1. HCSS Budgeting for Schools How to Guide

2. HCSS Budgeting Introduction HCSS Budgeting for Schools is an easy-to-use web-based financial planning tool used by over 4,000 schools. Our market leading budget planning software for schools has been exclusively designed and developed by education finance specialists and enables schools to strategically plan their budget. HCSS Budgeting for Schools has many useful, time saving features and is always up to date with the latest education finance initiatives.

3. For users that are using the web based HCSS Budgeting software for the first time, you must go through the activation process; The website is accessed by the following URL: www.hcss-web.co.uk www.hcss-web.co.uk To activate your account click the ‘Activation’ drop down Enter the Activation Code and Pin (these will have been sent to you by your Local Authority or by your HCSS Education consultant). Activation Code example ̶ A verification email will be sent to the email address you provided initially. Follow the instructions in the email. Account Activation

4. Your Apps page As part of the enhancements the new ‘landing’ page for HCSS Budgeting will enable you to select between different applications that may have been purchased through HCSS. To select which application you want to load you can click on the ‘launch app’ button, as shown below. Adding new user accounts The Master User (the user that the Activation Codes were sent to), can add new users to the software whilst on the ‘Your Apps’ page, this can be done by using the following icon in the top right hand corner and selecting ‘User Accounts’. You can then select the following button to create a New User

5. When on the Manage Budget screen of the software you will be able to navigate between budget years by using the drop down box in the top right hand corner. The software will always default to the current budget year, once the new model has been released. To bring forward a scenario from your previous budget year you will need to click on the blue button labelled ‘UPGRADE SCENARIO’. As per the above, you will then be able to select ‘Upgrade Previous Year Scenario’. You will then be presented with a drop down box where you can select which scenario you want to upgrade. You can upgrade as many of these scenarios as you wish by selecting them in the list and then clicking submit. Uploading previous year scenarios

6. Once your scenario has been upgraded/created, you will be able to see that the menu lists a number of different headings. This is the Admin layer of HCSS Budgeting and a lot of the information within the different headings has been pre-populated with information provided by your local authority. The following slide gives details behind the functionality of each of these headings. Admin features

7. Admin features continued… Manage Budgets - Access any budget scenario you have created here Job Types - A prepopulated list of all job types Year Groups - Gives you the opportunity to add / remove specific year groups Funding Grouping/Headings – Pre- populated headings that mirror the Section 251 Profile Templates – A list of profiles which can be assigned to lines of income and expenditure Pay Adjustment Types – Maternity, sick pay and paternity calculations that can be assigned to individual members of staff Other Settings - Allows you to amend school settings, report settings and Action Planner settings Download Web Companion – The Web Companion is for users that have purchased links to their staffing and/or accounting software Budget Monitoring – This section allows you to import your actuals from a third party accounting software and complete budget/actual comparisons Action Planner - The Action Planner Module allows you to build in your School Development Plan Setup Coding / Setup Mapping - Enables you to set up Cost Centres & Ledger Codes

8. Settings - Job Types Within the Job Types settings you can amend / create / delete job types. There’ll be a number of prepopulated Job Types under each section. You can filter between sections by using the drop down next to ‘Select Section’. You can add a new job type by clicking on the blue plus button; this will open up a new line where you can enter Job Type Code, Description and by clicking the Accounting Coding button that information as well. You must click on the blue Save button to confirm the addition of a new Job Type. If you have completed the staff import sheet all of the job types on the imported Excel sheet will be automatically imported into here.

9. Settings - Year Groups The Year Groups section allows you to add or remove year groups from your school. All you need to do is add or remove the tick in the ‘Used’ column; once you are happy with the changes, click on the update button, this will ensure any changes are saved. Please note that this area has been set up by HCSS and should already be accurate in accordance with your academy.

10. Settings - Profile Templates This section of the software will already be populated with a host of different Profile Templates. These different profiles can be assigned to all Income and Expenditure you enter within your scenario. Within the reporting module you can run a number of reports which will reflect the Profiles you have selected.

11. When a scenario has been uploaded it will be shown in the Manage Budgets section of the menu. You can load / create / edit / copy / lock and delete scenarios within this section. Manage budgets 1.Manage Budgets – You can use the blue plus button to create a new blank scenario; a new line will open under scenario name where you can enter the details and then click on the blue save button on the right hand side 2.Upgrade Scenario – See Slide 5 for further details 3.Scenario Name – Click onto the scenario name to load the individual scenario; this will open a new option in the Menu Bar on the left hand side called ‘Scenario’ 4.The drop down button under the ‘Actions’ heading allows you edit, copy and lock scenarios. This functionality is the same as what it was previously 5.The tabs in the top right now list working, published and locked scenarios

12. Once you have uploaded your scenario and loaded it (see slide 4 for details on how to upload / load), you will be able to create and amend areas of your budget. Listed over the next few slides is a breakdown of the different areas. The scenario menu is accessed using the ‘Scenario’ heading in the menu on the left hand side. Create or amend a scenario The following slides will detail how to amend and add to the headings under the ‘Scenario’ menu.

13. View Budget Dashboard These graphs and charts can be printed off or exported to pdf or Excel using the ‘Export’ button in the top left of the screen. These charts would be ideal to show the board of governors a snapshot of your budget. View Budget Summary On the first page of the budget summary there is an overview of your income and expenditure. On page 2, you can see all details regarding your capital. You can also save, print and export (pdf / xml) this document if required using the toolbar shown below. Budget Summary

14. Within this section of HCSS Budgeting you can add / remove your brought forward balances; this can be done by using the blue plus button shown above. This will open up a blank line where you can select the correct code using the drop down list and also enter a description and the value using the relevant fields. If you want to edit a line in this section, you can use the ‘Actions’ button on the right hand side. In the Pupil Numbers section you can add / amend the numbers based on your documentation and forecasted numbers. If you do make any amendments to this area, be sure to press the update button to save your changes. You can also open up the ‘Age Weighted Pupil Units’ section to amend the values against each year group by double clicking on the value you want to amend. More often than not this area will be pre-populated with the school block, early years and SEND headings provided by your LA. You will be able to amend the cost centre and ledger codes by selecting ‘edit’ in the actions drop down to the right of the screen. You can also amend the factors making up the funding headings by clicking ‘Show Factors’ in the Actions menu. The numbers will be forecasted for the next 5 years and you can select a ‘Monthly Profile View’ by selecting the relevant tab in the top right. Budget Planning

15. Similar to the information regarding Section 251 on the previous slide, except you are given the ability to add and remove budget lines. You can add new budgets lines by using the blue plus icon at the top of the screen, this will open up a blank line where you can select CFR and then enter the relevant information. You can select the ‘Monthly Profile View’ tab and click on the Profile heading to change the profile. Inflation can also be amended by clicking on the ‘Details’ icon You can also double click into the individual areas you wish to change and overtype any existing values. Please ensure you click on the blue save icon to ensure any changes have been saved. Budget Planning Similar to the Non-Section 251 area of the site, you have the capabilities to enter new budget lines and also to amend the values of any existing entries. You can also see a breakdown of expenditure by clicking the little arrow next to each entry. Please ensure you click on the blue save icon to ensure any changes have been saved. Again, there are similarities with other areas of Budget Planning; you can add, amend, delete and expand details listed here.

16. Budget Planning - Staffing There are two elements to entering new staff; the first screen is the profiles. Within here you can add new staff and their contract details by clicking the blue plus icon, shown above. You can then add in the member of staff’s first name, surname, DOB, reference and any notes you’d like to include. There is also another section that allows you to enter the contract details, this is accessed via the ‘Add Contract’ section.

17. Budget Planning - Staffing On the Staff Profile page you can change the view of how you see individual members of staff by using the different tabs in the top right of the screen. An individual’s details can be amended by using the edit button under the ‘Actions’ heading. To load an individual’s contract you can click on the icon to the left hand side of an individuals name Once an individual’s contract is loaded, you can amend all of the fields using the edit button against each section. You can add Pay Adjustments, Copy Contracts and End Contracts by using the drop down icon on the specific Job Role tab, shown below.

18. Data Settings – Pay Related Factors This is basically an admin layer for the Staffing section. All of the details within here are entered by HCSS in accordance with the information provided by HMRC. The only changes that you may wish to make within here are within the ‘Support Staff Pension Rate’; you can do this by clicking into the cell you wish to change and then amending the figures, as shown below. Once you are happy with the changes made, remember to click on the blue save button. If you make any amendments to the pension rates, you will need to ensure you update the existing staff contracts. You can do this by clicking the arrow next to the amended line and clicking the drop down and selecting ‘Assign Pension Rate’. It’s important that you make sure that only pensionable contracts are updated.

19. Data Settings – Pay Scales (1) All information within this section was built into the system by HCSS. However you will still have the capability to add/amend/remove pay scales. You can navigate between existing pay scales by clicking on the tabs across the top of the page. When you select a pay scale, the information regarding the scale will open up below and list all of the Scale Groups or Scale points. You can change inflation by selecting the relevant tab at the top of the page and then selecting the Pay Scale Details button.

20. Data Settings – Pay Scales (2) By clicking on the tab of a scale, you can also see the monetary information behind each section. For example, if you click on the NJC Tab, it will show you a list of the scales, you can then click into an individual scale and see the cost of each point. These are all editable fields.

21. Data Settings – Pay Scales (3) By clicking on the ‘Options’ button (shown on the previous screen), you are able to set Update April 14 Pay Scales. If you enter a 1% increase in the available field, the correct figures will be shown; you can view this by clicking the ‘PREVIEW’ button. If you are happy with the changes made, then click on the “Save” icon in the bottom right to confirm.

22. Data Settings – Staff Factors & Inflation Factors As standard, there’ll be two FTE Types built into the software, one for Support staff and the other for Teachers. These will be based on the standard FTE’s. If you have any staff that don’t fit into either of the FTE’s, a new one can be added by clicking the blue ‘ADD NEW FTE TYPE’ button. Inflation Factors Within the Inflation Factors section, you can amend inflation for both Income and Expenditure. All lines of Income and Expenditure are available to edit.

23. If you are using the software for the first time and haven’t uploaded an existing scenario, the easiest way to import your staff data is by using the Import Staffing Data feature. To do this, click on the Download Template button. You will then be able to populate an Excel template with information regarding members of staff at your school. Once you have completed this, you are then able to use the upload section to search for your new document and upload it into the system. Please note that if there are any discrepancies within the document, they will be highlighted and the file will not upload. Data Settings – Import Staffing Data

24. This is a useful tool to use to compare staff contracts against one another. The functionality of the calculator is simple enough, you will just need to ensure that you enter data in all the relevant fields. Using the drop downs you are able to select what kind of staff contract you’d like to compare. Once you’ve completed both sets of contracts press the calculate button. Once calculated a new box will appear comparing the cost of entry 1 to entry 2. For example: Tools

25. You have two options with regards to the report you would like to run, you can select either option by clicking on the tabs on the right hand side of the screen: You will soon notice that there are lots of reports that you can run. All reports can be printed or exported to Excel. If a report opens directly in the tool, click on the menu button to see how you can tailor the report to suit your needs. Reports

26. If you have any questions or problems with this document, please contact your consultant or the HCSS Education helpdesk on 0844 249 0997. Many thanks, The HCSS Education team Feedback