Four ways IRIS Financials Advanced Reporting saves school finance managers hours of time

It doesn’t matter how long you’ve managed your school’s finances; maintaining visibility and control of your budget never feels easy.

Thankfully, the newly launched IRIS Financials Advanced Reporting module is here to simplify oversight, save time, and assist stakeholders with data-driven decision-making.

Here are four ways the new IRIS Financials Advanced Reporting module will make your life easier.

1. IRIS Financials Advanced Reporting has an extensive range of out-of-the-box reports

One of the standout features of the IRIS Financials Advanced Reporting module is its pre-built reports.

With their help, you can quickly access the financial data you need without starting from scratch. These ready-to-go reports cover different aspects of financial management, including budget monitoring, purchasing, VAT returns, and cash flow forecasts.

While this existing reporting selection is comprehensive, you also have the opportunity to customise it to suit your school or MAT. Thankfully, each pre-built report can be changed to suit your school, rather than you having to fit data to suit the software. This is especially useful for presenting the data to different readers – so you can keep key people up to date, whether they have a finance background or not.

But how easy is it to customise your data in IRIS Financials Advanced Reporting? Let’s find out.

2. It’s easy to create fully customised interactive dashboards and reports

Creating interactive dashboards and bespoke reports is quick and simple. There’s no need for external assistance.

That’s because if you know Power BI, you can be an IRIS Financial Advanced Reporting power user. The IRIS module is built on this well-loved, well-documented Microsoft data platform.

That means anything you don’t know is a Google search away; the platform is quick to learn and easy to use, even for those who may not have extensive technical expertise.

Users can create and customise reports using a simple drag-and-drop interface. You can add columns, change visualisations, and apply filters to present data effectively.

The ability to drill down into transactional details and view attachments directly from the reports adds another layer of convenience, allowing you to access all relevant information without switching screens.

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Tech that saves hours on reporting

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3. You can quickly share and publish data

Sharing and publishing reports to different stakeholders across your Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) or school is now a breeze.

The platform allows you to publish reports to a URL, so instead of a bulky file, you can share your information via a simple link. You can also automate the distribution of reports through email or Microsoft Teams, saving you the time and effort of manually sending out updates.

With the new module, these reports always stay up to date, reflecting the latest financial activity and budget information. This ensures that your stakeholders have accurate, contemporaneous calculations for those crucial decisions.

Additionally, the ability to export reports to PowerPoint with this embedded live data means you can retain drill-through functionality, making it easier to present detailed financial information to governors or trustees – while delivering it in a readable fashion, even if they don’t have a school budgeting background.

4: AI makes everything intuitive

Great data says volumes... but what if you could talk to the data? With AI being built into our new module, you can.

The Q&A feature allows you to generate reports using natural language commands, making it even easier to access the data you need. Type in a query, and the system will produce the relevant report, which you can customise and share as needed.

This AI-driven approach saves time and empowers users to explore financial data more intuitively. With a few typed commands, you can quickly identify trends, anomalies, and improvement opportunities, helping you drive impact across your organisation.

A new era for smarter data

We wanted our new IRIS Financials Advanced Reporting module to feel like a game-changer.

Its extensive range of out-of-the-box reports, easy customisation, and quick sharing and publishing capabilities make it an invaluable tool for managing your academy's finances. With the help of AI, you can also be efficient while working intuitively.

See IRIS Financials Advanced Reporting in action – watch our on-demand webinar

In our special webinar, you’ll see firsthand:

1. Our extensive range of out-of-the-box reports.
2. How easy it is to create bespoke reports and interactive dashboards .
3. How quickly you can share and publish report packs to different stakeholders across your MAT or school.
4. How AI can help you to become even more efficient.

Click here to view the webinar.