The importance of moving away from outdated systems for managing school finances
Managing school finances can be tough. Whether you’re working in a single school or across a busy trust, there’s a lot to stay on top of and not always the right tools to help you do it.
Over the years, we’ve spoken with hundreds of school finance teams. And no matter where they’re based or how big their organisation is, the same frustrations come up again and again.
The good news? These headaches are fixable. Here are 10 of the most common ones—and a look at how XfE helps make them disappear.
1. Too much manual work
Still spending hours typing in invoices, reconciling transactions by hand, or jumping between spreadsheets? It’s not just time-consuming—it’s a perfect recipe for mistakes. XfE cuts the busywork with tools that automate the stuff you shouldn’t have to do yourself. Less typing, less double-checking, more time to focus on the things that matter.
2. Reporting always feels one step behind
You need to make decisions with confidence—but your reports are always slightly out of date. Sound familiar? With XfE, your data is always live and always accessible, whether you're looking at a single budget or a trust-wide overview. No waiting. No guesswork.
3. Year-end stress is real
Year-end doesn’t need to feel like a panic. Our system is designed to support every step, with built-in tools and clear workflows to keep things running smoothly. So when it comes time to wrap things up, you’re not starting from scratch, you’re already most of the way there.
4. You can’t see the full picture
If you’re part of a multi-academy trust, pulling together data across schools can be a headache in itself. XfE makes it easy to see exactly what’s going on, whether that’s at an individual school level or across the whole trust. One login. One dashboard. Complete visibility.
5. Support that doesn’t support you
You know the drill. You hit a snag and reach out for help… only to get stuck in a ticketing system or handed a generic response. With XfE, you get to speak to people who know what they’re doing, and who genuinely want to help. No scripts. No fuss. Just solid support from people who’ve worked in school finance too.
6. Systems that feel like hard work
If using your finance system feels like a chore, it might be the system, not you. XfE is designed to be clear, intuitive, and genuinely easy to use. You don’t need to be techy to find your way around. It just makes sense.
7. Rigid account structures
Every school’s setup is a little different. So why use a system that won’t bend to fit? XfE lets you build your chart of accounts the way you need it, not the way the software insists. It’s flexible, adaptable, and made to reflect how you actually work.
8. Purchase approvals slow everything down
Chasing sign-offs. Lost paperwork. Unclear audit trails. It’s all too common. XfE simplifies the whole approval process with a clean digital workflow. Requests move smoothly from one person to the next, and you always know where things stand.
9. Preparing reports is a full-time job
Governors and the DfE want to see the numbers, and that often means hours spent formatting and cross-checking. With XfE, you can build the reports you need in just a few clicks, with data that’s always current and ready to share.
10. You’d switch systems… but it sounds like a nightmare
We get it. Changing finance systems can feel risky. That’s why we make the transition as easy as possible. From migrating your data to training your team, we’re with you every step of the way. No drama. No downtime. Just a clean, confident switch to something that works better.
You don’t have to put up with the pain
These issues are common, but they’re not unavoidable. We’ve built XfE to remove the friction, support your team, and help schools and trusts work smarter (not harder).
If a few of these challenges sound familiar, let’s talk.
We’d love to show you how XfE can help.
Book a free demo or get in touch today.
