Multi-Academy Trust Finance Support | MAT Finance | SAAF Education

MATs we support...

Read our latest case study

Finance services for MATs

Navigating MAT finance isn’t easy – let us guide you.

We’ve shared our expertise with the education finance sector for over 12 years. Let us help you navigate the complex world of MAT finance with smart solutions that will help you improve efficiency, streamline processes, and gain confidence in your MAT's budget and decision-making. We support all types of education establishments - from mainstream to special and private.

Whether you need support with budget planning and submissions or interim cover and strategic planning, we offer tailored support to suit your needs - so you can focus on educational excellence and pupil care.

Strategic, operational & transactional support
Month-end & control accounts
External year-end
Financial controls
Bank reconciliations
External audit preparation
ESFA, DfE & LA returns and submissions
Interim finance support
Fully outsourced service
Budgeting & medium-term forecasting
Deficit planning & recovery
VAT claims & reconciliations
MAT set-up & expansion
Financial due diligence
GAG pooling
Technical support - software, add location & workflow reconfiguration
Bespoke training, including training on finance software

Contact us

Smart finance solutions for your MAT

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

Find out more →

Unlimited support with all your finance, accounting, and technical queries. Available from 8am-8pm, 7 days a week.

Find out more →

Whether you need support with finance software, add location, or workflow configuration, our technical finance team is here to help.

Find out more →

We offer a cloud-hosting solution designed for schools, academies and MATs. Unlike other cloud platforms, SAAF Cloud isn’t restricted to a specific software provider – meaning there are no limitations on how you use it.

Find out more →

Our experts can run comprehensive and bespoke training on any topic within education finance. We can host sessions on all leading finance software used in the education sector, including IRIS Financials and FMS.

Find out more →

Our education finance specialists work independently with trusts to provide comprehensive assurance that internal controls and risk management procedures are operating effectively and efficiently.

Find out more →

Features of our support

Unrivalled expertise in school & academy finance

Supporting schools, academies & MATs for over 12 years

Highly trained in all leading education finance software

Helpdesk support
available 7 days a week

Bespoke solutions to meet your trust's needs

Helping you meet your statutory financial requirements

Accredited support & training partner of IRIS Financials

Audit preparation support

Strategic financial planning

The education finance landscape is ever-changing - we can work with you to strategically plan ahead and mitigate risk.

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

Annual budget setting and monitoring
Costing of the School Improvement Plan and curriculum
Budget reforecasting
Development of a three-year financial plan and deficit recovery
‘What if’ scenario planning
Cash flow forecast

Contact us

Multi-academy trust expansion

If you're expanding your trust, we can help. We provide consultancy, training, helpdesk, and technical support to guide you every step of the way as additional schools or trusts join your institution.

Example areas of support:

Training, consultancy & technical support for your finance team
Finance & budget software support
Cloud hosting
Add location
Workflow reconfiguration
Bank account setup
GAG pooling assistance
External audit preparation
Finance Helpdesk – open 7 days a week, for all your finance, accounting & software queries

Contact us

Finance Helpdesk

Unlimited support with all your finance, software & accounting queries

You have a question – we have the answer.

Benefit from unlimited support with all your finance, accounting, and technical queries - open 8 am - 8 pm, 7 days a week.

Our expert helpdesk team will act as an extension to your finance division, supporting a variety of queries, from accounting and procurement to finance software.

Find out more

Outsourced finance support

Ensuring business continuity

Do you have a role you need to outsource? Our consultants can step in and take on short- and long-term finance roles, including chief financial officer, finance manager, finance officer - alongside covering all transactional support duties.

Contact us

Supporting schools for 12+ years

100+ years of combined education
finance knowledge

100% customer satisfaction

Platinum IRIS Financials partner!

We’re a platinum-accredited training and support partner of IRIS Financials - supporting all versions of the software!

What our MAT clients say about us

Whilst I am used to excellent service from SAAF, the help given over some legacy issues with IRIS/PS Financials here at LIFE has just blown me away, absolutely superb the last couple of days. Thank you so much for all your assistance, no way I could be getting to grips with this without SAAF’s help

CFO, LIFE Education Trust

Excellent financial services for a Multi Academy Trust.

CEO, Lubavitch Multi Academy Trust

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

We think you offer a great service at a great price. We have worked with you for a very long time now and have always been impressed by the quality that you offer. Great job!

CEO, Nottingham Schools Trust

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

We are using SAAF for IRIS/PS Financials 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

The information SAAF provide is always clear and up-to-date. The team are helpful and are always willing to support my finance colleagues.

Finance Director, The Partnership Trust

When we found ourselves in a bit of a fix with staffing and therefore skill shortages, SAAF were able to support us quickly and flexibly, with minimum fuss.

Head of Finance

Diocese of Chichester Academy Trust,

Book your free finance system review

Our finance system reviews are delivered independently by our expert finance team. We review system architecture and security - providing a full check of key areas to help improve the effectiveness of your software.

Book your review

Bespoke training

You've come to the right place for comprehensive training in any area of school and academy finance! We offer customised training for school business managers, whether you need help with software or support to meet a finance deadline.

Find out more

Frequently asked questions

What can you support with?

How do you effectively manage school & academy finances?

What finance & budgeting software can you support with?

Do you offer a discount on consultancy days purchased?

When can you start working us?

Can you visit onsite?

Keep up to date with our expert finance resources

CASE STUDY

Discover how we transformed LIFE Education Trust's financial management

Read now

ON-DEMAND TRAINING

CEO & CFO - Roles & Responsibilities - training video

Watch now

ON-DEMAND TRAINING

GAG Pooling & Centralisation - training video

Watch now

Cover all bases

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

Payroll & HR

Say goodbye to time-consuming processes and the administrative burden of payroll. Say hello to SAAF’s cost-effective, efficient, and accurate payroll bureau.

Find out more

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.

Find out more

Finance Helpdesk

Unlimited support with all your finance, accounting, and technical queries. Available from 8am-8pm, 7 days a week.

Find out more

Let's talk

Contact us today to find out more about our MAT finance support services.

Contact us