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Sage for Education

Smart school accounting software for educational institutions

Our school accounting software streamlines finance management for educational institutions, helping you manage budgets, track funding, and automate key tasks in one simple, cloud-based system.
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School accounting software for educational institutions of every size

Sage offers A+ accounting and finance management software for schools and educational organisations. From small primary schools to large universities and multi-academy trusts, institutions of all sizes trust our innovative solutions to manage finances with ease.

Primary and secondary schools

Multi-academy trusts (MATs)

Scholarship and financial aid providers

Higher education institutions and universities

Preschools and early education centres

Special education

Vocational and technical schools

Professional societies and associations

Advocacy and support organisations

Libraries

Accounting software for schools built on decades of expertise

With 30 years of experience supporting the education sector, we understand the financial challenges schools, academies, and non-profit educational institutions face. Our finance management software helps you track funding, handle payroll, and plan budgets, making your daily tasks simpler.

Data insights

Get data insights on everything across your educational organisation and student lifecycle, from financial aid to alumni engagement.

Streamlined financial management

Simplify and streamline your financial management of educational organisations across multiple locations and entities.

Seamless integrations

Integrate seamlessly with other applications that support your educational mission, including payroll.

Explore our education and school accounting solutions

Discover integrated, user-friendly solutions that help you work smarter.

Sage Intacct<br> <span class="text-highlight-ai" style="line-height:1.6;">with Ai</span>

The leader in cloud accounting and financial management software. Perfect for scale-ups to global enterprises. Bespoke pricing, tailored to your business.
  • Track multiple accounts in real-time
  • Consolidate multiple entities and more in minutes
  • Collaborate from a single source of truth
  • Make strategic decisions with dimensional reporting and analytics
  • Open APIs allow multiple, stable, secure integrations
  • Get Sage Copilot, your AI-powered productivity assistant
  • Digital audit trails for confidence and compliance
  • Access your financials anywhere, anytime
  • Customisable revenue recognition
  • Fully automate allocations for speed and accuracy
  • Global consolidations and tax legislation compliance
  • Project costing, time and expenses, and billing in one workflow

Sage 50 Accounts<br> <span class="text-highlight-ai" style="line-height:1.6;">with Ai</span>

Desktop accounting software with cloud connectivity, giving you a complete view of your business finances and inventory.

Desktop accounting with cloud connectivity for small businesses with advanced needs:

  • Manage cash flow to stay in control and grow your business
  • Accept payments easily and get paid faster
  • Full visibility and control of your payments from anywhere
  • Automate admin with a cash flow AI tool that saves hours of work
  • Make complex accounting simple with advanced stock management
  • Get Sage Copilot, your AI-powered productivity assistant

Sage 200

A straightforward finance and business management solution, perfect for cloud, desktop or hybrid working.

  • Take control with core financial and stock management functions
  • Manage your business on the move through the cloud
  • Build and access powerful data insights on the go
  • Set up recurring invoices and transactions 
  • Save time, simplify, and automate with bank feeds
  • Control payments and easily manage your outgoings

Features schools and educational institutions love

Sage empowers education-focused organisations to make a bigger impact with innovative cloud solutions. Streamline accounting, manage tuition, automate revenue recognition, and improve transparency, so you can focus on what matters most: your students.

Education and school accounting software

Streamline budgeting, monitor spending, and track funding in one system.

School accounting

Efficiently manage accounting, expenses, grants, and more.

Grant management

Track, report, and reimburse grants accurately for funding compliance.

Advanced functionality

Automate accounts payable, spend management, and revenue recognition.

Multi-entity consolidation

Simplify consolidations for multi-academy trusts or local authority schools.

Real-time reporting

Get role-based reports and dashboards for insights across your institution.

Budgeting and planning

Align budgets and forecasts with funding requirements.

Compliance

Automatically create compliant financial statements under HMRC and DfE guidelines.

HR and payroll software for schools

Keep your staff productive and engaged with people management solutions.

Flexible HR system

Automate and streamline manual HR processes in one place.

Streamline school payroll

Process payroll faster and easier with an intuitive solution.

Time and expense

Track staff hours and expenses accurately.

Employee benefits

Offer competitive perks and stay compliant with mandatory guidelines.

Performance

Monitor employee progress and encourage professional growth.

Self-service

Empower your staff to manage HR data and tasks online.

Business management

Automate key operational workflows for increased efficiency and better stewardship.

School management

Consolidate accounting, tuition, and fee payments in one platform.

Project management

Track financial and operational details for grants or capital projects.

Fundraising

Strengthen donor and volunteer relations to support school initiatives.

Inventory management

Maintain cost control and optimal resource levels for school supplies.

Fixed asset management

Manage fixed assets from acquisition through depreciation and disposal.

Data integration

Connect seamlessly with other apps for a unified, accurate data flow.
Talk to our experts

Shari Freedman

CFO, Room to Read

"With Sage Intacct, we have improved productivity by 25 percent for our worldwide field operations and global finance teams and seen a revenue increase of 15 percent. This translates to added resources to reach an additional 100,000 children through our Literacy Program and 21,000 girls through our Girls' Education Program."
View their story

School accounting software FAQs

School accounting software is an accounting system for schools that helps manage budgets, track expenses, and maintain compliance. It’s tailored to educational institutions’ unique needs like fund accounting and grant management so staff can spend less time on admin and more time supporting students.

Absolutely! Many institutions rely on Sage to manage budgets, fund accounting, grants, and remain compliant with HMRC and DfE guidelines. It even works seamlessly as university accounting software, integrating with student information systems, HR solutions, payroll, and billing software for schools. This unified platform streamlines day-to-day tasks across multi-academy trusts and higher education settings so you can focus on delivering a great education.

School-specific accounting software is designed to address the unique financial needs of educational institutions. Whether you’re managing the complex budgets of a university with higher education accounting software, or streamlining fee billing and payroll for an independent institution with private school accounting software, these tailored solutions simplify day-to-day financial tasks. 

Unlike generic tools, accounting software for education includes features like fund accounting, grant tracking, and multi-entity reporting, helping schools and academies stay compliant, reduce errors, and focus on providing high-quality education.

When evaluating solutions, keep these factors in mind to find the ideal school finance software for your institution:

  • Education-specific features: Look for fund accounting, grant management, and other tools tailored to schools.
  • Scalability: Ensure the software can adapt as your needs grow, from single academies to multi-academy trusts.
  • Compliance and reporting: Make sure it supports robust reporting aligned with HMRC, DfE, or local authority guidelines.
  • Integration: Pick a solution that works seamlessly with your student information system, HR, and payroll tools, ensuring smoother data flow and efficient processes.
  • Multi-entity management: If you’re a multi-academy trust or federation, look for a system that supports centralised finance and reporting across multiple sites.
  • Security and GDPR compliance: Make sure data is encrypted, backed up, and stored according to UK data protection laws.
  • Ease of use: A user-friendly interface helps staff quickly learn the system, reducing training time and potential errors.

School ERP software is an all-in-one platform that brings together administrative and financial tasks—like accounting, HR, and fee management—into a single system. By automating routine processes and offering real-time insights, it helps staff save time and focus on delivering high-quality education. 

Sage Intacct extends these benefits with features built specifically for schools, academies, and trusts, ensuring you can manage finances confidently and stay compliant.

One of the biggest hurdles for schools is juggling separate tools for finance, HR, and payroll. 

By integrating HR software for schools with your accounting platform, staff data stays centralised, and tasks like attendance and leave management become more efficient. 

Connecting payroll software for schools ensures accurate payments, tax compliance, and smoother pension contributions—all within one system. 

With Sage Intacct unifying these functions, schools reduce manual effort, eliminate data silos, and free up valuable time to invest in student success.

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