range from $3,000 to $10 million with $0 upfront cost and fixed monthly instalments over 2-10 years.
• Subscription Plan A Rental-style payment plan that adds ongoing system monitoring and scheduled maintenance for the life of the agreement. A separate Service Agreement is signed between the customer and their preferred installer. Available via accredited Channel Partners.
• Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) A long-term commercial energy financing product for solar and battery storage only. A PPA partner (such as Green Peak Energy) owns, maintains, and insures the system, while the customer purchases electricity generated at an agreed rate, generally lower than grid-sourced energy. Terms range from 7 to 30 years, and the customer can buy out the system at any time.
• Services Funding Agreement (SFA) A commercial financing product that funds services to implement smart technologies — including consulting, training, installation, maintenance, and licences — either for services alone or bundled with smart equipment (where equipment may not exceed 25% of the total). Up to $20,000 total, terms up to 5 years, with regular payments claimable as expense.
• Solar Power & Storage Equipment Funding A Smart Ease payment solution funding commercial solar photovoltaic systems and battery storage. Businesses install solar/storage with $0 upfront cost and align monthly repayments with energy savings, making the investment cash-flow positive from Day 1.
• EV Financing A Smart Ease payment solution that funds electric vehicles (EVs) for commercial use, allowing businesses to access $0 upfront finance for employee EVs or transition of entire commercial fleets via Smart Ease Payment Plans.
• HVAC Equipment Funding A Smart Ease payment solution funding chillers, boilers, and HVAC systems for commercial buildings. Customers install efficient HVAC with $0 upfront cost and align monthly payments with energy savings.
• Efficient Lighting Equipment Funding A Smart Ease payment solution funding LED and other energy-efficient lighting upgrades for commercial facilities, enabling reduced electricity costs through $0 upfront equipment financing.
• Heat Pump Equipment Funding A Smart Ease payment solution funding commercial heat pump systems that deliver efficient heating and cooling by absorbing heat from outside air, reducing commercial energy consumption.
• Water Heating & Purification Equipment Funding A Smart Ease payment solution funding commercial water heating systems and water purification equipment to reduce energy use in commercial operations.
• Building Automation Equipment Funding A Smart Ease payment solution funding building automation systems that control HVAC, lighting, and other commercial building systems, enabling smarter, more efficient commercial operations.
• Security & Monitoring Systems Equipment Funding A Smart Ease payment solution funding commercial security and monitoring systems, allowing businesses to install security infrastructure with $0 upfront cost.
• Energy-Management Technology Funding A Smart Ease payment solution funding energy management and monitoring technology systems for commercial facilities, enabling data-driven energy optimisation.
• Strata Company Funding A Smart Ease funding solution for strata companies and owner's corporations of Australian apartment buildings, enabling shared solar installations and SolShare technology from Allume Energy to be financed through Smart Ease Payment Plans.

Quantifiable outcome

• 60% reduction in electricity costs
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers20 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Smart Energy Council (SEC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustry association partnership. Smart Ease works with the Smart Energy Council, Australia's peak body for renewable energy and clean technology, to support installers and vendors in the industry.
• SEANZ (Solar Energy Association of New Zealand)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with New Zealand's solar energy industry association to support installers operating in the NZ market.
• SunWizminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustry partnership with Australian solar industry consultancy and research organization. Smart Ease works with SunWiz to support the solar installation industry.
• Solar PlusminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnership with Solar Plus, an Australian solar installation company that offers Smart Ease payment solutions to its customers.
• Allume Energy (SolShare)coreTechnology or IntegrationTechnology partnership for SolShare, a world-first technology that enables fair and effective solar energy distribution from a central system across multiple units in apartment buildings. Smart Ease can connect strata customers with Allume for technical implementation of shared solar solutions.
• Green Peak EnergyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCEO Guy Olian serves as a Director of Green Peak Energy, a specialist Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) business. Green Peak Energy offers PPA arrangements through Smart Ease's financing platform.
• Cool.orgcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner1% Project partnership: Smart Ease gives 1% of revenue to Cool.org, one of Australia's largest providers of education resources to teachers. Partnership creates educational resources about sustainability for schools worldwide.
• Choice EnergycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorChannel Partner providing commercial solar solutions. Successfully partnered to deliver projects including Tripod Farmers solar installation and hospitality sector projects.
• CyanergycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorChannel Partner that delivered Philter Brewing's 84kW solar installation. Enables commercial customers to access Smart Ease Payment Plans.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Plenti: ASX-listed Australian fintech lender offering asset finance, renewable energy loans, and automotive finance. Comparable Australian specialty lender with digital underwriting and asset-backed lending products directly competing for the same SMB/installer ecosystem.
• Brighte: Australia's leading consumer/commercial pay-later provider for home energy and solar. Most directly comparable peer: Australian, fintech-style instant approval, channel of accredited installers, and focus on financing solar and energy-efficiency equipment - just skewed more residential.
• GoodLeap: US market leader in point-of-sale financing for sustainable home upgrades (solar, HVAC, roofing). Highly comparable: technology-led underwriting, installer/integrator channel, focus on energy-efficiency equipment, and range of loan products analogous to Smart Ease's Rental/Chattel/Subscription offerings.
• EnerBank USA: US specialty bank providing point-of-sale financing for home improvement, solar, and energy-efficiency upgrades through contractor relationships. Direct peer: contractor-channel finance, fixed-rate installment products, fast approval, and energy-efficiency focus.
• Mosaic: US-based specialty finance company offering solar loans and home improvement financing through a network of installer partners. Directly comparable business model (specialty solar/clean-tech lender, instant digital decisioning, installer channel) at larger US scale.
• Ygrene Energy Fund: US provider of PACE financing for energy-efficiency, solar, and resilience upgrades via contractor channels. Comparable specialist finance model, contractor-led origination, and long-tenor clean-energy loans.
• Dividend Finance: Specialty lender providing residential and commercial financing for energy-efficiency and solar projects through contractor and developer channels. Comparable product structure (loans for renewable/energy-efficiency capex), digital platform, and reliance on partner-driven origination.
• Humm Group: Australia/NZ asset finance and BNPL provider with point-of-sale lending for commercial and consumer equipment. Competes with Smart Ease in commercial asset finance and partner-channel lending in the same geographies.

Broad incumbents

• Generate Capital: Large US sustainable infrastructure financier owning and operating distributed energy, storage, and efficiency assets via PPAs and leases. Overlaps with Smart Ease's PPA/Rental models at much larger scale and broader asset scope.

Regional players

• Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC): Australian government-backed green financier investing in clean-energy projects and businesses. Indirect/adjacent peer - both channel capital into Australian decarbonisation but CEFC operates at infrastructure scale rather than SMB equipment finance.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/smarteasefinancing
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/smart-ease-financing

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Smart Ease