To help manage growing student numbers and investment in development, Abingdon & Witney College asked Thinc to refresh the setup of Sage 200 and the skills of its users.
Abingdon and Witney College provides further, higher and vocational education opportunities to learners to school leavers and adult learners in Oxfordshire.
With multiple campuses and facilities, ranging from an animal enclosure to arts centre, and an expanded number and diversity of its offerings in recent years, Abingdon & Witney College requires a focused, efficient finance team to ensure continued stability as it grows.
Leading this team is an experienced leader who joined the College as its Head of Finance (HoF) in 2022. As demands on the team increased, it became apparent to the HoF that they were not getting the most from the Sage 200 solution used to manage the College’s business.
Many users had received only basic training, often from colleagues, while some of the more additional functionality that had been purchased was not being used at all.
With the College growing its learner numbers and investing in its development, there were more transactions for the team to handle day to day. From a strategic perspective, there were even greater requirements from leadership for clear and accurate reporting to guide their decisions.
To the HoF, it was apparent that two things were needed. Firstly, the team needed to better understand the tools at their disposal. After years of peer-based, on-the-job training, it was time to refresh their fundamental skills.
Secondly, the tools themselves needed attention. For example, the College had paid for Spindle add-ons for Sage 200, to streamline approvals and document recognition, but it wasn’t working as it should. Similarly, importing banking data had to be done manually in spreadsheets – a time-consuming task that could be automated.
The College was already receiving Sage 200 support from Thinc, but the real breakthrough came from a conversation with our account manager. That chat allowed the HoF to explain their challenges in detail and has led to a range of services that are unlocking the potential of her team.
For the College’s people, Thinc has provided training in purchase ledger and nominal ledger, with sales ledger to follow soon. All of the HoF’s team are now qualified in Sage 200’s financial functions to varying levels.
From a technology perspective, we have brought the College onto the latest version of Sage 200 to ensure full support and compatibility. This has allowed us to work together on bringing integrated banking into the solution. The issues with Spindle have been resolved, cutting the time to process invoices significantly.
Bespoke reports have been created for cashflow and debtors, helping the HoF and the team provide department heads with a clearer view of their finances.
For the HoF, this was never about transforming the finance function, but about finetuning. In their words: “we’re always looking for 1% gains.”
These small changes are now adding up to make a big difference. Tweaks such as adjustments to journal imports and introducing IR35 records into the purchase ledger are simplifying compliance and transparency. On an everyday level, it takes the team less time to complete many of its core tasks, easing the burden as the volume of transactions increase.
With Sage 200 working optimally, a trained and confident team, and an attentive account management team by their side, the HoF can now focus on the future.
We can’t wait to see what impact the next incremental change brings.
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