Our Services - Honest & Reliable

Annual Service Level Agreement

Telephone helpline - This service is available from 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday during term time, with a reduced level of service in school holidays which will be notified in advance. Please note voice mail service may operate during certain times. However, every effort will be made to return any voice mail messages before the end of that working day.

General, basic support is available via email and telephone, including:

Sims-FMS Accounting System advice
Budgeting issues
Monitoring and reporting issues
Accountancy Procedures
Control Procedures
Extended use of school
Reconciliation and closure of accounts
Government Initiatives and policies
Assistance, advice and resolution of accounting queries/problems

For more complex issues, a site visit may be deemed more appropriate and this will be arranged with the school bursar at a time which is convenient to both the school and LBS Ltd.

Excel Spread sheets/Budgeting Tool

A 3 year budget building tool including salary calculations will be provided as part of the service – this tool will be in CFR format which can be used to complete the Borough Councils budget plan.

Assistance with design or use of excel spread sheets will be available on request.

School Business Manager/Bursar Training

An invitation will be sent to attend three training events/workshops per year dealing with current issues and sharing best practice. (These meetings are scheduled one per term).

Conference Day for School Business Manager

This annual event is designed to offer School Business Managers the opportunity to receive training and have time for valuable Networking with other School Business Managers.

New School Business Manager/Bursar Training

There will be on-going support via the helpdesk after the initial New Bursar Induction Programme (see additional services). Additional support for Budget Building and Year End will be available in the first year; this support may consist of off-site training if other schools have new staff or on-site training and will be arranged with the school/s.

Adhoc Services

School Business Manager/Bursar Cover Service

The aim of the service is to provide schools with emergency School Business Manager/Bursar cover due to key staff absences or gaps in employment between leaving and starting of personnel.

The precise financial duties to be undertaken by the Peripatetic Bursar will be subject to agreement with the Head Teacher, but will typically include:
Financial record keeping – processing orders and payments, maintenance of schools FMS accounting system to include reconciliation of bank statements and dealing with queries. Preparation of the school’s monthly and annual returns. Processing Payroll and dealing with payroll queries, including starters and leaver forms. Producing termly reports to Governors.

Recruitment Support Service

The aim of this service is to assist with the recruitment of School Business Manager/Bursars including involvement in short listing, interviewing and providing a financial awareness test for candidates.

New School Business Manager/Bursar Induction Programme

This programme is designed to support new School Business Managers/Bursars with all financial aspects of the role. The programme will include a minimum of three on-site training sessions in the first 3 months covering:

Orders/Invoices, Bank reconciliation to end of month procedure
Timesheet to payroll reconciliation and how to enter on FMS6
Reconciliation of School System to Borough’s Oracle system
A session to provide an overview of all aspects of Financial Management in Schools.

Review of Private/School Fund Accounts

This service provides a full review of accounts by a member of the AAT. A written review of these accounts is provided which highlights any errors within these accounts and provides any recommendations. This review is based on the information provided by the School. Also available as part of this review is advice and the provision of a excel spread sheet which incorporates a series of inter-linked pages designed specifically to address the particular needs of school fund administration.

Overview of Schools Financial Value Standard (SFVS)

The aim of this service is to provide advice and recommendations to individual schools in line with the requirements of this standard.

Governor Training Sessions

Introduction to Finance for New Governors

Budget Building & Budget Monitoring

Bespoke training sessions for Governors

Bespoke training sessions can be arranged on school site at Governors Finance or Full Governor meetings for example: Understanding Budget reports, How to assist with Budget Planning, What to review when carrying out Internal Controls.

If you would like to talk to us further about any of these services please contact us here.