New cloud based financial system

[supportman]

We are looking into options of moving to a cloud based finance system.

 

What is everyone else using?

 

Who is market leader these days for Academies and Trusts? I've heard PS financials have been gaining market share but can't work out if they are natively cloud based from their product brochures.

 

Currently we are using Correro which is showing horribly its age.

Edited November 7, 2018 by supportman

[FN-GM]

We use Sage Online. There is a specific version designed for education with loads of extras such as reports that cater for schools and MAT,

[TechMonkey]

Sage have a cloud based version, but we haven't fully looked into it. I have a feeling all that means is they host it and you have to set the connection in the desktop application.

AccountsIQ is one I know of, but not used.

[FN-GM]

Sage have a cloud based version, but we haven't fully looked into it. I have a feeling all that means is they host it and you have to set the connection in the desktop application.

AccountsIQ is one I know of, but not used.

 

Its one of those weird Windows packaged apps. You launch it from a URL and it appears like a normal Windows application.

[dhicks]

What is everyone else using?

 

We're a private school, now part of a larger group (about 25 schools in total, I think), with that group using Xero as their finance package. The Bursar is gradually moving processes over to Xero from an on-site install of Sage. I've had very little to do with it, which I figure from an IT support point of view is what you want - it's cloud based, it works, there's nothing that seems to need support.

[supportman]

We're a private school, now part of a larger group (about 25 schools in total, I think), with that group using Xero as their finance package. The Bursar is gradually moving processes over to Xero from an on-site install of Sage. I've had very little to do with it, which I figure from an IT support point of view is what you want - it's cloud based, it works, there's nothing that seems to need support.

 

Oh that's a new one on me! Looks fantastic from the screenshots.

 

I think financial systems are ideal for cloud based stuff, one of the easier systems to move I hope assuming the finance department are able to run things in parallel for a while.

[dhicks]

I think financial systems are ideal for cloud based stuff

 

They tend to offer direct integrations with external data sources / destinations, too - banks, in particular, and for some suppliers. I see Amazon can export data from the business account section to import into your accounts package, hopefully there's some way of simply getting the two systems to automatically pass data between themselves and avoid the Bursar having to download-then-upload CSV files.

[RLR]

We've just moved to Sage200c which is the education version of Sage. Can't say much about it as it's early days plus I don't get to use the product.

[synaesthesia]

Just moving to PSF, and from prior experience of other users we're not overly enamoured with it's interpretation of "cloud based" as it's still nearly entirely remote desktop based. Still, better than FMS, but so is an excel spreadsheet.

[supportman]

Just moving to PSF, and from prior experience of other users we're not overly enamoured with it's interpretation of "cloud based" as it's still nearly entirely remote desktop based. Still, better than FMS, but so is an excel spreadsheet.

Ahh yes this is what I wondered... reading their marketing material they seem convinced its "cloud" but just moving a legacy system into a virtual environment isn't cloud to me.

 

I think that Xero software mentioned earlier looks like the only native ground up Cloud system I've seen so far, very interesting...

[XiJ]

We have primary Trusts using HCSS. As a company we’re now using Xero

[psydii]

HCSS have one, it is coming on leaps and bounds. Genuinely cloud based. Better than FMS. Less flexible than PSF, but not as much of legacy omnishambles either.

[Chockster]

Ahh yes this is what I wondered... reading their marketing material they seem convinced its "cloud" but just moving a legacy system into a virtual environment isn't cloud to me.

 

We've gone to PSF. They keep using the word "Cloud".

 

You're right, they're just running a server for you that you can remote into.

[supportman]

We've gone to PSF. They keep using the word "Cloud".

 

You're right, they're just running a server for you that you can remote into.

 

Ahh the Capita version of the cloud! lol

[Paid_Peanuts]

HCSS here, moved from FMS.

Our Finance team evaluated pretty much everything and plumped for HCSS https://www.theaccessgroup.com/education/software/

 

Like someone else has previously stated - entirely cloud, which is nice! Cheap too compared to the rest.

[sted]

Its one of those weird Windows packaged apps. You launch it from a URL and it appears like a normal Windows application.

and installs per user in appdata and dosent like using proxy via a pac file. put proxy settings in manually it installs fine using the same details in a pac file it fails to install

[RLR]

Anyone using Sage 200 found a way of installing it silently via command line?

[TomHD]

Yeah PSF Cloud is a joke, its just a remote session! And when you ask for support they ask to remote onto your office machine to then remote onto their own VM!

[supportman]

Yeah PSF Cloud is a joke, its just a remote session! And when you ask for support they ask to remote onto your office machine to then remote onto their own VM!

 

Wow! Why would anyone buy something as outdated as that? I really don't get it.

[TomHD]

Wow! Why would anyone buy something as outdated as that? I really don't get it.

 

Academies thinking they know what they are doing

[Sheridan]

We used to have Sage on site, but moved to Sage cloud, which in my view is a pain as its a stupid Windows app - its not really a cloud system when it downloads 300Mb odd of files and installs itself is it! Plus I had to change all sorts of policies and security settings just to the damn think work - as SRP/Applocker were blocking the executables from running, as they run from the users profile.