educator solutions budget planner software · when the budget planner is installed the user school...

EDUCATOR SOLUTIONS

BUDGET PLANNER

SOFTWARE

USER GUIDE

Budget Planner Software User Guide

Contents Page 1 of 2

Section 01 Getting Started • User Log-In

• User Access Rights - Creating Additional Users - Changing your Password - Resetting Passwords

• Budget Planner Toolbar / Help Menu

• Establishment Details - Location Code / School Name - Server / Datafile Selection - Outputs Path - Balance Brought Forward

• Import Staff Details & Department Codes from Star Accounts

• Default Department Code (Clusters, Children’s Centres and Daycare Budgets Only)

• Manual Budget Share / Subjective Code Update

Section 02 Building the Budget • Summary Budget (CFR Level)

• Detailed Budget (Subjective Level)

• Import Budget Share

• Enter / Amend / Adding Budget Lines

• Department Codes

• Reset Budgets to 0

• Filtering / Sorting the Detailed Budget

• Deleting Budget Lines

• Future Year Forecasts

• Budget Revisions

• Year End Position

• Staffing Forecasts

• Trial Budget

Section 03 Manage Staff Details • Import Staff from Star / Excel

• Add a New Staff Record Manually

• Anonymous Staff Codes

• Deleting Staff Members

Section 04 Staffing Forecasts • Staffing Summary

• Import Prior Year Forecast

• Create a New Forecast - Copy an Existing Forecast - Create a Blank Forecast

• Adding a New Staffing Budget

• View / Amend an Existing Staffing Budget - Teaching Staff - Support Staff

• Delete a Staffing Budget

• Delete a Staffing Forecast

• Amend a Staff Code

• Updating the Budget Plan


Contents Page 2 of 2

• Staffing Summary Reporting - Export to Excel - Monthly Breakdown

� Detailed � Summary � By Type � Export to Excel

• Staffing Budgets Reporting - Monthly Profile - Detailed Monthly Profile - Staffing Summary

• Schools Efficiency Report

• Example Contract Changes - Example 1 – Scale Progression - Example 2 – TLR3 Addition

Section 05 Pupil Forecasts • Pupil Funding Adjustment

• Nursery Funding (Yr0)

• De-Delegation Adjustment

• Other Adjustments

• Updating the Budget Plan

Section 06 School Improvement and Development Plan

Section 07 Year-End Balances

Section 08 Finalising the Budget • Capital – Actuals

• Emailing the Budget Plan

• Export Budget to Star Accounts

• Finalising the Budget

• Budget Revisions

Section 09 Reporting • View / Print Budget Plans

• Export to Excel

• Budget Commentary

• School Visit Notes

Section 10 Upgrades, Updates and Backups • Upgrade Budget Planner

• Subjective Code Update - Automatic - Manual

• Budget Share Update - Automatic - Manual

• Backup Routine - Budget Planner Software Only - Full Back Up

Appendix A Installation and Initial Set Up


Section 01 – Getting Started Page 1 of 13

User Log-In Select the required user name from the “Select User Name” drop down list, and then enter your password and click the “Log In” button twice. When the Budget Planner is installed the User ‘School’ (with the password school) will be pre-installed. The first user to log-in using these details will be prompted to create a new Primary User (see below). This user will be the only person that is able to assign access rights to other users. User Access Rights The current list of users with access to the Budget Planner can be found by clicking the ‘System Users’ button within the ‘School Details’ / ‘Cluster Details’ screen. Only the ‘Primary User’ can access this screen. Primary User – The Primary User has full access to all screens within the Budget Panner. Only one primary user can be set within the software.



Creating Additional Users To create additional users, from the Main Menu, click ‘Establishment Details’, then click ‘System Users’. Note: Only the Primary User can access this screen. Click ‘Add User ID’ within the ‘User Access Rights’ screen.

Enter the required User ID for the new user, and then click ‘OK’. User IDs must be no longer than 10 characters in length and must not contain spaces.

When creating new users their password will be set as their User ID. The first time the new user logs into the Budget Planner, they will be prompted to change their password. Once the new users name has been entered, enter their email address: The ‘Email Address’ entered must be a unique email address to that user, as it will be used if the user forgets their password and requests it be reset (see below). Changing your Password Passwords must be changed in the Budget Planner Software every 90 days. Once this deadline has been reached the system will prompt the user to change their password.

Click ‘OK’.



Enter a new password, and confirm the password, and then click ‘Set New Password’. Once ‘Set New Password’ has been clicked the system will verify the new password. If there are issues with any of the following an error message will appear:

� Length – the password must be between 8 and 10 characters in length � Alpha-Numeric – the password must contain letters and numbers and

must not contain spaces � New – the password must not be one that has been used previously � Identical – the new password is entered twice when created and these

must be identical If an error message appears click ‘OK’, then correct the error and click ‘Set New Password’ again. This process may need to be repeated until the new password is accepted by the system. Once the new password is accepted the ‘Main Menu’ will open. Passwords can also be manually changed at any time from the User Log in screen by selecting your User ID, entering your current password, and then clicking ‘Change Password’. The password can then be reset as described above. Resetting a Password Primary User: If a user forgets their password the Primary User can reset the password from the ‘User Access Screen’. Click ‘Reset Password’ against the User Name required.

Click ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ as required.

The password for the selected user will be set to match their User Name. The user will then be promoted to enter a new password when they log-in to Budget Planner again.



All Users: If the Primary User is not available to reset your password it can be reset from the User Log-In screen by selecting your ‘User Name’ and clicking ‘Reset My Password’.

Click ‘Yes’ to continue or ‘No’ to cancel.

If ‘Yes’ is clicked the currently selected users password will be reset to a randomly generated series of numbers and letters (both upper and lower case). This password will be sent to the email address assigned to the selected user within the ‘User Access Rights’ screen (see above). Please Note: This function is designed to work with Microsoft Outlook, as this is Norfolk County Council’s email provider. If your school does not use Outlook this process may not work correctly, in which case you should call the Finance Support Helpline. The Budget Planner will attempt to automatically send the email containing the temporary password, therefore, during this process you may be required to click ‘Allow’ or ‘Yes’ to a Microsoft Outlook prompt.

Click ‘OK’.

When logging in using the temporary password assigned by this process you will be prompted to create a new password (as per the instructions above).



Budget Planner Toolbar These options are accessed via the “Budget Planner” toolbar. Other Menu Close – Use this option to close the currently viewed form or report. This option can only be used where a Close or Exit button does not appear on screen. Print – Use this option to print the currently viewed form or report. This option can only be used where a Print button does not appear on screen. Export to Excel – This option can be selected when viewing specific Staffing Reports to export that report into Microsoft Excel. This option should only be used where an ‘Excel Export’ button does not appear on screen. Login as Different User – Select this option of you wish to change the logged in user. Exit Budget Plan – Click this button to close the Budget Planner Software completely. Developer Exit – This option should only be used by the Finance Systems Team, and is password protected. Help Menu Remote Support – This allows County Hall to remotely access the budget planner to resolve any issues. Please do not select this option unless asked to do so by County Hall.



AVCO Budget Plan – Use this option to send County Hall a copy of your budget data if you are unable to send emails from your computer. This process will place a copy of the budget planner into the ‘Outputs Path’ (see below). Email Budget Plan - Use this option to send County Hall a copy of your budget plan. The email created will default to the address [email protected]. This can be overtyped with any required email address. About Budget Plan – This will open a screen giving details regarding the version of the Budget Planner and its location on your computer. Web Links Menu Various links to useful websites can be found within the ‘Web Sites’ drop down Menu within the ‘Web Links’ menu. Select the website to open it.

Subjective Codes - This option should only be selected if you are notified of changes to subjective codes or at the beginning of the new financial year. Budget Share Update - This option should only be selected if you are notified of changes to your schools budget share figures or at the beginning of the new financial year. Budget Plan – Select this option to download the latest version of the Budget Planner Software from the Internet. If an upgrade is required you will be requested to do this during the Budget Finalising process.



Salary Costs – Select this option to download the relevant Educator Solutions Optional Pay Scales (ESOPS) for your establishment.

Enter the number that relates to your required scale, and then click ‘OK’.

Click ‘Yes’ to start the salary cost recalculation immediately, or ‘No’ if you wish to perform the recalculation at a later date.

If ‘Yes’ is clicked you must wait for confirmation that the recalculation has been performed before continuing. If ‘No’ is selected the following message will appear:

The staffing costs recalculation should then be performed by pressing Ctrl+Shift+Y when ready.



Establishment Details Please Note: The following options are also created during the installation process (see Appendix 1). However, they can be amended via this screen at any time. From the Main Menu click the ‘Establishment Details’ button. Location Code: The Location Code of the current establishment is set during the installation process and cannot be changed. If the wrong Location Code has been entered a new installation will need to be completed. School Name: The school name will appear on all printed reports from the budget planner as shown on screen. This can be amended at any point if the school name changes. Server: If the current establishment has a corresponding Star Accounts datafile select the server name that Star Accounts is installed on from the drop down list. If the server name required is not shown, for example, if the Star Accounts server has been moved since the Budget Planner was installed, it can be manually typed into this box.

Click ‘Yes’ to update the server name, or ‘No’ to cancel.



Datafile: Select the Star Accounts datafile that the current establishment relates to from the drop down list. This is the datafile that will be updated when ‘Export to Star Accounts’ is clicked (see Section 8). Note: If the server name is changed any previously selected datafile will be removed and must be reselected. Outputs Path: The Outputs Path is used for sending finalised budget information and any backups to County Hall via the AnyComms Plus secure file transfer system. To amend the outputs path click the field:

Browse in the location of either the AnyComms Plus Outbox, or a valid folder anywhere on your computer. The Outputs path will then be updated on screen with the browsed in location.

Balance Bfwd: The Balance Brought Forward (Bfwd) from the previous financial year should be entered into the relevant field within this screen. Estimated: The figure entered here should be the forecasted year end position from the last budget revision of the previous financial year. The estimated figure will be used within the Original Budget revision only. Confirmed: The figure entered here should be the balance brought forward that has been confirmed by the Schools Finance Team. The confirmed figure will be used from Revision 1 onwards.

Click ‘Yes’ to continue, or ‘No’ to cancel.



Apprenticeship Levy: The ‘Apprenticeship Levy’ flag is updated when the initial set-up is completed (see Appendix A). If this needs to be added or removed after the initial set-up has been completed enter or remove the tick (by clicking it).

Contact the Finance Support Helpline, quoting the number shown. Enter the pass code given and then click ‘OK’.


If ‘Yes’ is clicked you must wait for the confirmation message before continuing to use the software. Import Details from Star Accounts: When exporting budgets into Star Accounts a budget for Staffing Costs and Department Codes will also be exported. The list of Staff Members and Department Codes held within the Budget Planner Software should be kept up to date with Star Accounts at regular intervals. To update the details held within the Budget Planner click the “Import Details from Star” button. Import with Access to Star Accounts Datafile: If the computer being used to import the staff details has access to the Star Accounts server and datafile listed this procedure will automatically import the Staff List and Department Code list from the datafile specified.



Click ‘Yes’ to continue, or ‘No’ to cancel. Click ‘OK’ to any confirmation messages that appear if ‘Yes’ has been clicked. Import without Access to Star Accounts Datafile: If the computer being used to import the staff details does not have access to the Star Accounts server an option to import the Staff List and Department Code List from Excel spreadsheets exported from Star Accounts will be given.

Select the required option as stated.

Staff Details: If ‘Yes’ is clicked to the above message:

Please Note: The Excel spreadsheet must be the Staff list exported from Star Accounts – please see Section 5 of the Star Accounts User Guide for details. The ‘Staff.xls’ file must exist before this process is started.

Browse in the location of the “Staff.xls” file.

Double click the file (or single click it and click ‘Open’) to begin the import process.



This process can also be completed via the ‘Manage Staff Details’ screen (see Section 3). Department Codes: Once the staffing details have been imported the Department Code List will need to be browsed as per the above instructions. The Excel spreadsheet must be the Department Code list exported from Star Accounts and must exist before this process is started. Browse in the location of the “XXXX Department List.xls” file (where XXXX = the Location Code of the current establishment). Please be aware that:

• Inactive department codes are imported into the budget planner, and will be flagged as inactive when viewing the budget, to allow short term budgets to remain on the correct department code

• Any department code marked as an ‘Activity’ within Star Accounts will not be available for selection in the Budget Planner. This is because the overall balance of an activity will be its profit or loss which has to be refunded / funded. Entering budgets against “activities” will distort the end balance.

Department Codes can also be imported separately by clicking the ‘Manual Department Import’ button. Default Department Code: If the current establishment is a Cluster, Children’s Centre or Daycare Centre all budgets within the Budget Planner Software must be assigned to Department Code (as per Star Accounts rules). To negate the need to manually input this against every record a default department code must be selected here once the ‘Department Code’ list has been updated (as above). Select the required department from the drop down list. Manual Budget Share Update: This process should only be used if the automatic update accessed via the Budget Plan Help Menu does not work. If the automatic update has not worked please contact the Finance Systems Team to request the manual file to be imported. This file must be saved within the Budget Planner folder before clicking ‘Manual Budget Share Update’.



Manual Subjective Update: This process should only be used if the automatic update accessed via the Budget Plan Help Menu does not work. If the automatic update has not worked please contact the Finance Systems Team to request the manual subjective code list to be imported. This file must be saved within the Budget Planner folder before clicking ‘Manual Subjective Update’.


Section 02 - Building the Budget Page 1 of 11

Summary Budget (CFR Level) To view a summary budget, click the ‘Summary Budget’ button from the Main Menu.

This screen provides a summary of the budget at CFR level. The figures shown within this screen cannot be amended – any budget amendments must be completed within the detailed budget screen at subjective code level (see below). If you wish to see the figures which contribute to the totals shown on this screen double click the amount within the current budget column for the required CFR category. The current budget is highlighted in bold.

The summary shown above is for information purposes only. The figures shown within the summary screen cannot be amended – any budget amendments must be completed within the detailed budget screen at subjective code level (see below).



Detailed Budget (Subjective Code Level) To view, enter or amend a detailed budget, click the ‘Detailed Budget’ button from the Main Menu.

When entering your budget information the following rules apply:

• Only the current live budget (as shown at the top of the screen) and future year forecasts can be amended.

• Budgets should be entered to the nearest pound.

• Income must be entered as a negative figure.

• Commas and Pound signs (£) do not need to be typed in.

• Staffing budgets can be updated automatically via the Staffing Summary screen. These can be manually entered if required.

• Budget figures updated from the Pupil Forecaster or Staffing Forecaster cannot be overwritten.

Import Budget Share To import the latest budget share information provided by Schools Finance click the ‘Re-Import Budget Share’ button. The Live Budget, Forecast Year 1 and Forecast Year 2 are updated by this process. The Budget Share Subjective Codes updated by this process are:

I01 98940 Budget Share I02 98950 Sixth Form Funding I03 98980 SEN Funding I04 98960 Ethnic Minority Funding I05 99010 Pupil Premium Grant E10 74200 DeDelegated Staff Costs E19 74210 DeDelegated Contingencies E23 74220 DeDelegated Licences E28 74230 DeDelegated Free meals

Click ‘Yes’ to continue or ‘No’ to cancel.



Enter / Amend Budget To enter / amend a budget overtype the existing figure shown for the required subjective code with the budget required. A figure can only be overtyped in the live budget revision column and the two forecast years. Adding Additional Budget Lines Each subjective code within the current subjective code list must appear at least once within the detailed budget plan however, each subjective code can be entered more than once within the detailed budget to allow Departmental budgets to be set, or to split out a budget for a specific project etc.

Enter the required budget into the live budget column, and two future years if requires, plus any notes required. For example:

Department Codes Department Codes can be selected against any budget line entered to further analyse budgets. Select the required Department Code from the drop down list: If there are no Department Codes within the list they must be imported (see Section 01).

The live budget column is highlighted in bold.

In the blank line at the bottom of the detailed budget select the subjective code required. The Subjective Description and CFR group will automatically be updated based on the code chosen.



Any budget assigned to a department will also be included within the total budget assigned to the selected Subjective Code budget, therefore, any budget assigned to a department must also be adjusted from the line without a department. For example, if an £8,000 budget has been assigned to 40850, of which £1,000 is to be assigned to a ‘Library’ department a new line should be added for £1,000 with the ‘Library’ department selected, and the original line (without a department code) reduced to £7,000:

If the original line is not reduced the total budget assigned to subjective 40850 within Star Accounts will be £9,000. Please Note: Within Cluster, Children’s Centres and Daycare Budgets a Department Code is mandatory for all lines. If a Department Code is not selected the Default Department Code selected within the Establishment Details screen (see Section 01) will be added when the screen is closed. Department Codes in all other budget types is optional.

Deleted / Inactive Department Codes: When the Department Code List is updated from Star Accounts (see Section 01), any department that has been deleted within Star Accounts will be removed from any budget lines to which it has been assigned in the Budget Planner Software. If a Department Code has been made ‘Inactive’ within Star Accounts any budget assigned will remain within the Budget Planner Software, however, these codes will be highlighted in red. If the Department Code has been inactivated because it is no longer required but could not be deleted in Star Accounts, it should be removed from any budgets assigned to it, by deleting it from the record. If the Department Code has been inactivated as it related to a short term project that has been completed any budgets assigned will need to remain assigned to the inactive code, as removing it will change the “Balance” figures in the Star Accounts Department BCR (as no budget will be assigned to it).



Reset Budgets to 0 If you would like to clear all budgets entered to start the budgeting process again click ‘Reset’ at the bottom of the column to be reset. If the live budget column is being reset you will also be given the option to clear any notes that have been entered:

Filtering the Detailed Budget A number of filters can be applied to the detailed budget screen to aid with the budget building process. CFR Group: When building the budget it may be easier to view each CFR category individually. To do this select the required CFR category from the ‘CFR Group’ filter (bottom right hand corner of the screen). The screen will then filter to show only those subjective codes that relate to the chosen CFR Group. Please Note: If a specific CFR Group is chosen the subjective codes that can be chosen when adding additional lines will only relate to the CFR Group chosen.


Click ‘Yes’ to remove the notes, or ‘No’ to keep them.



Type: When building the budget it may be easier to work on Income or Expenditure subjective codes only. To do this select the required type from the ‘Type’ filter (bottom right hand corner of the screen). The ‘Budgeted’ type will filter the screen to show only those subjective codes where a budget exists in the live budget or either of the two forecast years. The ‘Staffing’ type will filter the screen to show only those subjective codes that relate to a staffing subjective code. Department: To view budgets assigned to a specific department code select the required Department Code from the ‘Department’ filter (bottom right hand corner of the screen). The screen will then filter to show only those budget lines that relate to the chosen department.

To view the budget lines assigned to any department double click the ‘Department’ label at the top of the screen.

Click ‘Remove Filter’ to show all budget lines. Sorting When the detailed budget screen is opened the default sorting option is by CFR Group, Subjective Code and Department Code. When adding additional lines the new lines will appear at the bottom of the screen. Click ‘Sort’ when viewing the screen to change the sort order to the default order. The screen will also sort by the default order when ‘Remove Filter’ is clicked.



Deleting Budget Lines To delete a line from the detailed budget simply click the delete button next to the required line. If there are no issues with the line to be deleted (see below) the following message will appear: Please Note:

• Budget lines cannot be deleted if the subjective code only appears once in the budget plan:

Click ‘No’ to cancel, or ‘Yes’ to update the current and future year budgets to zero.

• Budget lines cannot be deleted if a budget exists in any previously finalised budget:

Click ‘No’ to cancel, or ‘Yes’ to update the current and future year budgets to zero.

Note: If this message appears when the live budget is Revision 2 or above, and the live budget and future year forecasts show as 0, this means that a budget exists in one of the previous revisions which is not shown on screen.

• Budget lines cannot be deleted if the figures have been updated from either the Pupil Forecaster or Staffing Forecaster

Click ‘OK’.

Click ‘Yes’ to delete the budget, or ‘No’ to cancel.



Future Year Forecasts Budgets can be manually entered into the 2 future year forecasts by typing in the estimated budgets (as per the live budget). The entire live budget can also be copied into the future year forecasts, excluding the budget share and staffing costs, by clicking “Copy Budget to Future Years”. Click ‘Yes’ to continue, or ‘No’ to cancel. When the live budget is copied to the forecast years the budgets will be adjusted by any the rates of inflation installed within the budget planner. Future Year Staffing figures should then be updated from a staffing forecast and the Budget Share update via the Pupil Forecaster screen (if applicable). Any other amendments required to the forecast years should made at this point for example, removing a budget from a project that relates to the current year only. Budget Revisions Once a budget has been finalised an additional column will be shown within the detailed budget screen. This column will show the figures entered in the previous budget revision. The prior revision budget figures are shown on screen for information purposes only – these cannot be amended and additional lines cannot be added to the prior budget. Budgets can be manually entered into the live budget revision as required, or the entire previous budget can be copied into the live revision column by clicking the ‘Copy Budget to Revision’ button.

Prior Budget Live Budget



This button will only appear if the live budget is not the Original budget.

Once the budget has been copied to the live revisions any amendments required can be made. Please Note: Unlike copying the Future Year Forecast this process will copy the Budget Share and Staffing costs from the previous budget. Any update from another screen within the budget planner (Staff Forecasts, Pupil Forecaster etc.) will update the live budget only. Year End Position The position of the year end surplus/deficit can be found at the bottom of the Summary Budget and any printed budgets. To view the current position whilst entering the subjective code level budgets click the ‘View YearEnd Position’ button. The Year End Surplus/Deficit position can also be viewed from any screen by pressing ‘Ctrl & E’ on the keyboard. Staffing Forecasts For information purposes the last staffing forecast used to update the detailed budget is shown at the bottom of the screen along with the date and time that the update was performed.

If the following is shown at the bottom of the detailed budget screen either no staffing forecast has been used to update the detailed budget or the forecast used to update the budget has subsequently been deleted.




Trial Budget The “trial” budget provides an area where different scenarios can be input that do not affect the current “live” budget. The trial budget screen is green, to differentiate between it and the live budget. Any printed version of a trial budget will also clearly be highlighted. From the Main Menu click the ‘Trial Budget’ button.

The trial budget works in exactly the same way as the detailed budget (as described above), with the following additional features: Import Latest Budget: Click the ‘Import Latest Budget’ button to update the figures held within the trial to those in the current live budget.


Copy to Live Budget: If it is decided that the trial budget is required as the live budget click the ‘Copy to Live Budget’ button to automatically update the live budget to the figures shown on screen.


Printing Trial Budgets: Trial budgets can only be printed from within this screen by clicking the relevant Budget at the top of the screen: If a Department code has been applied as a filter the report printed when clicking these buttons will relate to the filtered Department Code only.



Please Note:

• When a budget is finalised any trial budget held within the Budget Planner will be deleted.

• Staffing forecasts can be updated to either the “Live” or “Trial” budget within the relevant forecast screen (see Sections 4 and 5). If a staffing forecast is accessed from within this screen, via the ‘Master Support Staff’ or ‘Master Teaching Forecast’ buttons, this will automatically default to update the trial budget.

• The year-end position of the trial budget can only be viewed by clicking the ‘View YearEnd Position’ button at the bottom of the screen. Pressing Ctrl & E on the keyboard will show the year end position of the LIVE budget. The Trial Budget year end surpluses should have a green background.


Section 03 – Manage Staff Details Page 1 of 5

Staff Details All staffing forecasts held within the Budget Planner Software must be assigned to a Staff Record, therefore, the staff records held within the software must be kept up-to-date. From the Main Menu, click the ‘Manage Staff Details’ button to view a list of all staff members currently held within the Budget Planner Software.

Import Staff from Star To update the staff list with the details held within Star Accounts click the ‘Import Staff from Star’ button. This process uses the Star Accounts Datafile details entered into the School Details screen (see Section 01). If the computer that the Budget Planner Software is currently be used on has access to the Star Accounts server the following message will appear: Click ‘Yes’ to continue or ‘No’ to cancel. If ‘Yes’ is selected the staffing list within the Budget Planner Software will be updated: new members of staff within Star Accounts will be added and the name / position of existing staff details will be updated to match those in Star Accounts.

Click ‘OK’.



Import Staff from Excel If the computer currently being used to operate the Budget Planner Software does not have access to the Star Accounts datafile specified in the Establishment Details screen, an Excel spreadsheet of the staffing details held within Star Accounts can be produced to be imported into the Budget planner Software (see Section 5 of the Star Accounts User Guide). Once this file has been created and saved to the current computer click the ‘Import Staff from Excel’ button.

Add a New Staff Record Manually Staff records can be added manually within this screen by entering the details required on the blank line at the bottom of the screen. Either scroll to the last blank line, or click the ‘New Record’ button at the top of the screen to go straight to it, and then enter the details required as below.

Browse in the location of the “Staff.xls” file.

Double click the file (or single click it and click ‘Open’) to begin the import process.

Click ‘OK’.



Staff Code: If known enter the Staff Code of the new staff member, or enter a fictitious code to use within the forecasts to be assigned to unfilled vacancies or posts that do not yet exist. Staff Codes must be entered in the format “000000-0” (six digits followed by a hyphen and one further digit). The hyphen will be automatically entered by the Budget Planner Software. Staff members with more than one contract should have an entry for each contract entered, with the last digit being different to distinguish the contracts. Staff Name: Enter the name of the new staff member, or enter a meaningful description of the post if the vacancy it relates to is unfilled. Position: Enter the position of the staff member / vacancy. Type: Select the type of staff member / vacancy that the new record belongs to; Teaching or Support staff. The ‘Type’ cannot be changed if the staff record that it relates to has been used within a staffing forecast: Please Note: Staff Codes can also be created when registering a new Staffing Forecast (see Section 04). Anonymous Staff Members: All Staffing Forecasts held within the Budget Planner Software must be assigned to a unique Staff Record. If a budget for an unfilled vacancy is required, or a post that does not exist, an anonymous Staff Code must be created to assign the budget to. Anonymous Staff Codes must be unique. The first 6 digits of any Staff Code will be used to determine how to apportion National Insurance contributions (see below for details), therefore, if multiple anonymous contracts are assigned to the similar Staff Codes (e.g. 999999-?) the budget calculated will not be accurate.



Deleting a Staff Member To ensure that Staff Records that are no longer required are not mistakenly added to a Staffing Forecast the list of staff members held within the Budget Planner should be maintained on a regular basis, with Staff Records that are no longer required being deleted. Within the ‘Manage Staff Details’ screen click the ‘Delete’ button next to the record to be deleted. Staff Records cannot be deleted if they have been used within any forecast in the current Budget Planner:

Click ‘OK’.

Click ‘Yes’ to delete the record, or ‘No’ to cancel.

The ‘Manage Staff Details’ screen can be filtered to show all staff codes that have not been assigned to a forecast within the Budget Planner, by clicking the ‘View Unused’ button.

Click ‘View All’ to remove the filter.



Federations Only As the Apprenticeship Levy may not be applicable to all of the schools within a federation an additional ‘Levy’ flag within the “Manage Staff Details” screen will appear: During the initial set up of the Budget Planner (see Appendix A) all federations will be flagged as having the levy being applicable. All Staff will then default to be included in the levy when the prior year staffing forecasts are imported. If a school within the federation should not have the levy applied remove the tick from the ‘Levy’ field against the required staff members. Once this has been completed the levy will not be applied to those staff members.


Section 04 - Staffing Forecasts Page 1 of 29

Staffing Summary Staffing Forecasts are accessed via the ‘Staffing Summary’ button of the Main Menu. The “Staffing Summary” will automatically open to show either the latest forecast used to update the detailed budget, or, if no forecast has been updated to the detailed budget, the first forecast that was created within the current budget planner.

Please Note: If the Staff name is highlighted in blue the contract relates to a teaching contract, if it is highlighted in green it relates to a Support Staff contract. This is consistent across the entire Budget Planner Software.

If a staffing budget is shown with a “^” this indicates that the contract is not employed for

the full financial year. An asterix (*) against the staffing budget indicates a

Note has been entered against that record. This screen provides a list of the Staff Records that have been assigned to the currently selected forecast. If multiple forecasts have been created select the required forecast from the ‘Forecast’ drop down list. To view a specific year within the currently selected forecast select the required year from the ‘Year’ drop down list. The default sorting for the Staffing Summary is by Name and Staff Code. The sort order can be changed to ‘Staff Code’, ‘Name’ or ‘Type’ by double clicking the label at the top of the required column:

The Summary List can also be filtered by selecting the required filter / combination of filters shown at the bottom of the screen.

Click ‘Remove Filters’ to view the full list of staff budgets.



Create a New Forecast There are two options for creating new Staffing Forecasts within the Budget Planner Software – copying an existing forecast, or creating a new forecast from scratch. Copy Existing Forecast: From the “Staffing Summary” screen select the forecast to be copied in the ‘Forecast’ drop down list, and then click ‘Copy to New Forecast’.

Enter a new name for the forecast to be created, and then click ‘OK’. Click ‘Cancel’ to stop the process.

If the name entered does not already exist in the Budget Planner Software the forecast will be created and the “Staffing Summary” screen will be refreshed to show the newly created forecast. Each forecast name must be unique within the Budget Planner Software. If the new name entered matches the only existing forecast in the software this message will appear:

Click ‘OK’ and you will be taken back to the ‘New Forecast’ name entry screen.

If the new name entered matches a previously created forecast which is not the only previous forecast the option to delete the existing forecast will be given:

Click ‘Yes’ to delete the existing forecast and replace it with the newly created forecast, or ‘No’ to return to the ‘New Forecast’ name entry screen.



The existing forecast will only be able to be deleted if it is not the one that has been chosen as the basis of the new forecast:

Click ‘OK’ to return to the ‘New Forecast’ name entry screen.

Create a Blank Forecast: To being a new staffing forecast from scratch click the ‘Create New Forecast’ button from within the “Staffing Summary” screen.

This will open the “Add New Contract” screen. Select an existing Staff member or add a new Staff Member (see instructions below), and then click ‘Create’.

Enter a new name for the forecast to be created, and then click ‘OK’. Click ‘Cancel’ to stop the process.

If the new name entered matches an existing forecast the following message will appear:

Click ‘OK’ to return to the ‘New Forecast’ name entry screen.



Add a New Staffing Budget To add a new staffing budget to the currently selected Staffing Forecast click the ‘Add Employee to this Forecast’ button. This will open the ‘Add New Contract’ screen. If the employees’ details already exist within the Budget Planner Software (see Section 03) select their Staff Code from the ‘Select Existing’ drop down list to pre-populate the ‘Staff Name’, ‘Position’ and ‘Type’. Alternatively, to create an entirely new employee enter the following details. Staff Code: Staff Codes must be entered in the format 000000-0; six digits followed by a hyphen and a seventh digit. The hyphen is automatically added to the code so does not need to be manually typed in. Any preceding zeros required to make the first section 6 digits should be added. Staff Name: Enter the name of the new employee, or a meaningful description of the post if it relates to an unfilled vacancy. The name entered should follow the naming conventions you have used within the Budget Planner Software as it will be used to determine any sorting of the Staffing Summary i.e. if you have consistently used “Surname, First Name” the name should be entered in this format. If an existing Staff Code has been selected the name can be overwritten if required, however, the name entered will be used to update the existing record. Position: Enter the position that the new contract relates to. This should be a meaningful description that can be used to easily identify the role when viewing the Staffing Summary. Type: Select whether the new contracts relates to a Teacher or Support Staff. This will determine which ‘Contract Type’ can be selected (see below).



Department: If you wish to assign the staffing budget to a specific department select it from the drop down list. Contract Type: Select the required Contract Type to be assigned to the new staffing budget from the drop down list. This list will not contain any options until the ‘Type’ (as above) has been selected. The numbers shown beside each Contract Type are the Minimum and Maximum Spinal Points that are applicable to that contract. Paid Weeks: Paid Weeks are only applicable to Support Staff contracts. If the ‘Type’ “Teacher” has been selected above then this option will disappear. Teaching Staff are automatically assigned to a full year (52.1429 weeks). If the drop down list appears you must select an option.

If the required number of weeks does not appear in the drop down list it can be manually typed in as required.

Start Date / End Date: If the new contracts begins on or before 01st April of the current financial year a ‘Start Date’ is not required. If the new contract is not forecast to end before the 31st March of the third financial year the ‘End Date’ is not required. If the contract is due to begin or end anywhere between these dates then the required dates must be entered. Spinal Point: Enter the Spinal Point that the contract will paid at the beginning of the contract. This will automatically default to the minimum spinal Point applicable when the ‘Contract Type’ is selected. FTE / Hours: Enter either the Full Time Equivalent (FTE) of Teaching Staff, or Hours Per Week for Support Staff. These details will be added to all applicable terms for the newly created staffing budget. Pension: Place a tick in the Pension field (by clicking it) if the selected employee is a member of the pension scheme. If the new staffing budget relates to an unfilled vacancy it may prove useful to mark the contract as being in the pension to over budget for it rather than under budget for it. Auto-Increment: Placing a tick in the Auto-Increment (by clicking it) will mean that the Spinal Point for the new staffing budget will automatically move to the next Spinal Point available each year (in July for Support Staff and September for Teaching Staff) until the maximum Spinal Point for the selected ‘Contract Type’ is reached.



If the ‘Auto-Increment’ flag is left blank the starting Spinal Point entered will be applied to all of the forecast years created. Please Note: Teaching Staff created with the UPR Contract Type are auto-incremented every 2 years not annually.

Click ‘Cancel’ at any point during the contract creation to stop the process and close the form.

Once all of the required details have been entered click the ‘Create’ button. At this point the Budget Planner Software will validate the details entered to ensure that minimum data requirements are met.

Any issues reported must be rectified. Click ‘OK’, correct the details specified and then click ‘Create’ again.

Once the data validation has been passed the new contract will be created and the “Staffing Contracts” screen will open for any amendments to take place (see details below).

When creating a new contract the Hours per Week (Support Staff) or FTE (Teaching Staff) are not added – these should be added and the contract saved for it to appear in the main Staffing Forecast.



View / Amend an Existing Staffing Budget To view / amend a previously created staffing budget simply double click the ‘Staff Name’ of the required contract within the “Staffing Summary”.

All staffing budgets relating to the employee selected will be shown within the “Staffing Contracts” screen i.e. all those where the first 6 digits of the Staff Code match. Click the line of the contract that you wish to view the full details for: Important Note: When viewing the “Staffing Contracts” screen you are working in a copy of the details entered in the Staffing Summary. Any changes made will not be reflected in the Staffing Summary until the changes have been saved. Teaching Staff:

Amendments can be made by overtyping any existing details as required.

Start Date: If the currently viewed contract begins on or before 01st April of the current financial year a Start Date is not required. If one has been entered, or one needs to be entered, overtype the date shown. End Date: If the currently viewed contract ends before 31st March of the third financial year of the current budget plan and End Date must be entered. If one has been mistakenly entered it can be deleted from this field. Pension: If the current contract enters the pension scheme, or leaves the pension scheme, ensure that this flag is updated (by clicking it). Ticked means that the employee is a member of the pension scheme. Note: The pension contributions will be calculated across each month that the employee is registered as being employed for, therefore, if the employee enters or leaves the pension mid-year then a separate contract will be required for each pensionable type (see examples below).

Support

Teaching



Auto-Increment: If you do not wish to auto-increment the employee through their respective Pay Scale remove the tick from this field (by clicking it). Any previously entered spinal points will not be removed by removing this flag. If any of the above details are amended the ‘Update’ button must be clicked to ensure that the changes requested are implemented. This includes:

• Adding any financial years that are missing from the detailed view;

• Removing any financial years that are no longer required (due to the contract being end dated);

• Recalculating pension costs due to leaving / joining the scheme. Click ‘OK’. The screen will then refresh to show the amended details.

When making amendments to any contract the details held within the Staffing Summary can be re-imported by clicking the ‘Reset’ button. This will only reset the staffing budget currently shown in the detailed section. Note: If the ‘Save’ button has been clicked at any point when making amendments the amended staffing budget will become the “live” budget that is reset to. The ‘Year’ and ‘Contract Type’ shown within the detailed view cannot be amended. If the ‘Contract Type’ shown is incorrect the current staffing budget must be deleted and a new staffing budget created with the correct details chosen.

Spinal Point: Enter the Spinal Point value required in the relevant term (Apr or Sept). If the Auto-Increment flag is ticked the subsequent financial terms will also be updated up to the maximum allowable for the selected Pay Scale. To view the Salary Value applicable to the Spinal Point entered double click the Spinal Point:

The Salary Value applicable will be highlighted (unless the double clicked Spinal Point is 0).



FTE: Enter the staff members Full Time Equivalent (FTE) into each of the terms that the employee will be employed during. This value must be between -1 and +1. Negative FTE’s can be entered to show staffing reductions without registering them against specific staffing budgets. Teaching and Learning Payments: Enter the cash value of any Teaching and Learning Payments the employee is due to receive in each of the terms that is applicable to. The cash value entered must be entered at the rate applicable to a 1 FTE staff member, if the employee is less the 1 FTE the correct figure will be calculated by the Budget Planner Software. As per the School Teachers Pay and Condition Document the value entered must fall between three ranges. The ranges applicable to each term can be shown on screen by double clicking the field: SEN Payments: Enter the cash value of any SEN Payments the employee is due to receive in each of the terms that is applicable to. The cash value entered must be entered at the rate applicable to a 1 FTE staff member, if the employee is less the 1 FTE the correct figure will be calculated by the Budget Planner Software. As per the School Teachers Pay and Condition Document the value entered must fall between three ranges. The ranges applicable to each term can be shown on screen by double clicking it. Other Payments: Enter the net full year cash value of any additional payments received by the employee, for example, Recruitment and Retention payments. Department: Select a Department Code from the drop list if one is required. Please Note: The Department Code will apply to all financial years shown, once a Department Code is added or removed from any financial year it will be added or removed from all financial years. Notes: To enter any notes against a staffing budget click the ‘Notes’ button against the required financial year.

Enter any relevant notes required, and then click ‘Save’. Click ‘Cancel’ to close without saving.



Please Note: If a note is added it will not be saved to the record in the Staffing Summary unless the entire contract is saved. Monthly Profile: Click the ‘Monthly Profile’ button to view a detailed breakdown of the calculated salary:

Please Note: If unsaved amendments have been made to the currently viewed contract this screen may take up to 25 seconds to open as the monthly costs will need to be recalculated.

Click the ‘Delete’ button to remove a contract from the currently viewed employees’ records.

Click ‘Yes’ to continue, or ‘No’ to cancel. If ‘Yes’ is clicked the contract will not be deleted from the Staffing Summary until the record is saved.

Click the ‘Reset All’ button to reset all of the staffing budgets assigned to the current employee to those contained within the Staffing Summary. Click the ‘Save All’ button to save all amendments made across multiple contracts.

Click the ‘Add New Contract’ button to create a new contract for the selected employee. Complete this screen as detailed above.



If a new contract is added from the “Staffing Contracts” screen only Staff Codes relating to the currently viewed employee can be selected or created.

Click the ‘Exit’ button to return to the Staffing Summary. If there are unsaved amendments in any of the current employees staffing budgets the following warning message will appear:

Click ‘Yes’ to exit without saving, or ‘No’ to cancel to allow the changes to be saved.

Support Staff:

Amendments can be made by overtyping any existing details as required.

Start Date: If the currently viewed contract begins on or before 01st April of the current financial year a Start Date is not required. If one has been entered, or one needs to be entered, overtype the date shown. End Date: If the currently viewed contract ends before 31st March of the third financial year of the current budget plan and End Date must be entered. If one has been mistakenly entered it can be deleted from this field. Pension: If the current contract enters the pension scheme, or leaves the pension scheme, ensure that this flag is updated (by clicking it). Ticked means that the employee is a member of the pension scheme. Note: The pension contributions will be calculated across each month that the employee is registered as being employed for, therefore, if the employee enters or leaves the pension mid-year then a separate contract will be required for each pensionable type (see examples below). Auto-Increment: If you do not wish to auto-increment the employee through their respective Pay Scale remove the tick from this field (by clicking it). Any previously entered spinal points will not be removed by removing this flag.



If any of the above details are amended the ‘Update’ button must be clicked to ensure that the changes requested are implemented. This includes:

• Adding any financial years that are missing from the detailed view;

• Removing any financial years that are no longer required (due to the contract being end dated);

• Recalculating pension costs due to leaving / joining the scheme. Click ‘OK’. The screen will then refresh to show the amended details.

When making amendments to any contract the details held within the Staffing Summary can be re-imported by clicking the ‘Reset’ button. This will only reset the staffing budget currently shown in the detailed section. Note: If the ‘Save’ button has been clicked at any point when making amendments the amended staffing budget will become the “live” budget that is reset to. The ‘Year’ and ‘Contract Type’ shown within the detailed view cannot be amended. If the ‘Contract Type’ shown is incorrect the current staffing budget must be deleted and a new staffing budget created with the correct details chosen.

Paid Weeks: Select the required number of Weeks that the employees contract states they are employed for from the drop down list. If the required number does not exist overtype the weeks with the value required. Spinal Point: Enter the Spinal Point value required in the relevant term (Apr or July). If the Auto-Increment flag is ticked the subsequent financial terms will also be updated up to the maximum allowable for the selected Pay Scale. To view the Salary Value applicable to the Spinal Point entered double click the Spinal Point:



The Salary Value applicable will be highlighted (unless the double clicked Spinal Point is 0). Hours: Enter the number of hours per week that the employee is contracted to work for each of the terms shown. This value must be between -37 and +37. Negative hours can be entered to show staffing reductions without registering them against specific staffing budgets. Please Note: The figure entered here should be entered as a decimal, therefore, if somebody is contracted to work 12hrs 30 minutes per week the value entered would be 12.50.

Minutes to Decimal: 15 Minutes = 0.25, 30 Minutes = 0.50, 45 Minutes = 0.75

For Senior MSA Staff one day equals one session. Therefore, if a Senior MSA works for 5 days per week enter 5. MSA’s are paid hourly. Other Payments: Enter the net full year cash value of any additional payments received by the employee, for example, Recruitment and Retention payments. Department: Select a Department Code from the drop list if one is required. Please Note: The Department Code will apply to all financial years shown, once a Department Code is added or removed from any financial year it will be added or removed from all financial years. Notes: To enter any notes against a staffing budget click the ‘Notes’ button against the required financial year.

Enter any relevant notes required, and then click ‘Save’. Click ‘Cancel’ to close without saving.

Please Note: If a note is added it will not be saved to the record in the Staffing Summary unless the entire contract is saved.



Monthly Profile: Click the ‘Monthly Profile’ button to view a detailed breakdown of the calculated salary:

Please Note: If unsaved amendments have been made to the currently viewed contract this screen may take up to 25 seconds to open as the monthly costs will need to be recalculated.

Click the ‘Delete’ button to remove a contract from the currently viewed employees’ records.

Click ‘Yes’ to continue, or ‘No’ to cancel. If ‘Yes’ is clicked the contract will not be deleted from the Staffing Summary until the record is saved.

Click the ‘Reset All’ button to reset all of the staffing budgets assigned to the current employee to those contained within the Staffing Summary.

Click the ‘Save All’ button to save all amendments made across multiple contracts. Click the ‘Add New Contract’ button to create a new contract for the selected employee. Complete this screen as detailed above.



If a new contract is added from the “Staffing Contracts” screen only Staff Codes relating to the currently viewed employee can be selected or created.

Click the ‘Exit’ button to return to the Staffing Summary. If there are unsaved amendments in any of the current employees staffing budgets the following warning message will appear:

Click ‘Yes’ to exit without saving, or ‘No’ to cancel to allow the changes to be saved.

Delete a Staffing Budget To delete a staffing budget from a previously created staffing forecast click the ‘Delete’ button next to the required staffing budget.

Click ‘Yes’ to delete the staffing budget, or ‘No’ to cancel.

Please Note: If the staffing budget to be deleted is one of multiple contracts for the selected employee the Budget Planner Software will recalculate the existing contracts as part of this process to ensure that National Insurance is not over-budgeted.



Delete a Staffing Forecast To delete an entire Staffing Forecast select the required forecast from the drop down list and then click ‘Delete this Forecast’.

Amend a Staff Code To change the Staff Code entered against a previously created staffing budget click the ‘Amend Staff Code’ button against the required budget. For example, if a vacant post created with a dummy code is filled the new employees’ Staff Code can be created. If the Staff Code required belongs to a Staff Member that has already been created within the Budget Planner Software (see Section 3) select the required employee from the drop down list. Please Note: If the staffing budget to be amended relates to a Support Staff member only Support Staff will be able to be selected from this list and vice versa for Teaching Staff. Alternatively, a new Staff Member can be created at this point by entering:

Click ‘Yes’ to delete, or ‘No’ to cancel.



Staff Code: Staff Codes must be entered in the format 000000-0; six digits followed by a hyphen and a seventh digit. The hyphen is automatically added to the code so does not need to be manually typed in. Any preceding zeros required to make the first section 6 digits should be added. Staff Name: Enter the name of the new employee. The name entered should follow the naming conventions you have used within the Budget Planner Software as it will be used to determine any sorting of the Staffing Summary i.e. if you have consistently used “Surname, First Name” the name should be entered in this format. This will default to name of the staffing budget to be amended, or staff record selected above, but can be overtyped if required. Position: Enter the position that the new contract relates to. This should be a meaningful description that can be used to easily identify the role when viewing the Staffing Summary. This will default to position of the staffing budget to be amended, or staff record selected above, but can be overtyped if required. Type: This will be set according to the staffing budget that is to be amended, and cannot be changed.

Click ‘Cancel’ at any point to stop the process.

Click ‘Update’ once all of the required details have been entered. Any issues reported must be corrected before the update can take place.

Click ‘Yes’ to continue, or ‘No’ / ’Cancel’ to stop the update. Please Note: If the staffing budget to be updated is one of multiple contracts for the selected employee, or the newly selected Staff Code is one of multiple contracts, the Budget Planner Software will recalculate the existing contracts as part of this process to ensure that National Insurance is not over-budgeted. The “Alter Staff Code” screen will close once the update has taken place.



Updating the Budget Plan Any Staffing Forecast that is created within the Budget Planner Software can be used to update the Live or Trial Budget Plan. Place a marker in the field of the budget you wish to update. If this screen has been accessed from the trial budget the ‘Trial’ field will be automatically selected, if the forecast has been accessed from any other screen the ‘Live’ field will be selected.

Click ‘Update Budget Plan’.


If ‘Yes’ is clicked this process will overwrite the budgets shown against the following subjective codes with the total salary costs for the ‘Type’ of staff members:

04800 E01 All Teaching Forecasts 13600 E05 ADCL Administrative & Clerical Staff 11950 E04 CARE Caretakers 12000 E04 CLEAN Cleaners 09670 E03 CLUST Cluster Support Staff 10150 E07 COOS Midday Supervisor Assistants 09650 E03 EDSS Education Support Staff 09700 E31 EXST Community Staff Costs 09650 E03 EXT Extended Schools Staff 15450 E06 KCHN Cooks / Kitchen Staff 10100 E07 SMSA Senior Midday Supervisors

If any staffing forecasts have been assigned to a department code an additional line, including the department code, will also added to the detailed budget against the relevant subjective code.

Click ‘OK’.



Apprenticeship Levy: If the Apprenticeship Levy flag has been activated in your Budget Planner (see Section 1 / Appendix A) the necessary charge relating to the Staffing Budget being updated to the Detailed Budget will be applied to the relevant subjective code:

Please Note: As this amount only relates to the employee salary figures calculated by the software the amount is an indicative budget only. The Apprenticeship Levy will also be applicable to any overtime payments made to your establishments’ employees (which are not budgeted on an individual basis within the software). Therefore, the actual charge is likely to be higher than the figure calculated. A manual adjustment to the figure shown in the Detailed Budget screen can be made if required.



Staffing Summary Reporting Staffing Summary – Export to Excel The currently viewed Staffing Forecast can be exported into Microsoft Excel if required by clicking either the ‘Export Selected Year’ or ‘Export All Years’ buttons:

Highlight the folder to export the forecast into, and then click ‘OK’. Once the export is complete click ‘OK’, and the exported spreadsheet will open on screen.

Within the exported forecast Teaching Staff and Support Staff are shown on separate tabs.

Selected Year Only:

All Years:

Note: Each year that the employee is budgeted to be employed are grouped together.

Export Selected Year Export All Years



Monthly Breakdown: A monthly breakdown (profile) of the staffing budgets entered can be viewed by selecting the required report (see below) and clicking either ‘Current Year’ or ‘All Years’. If ‘Current Year’ is selected only the financial year currently being viewed on screen will be shown in the report. If ‘All Years’ is selected the report will contain all three financial years. Detailed: The “Detailed” breakdown provides a summary of the monthly salary costs for each staffing budget within the currently viewed forecast, along with details regarding Contract Type and Hours / FTE. Each Financial Year is grouped together, therefore, if ‘All Years’ is selected you will need to scroll through the report to view the forecast years. Summary: The “Summary” breakdown provides a summary of the monthly salary costs for each staffing budget within the currently viewed forecast, grouped by Staff Code.



By Type: The “By Type” breakdown provides a summary of the monthly salary costs according to the Contract Type that they are assigned to, along with the Cumulative amount and Profile Percentage of each type shown.

Please Note: Only those staffing categories that have been used in the selected forecast will be shown, and all Support Staff contracts will be grouped together according to the Type (ADCL, EDSS etc.) regardless of the Scale selected within that Type. Select ‘Close’ within the “Budget Planner” toolbar to exit the reports. Export to Excel: Each of the above breakdowns can be exported into Microsoft Excel, if required, by selecting ‘Export to Excel’ in the “Budget Planner” toolbar.

Highlight a folder to save the exported report into, and then click ‘OK’. The selected output will open on screen once the export process is complete.



Staffing Budgets Reporting Monthly Profile: To view a monthly breakdown of the salary costs calculated for any contract click the ‘Monthly Profile’ button of the required contract.

This profile will default to open with the currently viewed financial years’ profile shown. Select a different ‘Year’ from the drop down list as required. Detailed Monthly Profile: The monthly profile above only shows the selected contract for the selected employee. If the employee has multiple contracts they can all be viewed simultaneously by clicking the ‘Detailed Monthly Profile’ button against any of the required employees’ contracts.

This report can be exported to Microsoft Excel by selecting ‘Export to Excel’ within the “Budget Planner” toolbar.

Staffing Summary: A printable version of the currently viewed staffing forecast can be shown on screen by clicking the ‘Print Preview’ button.

This report provides a one line summary for each staffing budget entered into the current forecast. The report lists Teaching Staff and Support Staff on separate pages according to the financial year to which it relates.



A summary of the ‘Profile by Type’ is also included in the footer of each staff type (Teaching and Support Staff). Please Note: Within the Teaching Staff section any “Teaching and Learning” or “SEN” payments shown are the actual cash values applicable to that term, dependant on the FTE etc. of the staff member, not the full year cost as entered into the staffing budget.

To print this report select ‘Print’ within the “Budget Planner” toolbar. To exit the report click ‘Close’ within the “Budget Planner” toolbar.

Schools Efficiency Report The Schools Efficiency Report has been developed to be used in conjunction with the “Schools Financial Efficiency Top 10 Planning Checks for Governors” document released by the Education Funding Agency in January 2016.

To view this report click the ‘Efficiency Planning Checks’ button.

Please Note: This report will open using the currently viewed Staffing Forecast as its basis. If the currently viewed Staffing Forecast is not the forecast that has been used to update the detailed budget the data shown will be as if this forecast has been used i.e. the budget position will be recalculated to exclude the ‘live’ staffing forecast and include the currently viewed forecast. The ‘Balances Summary’ information at the top of the report, plus the following graphs, can be used to assist with Point 7 of the Planning Checks document: 3-5 Year Budget Projections.



Important Note: The above sections show details for each of the financial years within the current budget plan. The following sections relating to Staff Pay only relate to the first financial year of the current budget plan. The ‘Staff Pay’ summary can be used to assist with Point 1 of the Planning Checks document: Staff Pay as a Percentage of Total Expenditure.

The percentages shown against the Total Expenditure and Total Income lines compares the Total Salaries

figure with those items. The ‘Average Teacher Cost / Pupil: Teacher Ratio’ summary can be used to assist with Point 2: Average Teacher Cost, Point 3: Pupil to Teacher Ratio (PTR) and Point 8: Spend Per Pupil on Non-Payroll Expenditure. Please Note: The Average Teacher Cost and PTR figures are calculated excluding any staff members assigned to the LPR Pay Range (Leadership).

Balance Carried Forward Income vs Expenditure

2 8 3



The summary of teaching staff costs can also be used to assist with Point of the Planning Checks document by providing details about the staffing grade profile: The ‘Leadership Team’ summary can be used to assist with Point 6 of the Planning Checks document: Proportion of Budgets Spent on the Leadership Team. The ‘Support Staff Summary’ provides a similar breakdown to the summary of teaching staff costs:



Example Contract Changes Example 1: Barry Buffalo has reached the top of his Pay Scale (EDSS – Scale D). From the 1st July of the next financial year it has been agreed that he will progress to EDSS – Scale E. Step 1 - View the existing Staffing Budget assigned to Barry Buffalo.

Enter an ‘End Date’ of the day before the change is to be applied from, and then click ‘Update’. The detailed section will then update to remove the third financial year:

Step 2 – Add a New Contract by clicking the ‘Add New Contract’ button.

Select the existing Staff Code from the drop down list and

then complete the screen as required. Ensure the correct ‘Contract Type’ and ‘Start Date’ are entered, and then click ‘Create’. Two contracts will then be listed against the selected Staff Code. The new contract will automatically be selected when it is created:



Step 3 – Complete the Contract and Save Once the new contract has been added ensure that the record is completed by entering any other relevant details (as detailed above):

Once the contract is complete ensure that the ‘Save’ button is clicked to add the amendments to the Staffing Forecast.

Note: This change takes place during the second financial year, therefore, you will need to select the relevant ‘Year’ from the drop down list to see both contracts in the Staffing Summary. Example 2: Annie Antelope is to be given a TLR 3 at an annualised rate of £800 from 01st September to 31st January of the first financial year. Step 1 – View the existing Staffing Budget assigned to Annie Antelope, and click the ‘Add New Contract’ button.

Select the existing Staff Code from the drop down

list and then complete the screen as required.

The ‘Contract Type’ chosen should be same as the contract that is being added to. Ensure that the ‘Start Date’ and ‘End Date’ are entered as this addition is for a fixed period. Click ‘Create’.



Step 2 – Complete the Contract and Save Two contracts will then be listed against the selected Staff Code. The new contract will automatically be selected when it is created: Enter the details relating to this contract amendment:

The annualised value of the TLR 3 should be entered into each of the terms that the fixed period spans, in this case the Autumn (Aut) and Spring (Spr) terms. The employees FTE should also be entered into these terms. Important Note: As the TLR 3 is an addition to an existing contract the Spinal Points should be entered as 0. If a Spinal Point is entered the amendment will also calculate the Net Salary again for the period of the TLR 3 (i.e. the salary will be doubled).

Once the contract is complete ensure that the ‘Save’ button is clicked to add the amendments to the Staffing Forecast.

The ‘Monthly Profile’ for Annie’s contract will show September to January at a higher figure than February and March due to the TLR 3 being applied: The ‘Detailed Monthly Breakdown’ report will show each contract line separately:

Note: The TLR 3 additional contract will also have Pension and National Insurance contributions added to it (if applicable).


Section 05 – Pupil Forecasts Page 1 of 8

Click ‘Pupil Forecasts’ from the Main Menu.

This sheet should be used to calculate a cash adjustment to line I01 (Funds Delegated by the LA) for the two future financial years shown, based on pupil numbers. Other elements of the funding formula are not taken into account e.g. standards fund grant, social deprivation, protected pupil numbers etc. Sixth form funding is also not included. The current year (first column) is included for reference only as this year will be based on known pupil numbers as at the October census of the previous financial year. These figures will be pre-populated in the “NOR LA” column (which cannot be amended). Please Note: The Year 12 and 13 fields will not calculate any funding. They are purely for information purposes to feed through to the ‘Funded Pupil Numbers’ shown at the top of the Summary Budget.



Pupil Funding Adjustment: To calculate any adjustments required to pupil funding enter the expected pupil numbers for each year group at the school into the ‘NOR School’ column (grey boxes). The numbers entered should reflect any expected increases or decreases for each year group. Please Note: When entering the pupil numbers each year group should move up a year within the forecast years, i.e. Year 1 becomes Year 2 in the first forecast year and Year 3 in the second forecast year. When amending the ‘NOR School’ figures no changes will be reflected in the “Adjusted I01” figure until either the ‘Re-Calculate’ button is clicked, or “Ctrl & Q” are clicked on the keyboard. The recalculation procedure will automatically be carried when any of the buttons on screen are clicked. Pupil Funding (I01) Adjustment: The total adjustment shown for I01 takes the difference between the current years ‘Total’ school funding and the previous years ‘Total’. This figure will include any adjustment required for Nursery Funding (Yr0) – see below.

Please Note: Any differences calculated for Forecast Year 1 will be compared with the figures downloaded within the budget share. The differences for Forecast Year 2 will be compared with the figures entered for Forecast Year 1.

Per-Pupil Entitlement = formerly called Age Weighted Pupil Allowance for the year group shown. NOR School = Expected pupil numbers Funding School = Per-Pupil Entitlement x NOR School.



Nursery Funding (Yr0):

The total hours shown within the Yr0 ‘NOR School’ field is calculated as the sum of:

Summer Hrs per Week x Weeks per term Autumn Hrs per Week x Weeks per term Spring Hrs per Week x Weeks per term

The ‘Nursery Funding Adj’ figure is calculated as the difference between the ‘Funding School’ figures for the current year compared with the previous years. The ‘Additional IDACI Adj’ is for reference only and cannot be amended. Within the current financial year this amount added to the Yr0 Funding LA figure should equal the Nursery Class Funding shown within Line 1.1 of the budget share.

Enter any increases or decreases in the total number of hours provided per week in the ‘NOR School’ column (grey boxes).



DeDelegation Adjustment: As per the “Budget Share for Financial Year 20XX/XX” there are amounts that are included within the budget share that have been de-delegated back to the Local Authority. For further details on these de-delegated categories please refer to the Budget Share Guidance. DeDelegated costs are calculated on a per pupil basis; therefore, any adjustments made to pupil numbers will affect the total amount de-delegated. Within the main pupil forecaster screen the total adjusted amount will be shown for information purposes only. To view a full breakdown of the de-delegation adjustments required click the ‘De-Delegation Memo’ button.

When the budget plan is updated these amounts will also be transposed to the detailed budget plan on the subjective codes shown (74200, 74210, 74220 and 74230), however, the amounts will be reversed, i.e. if they are shown as negative (bracketed in red) the amount will be entered on the budget plan as a positive and vice versa. Please Note: The Free School Meal Eligibility rate is the figure contained within the downloaded budget share, and is not updated by changes in pupil numbers.



Other Adjustments: If any adjustments are required to ensure the I01 Budget Share figure is as accurate as possible due to increases or reductions in the budget share (for example, additional NQT funding) the adjustments fields provided at the bottom of each year should be used.

Please Note: Reductions to the budget share must be entered as a negative amount. Additional funding should be entered as a positive amount.

If more than three adjustments are required the cumulative total of the adjustments required should be entered. Please Note: Any adjustments entered within this section will be deducted from the starting point of the next financial years’ ‘Adjusted I01’ figure. Adjusted I01: The ‘Adjusted I01’ figure is calculated as follows:

Budget Share + Pupil Funding Adjustment + Minimum Funding Adjustment + Other Adjustments

The Pupil Funding Adjustment shown will include any nursery funding adjustments required. The De-Delegation adjustment shown is for information purposes only as the de-delegated rates are included within the Per-Pupil Entitlements shown, and these are offset against the income within the expenditure codes shown on the De-Delegation Memo.



Federations Only If the Budget Planner relates to a federation of schools a pupil forecast must be completed for each of the schools within the federation. Federation Budget Planners will see a drop down list of the Location Codes of the federated schools: Select each Location Code in turn and complete the pupil forecaster as per the above instructions.

Once the pupil numbers have been updated, place a tick in ‘Confirm Changes’ field by clicking it. For information purpose the date and time that this was last

clicked for each forecast will be shown in the bottom right hand corner of the printed pupil forecaster:

Click to print the forecaster (this will also print the De-Delegation Memo).

Click to exit.

Click to recalculate.

Click to view the De-Delegation Memo.

Click to view the Detailed Budget.

Click to update the Budget Plan. (See below).

Click to view the Detailed Budget.



Updating the Budget Plan Once you are satisfied that the pupil forecaster has been completed as accurately as possible for the two forecast years, and any adjustments required for the current year have been entered, the figures calculated should be uploaded to the detailed budget plan. To do this, click ‘Update Budget Plan’. This process will overwrite the existing budget figures shown against subjective code 98940 with the figures calculated via this forecast, and subjective codes 74200, 74210, 74220 and 74230 with the figures calculated in the ‘De-Delegation Memo’. I01: The two figures shown within the detailed budget will be the starting budget share for the required year and the sum of the adjustments required. In the above example the starting budget share for the second forecast year is £432,832 and the adjusted budget share is £430,948, which represents a difference of -£1,925 (shown as a positive here because the subjective code is an income subjective). The ‘Notes’ field will automatically be updated with the date and time that the detailed budget was updated. De-Delegation:

The amounts updated within the detailed budget plan for de-delegated amounts will be the new totals only (so only 1 line will appear for each subjective code).

Click ‘OK’.



Please Note: If the Budget Planner relates to a federation an additional line will be added to the detailed relating to each Location Code within the federation. The Notes field will state the Location Code that the adjustment relates to, for example:


Section 06 - School Improvement and Development Plan Page 1 of 2

All budget plans should be produced in accordance with the priorities stated within the School Improvement and Development Plan (SIDP) as the driving force behind capital expenditure. Within the Budget Planner a summary of those priorities can be stated for reference purposes. To access this summary, from the Main Menu, click ‘School Development Plan’.

Year: Select the financial year the development issue relates to from the drop down list. Priority: Enter the priority given to the issue. Issue: Enter a brief description of the issue to be addressed. Solution: Enter a brief description of the solution to the issue (if known). Costs: Enter the estimated costs relating to the issue. Timescale: Enter an estimate of the timescales involved.


Section 06 - School Improvement and Development Plan Page 2 of 2

Delete an Issue: To delete an issue from the SIDP click the delete button next to the issue to be removed.

Click ‘Yes’ to delete the record, or ‘No’ to cancel.


Section 07 - Year End Balances Page 1 of 2

The Analysis of Balances form within the Budget Planner must be used to detail how any planned year-end surpluses are to be used. From the Main Menu, click ‘Year End Balances’. Cfwd Balance from Budget Plan These details will be pulled through from the details entered within the detailed budget plan. For reference this screen will state whether the balance is a surplus or deficit. 8% of Budget Share (excl. I05) The figure shown here is the maximum amount that can be entered within the general contingency category – either 8% of the budget share excluding Pupil Premium (I05), or £20,000. Allocation of Balances Enter the amount you wish to allocate to each category shown within each of the years shown. The amount should be entered as a positive figure.


Section 07 - Year End Balances Page 2 of 2

General Contingency The amount that can be held for general contingency is specified as 8% of budget share (excl. I05) or £20,000 (whichever is greater). The budget planner will ensure that the value entered does not exceed the maximum allowable. If you attempt to enter a value that is above the maximum allowable an error message will appear: The amount entered will then be changed to the maximum allowable.

Click ‘OK’.


Section 08 – Finalising the Budget Page 1 of 14

Capital - Actuals Prior to finalising the current budget revision the current position of Capital Income and Expenditure should be entered. This summary will then form part of the printed Summary Budget. From the Main Menu click the ‘Capital – Actuals’ button. Within the ‘Actuals’ field enter the ‘To Date’ figures from the Star Accounts Capital BCR. Please Note: The “Capital – Actuals to Date” screen comes pre-installed with all valid Capital Codes available. If a new code needs to be created simply enter the required code in the blank line at the bottom of the screen. Capital Codes can be also be deleted form this screen if they are not used by your establishment by clicking the ‘Delete’ button against the required code.


Click ‘Exit’ to save the currently entered details without confirming the details.

Click ‘Confirm & Exit’ once you are satisfied that all required details have been entered. When this has been

selected the date and time that the confirmation took place will be shown on the Summary BCR:



Emailing the Budget Plan The current budget revision should not be finalised until your Finance Support Officer has checked and agreed the figures held within it. The budget plan can be emailed to Finance Support for this process to take place by clicking ‘Email Budget Plan’ from the “Help” Menu of the Budget Planner toolbar. The email function within the Budget Planner has been created to work with the desktop version of Microsoft Outlook only.

If this is your default email provider click ‘Yes’, if you do not use the desktop version of Microsoft Outlook click ‘No’.

If you click ‘No’ the following message will appear. Click ‘OK’ to this message. The location of the backup file to be sent will then open. The file stated in the message should then be manually attached to an email and sent to [email protected] (or any other email address required). If you clicked ‘Yes’ to the Send Email massage above the system will attach the backup file to an email, which will be shown on screen.

Enter any details and make any amendments required to the email address, then click ‘Send’.



Export Budget to Star Accounts Please Note: This process is only required if the currently viewed Budget Planner has a corresponding Star Accounts Datafile. When the budget acceptance email has been received from your establishments Finance Support Officer the live budget revision should be transferred to Star Accounts. This process will export two sets of budget figures into Star Accounts – the Detailed Subjective Budget for the Budget Control Report (BCR) and Individual Staff budgets for the ‘Staff Monitoring Report’. Click ‘Export to Star Accounts’ from the Main Menu.

If the live budget revision does not contain any budget figures the process will cancelled. Click ‘OK’.

If the live revision column does contain a budget the connection to Star Accounts will then be tested. If the Server or Datafile specified in the “Establishment Details” screen (see Section 01) cannot be accessed the following message will appear: If the Budget Planner Software is currently loaded on a computer that should have access to Star Accounts click ‘No’. The “Establishment Details” screen will then open for the Server and Datafile to be re-selected (see Section 01):



To produce the manual budget file to be imported into Star Accounts click ‘Yes’. At this point the Budget Planner Software will create a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet containing the current budget revision details.

Once the file has been created click ‘OK’. The specified file should then be forwarded to a Star Accounts user to be imported into Star Accounts.

After clicking ‘OK’ the folder containing this file will open. Click ‘Cancel’ to stop the Export process. If the computer that the Budget Planner Software is currently loaded onto has access to Star Accounts the financial year of the linked ‘Datafile’ must match the financial year that the Budget Planner relates to. When exporting budgets the system will ensure that this is the case – if it is not the following message will appear:

Click ‘OK’. The ‘Datafile’ shown within the “Establishment Details” screen should then be re-selected (see Section 01).

If there are no issues with the Star Accounts connection or financial year the following message will appear:

Click ‘Yes’ to export the budgets, or ‘No’ to cancel.

Note: the message regarding the staffing budgets will only appear if no current staffing forecast has been used to update the detailed budget (see Section 04).



When the export is carried out the Budget Planner will check to ensure that all staffing budgets within the software have a corresponding entry within Star Accounts. The following message will appear if this is not the case:

Click ‘OK’. A report detailing the invalid codes will then be printed and the export process will continue.

The above message / report will appear for one of the following reasons; 1. A dummy Staff Code has been created to list a vacancy; 2. An invalid staff code has been used, i.e. a code has been created in

the Budget Planner Software incorrectly; 3. The staffing list within Star Accounts is not up-to-date and a valid Staff

Code needs to be created. Any unmatched staff codes will affect the Staff Monitoring within Star Accounts.

Click ‘OK’.

What Happens During the Export Process? When a budget is exported to Star Accounts the following processes take place:

• A virement between the currently held budget in Star Accounts and the budget held in the Budget Planner Software will be added per subjective code, e.g. if £10,000 is held in Star Accounts and £8,000 is held in the latest budget a -£2,000 adjustment will be added to Star Accounts.

• Matched staffing budgets will be updated to the latest figures held in the Budget Planner, all unmatched staffing budgets will be reset to £0.

• Staff FTEs held within Star Accounts will be updated to match the Budget Planner to assist with monitoring. The Summer FTE will be used when the Original budget is exported, the Autumn FTE will be used when the Revision 1 budget is exported or the Spring FTE for all revisions past Revision 2.

• If Budget Profiling is activated within Star Accounts the profile for the Staffing Subjective Codes and Apprenticeship Levy Subjective will be update to match the Budget Planner.



Finalising the Budget There are several steps that should be undertaken before a budget is finalised:

• Staff forecasts for each year should be completed

• The Pupil Forecaster should be completed and future year funding updated (if applicable)

• A budget should be entered for all required subjective codes

• The “School Improvement and Development Plan” summary should be completed

• The “Year End Balances” form should be completed

• Actual Capital figures should be entered (see above)

• The live budget should be copied to the forecast years (if it has not been manually entered into those years)

• The budget should be exported to Star Accounts (see above) Once the budget has been exported to Star Accounts, and the other steps listed above have been completed click the ‘Finalise Current Budget’ button on the Main Menu.

The current budget revision cannot be finalised until the actual Capital figures have been confirmed.

If your establishment has no Capital or Expenditure to enter for the current financial year the “Capital - Actuals to Date” must still be confirmed (see above).


Please Note: A Budget Revision should only be finalised after it has been agreed by both the Governing Board and Schools Finance. Once a budget has been finalised it cannot be amended.



Click ‘Yes’ to continue if the required documentation has already been printed, ‘No’ to print the documentation at this point, or ‘Cancel’ to stop the budget finalisation process.

The documents that are required to be printed when finalising a budget are:

1. Summary Budget (including the Capital Actuals details) 2. Detailed Budget with Notes 3. The Staffing Forecast used to update the budget plan (if applicable) 4. Schools Financial Efficiency Charts (if a Staffing Forecast has been

updated to the Detailed Budget) 5. Pupil Forecaster and De-Delegation Memo 6. Year End Balances Form 7. School Improvement and Development Plan

Please Note: This set of reports can be printed at any point by clicking ‘Print all Documentation’ on the Main Menu. At this point the budget planner will create an electronic file to be sent to Schools Finance for monitoring purposes. This file will be called your Location Code – Current Budget Revision “-Final-“ – Financial Year – “.txt”, for example: 0000-Original-Final-20XX-XX.txt Once this file has been created the following message will appear. Once ‘OK’ has been clicked the system will attempt to send this file attached to an email, and place a copy into the ‘Outputs Path’ stated within the “Establishment Details” screen to be sent via AnyComms Plus.



Via Email If the system appears to freeze it may be that an email prompt is hidden behind the Budget Planner Software Main Menu. If you do not see the prompt (as below) on screen please click on the Microsoft Outlook tab within the start bar to view it:

If you click ‘No’ or ‘Deny’ to either of these messages the process will continue unaffected.

Click ‘OK’.

Via AnyComms Plus As part of the Budget Finalising process the electronic file created as above will also be copied to the location stated within the ‘Outputs Path’ of the “Establishment Details” screen (see Section 01). This file should be uploaded to the “Finance”, or “Finance – Star”, department within AnyComms Plus as soon as possible after the budget has been successfully finalised.

Click ‘Allow’.



Budget Revisions Once a budget revision has been finalised it will be shown to the left of the current “live” budget revision within the ‘Detailed Budget’ screen: The finalised budget cannot be amended. Only the column highlighted in bold (plus the two future forecast years) can be amended. Any updates to the detailed budget from another screen (Staffing Forecast or Pupil Forecaster) will update the “live” revision column.



Performing the Year End Staff Forecast Housekeeping: Prior to completing the Year End process within the Budget Planner Software it is recommended that any staffing forecasts created within the software that are not required to be archived are deleted i.e. those “What If …” scenarios that have not been used to update the Detailed budget. To delete an entire Staffing Forecast select the required forecast from the drop down list and then click ‘Delete this Forecast’.

Please Note: The greater the number of scenarios held when performing the year end the longer the year end will take to complete. The Year End Process When ready, click the “Run Year End” button from the Main Menu to start the process. Click ‘No’ to cancel, or ‘Yes’ to continue the following steps. Step 1: The files required to complete the year end are downloaded from the Schools Finance website. These files are: AWPAs Staffing Options (Pension Rates etc.) Budget Share Salary Costs If any of these files cannot be downloaded, or are corrupt the year end will be cancelled:




Please Note: The Salary Costs downloaded will be the file that relates to the teaching cost variables imported by the user (i.e. 2% across all MPR, or 2% on Point 1 only etc.). Step 2: The current details held within the following areas will be archived: Budget Commentary

Budget Forecast Pupil Forecaster School Development Plan Staffing Forecast

These will be static figures that cannot be amended (see ‘View Archives’ below). Step 3: The 2017-18 data will be replaced by the 2018-19 data held in the software: Pupil Forecaster:

1. Year 1 Pupil Numbers will be updated to those held within the Budget Share;

2. Year 1 Nursery Hours will be updated to those held in Year 2 of the archived forecast;

3. Year 2 Nursery Hours and Pupil Numbers will be updated to those held in Year 3 of the archived forecast i.e. Years 2 and 3 in the new forecast should contain the same details;

4. All adjustments and notes will be deleted from the new forecast. Budget Forecast:

1. The Year 2 Budget figures of the archived year will be copied into the “Original” budget column;

2. The Year 3 Budget figures of the archive year will be copied into Year 2 of the current budget. This will leave Years 2 and 3 in the new financial year as identical figures;

3. The Carry Forward figure from the latest budget revision will be transposed to the “Bfwd” figure in the ‘Establishment Details’ screen (the “Actual” figure will be set to 0).



This message will then appear: Click ‘OK’ and the staffing forecast recalculation will begin Step 4: The following message will appear on screen and the Staffing Recalculation will begin. Please Note: If you click anywhere on screen whilst this message is on screen, or got to another application and then return to the Budget Planner you may see “(Not Responding)” in the message or the toolbar: This does not mean the system has crashed, it just indicates that a complex function is running in the background. The larger the number of staff and larger the number of forecasts held in the software the longer this process will take. The above message will close once the Staffing Recalculation has finished. The recalculation will update the following:

1. 2017-18 will be deleted and 2020-21 will be created. 2020-21 will only be created if there is no end date in the staff record. Contracts ending before this date will just be updated to the new salary costs.



2. If an employees’ auto increment flag is ticked the third year will auto-increment the employee to the maximum allowable for their post type. If the auto increment flag is not ticked Year 3 will be set to the Spinal Point of Sept / July of 2019-20.

3. All records will be updated to use the newly downloaded salary costs, and the National Insurance will be recalculated based on the new Earnings threshold.

If there are any issues with the recalculation an error message will appear and the process will be halted. All of the previous year end processes will have been completed: only the staffing recalculation is halted.

Once the staffing recalculation is completed click ‘OK’.

The Year End process is then complete. Step 5: Import the 2018-19 Subjective Code List and Budget Share data. Please refer to Section 10 for further guidance. After importing the 2018-19 Budget Share data the new funding must be imported into the Detailed Budget screen (see Section 02, Page 2). Step 6: Ensure the Staffing Forecast and Pupil Forecaster are checked for accuracy, and any updates entered as required. These should then be updated to the Detailed Budget (see Sections 04 and 05).



Viewing Archive Years To view the budget details of any previous financial years click the “View Archives” button on the Main Menu.

Select the required Financial Year from the drop down list and then select the required element to view:

The details held within each of these screens is not updatable. It is provided on a read-only basis. Budget Forecast: Within the “View / Print Budget” report each budget revision that exists within the selected financial year can be viewed by selecting the required Budget Revision from the drop down list: When opened the report will default to the latest budget found for the selected financial year. Budget Commentary: The “Budget Commentary” can also be viewed for a selected budget revision by choosing the required revision from the drop down list.


Section 09 – Reporting Page 1 of 5

Budget Plans Detailed and Summary Budget Plans can be printed from within their respective screens when navigating through the Budget Planner Software. They can also be printed / viewed at any time by clicking ‘View / Print Budget’ from the Main Menu. The default report to open will be the Summary Budget Plan. Select the required Budget Plan you wish to view from the options shown.

To view the selected budget plan for a specific department code select the required code from the ‘Dept’ drop down list. Please Note: The department codes shown in this list are only those have had a budget assigned to them. Export to Excel After clicking the export to Excel button (as above) users will be required to select the location to save the output to:

Highlight the folder required, and then click ‘OK’.

Click to Export a Budget Comparison. Click to ‘Exit’

Click to ‘Print’

Click to Export to Excel.



The Excel output will open once the export is completed. Budget Comparison After clicking the Export Budget Comparison button (as above) users will be required to select the location to save the output to:

The Excel spreadsheet that opens on screen will provide a comparison between the current budget and previous budget. From Revision 1 an additional column for ‘Difference to Original’ will also be shown, showing the variance between the current revision and the Original budget figures set within the Budget Planner.

This report can only be exported from Revision 1.




Budget Commentary The budget commentary is a useful report for noting specific requirements / notes for each CFR Category. From the Main Menu click ‘Budget Commentary’. The screen will default to open showing the budget commentary for the current live revision. If you wish to view previously entered budget commentary select the required budget revision from the drop down list. The budget commentary is split into two halves – the right hand side shows any notes that have been entered in the detailed budget plan (along with the subjective code to which they relate), and the left hand side has been provided for users to type notes into that are not covered by those details from the budget plan. The ‘Notes from Budget Plan’ section can be updated to reflect the current notes contained within the detailed budget plan by clicking ‘Update Notes from Budget Plan’. Click ‘Yes’ to update the notes, or ‘No’ to cancel. Please Note: You can only update the notes within the current live budget revision.

Any additional notes required can be entered into the ‘Budget Commentary’ fields (left hand side of the screen).



The ‘Budget Commentary’ section can be updated to reflect the notes entered within the previous budget commentary by clicking ‘Copy Prior Manual Notes’. Please Note: This option will only be available from Revision 1. Click ‘Yes’ to replace the notes, or ‘No’ to cancel.

Click to print the budget commentary.

Click to export the budget commentary to Microsoft Excel.

The Excel output will open once the export is completed.




Visit Notes The visit notes report summarises staffing levels (FTE and hours), along with pupil numbers and balances to be carried forward. This report is primarily for use by Finance Support Officers to make notes regarding discussions held at budgeting visits. To view the report click the ‘Visit Notes’ button from the Main Menu.

Select the staffing forecast that you wish to include on the report from the drop down list.

Please Note: If the detailed budget plan has been updated from the staffing forecast this will automatically be selected. Click ‘View Report’ once a forecast has been chosen for each of the years and staff type shown.


Section 10 – Upgrades, Updates and Backups Page 1 of 7

Upgrade Budget Planner The Budget Planner Software must be kept up to date to ensure that the figures calculated are as accurate as possible. The software will ensure that the latest version is being used when the budget finalisation process is started. You must ensure that all other users are logged out of the Budget Planner Software before attempting to perform the upgrade. From the ‘Budget Planner’ toolbar select ‘Budget Plan’ from the ‘Upgrades’ dropdown.

Please Note: The Budget Planner cannot be upgraded if it has been renamed after it has been installed. The file name will be “EducatorSolutionsBPS.mdb” on installation. If an upgrade is found and the Budget Planner has been renamed the following message will appear: The file must then be renamed and the upgrade attempted again. If the file cannot be downloaded this message will appear. Click ‘OK’ and then call the Finance Systems Team for additional guidance.

You MUST wait for the “Upgrade Complete” message before continuing. Click ‘OK’ and the upgraded Budget Planner will then re-open.

Click ‘OK’.



Subjective Code Update Automatic Update Select ‘Subjective Codes’ from the ‘Upgrades’ drop down in the ‘Budget Planner’ toolbar. If the subjective code list cannot be downloaded the following error message will appear: Click ‘OK’ to this message, and then follow the instructions for a manual update below. If the update is successful the following message will appear:

Click ‘OK’.

If the subjective code update is unsuccessful, for any reason, one of the following messages will appear.

Click ‘OK’ and then contact the Finance Systems Team for further assistance.



Manual Update If the automatic subjective code update cannot be completed please contact the Finance Systems Team to request a copy of the subjective code list to be manually imported. Once this file has been received it must be saved into the Budget Planner folder. The location of the budget planner can be seen at the bottom of the Main Menu, and within the ‘About Budget Plan’ screen. Double click the location stated in either of these screens to open the Budget Planner folder. When the file has been saved to the correct location, click the ‘Manual Subjective Update’ button within the ‘Establishment Details’ screen. If the update is successful the following message will appear:

Click ‘OK’.

If the subjective code update is unsuccessful, for any reason, one of the following messages will appear.




Budget Share Update The budget share information held within the Budget Planner Software on release will be the latest figures available; however, these details are subject to change throughout the financial year. If the school is notified of changes to the budget share please take the following steps to update the budget share. Please Note: It has been agreed that any adjustments to budget shares after the 1st May will not be added to the budget share details that are downloadable. Any adjustments made after this date will need to be manually entered into the budget plan. Automatic Update Select ‘Budget Share’ from the ‘Upgrades’ drop down in the ‘Budget Planner’ toolbar. The system will then attempt to download the budget share figures held on the Schools Finance Website into the Budget Planner. If the budget share cannot be downloaded the following error message will appear. Click ‘OK’ to this message, and then follow the instructions for a manual update below. If the update is successful the following message will appear: If the budget share update is unsuccessful, for any reason, one of the following messages will appear.


Click ‘OK’.



Manual Update If the automatic budget share update cannot be completed please contact the Finance Systems Team to request a copy of the latest budget share to be manually imported. Once this file has been received it must be saved into the Budget Planner folder. The location of the budget planner can be seen at the bottom of the Main Menu, and within the ‘About Budget Plan’ screen. Double click the location stated in either of these screens to open the Budget Planner folder. When the file has been saved to the correct location, click the ‘Manual Subjective Update’ button within the ‘Establishment Details’ screen. If the update is successful the following message will appear: If the budget share update is unsuccessful, for any reason, one of the following messages will appear.


Click ‘OK’.



Backup Routine During day-to-day operation of the Budget Planner Software the software will make backups, for example, prior to running any updates or upgrades or when the software is closed. These backups will be saved to a “Backups” folder within the location that the software has been installed to. To minimise loss of date it is recommended that a backup of the Budget Planner Software is also kept either on a removable storage device (USB drive), or in a different drive. From the Main Menu, click the ‘Backup to Device’ button. Click ‘Yes’ to back up the Budget Planner Software only, click ‘No’ to make a copy of the entire Budget Planner folder, or ‘Cancel’ to stop the process. Budget Planner Software Only: This option can be utilised if users wish to create several scenarios within the Budget Planner Software before deciding which budget to use; each scenario can be created as a separate backup.

Enter a folder name for the backup to be copied to, then click ‘OK’. Click ‘Cancel’ to stop the process.

Click ‘OK’. The folder name specified above will be created in the Budget Plan folder with a copy of the budget plan at the point the backup was made:



Full Back Up: This option can be utilised to back up the entire Budget Planner folder to a storage device (i.e. USB drive). Click ‘Yes’ to continue, or ‘No’ to cancel the process.

Click ‘OK’.

This process will create a full copy of the Budget Plan folder to the specified location called “Budget Plan Backup” and the date the backup was made:

Select the location / storage device you wish to save the back up to, and then click ‘OK’.


Appendix A - Installation and Initial Set Up Page 1 of 7

Installing the Budget Planner Software The Budget Planner Software Installation is released via AnyComms Plus. If your establishment does not have access to AnyComms Plus please contact your Finance Support Officer, or the Schools Finance helpline, to request the file. Once this file has been downloaded from AnyComms Plus, or received from the Finance and Business Services Team, double click the ‘EducatorSolutionsBPS.exe’ file.

Click ‘Next’. If you wish to accept the default installation path stated click ‘Next’. If you wish to choose a different location click ‘Browse’ and then highlight the drive that you wish to install the Budget Planner Software to.

The Budget Planner Software can be installed to the same folder as prior year Budget Planners by highlighting the existing folder, however, the folder extension “Budget2018” should be manually removed from the above location before clicking ‘Next’.



Important Note: Unlike prior financial years the Cluster and School Budget Planner cannot be installed to the same folder (see Multiple Budget Planners details below).

To create a desktop shortcut to the newly installed Budget Planner Software (see below) place tick in the ‘Create a desktop icon’, and then click ‘Next’.

Click ‘Install’. Place a tick in the ‘Launch Budget Planner 2018’ field if you wish to open the Budget Planner Software immediately. Click ‘Finish’.



Multiple Budget Planners In previous financial years a separate Budget Planner has been released for Schools and Clusters. From 2017-18 one Budget Planner is being provided that can be configured for use by all types of establishments (see Initial Set Up details below). The ‘EducatorSolutionsBPS.exe’ can be run as many times as needed to install the software, however, as the Budget Planner Software will be called the same file name (EducatorSolutionsBPS) they cannot be installed into the same folder. If an “EducatorSolutionsBPS” file already exists within the path selected during the installation process the file will be skipped (i.e. a blank one will not be re-installed). Any further Budget Planners required must be installed into a different folder, or a subfolder within a previously created folder. Initial Set Up Open the Budget Planner Software once the installation is complete.

The first user to log in to the Budget Planner Software will be required to “School” as both the User Name and Password.

Enter a new Primary User Name, then click ‘OK’. Note: Generic User Names must not be used (Office, Admin etc.).

Enter a new password for the newly created Primary User, and then click ‘OK’. Passwords must be 8 – 10 characters and have at least 1 number included.

Please refer to Section 01 of the User Guide for further details regarding user access.



Location Code: If your establishments Location Code appears in the ‘Select Location Code’ drop down list it should be chosen in this list: Once selected the ‘School Name’ will default to the name shown in the drop down list. This can be overwritten if required. If your establishments Location Code does not appear in the drop down list a new Location Code can be created by entering the required 4-digit code in the ‘Create a New Code’ field:

Overwrite the ‘School Name’ entered with the correct establishment name. Please Note:

• Any new Location Codes created will not have access to the Pupil Forecaster, as there will be no Budget Share information available for the new establishment;

• Location Codes for the closed schools within a Federation cannot be entered;

• Location Codes entered within the range 3000-3099 will be classified as Clusters;

• Location Codes entered within the range 8000-8099 will be classified as Children’s Centres;

• Location Codes entered within the range 8100-8199 will be classified as DayCare Centres;

• All other Location Codes will be classified as a “Main” datafile.

• The Location Code 9999, which was previously available for non-existing Location Codes, is now locked as a Training Budget.

Click ‘Confirm’ once the correct details have been entered.

Please Note: Once the ‘Confirm’ button is clicked within each section the next section will open and the current section will be locked.



Star Accounts Server / Datafile If the Budget Planner Software currently being installed has a corresponding Star Accounts datafile, and the current computer has access to the Star Accounts server, select the required server from the drop down list.

Once the server has been selected, and the Budget Planner has made a successful connection to it, the ‘Datafile’ drop down will list all datafiles held on

that server. Select the ‘Datafile’ required. If the Location Code entered relates to Cluster, Children’s Centre or DayCare centre only those datafile types can be selected. If the computer being used to create the new Budget Planner does not have access to the Star Accounts server place a tick in the ‘Non-Star User’ field to skip this process (for example, if the installation is taking place on a stand-alone laptop). These details can be amended via the “Establishment Details” screen once the installation is complete if the software is then moved to a computer with Star Accounts access (see Section 01 of the User Guide). Click the ‘Import Details from Star Accounts’ button if a ‘Server’ and ‘Datafile’ has been selected. This will import the Staff Details and Department Code list from the selected datafile. If the Location Code chosen / created relates to a Cluster, Children’s Centre or DayCare Centre the additional ‘Default Department’ drop down list will appear. A Department Code must be selected if this list is visible. Please Note: If the Location Code chosen / created relates to Cluster, Children’s Centre or DayCare Centre and the ‘Non-Star User’ option has been selected the Location Code will be created as a default Department Code when the ‘Confirm’ button is clicked.




Balance Brought Forward

Enter the estimated Balance Carried Forward from the previous financial year. A surplus should be entered as a negative amount, and a deficit as a positive amount. Apprenticeship Levy Place a tick in the ‘Apprenticeship Levy’ field if the levy is applicable to the current establishment. Please refer to the DfE guidance if you are unsure if this applies. Please Note: If an existing Location Code has been selected in the first steps above this will be pre-set and cannot be amended. If this flag is incorrect it can be amended via the establishment details screen once the Initial Set Up has been completed. Output Path The Outputs Path is used for sending finalised budget information and any backups to County Hall via the AnyComms Plus secure file transfer system. To amend the outputs path click the field:

Browse in the location of either the AnyComms Plus Outbox, or a valid folder anywhere on your computer.




Complete Set Up When all of the above details have been entered and confirmed an additional ‘Confirm’ button will appear. Click this button to complete the set-up process. Click the ‘Reset’ button at any point if a mistake is made. This will clear all of the details entered and return you to the ‘Location Code’ section above. Main Menu: After the initial set-up is complete the Main Menu will open. The coloured band at the top of the Main Menu has been designed to match the colour of the Star Accounts datafile type to which it is assigned:

Cluster:

Children’s Centre:

DayCare Centre:

All Other Datafiles:

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