Access Education Finance

Finance for MATs

Our finance for MATs solution helps large and small trusts to confidently manage their accounts at a school, group or trust level.

Maintaining financial control at a trust level allows you to streamline your processes, save costs and enhance efficiencies. Create reports for single schools, groups or the entire trust. Completing and submitting your academies accounts return (AAR) for the DfE and conducting your annual audit is made easier with Access Education Finance.

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Central control

Central control allows permissions to be set at a trust level for individual users and for schools. Central payments and central bank reconciliations also gives trust finance teams more control over processes and payments.

Trust wide visibility

Gives a complete view of the organisation at the trust level with the option to drill down into individual schools at the click of a button.

Consolidated reporting

A consolidated reporting suite allows you to create reports on single schools, groups or the entire trust. Custom reporting now also available.

Reduce admin burdens

Ensuring there is an efficient and effective financial layer at the MAT level gives central staff time to focus on other important tasks.

MAT financial management - key features

Create easy to understand reports with MAT finance

As a trust 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. Custom reporting now also available.

Reports can be run at the click of a button, including:

Management reports including balance sheet, income and expenditure and trial balance reports
A management report for the trust
Academy Accounts Return (AAR)
Payment practices
Cashflow forecast
Analytics
Consolidated transaction list repot
Audit reports
Reporting VAT

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Increase accuracy and improve financial decision making across your trust

Whether you’re a trust with multiple bank accounts or you’ve centralised your services and have a single bank account, reconciling your transactions every week or month can be a time-consuming task.

You can reconcile your account(s) by uploading a .csv version of your statement, the system will then attempt to auto match the transactions from that bank statement to unreconciled transactions in Access Education Finance.

Inter-school transactions allow MATs to post one journal to various schools, while central payments and central bank reconciliations give trust finance teams more control over processes and payments with options to manage accounts individually, as a central account with sub-branches or as a single, central account.

Reporting dashboards for powerful communication

Our financial software for multi-academy trusts is delivered through Access Evo, giving you powerful collaboration and communication tools, boosting efficiency, productivity and engagement.

The analytics and real-time information dashboard gives an up-to-date picture of your trust’s financial performance. Reporting solutions and KPI tools highlight the most important issues and trends. A fully customisable interface and drag-and-drop personalisation means you can stay on top of all your different applications from one place.

The secret to smarter financial management across your MAT

Simplify complex financial management with our Financial Management solution, purpose-built for MATs. By integrating Access Education Budgets and Access Education Finance, we provide one powerful system to keep your finances organized, accurate, and stress-free.

Ready for even more efficiency? Introducing the ALL NEW Access Education suite bundles:

Centralise operations with one platform, one contract, one price across your entire trust.
Customise bundles to match your MAT’s unique needs and benefit from tailored discount schemes.
Move beyond per-school or per-pupil pricing with a clear, scalable ‘per school’ rate.

Designed with MATs in mind, Access Education empowers you to manage finances with confidence and focus on what truly matters - delivering excellence in education.

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Why customers love our finance software for MATs

"Access feels like a real partnership. That’s rare.”

"Access Education has completely changed the way we manage our finances."

"The fact that finance and budgets are aligned in one system makes everything more streamlined. For any CFO, that’s a must."

"Access makes it easy for our schools to follow the same procedures.”

"I’ve looked at other budgeting tools but haven’t found one that quite hit the mark like Access."

"Feedback from SBMs is that the Access system is far more user friendly and much easier for staff to get to grips with."

Gain control with financial software for multi-academy trusts

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Latest insights on finance software for MATs

Discover valuable resources and updates to support your research and purchasing decisions. Our news and articles offer expert advice, case studies, and industry trends to help you make informed choices for your school’s financial management.

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Guide

Choosing the best finance system

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Webinar

Switching finance system for your MAT or academy: what to look for

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Guide

When is it time to change your MAT finance software?

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Webinar

Benefits of integrated Budgets & Finance for academies & MATs

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FAQs

How can MAT finance leaders give schools more freedom without losing control?

By finding the right balance between centralisation and autonomy. With clear policies, shared systems, and collaborative processes, MAT finance leaders can maintain oversight while allowing schools to manage their own budgets effectively. Learn more about practical strategies—like GAG pooling, top slicing, and integrated reporting—in this article on balancing freedom and control across trusts.

When should a MAT consider changing its finance software?

It might be time to switch if your current system is slowing you down, can’t keep up with regulatory changes, or isn’t scalable as your trust grows. The right software should make financial management simpler, not harder, and give you real-time visibility across every school. Read this article to learn when and how to make the change smoothly.

How can financial software help MATs balance school autonomy and central oversight?

The right software gives MATs a single, centralised view of finances while still allowing schools to manage their own budgets. With features like real-time reporting, scenario planning and role-based access, finance leaders can maintain oversight without limiting school-level flexibility. Read this article to learn how the right system can help your trust achieve that balance.

Why is the Access Education Financial Management solution ideal for MATs?

Because it’s built specifically for multi-academy trusts. The suite combines finance, budgeting and reporting tools in one cloud-based platform, giving you real-time visibility, central oversight and flexibility for every school. Learn more about how it helps MATs simplify processes and improve financial control in this article.

What’s the difference between the Access Education Suite and IMP for MAT finance management?

Both support trust-level financial management, but Access Education Suite offers a broader, integrated platform that connects finance, budgeting, HR, payroll and analytics in one place. It’s designed for MATs that want strategic oversight as well as operational efficiency. Read this article for a full comparison and to see which system best fits your trust’s needs.

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.