Guidance

Academy trust finance automation: getting started

Updated 21 October 2024

Applies to England

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/academy-trust-finance-automation-information-for-software-suppliers/academy-trust-finance-automation-getting-started

Introduction

This page provides quick links for Financial Managements Systems (FMS) software providers with information needed to integrate their software with the DfE’s financial data collection forms.

Detailed information about the academies chart of accounts (CoA) can also be found here.

Academy trust finance automation: guide to software integration

This guide provides FMS software providers with the information needed to register the software product and prepare for integration with the DfE’s automation API. It is intended for use by business analysts, technical architects and software developers.

Find and Use an API

The Find and Use an API (previously known as the Developer Hub) is a self-service portal for FMS software providers to register their product and subscribe to the submission API. A provider can register the application, generate the client credentials and the subscription keys for the API.

Test environments

You can read full details about test environments on the Find and Use an API site.

  • The supplier test environment is used by software providers to test their use of the API. Live data must not be used within this environment. This environment is available all year round.

  • The user acceptance testing (UAT) environment is no longer used.

Academies chart of accounts

Academies chart of accounts versions

The academies CoA version defines the account codes being used for the financial year. The version format has three digits (for example: 2.0.0).

Submissions via the API must include a “CoA version”. Format requirements and validation requirements are detailed in the Find and Use an API notes.

The academies chart of accounts (CoA) is published each spring at Academies chart of accounts and automating the accounts return. Two versions are available concurrently for trusts:

  1. The ‘latest’ CoA version is released in the spring in advance of the next financial year. This provides trusts with an up-to-date CoA version for their budget planning and FMS suppliers should ensure updates are enabled clients general ledger.

  2. The ‘previous’ CoA version: this will be used for the remainder of the current financial year, even though there will be some overlap with the latest CoA version. It will also be used for the accounts return (AR) collection for the same financial year.

Academies CoA ‘hybrid’ versions (updated for FMS provider systems only)

The academies CoA version for the relevant financial year is updated for mapping changes required in the AR collection for the same period. No changes will be made to the account codes themselves.

Two updates will be released during the year leading up to the next AR collection period to FMS suppliers only. We will publish links on this page.

Academies CoA version change logic

The academies CoA version can change depending on the changes made to the CoA for the financial year. We will avoid major changes whenever possible and communicate these separately if required.

Revision Academies CoA change
Major (1st digit) - ACoA code change
Minor (2nd digit) - Mapping change
- Signage adjustment change
- Rounding account change
- Description changes or reformatting
Maintenance – internal updates only (3rd digit) - Description changes or reformatting

However, it is only essential for the FMS software to be using the correct major version number for the trust to be able to send automated data to the DfE, but it is recommended that you use the most up to date version if your software has system reports based on the mapping.

DfE temporary account codes

We have introduced temporary grant income codes into the academies CoA so that trusts can react to reporting requirements that change mid accounting year.

FMS providers should add these account codes to their databases as inactive codes, which can be switched to active during the financial year, following advice from the DfE. We will communicate any updates to you via e-mail from our helpdesk, so please ensure your contact details are up to date.

This change would affect a ‘minor (2nd digit)’ update to the version number as the account code already exists.

For more information view ‘ACoA account code structure’ section of the ‘Guide for software integration with automation API’.

Academies CoA timeline and impacts

The table below shows the timings for academies CoA releases working up to the accounts return collection.

Time Activity
May or June Publish academies CoA for the upcoming academic year
September to August Trusts use this academies CoA version in their FMS
March or April An updated version of the academies CoA is  shared with FMS providers for upcoming accounts return (AR) to review changes
May or June Above version will be loaded into the supplier test environment for trusts to begin testing for upcoming AR
August A final version of the academies CoA is released for any mapping changes identified since March for the upcoming AR, and loaded into the DfE’s back-end functionality to map the API to the AR
September to Jan AR collection window - no academies CoA changes

Communicating academies CoA changes

We will publish changes to academies CoA for the next academy trust year (the ‘latest’ version) on the Academies chart of accounts and automating the accounts return in:

  • the ‘Guide to adopting the academies chart of accounts’ updates section
  • the ‘Academies chart of accounts’ change control tab

FMS suppliers must review the academies CoA updates and take the following action so trusts can update their systems for the financial year ahead:

  • where a trust has adopted the academies CoA within the general ledger (natively), ensure they have the ability to apply any required changes into their general ledger
  • where a trust is mapping its own academies CoA to the DfE’s academies CoA via the FMS supplier’s software, suppliers must also communicate changes to their trusts to ensure they have the equivalent change made in their own academies CoA and the mapping is created to the DfE’s academies CoA

We will release the ‘hybrid’ versions of the academies CoA in line with the timelines stated above. We will notify supplier directly when we release updates by:

Enquiries

If you have any questions, please submit a ticket via our FMS provider help centre

FMS provider help centre: 

Our help centre provides a single platform for FMS software providers to view up to date information about academies CoA, view alerts and raise enquiries or let us know about updates. Incidents which require FMS software provider support received from academy trusts will also be raised via our help centre.  

Our help centre offers: 

  • A banner message: This will be used for alerts and known issues. Therefore, when visiting our Zendesk site, FMS providers can review the banner heading before continuing to raise an enquiry.  

  • Useful links: Visit our knowledge base for general information. FMS suppliers might find solutions to common queries without needing to raise a ticket within our articles. 

  • Send a message and help bot functions: As users type an enquiry description into the ‘Help’ widget bot or the ‘Send a message’ link, the system will suggest relevant knowledge base articles, potentially resolving suppliers’ queries without needing to raise a ticket.  

If a query is not resolved, FMS software providers can ‘get in touch’ and ‘leave a message’ by submitting key information regarding the query. Users will also receive an automated email notification confirming that the request has been received. We will endeavour to respond within three working days, this will be shorter when the AR form is live.

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