Tove Learning Trust Financial Software

{
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  "date": "2026-08-24T10:33:29+01:00",
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    "id": "GB-COH-07525820",
    "name": "TOVE LEARNING TRUST"
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    "title": "Tove Learning Trust Financial Software",
    "status": "planning",
    "legalBasis": {
      "id": "2023/54",
      "uri": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents",
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    "description": "Preliminary Market Engagement: \nFinancial Management System\nIssued by: Tove Learning Trust (TLT)\nTarget Audience: Financial Software Providers and ERP Vendors\n1. Overview and Purpose\nTove Learning Trust is looking to upgrade its core finance software across our central team and our growing community of academies. We are running this pre-market engagement exercise to let prospective suppliers know what we need from a system and to see what solutions are currently available in the market.\nWe need a modern, resilient, cloud-hosted platform that can handle multiple school entities seamlessly. The system must make life easier for our staff by cutting down on repetitive administrative tasks, while providing clear, straightforward financial tools for both our core finance teams and non-specialist staff like Headteachers and budget holders.\nThis Preliminary Market Engagement exercise is issued for information gathering purposes only. It does not constitute a call for competition, invitation to tender, or any commitment by Tove Learning Trust to commence a procurement process. Participation in this exercise will not confer any advantage or disadvantage in any future procurement. \nContract Dates (estimated)\n01/04/2027 to 31/03/2030 OR 01/09/2027 to 31/08/2030\nMain procurement category\nGoods/Services\nEngagement Deadline\n15/09/2026\nEngagement Process Description\nInterested suppliers are invited to submit an expression of interest via email to procurement@tovelearning.org.uk no later than 15th September 2026. Please outline within your expression of interest how you believe your product can deliver on the requirements detailed below. \nWe intend to open a booking calendar for suppliers to hold online or in person demonstrations to key stakeholders during September/October 2026 (dates to be confirmed). These slots will be limited and we will select suppliers for demonstration based on how well their expression of interest matches our key requirements. \n2. Core System Requirements\nFollowing an internal review across 15 of our schools, our finance staff, School Business Managers, and leaders highlighted several essential operational priorities. Any prospective solution must comfortably meet these standards:\n2a  System Stability and Performance\nReliability: System downtime disrupts day-to-day operations meaning we require an exceptionally stable platform with minimal downtime.\nFast Loading Times: The software needs to be highly responsive. Slow page loading and lagging click transitions create frustration and impact on productivity.\nAccessibility: The platform must be fully cloud-based. As well as desktop use, it would be beneficial if it was also compatible with mobile devices so users can easily manage tasks and complete approvals remotely.\n2b  Data Visibility and Navigation\nEasy Transaction Drill-Down: Finance staff should be able to click through transactions naturally-moving from a supplier record straight to relevant invoices, purchase orders, and audit histories without navigating away.\nIn-System Analysis: Staff need to view and drill down into detailed transactional data directly within the system interface, rather than having to export data to external spreadsheets just to read it.\n2c  Purchasing, Automation, and Approvals\nIntegrated Purchasing Portal: We require a user-friendly, school-level portal that handles the entire procurement cycle: requisitioning, multi-level approval workflows, purchase ordering, goods receiving, and budget checks.\nPaperless Approvals: The system should automatically email approvers with direct links for simple approvals.A configurable tiered approval process should be built into the software as standard.\nAutomated Document Dispatch: The software must automatically email purchase orders, invoices, and payment remittances directly to suppliers and internal stakeholders.\nInvoice Scanning (OCR): To save time and reduce manual entry errors, the system should scan uploaded PDF invoices and automatically populate the transaction details.\nPreferred Supplier Indicators: A simple visual indicator is needed to show school-based users which suppliers have already been vetted and approved by the central Trust procurement team.\nOther Document Scanning and Parsing: contract reading capabilities with AI identification of contract terms including renewals, terminations and indexation. \n3. Core Accounting and Reporting Modules\nThe chosen software must include robust, established modules for standard school accounting operations. These must be thoroughly developed and uniformly capable across the board:\nCost Centre and Budget Holder Reporting\nTrial Balance and Ledger Code Reporting\nAged Debtor and Aged Creditor Reports\nBank Reconciliation (ideally with direct bank feeds or straightforward file imports)\nBudgeting, Cashflow, and Forecasting Management Tools\nSupplier and Customer Master Files with secure bank detail audit logs\nFull Management Accounts direct from the system\n4. Specific Operational Feedback and Integration Needs\nBased on hands-on experience, our finance teams have highlighted a few critical operational expectations:\n4a  Parity Between Purchase and Sales Ledgers\nMany school finance systems focus heavily on the Purchase Ledger while providing a basic, limited Sales Ledger. Consistent capability and reporting depth on both sides would be highly beneficial. \n4b  IMP Software Integration\nThe Trust uses IMP for budget planning and forecasting and integrated curriculum financial planning. We are particularly interested in hearing from suppliers whose financial systems can either\nintegrate dynamically and effectively with our existing IMP environment to keep our data consistent and prevent double-entry\nOR \ndemonstrate an embedded or directly linked Integrated Curriculum Financial Planning (ICFP) module built into the platform that can pull real-time finance and staffing data to run multi-year strategic scenarios natively.\n4c  Security Roles\nTo match our internal organisational structure, the system must allow us to set up specific user roles and permissions. \n4d  Direct Support\nWhen technical issues arise, school-based users need to be able to raise their own tickets directly with the software provider's help desk without having to route these through the central Trust finance team.\nThe Central Team should have access or reporting capabilities related to these tickets in order to oversee the KPIs of the contract. \n5. Next Steps for Interested Suppliers\nInterested suppliers are invited to submit an expression of interest via email to procurement@tovelearning.org.uk no later than 15th September 2026. Please outline within your expression of interest how you believe your product can deliver on the requirements detailed",
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    {
      "id": "GB-COH-07525820",
      "name": "TOVE LEARNING TRUST",
      "roles": [
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        "region": "UKF24",
        "country": "GB",
        "locality": "Roade",
        "postalCode": "NN7 2LP",
        "countryName": "United Kingdom",
        "streetAddress": "c/o Elizabeth Woodville School, Stratford Road"
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      "contactPoint": {
        "name": "Sharon Pinson",
        "email": "spinson@tovelearning.org.uk",
        "telephone": "01604 265509"
      },
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  "language": "en",
  "planning": {
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        "id": "080202-2026",
        "url": "https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/080202-2026",
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        "noticeType": "UK2",
        "description": "Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender",
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        "datePublished": "2026-08-24T10:33:29+01:00"
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      {
        "id": "engagement",
        "type": "engagement",
        "status": "scheduled",
        "dueDate": "2026-09-15T23:59:59+01:00",
        "description": "Preliminary Market Engagement: \nFinancial Management System\nIssued by: Tove Learning Trust (TLT)\nTarget Audience: Financial Software Providers and ERP Vendors\n1. Overview and Purpose\nTove Learning Trust is looking to upgrade its core finance software across our central team and our growing community of academies. We are running this pre-market engagement exercise to let prospective suppliers know what we need from a system and to see what solutions are currently available in the market.\nWe need a modern, resilient, cloud-hosted platform that can handle multiple school entities seamlessly. The system must make life easier for our staff by cutting down on repetitive administrative tasks, while providing clear, straightforward financial tools for both our core finance teams and non-specialist staff like Headteachers and budget holders.\nThis Preliminary Market Engagement exercise is issued for information gathering purposes only. It does not constitute a call for competition, invitation to tender, or any commitment by Tove Learning Trust to commence a procurement process. Participation in this exercise will not confer any advantage or disadvantage in any future procurement. \nContract Dates (estimated)\n01/04/2027 to 31/03/2030 OR 01/09/2027 to 31/08/2030\nMain procurement category\nGoods/Services\nEngagement Deadline\n15/09/2026\nEngagement Process Description\nInterested suppliers are invited to submit an expression of interest via email to procurement@tovelearning.org.uk no later than 15th September 2026. Please outline within your expression of interest how you believe your product can deliver on the requirements detailed below. \nWe intend to open a booking calendar for suppliers to hold online or in person demonstrations to key stakeholders during September/October 2026 (dates to be confirmed). These slots will be limited and we will select suppliers for demonstration based on how well their expression of interest matches our key requirements. \n2. Core System Requirements\nFollowing an internal review across 15 of our schools, our finance staff, School Business Managers, and leaders highlighted several essential operational priorities. Any prospective solution must comfortably meet these standards:\n2a  System Stability and Performance\nReliability: System downtime disrupts day-to-day operations meaning we require an exceptionally stable platform with minimal downtime.\nFast Loading Times: The software needs to be highly responsive. Slow page loading and lagging click transitions create frustration and impact on productivity.\nAccessibility: The platform must be fully cloud-based. As well as desktop use, it would be beneficial if it was also compatible with mobile devices so users can easily manage tasks and complete approvals remotely.\n2b  Data Visibility and Navigation\nEasy Transaction Drill-Down: Finance staff should be able to click through transactions naturally-moving from a supplier record straight to relevant invoices, purchase orders, and audit histories without navigating away.\nIn-System Analysis: Staff need to view and drill down into detailed transactional data directly within the system interface, rather than having to export data to external spreadsheets just to read it.\n2c  Purchasing, Automation, and Approvals\nIntegrated Purchasing Portal: We require a user-friendly, school-level portal that handles the entire procurement cycle: requisitioning, multi-level approval workflows, purchase ordering, goods receiving, and budget checks.\nPaperless Approvals: The system should automatically email approvers with direct links for simple approvals.A configurable tiered approval process should be built into the software as standard.\nAutomated Document Dispatch: The software must automatically email purchase orders, invoices, and payment remittances directly to suppliers and internal stakeholders.\nInvoice Scanning (OCR): To save time and reduce manual entry errors, the system should scan uploaded PDF invoices and automatically populate the transaction details.\nPreferred Supplier Indicators: A simple visual indicator is needed to show school-based users which suppliers have already been vetted and approved by the central Trust procurement team.\nOther Document Scanning and Parsing: contract reading capabilities with AI identification of contract terms including renewals, terminations and indexation. \n3. Core Accounting and Reporting Modules\nThe chosen software must include robust, established modules for standard school accounting operations. These must be thoroughly developed and uniformly capable across the board:\nCost Centre and Budget Holder Reporting\nTrial Balance and Ledger Code Reporting\nAged Debtor and Aged Creditor Reports\nBank Reconciliation (ideally with direct bank feeds or straightforward file imports)\nBudgeting, Cashflow, and Forecasting Management Tools\nSupplier and Customer Master Files with secure bank detail audit logs\nFull Management Accounts direct from the system\n4. Specific Operational Feedback and Integration Needs\nBased on hands-on experience, our finance teams have highlighted a few critical operational expectations:\n4a  Parity Between Purchase and Sales Ledgers\nMany school finance systems focus heavily on the Purchase Ledger while providing a basic, limited Sales Ledger. Consistent capability and reporting depth on both sides would be highly beneficial. \n4b  IMP Software Integration\nThe Trust uses IMP for budget planning and forecasting and integrated curriculum financial planning. We are particularly interested in hearing from suppliers whose financial systems can either\nintegrate dynamically and effectively with our existing IMP environment to keep our data consistent and prevent double-entry\nOR \ndemonstrate an embedded or directly linked Integrated Curriculum Financial Planning (ICFP) module built into the platform that can pull real-time finance and staffing data to run multi-year strategic scenarios natively.\n4c  Security Roles\nTo match our internal organisational structure, the system must allow us to set up specific user roles and permissions. \n4d  Direct Support\nWhen technical issues arise, school-based users need to be able to raise their own tickets directly with the software provider's help desk without having to route these through the central Trust finance team.\nThe Central Team should have access or reporting capabilities related to these tickets in order to oversee the KPIs of the contract. \n5. Next Steps for Interested Suppliers\nInterested suppliers are invited to submit an expression of interest via email to procurement@tovelearning.org.uk no later than 15th September 2026. Please outline within your expression of interest how you believe your product can deliver on the requirements detailed"
      }
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}