IMP Software launches MAT-first unified finance platform
IMP Software has launched IMP Finance, a finance platform for multi-academy trusts (MATs), and begun rolling it out across its customer base in England.
More than 570 MATs and 6,500 schools use IMP Software products. IMP Finance joins other modules in the suite, including IMP Planner, IMP Purchasing and IMP ICFP.
Unified platform
IMP Finance sits within what the supplier calls its unified platform, which brings together budgeting, purchasing, workforce planning and finance. It uses a single chart of accounts and a single set of financial codes across modules, aiming to reduce coding differences between schools within the same trust.
The product takes a "budget-led" approach, with users posting against budget categories rather than nominal codes at the point of entry. IMP Software says this reduces coding errors and limits month-end corrections.
Will Jordan, Co-founder and CEO of IMP Software, said: "Most finance tools were not developed for MATs. Coding varies between schools and month-end becomes a correction exercise. IMP Finance, which we have shaped in collaboration with our customers, changes this which is incredibly exciting. We replace corporate complexity with a MAT-first model. Every posting, approval and report supports cleaner data and stronger control. It is one financial environment built for MAT accuracy. IMP Finance is the next step in budget-led finance built specifically for how trusts actually run."
Operational features
IMP Finance includes core functions typically expected in a finance system for education organisations, such as journals, credit notes, supplier payments, bank reconciliations, VAT returns, and payment runs.
It also records who made each posting and when, creating an audit trail across transactions and approvals. IMP Software describes this as full traceability across the financial cycle.
The system includes analysis fields for tracking spending by activity, such as projects, trips and staffing costs. IMP Software says these fields reduce reliance on manual spreadsheets and provide faster visibility across multiple schools.
IMP Software also claims to reduce administration effort, saying MAT finance teams get "100% of the functionality they need with only 20% of the administrative overhead of legacy systems". It attributes this to a focus on education finance workflows and the removal of features aimed at other sectors.
Sector context
MATs manage finances across multiple schools and often need consistent coding and reporting structures, alongside local control for school leaders and central oversight for trust finance teams. In practice, many trusts use a mix of systems or spreadsheet-based processes for consolidations and reporting.
IMP Software's messaging addresses these challenges, arguing that older systems were built for general commercial use and later adapted for education, leaving finance teams reliant on workarounds and on handling duplicate data.
The supplier also highlights the link between budgeting and transactional finance, arguing that bringing planning, purchasing, and staffing into a single platform keeps live budget limits and commitments visible at the point of spending. This design integrates workforce costs and purchase commitments into financial reporting in a single environment.
Support model
IMP Software says its support team includes staff with MAT finance experience and cites a response-time metric as part of its service offering.
Warren Porter, Head of Education Strategy at IMP Software, said: "For years, the sector has been asking for a finance system built specifically for multi-academy trusts, and it is finally here. Not a corporate system adapted for education. Not a platform requiring workarounds and spreadsheets to make it work. A finance system designed from the ground up for how MATs actually operate. Users benefit from access to our best in-class support team, with average responses less than one minute, provided by former MAT finance professionals who understand sector challenges."
The roll-out extends the company's product line for trusts that already use its budgeting and purchasing tools. IMP Software is positioning the new module as a core finance ledger and transaction platform for MAT operating models.