SIMS FMS Private Fund Database Set Up Service

About the Service

The SIMS FMS Private Fund Database Setup Service involves Lancashire County Council Education Digital Services FMS specialists creating an additional customised FMS database for your school, to enable you to manage your school's private funds. It is installed on your existing SIMS FMS installation and is accessed via a database selector (DB Selector), which allows you to choose which SIMS FMS database to open.

Having an additional database within SIMS FMS allows you to record income and expenditure relating to your school's private funds in a secure, audited system. The financial year can run from September to August or April to March depending on your schools requirements.

A separate financial structure can be set up to meet your school's individual requirements.

What are the benefits?

SIMS FMS provides a familiar financial management system for school staff.
Cost Centre structures will be customised for your schools requirements.
Ledger Codes will be customised for your schools requirements.
Familiar financial processes.
Record all totalled receipts, all expenditure, banking and generate full accounting reports.
Reports are provided in the same format as the School Budget Share FMS database.
The database is installed by Lancashire County Council Education Digital Services and an on-site/ remote consultancy from a SIMS FMS specialist is provided as part of the initial setup.
Installation includes a "Getting Started with SIMS FMS Private Funds" guidance document.
Annual support from our ICT Service Centre is included.
The SIMS FMS Private Funds system is fully auditable.
Documents giving guidance on "Opening the New Financial Year" and "Closing the Old Financial Year" will be emailed to schools in either March or August.

What's Included?

Service Features

Feature	Description
Installation	The installation of a blank SIMS FMS database on the schools server and configuration of the SIMS FMS Database selector. Installation of the database will be carried out remotely.
Configuration of the new database	An on-site visit or remote consultancy session for the configuration and setup will be provided by a SIMS FMS expert. They will configure the new system for private funds and tailor the system to your school's requirements. The SIMS FMS database is used to record all totalled receipts, all expenditure, banking and to generate full accounting reports.
Consultation Services and FMS Overview	An overview of the new system and associated processes. The on-site consultancy or remote consultancy session also provides the school with the opportunity to address any areas of SIMS FMS they are unfamiliar with.
Documentation	"Getting Started with SIMS FMS Private Funds" document and annual financial year end documentation.