Inspire Learning Partnership Streamline Budgeting & Procurement with PLANERGY
- Company Overview
Inspire Learning Partnership (ILP) is a five-school multi-academy trust in Hampshire. As the trust grew, managing procurement and finance across multiple sites became increasingly challenging.
With manual processes slowing down invoice management and a lack of real-time budget visibility, ILP needed a scalable solution to bring efficiency, control, and transparency to its operations.
- Why PLANERGY
ILP selected PLANERGY in July 2024 because it offered automation, integration, and control in one platform. The trust valued PLANERGY’s AI-driven invoice processing, seamless two-way integration with Xero, and ability to enforce procurement rules across all schools. User-friendly workflows and unlimited licenses meant staff could adopt the system quickly, while finance leaders gained real-time visibility into budgets and spending. As CFO Phil Andrews explained, PLANERGY has “streamlined our processes and given us much better control over our finances. It’s been an excellent investment.”
Key Challenges
- Manual invoice matching required finance staff to reconcile POs and invoices by hand, causing delays and errors.
- Lack of budget transparency made it difficult to monitor spending accurately or plan effectively.
- Limited procurement control allowed staff to place orders without approvals, creating the risk of unauthorized spending.
- Previous finance software, Access Education Finance, lacked flexibility and meaningful integration with other systems.
Key Benefits
- AI-powered invoice matching automated manual processes, saving time and reducing errors.
- Real-time budget tracking gave leaders and budget holders immediate visibility of committed and remaining funds.
- Approval workflows enforced compliance, ensuring no orders were made without proper authorization.
- Seamless bi-directional integration with Xero ensured accurate, up-to-date financial data.
The Story
Customer
Inspire Learning Partnership
Key client
CFO
Industry
Education
Company Size
100+ employees
Before PLANERGY
Before adopting PLANERGY, ILP relied on manual processes and outdated software. Finance staff spent hours reconciling invoices with purchase orders, a task that often led to errors and late payments.
Without real-time visibility, budget holders had little clarity on how much they had already spent or what funds were still available. This created risks of overspending and reactive decision-making.
Procurement processes were inconsistent, with staff able to place orders without proper oversight.
As CFO Phil explained, “We had limited control, and invoices were being matched by hand. It was time-consuming and prone to error.”
Access Education Finance, their previous software, offered little integration with Xero and no ability to scale as the trust expanded. As a result, ILP lacked the transparency, efficiency, and control needed to manage spend effectively across schools.
After PLANERGY
PLANERGY gave ILP the automation, visibility, and compliance it needed to modernize financial management. Invoice matching, once manual and slow, was automated with AI-powered tools, saving significant time for finance staff. “It’s so easy to use and it’s brilliant how quick it is. When invoices come in, matching them off is very simple,” Phil shared.
Approval workflows ensured that all purchases were properly authorized, reducing the risk of unauthorized spending and providing a clear audit trail.
Real-time dashboards linked budgets to departments and GL codes, so budget holders could see exactly what they had committed and what funds were available. This eliminated guesswork and improved financial discipline.
Integration with Xero ensured that data flowed seamlessly between systems, cutting errors and keeping financial reporting accurate and up-to-date.
As ILP grew, unlimited user licenses and flexible configuration allowed new schools and staff to be onboarded quickly, without additional costs. Staff adoption was rapid, thanks to PLANERGY’s intuitive interface. As one admin team member, Nikki, explained, “The support has been fantastic. We’ve always received a quick response whenever we’ve had questions or needed help.”
The benefits extended across the trust: time savings for finance staff, greater compliance, improved budget visibility, and the ability to scale without adding extra headcount. As Phil summed up, “We’ve had a much better level of control over procurement since implementing PLANERGY.”
Testimonials
PLANERGY has streamlined our processes and given us much better control over our finances. It’s been an excellent investment, and the support has been top-notch. We’re really pleased with the improvements it has brought to our trust.
Phil Andrews
CFO
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