The timetable for preparing the year-end accounts is now available.
Financial year-end 2024 - 2025
Members of staff dealing with finances should be aware of the timetable and familiarise themselves with the key dates.
Schools are able to request manual adjustments to be made to their accounts for significant items where income is received in advance of the new financial year or payments have yet to be made. Further guidance is available in the 'Accounting for goods and services letter' attached to this page.
Schools should also undertake a reconciliation of their Lloyds Imprest Account by completing 'Form A - expenditure from school allowance Imprest' which is attached to this page (to be retained at the school for audit inspection).
Schools operating a local bank account will be issued with separate guidance on required timescales for year-end returns.
Key dates
The key dates for schools include:
- Tuesday 4 March – pool premium claim forms (up to the end of February) to be submitted (relevant Nursery / Primary Sector Schools)
- Wednesday 5 March – this is the last date for schools to raise a negotiated journal to automatically post in 2024-2025 (because of the 21-day automatic posting rule). Schools can still raise a negotiated journal after this date but it will need to be approved / rejected by the receiving school before 31 March 2025
- Monday 10 March - schools should start to ensure that all outstanding VIM invoices are coded and approved, and goods are receipted (when received) in Orderpoint
- Friday 14 March – last date for all trade union duties / maternity / public duty claim forms to be submitted (secondary schools are not re-pooled for maternity, and therefore not applicable)
- Friday 21 March – last date for any transfers / payments to be made to a capital code (cost centres beginning with a ‘CHD’ or ‘CHG’) – ensure any outstanding negotiated journals are authorised and invoice payments are approved
- Monday 24 March by 10am – last date for Accounts Payable to receive invoices for scanning into VIM for the old year
- Wednesday 26 March by midday – last date for raising customer invoices in 2024-25.
- Thursday 27 March by 5pm - final deadline for all workflow to be cleared in old year (VIM invoice coding & authorisation, Orderpoint goods receipted, journal coding & authorisation).
- Thursday 27 March – deadline for completing all banking and cash receipts for 2024-25
- Friday 28 March at 5pm - SAP down for year-end updates
- Tuesday 1 April - SAP re-opens
- Friday 4 April – last date to return any income in advance / school creditor request forms.
- Friday 4 April – last date to code and authorise an invoice in VIM in the new-year to allow write back of invoices paid in 2025-26 with a 2024-25 invoice date
- Wednesday 9 April by 5pm – deadline for a school to authorise a journal in 2024-25
- Wednesday 15 April at midday – 2024-25 school accounts are completed.
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