Managing school finances can be a challenging task, particularly when systems don’t align with the specific needs of schools. For Sharon Underhay, School Business Manager at Newton Farm School in London, these challenges were a daily reality - until the introduction of Finance Next Gen Reporting. Designed with input from users like Sharon, this innovative solution has transformed how schools manage and report financial data.
By participating in the discovery phase and Early Adopter Programme, Sharon contributed valuable insights that shaped a tool tailored to the needs of school business managers. Her experience showcases the power of collaboration between users and developers in crafting tools that genuinely address customer needs.
In this blog, we explore her journey, the role she played in the product's development, and the significant improvements she’s experienced with the new system.
Watch the full episode to hear Sharon’s story in her own words and discover how Finance Next Gen Reporting could benefit your school.
Sharon’s journey with Finance Next Gen Reporting
Sharon Underhay, a longstanding School Business Manager, needed a solution that could streamline financial reporting and align it with the unique demands of school operations. At Newton Farm School, where the academic year runs from September to August, managing finances was particularly challenging due to the mismatch with the April-to-March financial year. This misalignment required Sharon to manually consolidate data across two reporting periods - a time-consuming and error-prone task that made financial accuracy difficult to achieve.
By participating in the discovery phase and Early Adopter Programme for Finance Next Gen Reporting, Sharon found a chance to help shape a solution that directly addressed these challenges. Her proactive involvement stemmed from a belief that, “If you don’t help shape the product...you can’t really complain if it’s not what you wanted.” Drawing on her extensive experience with school financial data, Sharon contributed invaluable insights, ensuring the development team could design a tool that met the real-world needs of schools like hers.
A collaborative development process
Being part of the Early Adopter Programme gave Sharon more than just a platform to share her thoughts; it connected her with a community of other school business managers facing similar challenges. Together, they shared ideas and frustrations, offering the development team at SIMS a wealth of user-centric feedback. Sharon was impressed by the team’s responsiveness and their iterative approach, often hearing questions like, “What if we did this? What if we did that?”
This collaborative environment reassured Sharon that her voice mattered. Seeing her suggestions implemented in subsequent versions of the product solidified her trust in the process. She fondly recalled how wireframes evolved into practical solutions, noting, “It actually made more sense because you’d implemented some of the ideas that we’d had.”
Transformative features and benefits
Once Sharon began using the new Cost Centre reports, the transformation was immediate. The streamlined interface, with its clean design, allowed her to drill down into transactions, view totals, and export data effortlessly. The ability to export directly into Excel was a standout improvement, eliminating the tedious process of cutting and pasting data from clunky formats. “It’s so much quicker and easier,” Sharon said, highlighting how this change drastically reduced the risk of manual entry errors.
For Sharon, one of the most impactful features was the ability to combine data from different years in a single report. This resolved her biggest pain point - managing academic year-based grants like the PE and sports grant. Previously, she had to generate and merge multiple reports manually. Now, she can generate a single comprehensive report, saving time and improving accuracy.
Additionally, the cloud-based system provided significant advantages. Sharon initially had concerns about the transition to the cloud, but these were quickly dispelled when she experienced how secure and accessible the system was. Being able to work efficiently from home without needing to connect to her school computer was a game-changer.
A lasting impact on school financial management
Sharon sees the long-term potential of Finance Next Gen Reporting to simplify financial management for schools. The ability to display reports directly on-screen during governing body meetings, without the need for printing or PDFs, is one such example. This capability not only saves time but also enhances transparency and responsiveness during discussions.
Looking ahead, Sharon is excited about empowering teachers by granting them controlled access to their budgets. This increased visibility will encourage more informed spending decisions across the school.
The power of collaborative development process
Sharon Underhay’s experience with Finance Next Gen Reporting highlights the profound impact of involving customers in the development process. By sharing her challenges and ideas, she helped shape a tool that addresses critical pain points while improving efficiency and accuracy. Her story demonstrates how collaboration can lead to meaningful change and better outcomes for schools.
If you’d like to hear more about Sharon’s journey and the benefits of Finance Next Gen Reporting, watch the full episode and discover how this innovative tool could transform financial management for your school.
Ready to learn how Finance Next Gen Reporting can streamline your school’s financial processes? Watch the full episode now and see how Sharon’s feedback helped create a reporting tool that works for schools like yours!