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Access Education Finance
School finance software
School accounting software designed with education in mind
Our cloud-based financial management software for schools helps you confidently manage your education finances and save money with Access Education's cloud-based financial management system.
Supporting features such as DfE automation and the new standard chart of accounts, our finance software for schools ensures thousands of schools across the UK are streamlined, up-to-date and making best use of their budget.
Trusted by 9,000+ educational institutions
School accounting software - key features
We’ve worked with school finance managers and leading education figures to make our school and academy accounting software fit for purpose. Access school accounting software is, easy to use and fully compliant with DfE and ESFA requirements.
Cloud-based
100% cloud-based with secure access through Access Evo Workspace, anytime, anywhere.
Comprehensive reporting suite
Access comprehensive reports that provide high level insights into the financial performance of your school.
Consistent Financial Report (CFR) return
CFR reports can be produced quickly and easily for submission to the local authority.
Electronic bank reconciliation
Reconciling multiple or single bank accounts can be time-consuming. Upload a CSV statement to auto-match transactions.
Manage, control and report on your school finances
The fully customisable chart of accounts, ledger options and defaults allow you to accurately represent how your school or academy works, letting you record and report information as you need to. Our school management software gives you the freedom to manage transactions, payments, receipts and reconciliations quickly and accurately, with built-in double-entry posting, tolerance and transaction warnings.
Customisable user-access profiles allow you to delegate responsibility appropriately. Plus, customisable document templates and online document management means you can keep everything in one place with the added comfort of knowing it is securely, stored online.
Easily monitor school budget and cashflow
Seamless integration with Access Education Budgets means you can track real-time spending against planned expenditure. You can quickly create cashflow forecasts and get a full picture of past, present and future financial performance.
Reports are built against the suggested DfE format and can be run by the school at any time.
Access detailed school finance reporting in real-time
The real-time information dashboard gives an up-to-date picture of your school’s financial performance quickly and easily. While detailed reports let you analyse your school’s finances to reveal critical trends.
You can create easy-to-understand monthly, termly and annual reports for governors and trustees and meet your regulatory responsibilities with simple-to-produce DfE and ESFA returns.
Management reports can be run at the click of a button and you can easily access real-time information at a high-level by a ledger code group or detailed data through your ledger codes. The management report is built to the suggested DfE format, in our school management software.
Compliant with DfE and ESFA requirements
As a UK-developed and hosted platform, it's compliant with DfE and ESFA requirements, and you will be ready when tax goes digital.
Access Digital Tax retrieves relevant data from Access Education Finance ready for your review and submission to HMRC.
Straightforward set-up - Nothing to install and limited IT support needs means minimal disruption and the most up-to-date version every time you log in.
Education finance software all in one place, anytime, anywhere, on any device
Why schools love our education finance software
Integrated Finance with Budgets provides me with a brilliant overview of the school’s finances
It helps me quickly identify any worrying trends or oversights that need attention. As well as preventing any costly errors, it also ensures we can allocate resources in the best possible manner - ensuring every pupil gets the education they deserve.
Financial management software has transformed the day-to-day running of the finance department
The system is particularly user friendly for non-finance staff. Teachers can keep track of their spend versus budget from the beach during the summer holidays, should they wish!
With our new system we can produce easily-accessible reports and budget projections
The system has also removed the need to produce hard copy orders, therefore reducing our paper consumption, helping us move towards our aim of becoming paperless and, of course, saving money.
Day to day, the system saves me a huge amount of time
I can also login from home, meaning that during the Easter break I can crack on with year end transactions and I can carry out our VAT return in August.
More than just great school finance software
We are dedicated to providing our customers with award-winning implementation and support to help them get the most out of their software.
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3,210 reviews
DanniMarie Rutherford provided some…
DanniMarie Rutherford provided some great one to one training and tailored the training to the organisation and the level of support required SHe fol…
We have just implemented the Access Payroll System
We have just implemented the Access Payroll System as part of our ongoing move to using the Access Education portfolio of systems to run our schools.…
Danni Rutherford was extremely helpful
Danni Rutherford was extremely helpful, her vocal communication was precise and very clear. I left the training with a better understanding of the bu…
Nicola has been extremely helpful and…
Nicola has been extremely helpful and accommodating in working around some specific requirements and availability. The process so far has been really…
Quick support response
Was experiencing some frustrating delays and no response to queries. Danni Rutherford was introduced to us by a new person joining our LA support te…
We were struggling to understand the implications of transitioning the MAT to one bank account on Access Finance.
We were struggling to understand the implications of moving to a central bank account. The technical side was explained very clearly but we had more …
How Access Finance can work for GAG Pooling
Our Trust will be GAG pooling and I wanted to know if and how Access Finance & Budgets could adapt to this. Dave Young listened to what I wanted to …
Education finance resources
01
07
On-demand webinar: Software support when you switch to Access Education Finance
Watch our 30 minute webinar, where our hosts tell you about:
- How to prepare for our onboarding experience
- What our support package entails
- What you can expect from Access as your technology partner
02
07
On-demand webinar: Trends & challenges local authorities are facing in the education sector
The one hour session will cover:
- Panel discussion addressing some of the priorities and challenges local authorities are facing and the difference between councils
- Short overview of how technology can help schools and local authorities overcome these challenges
03
07
On-demand webinar: Switching school finance systems
Watch our 45 minute webinar where we cover:
- Key signs it’s time to change your school finance software
- How to select the right supplier for your school or local authority
- See a demo of our finance software exclusively for the Education sector, used by thousands of schools and academies
- Hear about our exclusive “Pay on YOUR terms, not this term” offer
04
07
Choosing the best finance system for your school
Covered in this guide...
- Benefits of implementing the right finance system
- Common concerns and solutions for finance systems in schools
- Choosing the right finance system for MATs or academies
- Implementing a finance system for schools
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Building a business case for a school financial management system
If you’re looking to get support and investment in a new financial management system, we can help. We’ve put this guide together to:
- Help you present a convincing argument
- Show how specialist software can streamline processes, cut costs and help the school, academy or trust meet its goals
- Show how the right technology can help you deliver better value for parents, pupils and staff
06
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What to include in your tender document
Procuring back-office education software but don’t know where to begin? In this guide, we cover everything you need to create the perfect tender document.
07
07
On-demand webinar: Benefits of integrated Budgets & Finance
A webinar for schools and local authorities.
Watch the webinar to:
- Discover what’s ahead for your Budgets software - roadmap and plans for Access Education Budgets
- Learn about how to increase your school’s back-office efficiency with integrated Finance & Budgets – Short demo
School finance software FAQs
Can Access produce the financial returns and reports my academy/MAT needs?
Yes, Access provides a range of standard and customised reports to meet all your MAT/academy’s needs. Read about our school finance reporting.
Does Access’ contract include implementation and training?
Yes, as part of the project our consultants work with you to ensure the implementation covers all training your requirements. We’d be happy to talk to you about these, please do get in touch.
What support do I get with the system?
Access provides telephone support, account management and online support. You can pick up the phone and speak with a member of our team when you need assistance.
Do you copy my existing Chart of Accounts structure?
We can build you a new Chart of Accounts structure, copy/amend your current structure, or work with you to establish a uniform CoA structure which can be rolled out to all academies.
What is a school finance system?
School finance software helps schools, academies and trusts track and report on the financial status of their educational establishment. The school’s financial management system is in place to increase visibility across the site as well as reduce administration.
What is finance and accounting software for education?
Finance and accounting software for education is solution that helps people within local authorities or academy trusts conduct various accounting and bookkeeping tasks. More commonly known as school finance software, the terms ‘accounting software for education’ and ‘finance software for education’ all refer to the same kind of software packages used to manage a school or trust’s finances.
The software tends to be suitable for use by those without a formal accounting background, such as school business managers and headteachers who manage school’s finances alongside their other responsibilities.
How does accounting software help schools?
School accounting software helps to simplify and streamline finance process in schools and Trusts. Often integrated with other software, it allows schools to become scalable and grow in a more efficient manner due to the ability to centralise resources.
Providing detailed insights in a secure manner, school accounting software can also help schools in their mission to become paperless and provides remote, easy access to real time data and reporting in line with school requirements. The primary benefit schools see when implementing school accounting software is time savings. Take a look at some comparisons of accounting software for schools, academies & MATs.
Which accounting software is best for schools?
The best accounting software for schools is cloud-based, allowing you to access your school finances anytime, anywhere, no matter your location. Education finance software should help to reduce the administrative burdens across your school, academy. It also need to or Trust and aim to increase your visibility, control and reporting over school finances.
However, each school will have a list of requirements based on unique needs and we advise customers to get in touch with us before deciding to purchase any software. Our team of experts will help to identify the best education finance software for you.
What accounting systems do schools use?
There are many providers of accounting systems to schools, including but not limited to Iris, Orovia, IMP, Sage and more – as well as Access Education Finance. Providers offer a range of packages for schools and trusts with different functionality suiting your unique requirements. When investing in a new accounting system it is important for schools and trusts to consider a range of factors including price, compliance, flexibility and more. Take a look at guide to choosing the right financial system for your school or trust.
Solutions created by educators, for educators
At Access Education, we believe in simplicity. Our suite of integrated solutions is designed to seamlessly work together, creating a unified experience that transforms how you manage your school or trust.
- Financial Management: Optimise budgeting and financial management with real-time insights and simplified reporting.
- People Management: Manage recruitment, payroll, and staff well-being effortlessly.
- Parental Engagement: Consolidate communications and administrative tasks into one intuitive system.
- Curriculum & Assessment: Enrich learning with Access GCSEPod and Key Stage 3 resources, offering comprehensive content and insights.
Explore our full educational software solutions
Experience effortless integration, enhanced efficiency, and a unified user experience. Our solutions work together to simplify your processes, so you can focus on what truly matters: delivering exceptional education.
