The Trust took on IRIS (PS Financials) in 2018, back when it was a single small trust with just a handful of staff running daily transactions and payroll. With only two or three people actually working in the system day-to-day — a management accountant, a finance officer, and one person processing invoices — there was little room to absorb technical setbacks alone.
The system itself was powerful, but getting the technical details translated into something the team could understand and act on wasn’t easy.
With a limited number of hands on deck and a finite amount of time to work through things, they needed a partner who could carry some of the weight and help them actually understand what was going on and what the recommended changes could really mean.
“It took us a long time to get things sorted... you were spoken to as if you should know all the very technical background.”
The Trust moved to SAAF in 2018 on a peer trust's recommendation and has grown to a 45-school MAT by September 2026, with SAAF scaling alongside them the whole way.
SAAF's Neil Pope became the team's long-standing, trusted point of contact, taking on the technical heavy lifting quietly in the background — from that early back-run setup to the recent Central Sales Ledger and Invoice Matcher roll-outs — and explaining what was happening and why in terms the finance team could actually use.
As the Trust has grown, SAAF has layered in dedicated account management to complement the technical support, so the relationship keeps pace with a much bigger trust without losing the personal touch that won them over in the first place.
“It was a huge relief. They explained how it worked and did stuff for me in the background, so I didn't have to worry about it.”
Genuinely responsive — "You are very responsive, and you are very thorough in your emails."
Plain English, not jargon — the team gets the "why" behind every fix, so they understand their own system better, not just get it patched. Our support has helped develop the team so they can work through any smaller issues, still knowing they've got a team of experts backing them if things go wrong.
Confidence to keep expanding — the trust has added the Central Sales Ledger and Invoice Matcher, and is now evaluating an expenses solution to replace approx. 200 prepayment cards on SAAF’s recommendation after supporting them through years of fast growth and really understanding their needs.
Active advocacy — the Trust has referred other MATs to SAAF, recommending them directly to peers.
“I don’t think we could go forward without having SAAF. They’re a great support.”
Case study developed: September 2026