School Accounts

04/05/2026

Relief is at hand!

One of the services that has developed naturally, is when we can provide schools with temporary relief in the accounts duties while they decide on the next step or next recruitment.

We recently helped an organisation who got in touch with us, to get them over the annual reports hump while the Business Manager took much needed sick leave.

If you know of someone facing some out of the ordinary accounts hurdles, get them to try School Accounts Ltd.

05/08/2023

Annuals!
Just when you thought it was all over we are getting ready for the next round. 🤓
Here's what we are tackling now so that the year end is not a rush (and how we get our annuals to the auditors so soon):
Cyclical Maintenance
Fixed Assets review
Leases review
MOE and BOT Projects
Budget Worksheets

Want to be that organised? Give us a call 🤩

06/03/2022

Your School Accounts Team Support

These are trying times for school accounts staff, and there is no better time to have a team to back you up.

A team brings different skill sets, bents and strengths. If you have someone who works alone a lot of the time, have a think about the support and backing you or your accounts staff have.

We are really chuffed to be growing our team here at School Accounts Limited and very pleased to introduce Judy to our Auckland based personnel. Judy is an experienced accountant who has worked in and with schools nearly her whole career, from Kindergartens to Colleges over 25 years. She is a talented communicator with a thorough understanding of what the management team needs, which adds up to being extremely valuable on any school accounts team. Imagine someone like that backing your team and reviewing your accounts?

Who do you know that could benefit with support in year end accounts, monthly management reporting, weekly accounting in Xero, or a one-off project?
Read the full article below for a link to a flyer with more about our services.
Or call Nicola now on 021 116 4747.

These are trying times for school accounts staff, and there is no better time to have a team to back you up.

04/03/2022

Common Bank Reconciliation Errors in Xero:

One of the most basic things in finance is reconciling the bank each month.
This sounds like a no-brainer, but you would be surprised how often we find this is being missed as a regular process. The result being some very interesting accounts.
I will share a few examples from our School Accounts Ltd files. (Unlike the Teaching profession, we really do need to get some better work stories, I know!)
Read more in our article below:

One of the most basic things in finance is reconciling the bank each month. This sounds like a no-brainer, but you would be surprised how often we find this is being missed as a regular process.

12/12/2021

Hey there, end of year and we're all excited to be taking at least a small break over Christmas. Our office will be unavailable from Thursday 23rd December 2021 through to 4th January 2022.

We've already geared up for the annual report so it is as smooth and early as possible next year.

Happy holidays school folk, you deserve it!

26/02/2021

Summer is nearly over. Audit Autumn is upon us.

We have all our schools annual reports nearly completed ready for the auditors to receive their draft before they visit the schools.
It has been a relatively smooth round with few complications.

School Accounts Ltd has capacity to help anyone who is struggling to meet deadlines or doing this for the first time. Do reach out if you need assistance.

19/10/2020

Outsourcing Financial Reports - why?

When reviewing the accounts operations in your school there are two general options to go with - bring it all in-house and employ staff suitable to the job, or outsource part of the accounts to a company or person who provides school financial services.

There are the usual risks and pitfalls of employing staff - the cost of paid leave and other benefits, getting the wrong fit for your organisation, not having the skill set required for all accounting functions, office space/equipment required to house them onsite, the distractions they face everyday, and so on.

Most of the benefits of having staff onsite can be matched with the benefits of outsourcing, especially if that provider is treated like part of your team and are great people to deal with.

There are some very good reasons why schools tend to outsource some or all of these functions. Read the 5 "why's" in the full article here...https://schoolaccounts.co.nz/advantages-of-outsourcing-financial-reports/

19/10/2020

Reviewing your Accounting Provider:
Many Boards of Trustees and Principals like to review how the accounting and reporting arrangements are going at this time of year when they are also setting budgets for the year ahead.

Regardless of whether you are anticipating change or not, here are a few good questions to think about:

1. Are we getting up to date information in good time, in order to stay ahead of financial indicators?

2. Are we getting reports the Board members can understand?

3. How did our year end process go? Did we supply auditors with all they needed ahead of time and easily meet audit deadlines? Did our annual report provider communicate well with the auditors, and in a helpful manner?

4. Are current school accounts employees well supported to work efficiently? Do they have someone to call on should transactions or events occur outside of their area of expertise?

5. Do we have management staff currently involved with finances who are overwhelmed with their portfolio?

Whether you have a business manager, school executive officer, finance accounts staff, or an outside provider co-ordinating your monthly and annual reports, the answer to these questions can help you assess the suitability of the current situation.

15/10/2020

Going Next Level (2) in the Accounts

This is an article I wrote back in May but never published at the time. Once we were back in ‘level’ management with Covid-19 it was a good time to review the learnings from 2020 so far:

There was a lot of discussion and some good information covering how to ‘school’ in Level 2 earlier in the year. But what about the accounts office staff? How did you all fare working from home and what was the plan for transitioning to onsite work again?

This article covers some lessons learned and great resources - read it in full here...

This is an article I wrote back in May but never published at the time. Now that we are back in ‘level’ management with Covid-19 it is a good time to review the learnings from 2020 so far: There was a lot of discussion and some good information covering how to ‘school’ in Level 2 […]

15/10/2020

Looking after the Trees

Tree Care Auckland have a great article on Trees for Schools, a service they provide. Here is a snippet, and you can read the full article here…https://schoolaccounts.co.nz/looking-after-the-trees/

When was the last time that your tree assets were checked?
We want you and your students to enjoy hassle-free, safe, and healthy trees. Well-maintained trees are not only safer, but they’re also an asset. They provide a free source of shade in which children can play or learn, shelter from other elements, and the connection with nature that children love.

Our structured approach, with regular site visits and the recording of the findings in our tree maintenance system, allows our clients always to know what work needs doing. It will enable stakeholders to budget for the cost, and the responsible parties to mitigate any liability.

Tree Care Auckland have a great article on Trees for Schools, a service they provide. Here is a snippet, and you can read the full article here… When was the last time that your tree assets were checked? We want you and your students to enjoy hassle-free, safe, and healthy trees. Well-maintained t...