STAPLOE EDUCATION TRUST IMPLEMENTS SAGE INTACCT FOR EDUCATION

About Staploe Education Trust

Established in 2012, The Staploe Education Trust oversees 4 schools in East Cambridgeshire, dedicated to serving the communities of Soham and Kennett. These schools collaborate closely to maintain high educational standards and provide young people with a promising future. Staploe's mission centres on a shared commitment to deliver exceptional learning, opportunities, and care to the communities they serve.

Objectives

Staploe Education Trust previously relied on Sage 200 for Education. However, limitations in the system's functionality spurred the need for a more advanced financial management solution. The existing system lacked the capability for easy consolidated accounts, a feature the client deemed essential and expected in the new Sage Intacct system. The Trust was also grappling with several challenges, including tasks conducted outside the system, such as managing printed and signed requisitions and invoices, manual control of period ends, and exporting reports to budget holders and key stakeholders.

Key Objectives Included:

1. Improved Month-End Close Timings: The ability to close accounting periods within the system promptly at the end of each month without manual intervention that obstructs user access. This includes the ability to post adjustments to the previous period without reopening and closing ledgers.

2. Improved Bank Reconciliation Processes: A live link to the trust bank account that updates transactional data every 24 hours for automated reconciliation, along with configuring matching rules for reconciliation. The system should allow rules for recurring transactions following a consistent monthly formula, and the ability to post journals directly to the bank account for simplified reconciliation.

3. Reduce Printing Expense: Introducing a digital purchasing policy within the Trust to minimize the need for printed and counter-signed invoices. The objective is to improve efficiency by digitising a process that enables users to access and approve transactions, thus facilitating the monthly close process.

4. Improved Reporting Flexibility: Enhancing the reporting suite to augment month-end management account packs. The system should enable reporting at the sub-school level unit (location), differentiate reports between capital and revenue, and eliminate the requirement for manually created spreadsheets and calculations.

5. Minimise Downtime: Enhancing system access after quarterly system updates are released.

Staploe and Sage Intacct‍

The Sage Intacct implementation for Staploe Education Trust achieved all key objectives marking it a successful project. The transformation consisted of moving away from paper-based processes in order to boost efficiency and streamline operations, paying particular attention to bank reconciliations and task delivery timelines. A small core team received training, which cascaded into broader business training. This resulted in the project going live ahead of the September term targets, meeting both short-term and long-term goals.