SIMS Financial Management System (FMS) for Secondary Schools

The SIMS Financial Management System (FMS) is an integrated double-entry accounting system that enables schools to manage all their key financial processes. It provides a comprehensive ‘at a glance’ picture of your school’s finances and resources to help you ensure your school’s funding and resources are put to the best possible use.

FMS ensures your management team can manage day to day financial tasks more easily,  supporting general ledger, accounts payable, accounts receivable, budget planning and equipment management. Administrative staff can handle payments quickly and efficiently, heads of departments can manage their budgets and equipment, and bursars can track spending and staff costs against commitments.

FMS is a complete solution designed to address the specific needs of education users  – and costing thousands of pounds less than corporate systems. FMS has been supporting educational establishments for over 20 years and is currently used by over 17,000 schools.

The average secondary school could save 50% on payment costs or £3,500 per year by paying its suppliers by Capita’s BACS service.

Our Financial Reporting Suite further enhances FMS by providing high-quality visual reports.

Key benefits

• Accredited by ICAEW*
  FMS has been externally accredited by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales – a world leader in accountancy and the finance profession
   
• Simple accounting workflows
  Guide users through accounting workflows, including ordering and payments for materials and managing payments for facilities hire
   
• The financial picture of your school at your fingertips
  Gather information on staff contracts, payroll, purchases, payments received and assets held at any time. Log all expenditure and income to easily generate complex analysis reports to help monitor your school’s day-to-day spending
   
• Manage your budget and demonstrate best value
  FMS can help your school set and manage the budget and report to governing bodies. It supports the Government’s Schools Financial Value Standard (SFVS) for demonstrating value for money and Consistent Financial Report (CFR) for end of year management
   
• Save time and money with electronic ordering and payment
  SIMS FMS supports a completely electronic accounts payable workflow. It communicates with the Department for Education’s OPEN portal so orders and invoices can be authorised and sent for payment using the BACS standard
   
• Keep track of your school equipment
  SIMS Equipment Register allows you to manage and maintain a complete inventory of all the equipment in your school
   
• Work with your local authority
  Supports common ledger codes to help create consolidated accounts for multiple schools. The SIMS Resources Suite supports local school payments (cheque book) or central payments by the local authority or a mixture of both

SIMS FMS is your focal point for all financial data – the point at which you have a comprehensive at-a-glance picture of your school’s finances and resources; it makes your financial information usable, allowing timely, informed management decisions.

"Essentially, SIMS FMS makes it easier for me to do my job well."
- John Docherty, Business Manager, John Kyrle High School, Ross on Wye

Disclaimer: *The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales has accredited Capita Children's Services under the terms of the ICAEW Accreditation Scheme.  Purchasers should ensure that the software, its security features and related support meet their own specific requirements, as the Institute will not be liable for any damage whatsoever, incurred by any person, occasioned by the use of the software, or any related products or services howsoever caused.