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School financial management software for local authorities
Managing school finances across an authority is harder, and often collectively more expensive, when every school runs its own systems.
Access Education brings finance, budgeting and more onto one connected platform, built for how authorities and their maintained schools work, so you can support schools better and get more value by buying together.
The trusted choice of education management system
How we support you
One connected system across finance, budgeting, ICFP, purchasing and more
One view across every school, with LA-wide reporting
Better value when you buy for your schools
Support for centralised, decentralised or hybrid buying models
Train-the-trainer, so your team can support schools directly
Guidance from education software experts working with 40+ local authorities
The core systems for local authorities
Most authorities build around finance and budgeting, the two products at the heart of school financial management, then add the others as they need them.
Access Education Finance
School accounting software with a customisable chart of accounts, electronic bank reconciliation, real-time reporting dashboards and DfE-compliant returns. For maintained schools, we can produce the Consistent Financial Reporting (CFR) return each school submits to you, with custom reporting to match local requirements, saving time and improving consistency. Access Digital Tax also prepares data for HMRC submission.
Access Education Budgets
School budgeting software for accurate, balanced budgets and five-year forecasts. It calculates staff costs across contracts, pay scales, pensions and allowances, models 'what if' scenarios for staffing, pay, pupil numbers and income, and includes in-year reforecasting.
Integrated Curriculum and Financial Planning (ICFP) links curriculum and financial data, so schools can balance staffing and curriculum decisions with financial sustainability over three to five years.
When an authority buys Budgets for its schools, we can do the annual budget build for them centrally, rather than every school business manager working it out alone. The software also produces the DfE-compliant governor report for planning and forecasting.
Other connected software for your schools
Why local authorities choose Access Education
Financial management software built specifically for schools and the authorities that support them, with experts who understand how local authorities work.
School-specific and LA-compliant
Easy for finance professionals and non-finance staff alike to manage budgets.
One secure platform
Log in through Access Evo, anytime, anywhere.
DfE-compliant
Supports accounting and reporting in line with DfE requirements.
Customised LA reporting
Reports built to match what your authority needs, not a fixed template.
Five-year forecasting
Plan school budgets up to five years ahead so schools can see and avoid deficits early.
Scenario planning and salary modelling
Model the impact of changes to staff, pay, pupil numbers, income and expenditure.
Built for local authorities
Access Education is built for how local authorities work with their schools.
We can do the work for your schools
When an authority buys Finance and Budgets for its schools, we can do the annual budget build centrally and produce the CFR return each maintained school needs to submit. For a business manager who would otherwise tackle this once a year, often without a finance background, that takes the hardest work off their plate entirely.
We can train your team to support your schools
Through our train-the-trainer programme, we can give your central finance team the tools to deliver training and first-line support to schools themselves. Your authority keeps control and builds its own expertise, rather than depending on the supplier for every query, and schools get help from people they already know.
Pricing for local authorities
Local authorities get better value buying Finance and Budgets for multiple schools. Because the costs of setting up, training and supporting the software are shared across all your schools rather than carried by each one alone, the per-school price falls the more schools you buy for.
Example: a maintained school buying finance and budgeting on its own typically pays around £3,000-£4,000 a year. Buying through an authority for ten or more schools, that falls to around £1,260 per school, roughly 60% less, and lower still with more schools.
- Per school, not per pupil – costs stay predictable whatever happens to pupil numbers
- Shared costs – set-up like the annual budget build is done once for all schools, not paid for by each
Whether you mandate a provider, recommend one and let schools contract individually, or fund a central contract for everyone, Access Education works with your model and the procurement routes you already use.
Local authorities already working this way
At Liverpool City Council, connected finance and budgeting across its 130+ schools reduced administrative work and moved teams towards paperless working. As Gary Burke, Group Finance Manager, put it:
“the automation of certain processes has been a huge help in reducing admin.”
Tower Hamlets Council moved budgeting off spreadsheets across its maintained schools, removing a single point of failure and giving the central team consistent reports.
“Access Education Budgets has massively improved budgeting efficiency across maintained schools in the borough”
Discover more about Access Education Finance for local authorities
Explore our finance software for local authorities or talk to our team about your schools, and their requirements.
Frequently asked questions
Can a local authority buy finance and budgets software for its maintained schools?
Yes, and many do. Some authorities fund a single central contract for all their maintained schools, some mandate a provider that schools then contract for, and some recommend a provider while leaving each school to buy individually. Maintained schools hold delegated budgets, so the balance between mandating and recommending is the authority's call, but buying together usually unlocks the best value and consistency.
How much can a local authority save by buying finance and budgets software centrally?
The biggest saving comes from scale. A school buying on its own typically pays around £3,000 to £4,000 a year, while an authority buying for ten or more schools can bring that down to around £1,260 per school, falling further with more schools. Shared set-up work, such as the annual budget build, is also done once rather than by every school.
Does the software handle CFR and local authority reporting?
Yes. Access Education Budgets and Finance produce the CFR (Consistent Financial Reporting) framework for maintained schools, and custom reporting lets schools submit in the format each authority requires.
How much does Access Education Finance and Budgets cost for a local authority?
Pricing depends on how many schools you buy for and the support plan you choose. The more schools an authority buys for, the lower the per-school price, because the costs of set-up, training and support are shared across all of them rather than carried by each school alone. Buying for ten or more schools can bring the per-school price down by around 60% compared with a school buying on its own. Request a quote for your authority's numbers.
Do schools have to go through a tender to buy finance and budgeting software?
Not always. Most single-school finance and budgeting software sits below the public procurement threshold, so a school can often buy directly or through an approved framework rather than running a full tender. The right route depends on contract value over its full term.
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Access Education
Connecting people, processes and data in one intelligent system.
Access Education transforms how schools, academies, trusts, and local authorities operate – bringing finance, budget, operations, teaching and parent communications together through Access Evo, our intelligent software platform. Data moves effortlessly, decisions happen faster, and complexity dissolves into clarity.
Start where it matters most, then expand as your needs evolve. Each solution delivers impact on its own. Together, they're unstoppable.