Official UK procurement notice
Financial Management Solution and School Fees Management Solution for Voluntary Grammar and Grant Maintained Integrated School
Authority: The Education Authority (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionA contract for the provision of a Financial Management Solution for Voluntary Grammar
and Grant Maintained Integrated Schools, and a School Fees Management Solution for
Voluntary Grammar Schools.
The contract will be for a five-year period with the possibility of extension for any further
period(s) up to a maximum of 5 years
- No preliminary market engagement: PME Notice Identifier is 2025/S 000-065027
CPV: IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support · Software programming and consultancy services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1AwardedRenewalPublished value£3,920,000
- Economic & financial standing
As per tender documents
- Technical & professional ability
Capability and Expertise
Suppliers must provide at least 2 reference sites of similar size, scope and scale where the proposed solution has been implemented within the last 5 years within the education sector.
Where the reference site examples provided do not include implementation of key functional areas of the proposed solution, specifically financial management, budget planning, asset and school fees management, the supplier must identify such differences, and include and demonstrate the roadmap, design, scope, function and integration of these proposed functional areas within the proposed financial management solution.
The examples must be similar in size, scope, functionality and complexity to EA’s requirements outlined below and in Schedule 2. FMS Specification of Requirements.
The examples must include and demonstrate the following:
- Customer/Contracting Body
- Number of Schools, School Types and Users
- Project Title and Description
- Description of School Financial Management Solution, design, and functionality,
- Description of School Fees Management Solution, design, and functionality,
- Description of implementation and integration arrangements
- Start and end date of project
- Structure of the Project Team - Role(s) and Responsibilities
- Outcomes of the Project
What it takes to wini
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add morei
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Published sub-criteria (4)
- AC1 2c Detailed Functional Requirements: 40%
- AC2 - 2d Delivery and Support of the Proposed Solution: 20%
- AC4 - Cost: 30%
- AC3 - Social Value: 10%
Published award criteria (4)
- AC1 2c Detailed Functional Requirements: Functional Requirements as per Attachment 2c: The supplier must be able to facilitate a phased implementation of the solution based on user type: Supplier’s must provide a detailed response of how they propose to deliver on each of EA’s functional requirements and demonstrate how they meet the Specification of Requirements. Tenders should be completely self-contained. Any hyperlinked or external material incorporated by reference (for example, websites) will not be evaluated. The Supplier should only include responses to a requirement in the allocated area. If the Supplier wishes to cross-reference another part of their tender in a particular attachment, they should do so. The response must address as a minimum in the following order of priority: • Financial and Management Accounting • Budget Planning • User Experience • School Fees Management • Asset Management • Desirable functional and non-functional requirements
- AC2 - 2d Delivery and Support of the Proposed Solution: Delivery and Support of the Proposed Solution as per Attachment 2d: Suppliers must submit a detailed delivery methodology on how they would propose to implement and support a School Financial Management Solution. Tenders should be completely self-contained. Any hyperlinked or external material incorporated by reference (for example, websites) will not be evaluated. The Supplier should only include responses to a requirement in the allocated area. If the Supplier wishes to cross-reference another part of their tender in a particular attachment, they should do so. The response must address as a minimum: • Deployment Approach • Delivery Methodology • Implementation and Transition plan • Migration Plan • Integration Plan • Organisation and Staffing • Testing • Training • Support • Continuity Planning • Service Performance • Exit Strategy
- AC3 - Social Value: In accordance with the Procurement Policy Note (PPN) 01/21 (Scoring Social Value Policy), the successful supplier will be required to deliver measurable social value outcomes. As outlined in Annex 3 Social Value Requirements, the supplier must provide social value to a minimum value of 100 social value points for every £1 million (and pro-rata) of the invoiced contract value, capped at an averaged invoiced value of £3 million per annum. For the purposes of evaluation, suppliers should submit their responses based on a minimum indicative value of 490 social value points. Suppliers are required to complete and submit with their tender response Attachment 3 - Social Value Delivery Plan identifying which Social Value Initiatives they will deliver to fulfil the minimum indicative 490 social value points and answer the following question: How will you deliver the Social Value Initiatives within your completed Social Value Delivery Plan as outlined in Annex 3 Social Value Delivery. The supplier’s methodology must address the following: a) Timescales for delivery of the social value requirements. b) The resources, both internal (and external if relevant), you will use to plan and deliver the social value requirements (this may include details of suppliers in your supply chain); c) The activities you will undertake to deliver the social value initiatives selected within your completed Social Value Delivery Plan, including how you will engage with stakeholders (e.g. the Authority, social value beneficiaries, organisations within the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector etc.) d) Confirmation that the planned activities are additional to activities your organisation already undertakes; and, e) How you will monitor and report on the delivery of the social value requirements and address any performance issues. f) Assurance that the Supplier will deliver the minimum mandatory requirements listed in the Social Value Points Matrix as part of the overall Social Value requirement set out in Annex 3 Social Delivery Requirements.
- AC4 - Cost: The total cost that will be evaluated is the total cost at Total Cost on the ‘FMS Total Pricing’ tab Cell B61
- Economic & financial standing
As per tender documents
- Technical & professional ability
Capability and Expertise
Suppliers must provide at least 2 reference sites of similar size, scope and scale where the proposed solution has been implemented within the last 5 years within the education sector.
Where the reference site examples provided do not include implementation of key functional areas of the proposed solution, specifically financial management, budget planning, asset and school fees management, the supplier must identify such differences, and include and demonstrate the roadmap, design, scope, function and integration of these proposed functional areas within the proposed financial management solution.
The examples must be similar in size, scope, functionality and complexity to EA’s requirements outlined below and in Schedule 2. FMS Specification of Requirements.
The examples must include and demonstrate the following:
- Customer/Contracting Body
- Number of Schools, School Types and Users
- Project Title and Description
- Description of School Financial Management Solution, design, and functionality,
- Description of School Fees Management Solution, design, and functionality,
- Description of implementation and integration arrangements
- Start and end date of project
- Structure of the Project Team - Role(s) and Responsibilities
- Outcomes of the Project
- Price carries 30 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 3 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Open procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 12 Feb 2026, 16:10 GMT
- Last source update
- 13 Aug 2026, 13:14 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 14 Apr 2026
- Authority reference
EDIS-25-002- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-013105- Latest notice
- Contract details notice (UK7)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06532aFind a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 18 Mar 2026, 13:00 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- 9 Mar 2026, 15:00 GMT
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Timeline
12 Feb 2026 → 13 Aug 2026 · 8 dates- Tender notice published255 days ago12 Feb 2026, 16:10 GMT
- Clarification questions by230 days ago9 Mar 2026, 15:00 GMT
- Submission deadline221 days ago18 Mar 2026, 13:00 GMT
- Award decision expected by194 days ago14 Apr 2026, 23:59 BST
- Contract starts182 days ago27 Apr 2026, 00:00 BST
- Assessment summaries sent130 days ago18 Jun 2026, 00:00 BST
- Standstill ends118 days ago29 Jun 2026, 23:59 BST
- Latest notice published73 days ago13 Aug 2026, 13:14 BST
Notice history
7 events · 4 releases on Find a Tender · since 12 Feb 2026- Tender notice published12 Feb 2026, 16:10 GMTUK4
- Tender notice published13 Mar 2026, 12:12 GMTUK4
- Deadline moved to 18 Mar 2026, 13:00 GMT13 Mar 2026, 12:12 GMT+2 days · was 16 Mar 2026, 15:00 GMT
- Contract award notice published18 Jun 2026, 12:07 BSTUK6
- Status changed to complete18 Jun 2026, 12:07 BST
- Contract signature expected30 Jun 2026, 23:59 BSTscheduled
- Contract details notice published13 Aug 2026, 13:14 BSTUK7
Published amendments (1)
Tender submission deadline has been extended to 1pm Wednesday 18th March 2026.
Routine re-releases (4)
- 2026-02: 1 release · 12 Feb 2026
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Furlong Business Solutions LinitedSMEFinancial Management Solution and School Fees Management Solution for Voluntary Grammar and Grant Maintained Integrated Schools1 Jul 2026 – 30 Jun 2031 · up to 30 Jun 2036Extensions: Option to extend for any further period(s) up to a maximum of 5 years. | £4,900,000 inc. VAT | 18 Jun 2026 | Awarded |
Contracts
Financial Management Solution and School Fees Management Solution for Voluntary Grammar and Grant Maintained Integrated Schools · Furlong Business Solutions LinitedSME
- Signed
- 23 Jul 2026
- Value
- £4,900,000
- Period
- 24 Jul 2026 – 23 Jul 2031 · up to 23 Jul 2036 with extensions
- Status
- active
- Extensions
- Any further period(s) up to a maximum of 5 years
3 agreed KPIs: Availability of FFMS during school hours · Data Accuracy · Reports and invoices received within agreed timeframes and accuracy
- Availability of FFMS during school hours, Target of 99.9%
- Data Accuracy, 100% correct outputs
- Reports and invoices received within agreed timeframes and accuracy, 98% of reports and invoices received on time and with 98% accuracy achieved
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3final-stage tenders · 5 at stage one | 3 | 0 | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- Furlong Business Solutions LinitedAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (4)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender