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Education finance support

The education finance landscape is ever-changing. Let us guide you...

Our education financial management services have been robustly developed over the years to provide schools and academies with expert advice and support in all areas of school and academy finance.

We understand the complex world of education finance and can work with you to plan, strategise and budget in the most cost-effective way – aligning with your finance policy, operational and strategic goals.

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From day-to-day transactions and month-end to financial planning and statutory returns, we can help you streamline processes and reach your financial and organisational goals.

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We're a team of finance specialists, with an in-depth knowledge of school and academy finance. We can give you expert advice, guidance and support.

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Available from 8am-8pm, 7 days a week, for all your finance, accounting and software queries.

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Financial and governance internal audit. Giving you peace of mind that your school, academy or MAT is running efficiently and effectively.

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Access your files, applications, and systems, anytime and anywhere in the world with our safe and secure server.

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Our consultants can perform short and long-term finance roles – including the role of chief financial officer, finance manager, finance officer and all transactional support duties.

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We have an unrivalled knowledge of the education sector and understand the extensive processes involved with MAT setup and expansion.

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93 %
email & telephone enquiries resolved within 3 hours
100 %
of our academies achieve an unqualified audit opinion after working with us for a period of time
70 %
of our customers are from word-of-mouth referrals

School & academy finance support


Here's an example of what we can support your school with:

  • Strategic, operational and transactional support
  • Budgeting and medium-term forecasting
  • Month-end and year-end
  • VAT claims and reconciliations
  • Financial controls
  • Internal audit and system reviews
  • ESFA and DfE returns and submissions
  • Financial planning and recovery
  • Interim cover for any finance role
  • Fully outsourced service

Key features

Round-the-clock
support

Our phone lines are open from 8 am-8 pm, 7 days a week, with an out-of-hours emergency line 

Supporting
leading finance software

We’re an accredited support & training partner of IRIS Financials
We also support all leading finance software including IMP Software, FMS, Civica, Access Education, Sage & Xero

Industry-leading
knowledge

Our dedicated experts can help you navigate the complex world of education finance
All finance specialists within the team have a notable background in education finance

Planning. Strategy.
Growth.

A wealth of experience in school and academy finance – saving you time, money and resource whilst guiding you in the right direction

Compliant &
accountable

We understand your roles and responsibilities - and can work with you to ensure your finance function is compliant - meeting obligations and exceeding standards

Tailored & 
personalised

We provide a personalised service for each client based on their needs

Finance helpdesk

Round-the-clock support

Our finance helpdesk is open from 8 am-8 pm, 7 days a week for all your finance, software and accounting queries!

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MAT setup & expansion

The government's goal is to build strong multi-academy trusts.  MAT setup and expansion is often a complex process that requires comprehensive thought and planning.

We can support with:

  • Due diligence
  • Implementation of finance system
  • Policies and procedures 
  • MAT centralisation 
  • Strategic financial advice

SAAF have extensive experience with setup and expansion and can support the end-to-end process.

Strategic financial planning

Let us guide you - we can work with you to strategically plan ahead.

Get guidance and advice on annual budget setting, medium-term financial planning, establishing an efficient finance function, and financial recovery from our team of experts.

Academy conversion

We can provide expert guidance and support on the financial management implications of academy conversion

Get specialist advice on accounting policies, academy banking arrangements, academies chart of accounts and more.

Introducing SAAF Cloud

Data at your fingertips

Introducing our all-new cloud-hosting solution for schools, academies, and MATs. Scalable, resilient, and secure. 

SAAF Cloud can be accessed anytime and anywhere in the world, allowing your school staff to safely and securely access your files, applications, and systems. 

Our low-cost solution keeps your data safe and secure in a robust and continuously accessible environment.   

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Looking to outsource a long or short-term finance role?

From transactional to operational support, our specialists can step into an internal role within your finance team - including a leadership, officer, or support role.

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Book your free
finance system review

Our free finance system reviews ensure your internal operations are working as effectively as possible, giving you peace of mind. We support all leading finance software and are an accredited support and training partner of IRIS Financials.

Join our
finance training sessions

We host workshops and full-day training sessions throughout the year on a variety of topics. As well as the scheduled sessions that we run throughout the year, you can also book bespoke 1-2-1 or group training sessions.

The breadth of knowledge and understanding from within the education sector is a core strength we value immensely. I would describe the services as responsive, solution-focused, and flexible to our needs.

CEO, Raleigh Education Trust

It has been a pleasure to work with SAAF, you have transformed our relationship with PSF and our ability to move it forward.

Director of Finance, Midsomer Norton Schools Partnership

The team have been a great support at a time of staff shortages. They quickly picked up our systems and processes and worked with us to improve them to keep business continuity, just what we needed and we are still working with SAAF, one year on.

Business Manager, The Misbourne

The support from SAAF has been brilliant, with help being available as and when it is needed, allowing you to progress at your own pace. The team are very responsive, and customer driven, so knowledge of the education sector is outstanding. The support we have received has exceeded our expectations!

Finance and Operations Manager, The Blue Kite Academy Trust

Introducing SAAF to my new Trust has proved transformational and well received by the whole central team for whom PSF has been revolutionised as a product and their day jobs made considerably easier. SAAF knowledge is excellent, staff are always polite and responsive, but I think the main thing is the amount and breadth of work one gets for the core support offer never ceases to amaze me.

CFO, Life Education Trust

The team at SAAF were invaluable to us when we employed their services as we moved through a period of transition, so much so that, at the end of the transition we felt we could not dispense with these services and now SAAF form an extension to our in-house finance department. Nothing is ever too much trouble and the responses are swift, accurate and robust. I could not imagine now, working without their support.

CFO, The McAuley Catholic High School

We are using SAAF for IRIS support. Their knowledge of complex system issues has been most valuable as we moved to a new database and transitioned to the new Chart of Accounts. Their hints and tips are helping our teams to use the system more efficiently, saving considerable time. The response time is always excellent and the online knowledge base is extremely helpful to support new staff training.

CFO, River Learning Trust

Customer loyalty programme

Our customers are at the heart of everything we do, and that’s why we want to reward them for their loyalty.  Find out more about our customer referral scheme.

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Cover all bases

Save time, money and resources with our range of cost-effective school business support services

Outsourced School Payroll

Easy paydays. Guaranteed accuracy. Smooth transfers from your old provider. Find out more about our payroll, pensions and HR bureau today!

School Recruitment Support

How many recruitment agencies can say they’ve never charged a temp-to-perm recruitment fee? We understand that recruitment costs can be expensive, that’s why we also offer fixed margins.

School Internal Audit & Finance System Reviews

Get peace of mind that your internal operations are functioning effectively and efficiently, with our internal audit and finance system reviews.

In partnership with

Some of our clients

Let's talk

From transactional to strategic support, why not get in touch today to find out how we can support you?

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