Reviewing banking arrangements is one of the practical steps schools and trusts can take to ensure every pound is managed as efficiently as possible and directed towards children's education.
Here is what Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Multi-Academy Trust gained by switching from petty cash to payment cards:
monthly payment administration cut from three days to 10 minutes over £1 million in payments processed every week across all payment activity staff can buy what they need without lengthy approval processes full visibility of every transaction, in real time VAT-compliant reporting automated, eliminating a common audit risk cash held in interest-bearing accounts for longer, improving working capitalRead on to find out how they did it and what it could mean for your school.
A manual process that was not keeping upOur Lady of Lourdes Catholic Multi-Academy Trust runs 36 schools across Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire, with around 13,200 students and an annual budget of £99 million. Managing everyday purchases across schools spread over a wide area was a significant administrative burden.
When the Trust was formed and all financial processing moved to a centralised team, managing petty cash across so many sites was quickly identified as impractical. The decision was made to move to Multipay corporate payment cards instead, giving the finance team far greater control over day-to-day spending.
However, the early setup still had its challenges. Each card had its own individual account and monthly statement. Cardholders had to complete a manual return each month, statements had to be downloaded one by one from the bank’s portal, and the two then reconciled by hand. The resulting data was then keyed manually into the finance system. Every month, that added up to around three full working days.
Management Accountant Paul Kiernan says the old system was holding the team back. "It was a very clunky system that could easily get backed up. What used to take three days of processing every month has now become a 10-minute job, making life an awful lot easier and less stressful."
The first fix: swapping paper for payment cardsThe Trust replaced petty cash with corporate payment cards. Headteachers and office managers each received a card, with additional cards issued to other staff based on school size and need.
The key difference was control. The finance team can set spending limits, restrict where cards can be used, and adjust those rules quickly through an online platform - no lengthy approval process required. For day-to-day purchases like breakfast club supplies or classroom materials, cards work where invoicing is not an option. For larger items like school trips, limits can be raised as needed.
All spending is visible in one place - what was spent, where, and by whom. VAT-compliant reporting is automated, reducing the risk of errors and simplifying audits.
The next step: automating the reconciliation processThe real transformation came when their bank introduced the Market Data Collection (MDC) tool. MDC is a web-based platform that collects transaction data for reporting and financial analysis. Rather than downloading individual statements and reconciling them by hand, transactions are now logged directly on the portal. Cardholders receive an automatic email prompt to review their transactions, input the relevant financial coding, and upload a copy of their receipt — all in one place.
The information is then available to the Trust's finance team in a format that maps directly to their finance system. After the required checks, the data can be bulk uploaded to the accounts, replacing what was once hours of manual data entry with a process that takes minutes.
Small changes, big differenceThe gains did not come from a large team or a big budget. They came from replacing slow, manual processes with ones that are fast, visible, and easy to control.
If your school or trust is still managing petty cash or paper expense forms, this is worth a closer look.
Speak to your bank today to find out how quickly your school or trust could make the switch.
Further support from the Department for EducationFor more tools and guidance on managing your school or trust's finances effectively, visit the schools financial benchmarking and efficiency tools on GOV.UK.
You can also find more blogs on getting the most from your budget on the Buying for Schools blog.
Any savings, benefits and outcomes described in this blog were provided by Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Multi-Academy Trust and reflect its specific experience and circumstances. Individual results will vary between schools and trusts.
seen at 14:45, 29 October in Maximising Value for Pupils (Max VP).