Arbor Education Partners Ltd.

Arbor Finance for Local Authorities Schools

Arbor's MIS (Management Information System) is the hassle-free way for schools to get work done. Arbor brings all your Local Authority schools onto one system and makes daily admin more powerful and less stressful - so staff at every level can focus where it matters most.

Features

• Accounts payable transactions with comprehensive reporting
• Cash management for your maintained school
• Create, track, and place repeat Purchase Orders
• Online invoicing and paperless sign off
• Budget management and import tool
• Send emails and reports directly from the system
• Built-in statutory reporting for the CFR return
• Automatic reconciliation matching bank statement lines with transaction
• 24/7 access and automatic backups on the cloud
• Payroll monitoring

Benefits

• Meet strict accounting and audit requirements
• Share easy to read reports and financial summaries
• Work on your school finance tasks from anywhere, any time
• Keep your financial data secure
• Onboard in just 6 weeks with remote support
• Link with your MIS via budgeting package or direct integration
• Reduce your reliance on paper invoices or sign off processes
• Open up finance data in a format everyone can understand
• Manage transactions and invoices in a clear, straightforward process
• No formal financial background is required

£810 to £1,365 a licence a year

• Free trial available

Service documents

• Pricing document

  PDF

• Service definition document

  PDF

• Terms and conditions

  PDF

Request an accessible format

If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need versions of these documents in a more accessible format, email the supplier at bids@arbor-education.com. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.

Framework

G-Cloud 14

Service ID

973254733913680

Contact

Phillippa De'Ath
0208 050 1028
bids@arbor-education.com

Service scope

• Software add-on or extension: No
• Cloud deployment model: Public cloud
• Service constraints: Requires an internet connection
• System requirements:
  • Recommended browser: Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Firefox
  • Recommended internet bandwidth: 2MB

User support

• Email or online ticketing support: Email or online ticketing
• Support response times: Our email and phone lines are staffed 8-5, Monday-Friday by a team of experienced analysts. We aim to respond to users as quickly as possible when queries come in, within a day during working hours. There is no weekend service.
• User can manage status and priority of support tickets: No
• Phone support: Yes
• Phone support availability: 9 to 5 (UK time), Monday to Friday
• Web chat support: No
• Onsite support: Yes, at extra cost
• Support levels: We have 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th line support. Support costs, including both front line and technical support, are included in the price of the software. Schools will also have access to an Online Help Centre and the Arbor Training Hub, and we prepare specific resources to get you ready for important dates, like the end of the financial year.; ; No technical account managers or cloud support engineers are provided.
• Support available to third parties: Yes

Onboarding and offboarding

• Getting started: We’ve designed a hassle-free journey for schools to move to Arbor Finance. You’ll have clear, supportive guidance every step of the way, helping you set up and use Arbor Finance in your school. We take care when moving your data to Arbor Finance, giving you the opportunity to check everything’s in order with a clear view of your data migration.; ; Onboarding takes just six weeks - we get you set-up fast so you can complete all your essential accounting tasks from day one. Meanwhile, our expert trainers will give your staff the training they need to use Arbor Finance confidently. Training and onboarding support can be completed entirely remotely, saving you time and giving you more flexibility for when to move.; ; You will have access to our online learning as soon as you sign. All help documentation can be accessed online, and is also searchable without logging in. Documentation includes videos, product gifs and written instructions.
• Service documentation: Yes
• Documentation formats:
  • HTML
  • PDF
  • Other
• Other documentation formats:
  • Searchable Help Centre website
  • Video introductions & guides
  • Live webinars with a library of prior webinars
  • In-app walkthroughs and information
• End-of-contract data extraction: The data can be exported to csv which is a standard file transfer format for finance data, or it can be exported as reports.
• End-of-contract process: We send the customer a reminder at least 1 month before the end of the service to let them know it will end and how to renew.; There are no additional costs to decommission the service.; At the end of the contract, access to the service is lost and the data is deleted 60 days later. The end of contract process is managed to let the customer know what is happening at each stage of the process.

Using the service

• Web browser interface: Yes
• Supported browsers:
  • Microsoft Edge
  • Firefox
  • Chrome
• Application to install: No
• Designed for use on mobile devices: Yes
• Differences between the mobile and desktop service: The service will work on internet connected tablets that support modern browsers. It does not have a user interface suitable for mobile phones as this would reduce the screen size too much to show financial reports.
• Service interface: Yes
• User support accessibility: None or don’t know
• Description of service interface: Arbor Finance is a web based application that has been structured intuitively to enable users to complete tasks within the application. It is designed to be easy to navigate, understand and use.; ; Our user interface is clear and accessible, with colour coding and all displays carefully considered to ensure a consistent user experience across the site.
• Accessibility standards: None or don’t know
• Description of accessibility: Arbor Finance works with browser zoom to enable users to navigate the full page when in zoom. Users can also use the keyboard to complete actions.; ; Our interface is also customisable through browser-based accessibility controls. We recommend Google Chrome for the best range of accessibility controls and plugins, such as their high contrast, colourblind, and greyscale modes.
• Accessibility testing: We have not conducted specific testing at this time.
• API: Yes
• What users can and can't do using the API: Arbor Finance has an API available that links to your Arbor MIS. In this way then data drawn from other systems into your Arbor MIS can also be drawn into Arbor Finance.
• API documentation: Yes
• API documentation formats: Other
• API sandbox or test environment: Yes
• Customisation available: Yes
• Description of customisation: Arbor Finance can be set up to match school priorities, as well as individually the needs of each user. This includes, cheque printing layouts, transactional options, levels of access to different areas and the Chart of Accounts. There are also Local Authority reports that can be tailored for your LA.

Scaling

• Independence of resources: The product is hosted in Microsoft Azure and is able to auto-scale according to service utilisation. The monitors are able to react within 30 minutes.; ; We monitor and report on user APDEX scores to ensure that the service is fast and responsive for customers.

Analytics

• Service usage metrics: Yes
• Metrics types: We monitor the service using Azure monitoring tools.; For end users there is a full audit log of activities carried out in the program.
• Reporting types:
  • Regular reports
  • Reports on request

Resellers

• Supplier type: Not a reseller

Staff security

• Staff security clearance: Other security clearance
• Government security clearance: Up to Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS)

Asset protection

• Knowledge of data storage and processing locations: Yes
• Data storage and processing locations: European Economic Area (EEA)
• User control over data storage and processing locations: No
• Datacentre security standards: Complies with a recognised standard (for example CSA CCM version 3.0)
• Penetration testing frequency: At least once a year
• Penetration testing approach: Another external penetration testing organisation
• Protecting data at rest:
  • Physical access control, complying with SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
  • Physical access control, complying with another standard
• Data sanitisation process: Yes
• Data sanitisation type: Deleted data can’t be directly accessed
• Equipment disposal approach: Complying with a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v.30, CAS (Sanitisation) or ISO/IEC 27001

Data importing and exporting

• Data export approach: Users can print, export to CSV/Excel or PDF.
• Data export formats:
  • CSV
  • Other
• Other data export formats:
  • Excel
  • CSV
  • Read from the API
  • PDF
• Data import formats:
  • CSV
  • Other
• Other data import formats:
  • CSV
  • Xlsx
  • API

Data-in-transit protection

• Data protection between buyer and supplier networks: TLS (version 1.2 or above)
• Data protection within supplier network: TLS (version 1.2 or above)

Availability and resilience

• Guaranteed availability: There is no fixed Service Level Agreement however we will use our reasonable endeavours to maximise uptime, and ensure that the System is available least 99.5% of the time during each year, excluding (i) any of our or our subcontractors' maintenance downtime, (ii) a failure between the Institution's computer(s) and the internet; (iii) factors outside of our reasonable control; (iv) the Institution's action or inaction, or any action or inaction of the Users or the Institution's other suppliers.
• Approach to resilience: Our data centre supplier is Microsoft Azure, which has the following benefits:; • Network reliability through intelligent software; • Safe Deployment with AIOps; • Resiliency threat modelling for large distributed systems; • Low and no impact maintenance; ; Further information is available on request.
• Outage reporting: Internal monitoring, email alerts and a public Status dashboard.

Identity and authentication

• User authentication needed: Yes
• User authentication: Username or password
• Access restrictions in management interfaces and support channels: Arbor Finance uses a custom Roles based permissions system for management and support teams. Access is granted to various business systems based on defined Access Control Policy. We conduct regular Access Control reviews. We maintain a test/demo system that minimises the need for support access to production systems.
• Access restriction testing frequency: At least once a year
• Management access authentication:
  • 2-factor authentication
  • Username or password

Audit information for users

• Access to user activity audit information: Users have access to real-time audit information
• How long user audit data is stored for: At least 12 months
• Access to supplier activity audit information: Users have access to real-time audit information
• How long supplier audit data is stored for: At least 12 months
• How long system logs are stored for: At least 12 months

Standards and certifications

• ISO/IEC 27001 certification: Yes
• Who accredited the ISO/IEC 27001: Citation ISO Certification
• ISO/IEC 27001 accreditation date: 22/04/2024
• What the ISO/IEC 27001 doesn’t cover: The certification covers all Arbor services and locations. The original approval date for this certificate is 24/03/2020 and it is renewed annually. Certificate number 343312020.
• ISO 28000:2007 certification: No
• CSA STAR certification: No
• PCI certification: No
• Cyber essentials: Yes
• Cyber essentials plus: No
• Other security certifications: Yes
• Any other security certifications: Annual penetration tests

Security governance

• Named board-level person responsible for service security: Yes
• Security governance certified: Yes
• Security governance standards: ISO/IEC 27001
• Information security policies and processes: Arbor Finance has the following security policies:; • Acceptable Usage Policy and Security Guidelines ("AUP").; • Backup Policy.; • Data Classification and Handling.; • Data Protection.; • Incident Reporting Management; • Legislative Compliance (Security) Policy.; • Physical Access.; • Protective Monitoring.; • Vulnerability Management Policy.; ; All staff are required to read and acknowledge the AUP on an annual basis, as well as having security clauses in their contracts.; ; All staff must complete information security training when they join Arbor Finance and annually thereafter.; ; Core functions, e.g. IT and HR, are subject to regular internal and external audit. There is a network of Local Security Officers and the Group Security and Business Continuity Committee monitors compliance with polices.

Operational security

• Configuration and change management standard: Supplier-defined controls
• Configuration and change management approach: All deliverables are logged and tracked in Change Control tickets with implementation steps, an approval workflow, priority and rollback information where required. Issues affecting the security of the platform are peer reviewed by the Operations team and CAB.
• Vulnerability management type: Supplier-defined controls
• Vulnerability management approach: All public-facing IP addresses are subject to 3rd party vulnerability scanning on a quarterly basis. The results of these scans are reviewed by the development team and patches installed, the timescale of which will be governed by recorded priority.
• Protective monitoring type: Supplier-defined controls
• Protective monitoring approach: Operational service monitoring is undertaken through quarterly vulnerability scanning from an independent CREST approved vendor. Each issue is then tracked and given an appropriate priority by the Operations Manager. High priority issues will be reported within hours and dealt with as soon as possible, ie hours or days. Medium or Low priority issues will be prioritised within weeks.
• Incident management type: Supplier-defined controls
• Incident management approach: All security incidents are reported on an internal logging system. The log records nature and impact of incident, as well as potential preventative measures. All reported incidents are reviewed by senior management and evaluated at either divisional or Group security forums. Major security incidents would be managed according to a defined major incident management process.

Secure development

• Approach to secure software development best practice: Supplier-defined process

Public sector networks

• Connection to public sector networks: No

Social Value

• Social Value:

  Social Value

  • Fighting climate change
  • Covid-19 recovery
  • Tackling economic inequality
  • Equal opportunity
  • Wellbeing

  Fighting climate change

  We have always had a robust recycling programme, our servers are on track for 100% renewable energy by 2025, and the majority of our employees are either fully remote or hybrid workers which reduces travel emissions. Over the last year in particular:; • We have conducted a full carbon survey with Carbon Footprint Ltd. across Arbor and The Key to calculate our emissions over a year; • We have partnered with a UN backed organisation in India, working on developing renewable energy power to offset our emissions; • We’ve moved our largest office to one where electricity and heat is generated onsite; • The Key has now become officially carbon neutral for Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions as a result of this work (Scope 1 being direct emissions like travel, and Scope 2 being indirect emissions like office energy usage); • We will now be starting work on calculating and formulating a plan to reduce our emissions further, including Scope 3 emissions. These are emissions that are not produced by the company itself and relate to our supply chain such as AWS.; • We have introduced a Sustainable Procurement Policy focussed on ethical and environmentally friendly sourcing of goods and services.

  Covid-19 recovery

  For schools, Arbor was a key tool during the pandemic helping them to move to remote working, and we involved schools in the design of a Covid dashboard to help manage the pandemic and report to the DfE. Arbor still includes testing records, as well as tools for tracking the deprivation and gaps in progress that may have been caused by the pandemic.; ; Within the company, hybrid flexible working has been implemented permanently. 10% of employees are fully remote and 81% of employees commute to the office 2 days per week or less. This allows the vulnerable to continue shielding, increases leisure time and wellbeing of employees and opens up employment for those in deprived areas.

  Tackling economic inequality

  We regularly hire staff across the country as we grow each year, and all of our staff are paid above the national living wage. We clearly communicate company progress and any benefits or professional development staff may be entitled to. When possible, hiring has been designed to focus on core competencies rather than educational background, to ensure that quality candidates from disadvantaged backgrounds are not excluded. ; ; For roles that do require qualifications, our management structure provides a constructive appraisal process and a training budget for every staff member to improve in their existing job or switch to another role. Each employee spends an average of 3-10 days on skills development and training per year. (public speaking, bid management, engineering) many resulting in recognised qualifications. We have also run internship and work experience programs for young people to see what it's like to work in an edtech company.; ; We collaborate with the volunteering sector by providing all employees with a paid volunteering day each year. This means staff can give their time to efforts as varied as hiking for Marie Curie, supporting Lincoln Food Bank, and performing a concert for humanitarian aid. The company encourages and provides additional funding for group events to make a bigger impact.

  Equal opportunity

  Arbor is proud of its majority-female management team, but know we can always do more to improve access. We have launched a number of initiatives internally as well as partnerships externally with charities, groups and individuals aimed at increasing access to underrepresented communities and educating ourselves internally. Our talent team have been active in partnering with organisations providing more visibility to underrepresented communities, reviewed the wording in our job adverts to be more inclusive, continued our programme of internal training including unconscious bias and where possible ensured a mixed interview panel that represents the broader community we serve. We survey our staff each year to ensure we are making positive progress:; Gender Identity- Our results are broadly similar to last year in terms of % but with the significant increase in headcount this has resulted in a broadly even distribution of gender identity when adding to our teams. We have seen an increase in the number of women in our tech teams which has been a key target.; Ethnicity– This is the area in which we've made our biggest strides having increased the representation of our BAME employees by 15%; Age– Our age distribution is a little more evenly spread than last year. For example, we've increased the proportion of people above the age of 45.; Sexual Orientation– Another area of success has seen the increase in numbers of our LGBTQ+ colleagues, more than doubling last year’s figure. ; Disability– Again an increase in those feeling comfortable disclosing disabilities. There is still more work to be done to increase awareness of some disabilities but this is a positive trend that we will continue to invest in.

  Wellbeing

  We have a dedicated Wellbeing Manager who focusses on the benefits available to staff and the overall wellbeing of the team. All job roles at Arbor have flexible working options so that staff can fit work around their life, and we provide ergonomic work from home setups for remote staff. We provide additional time off over school holidays as well as team building events, healthy food in the offices, and office managers to ensure staff needs are met. There is an Employee Assistance Programme through which employees can access wellness tools as well as 6 weeks of free counselling.

Pricing

• Price: £810 to £1,365 a licence a year
• Discount for educational organisations: No
• Free trial available: Yes
• Description of free trial: We can provide full access to the system to try it out for up to 3 months.

Service documents

• Pricing document

  PDF

• Service definition document

  PDF

• Terms and conditions

  PDF

Request an accessible format

If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need versions of these documents in a more accessible format, email the supplier at bids@arbor-education.com. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.