ION Welcomes Landau Forte Charitable Trust to the Sage Intacct for Education Community
ION is proud to announce our new partnership with Landau Forte Charitable Trust, who have chosen Sage Intacct for Education as their new finance system. For Landau Forte, this marks a strategic move to support their future growth, modernise financial operations, and improve visibility across their six academies in Derby and Tamworth.
ABOUT LANDAU FORTE CHARITABLE TRUST
Consisting of six academies across Derby and Tamworth, Landau Forte Charitable Trust aims to encourage pupils to achieve exceptional educational outcomes and to open doors of opportunities.
As a Trust that is doubling in size over the next three years, Landau Forte needed a true MAT system — one that could handle growth without compromising central control, and one that could empower their school leaders with the insights they need to make better financial decisions.
PREVIOUS SYSTEM CHALLENGES
After over a decade using PSF, the team at Landau Forte began to feel the system’s limitations. Financial reporting had become extremely Excel-heavy and time-consuming, with no automatic consolidation and no easy way to drill down into key areas like educational spend.
With no School Business Managers or administrators in the academies themselves, there was a clear need for role-based dashboards that could provide visibility at a glance, with easy access to key information around budget, spend, and committed funds.
Other key challenges included:
THE SOLUTION: SAGE INTACCT FOR EDUCATION
After thoroughly evaluating the market, Landau Forte Charitable Trust selected Sage Intacct for Education, delivered by ION, as the solution that could meet their current needs while supporting their ambitious growth plans. As the Trust prepares to expand in numbers over the next few years, they required a system that could scale with them — without adding complexity or compromising centralised control.
Sage Intacct for Education stood out as a true multi-academy trust finance system. Its modern cloud-based infrastructure allows the central team to manage all academies within a single environment, with built-in capabilities for MAT-wide consolidation and reporting. Unlike their previous system, Sage Intacct provides real-time dashboards and financial insights that are easily accessible to budget holders and school leaders — enabling faster, more informed decision-making across the Trust.
The Trust was also drawn to Sage Intacct’s intuitive, digital purchase-to-pay workflows, which provide a clear and customisable approval process while ensuring that requisitions are correctly coded from the outset. By moving to Sage Intacct, Landau Forte can also adopt the Department for Education’s Chart of Accounts — a transition that would have incurred significant costs in their previous system. With ION’s expertise and support, the Trust can now embrace better financial governance and reporting standards without hidden fees or complex upgrades.
Rob Mathieson, CEO of ION, said:
“Landau Forte Charitable Trust’s forward-thinking approach to finance mirrors what we see from many successful MATs today: a need for efficiency, visibility, and scalable infrastructure. We’re excited to support them with Sage Intacct for Education as they continue to grow and innovate.”
About Landau Forte Charitable Trust
Landau Forte Charitable Trust is a multi-academy trust made up of six academies across Derby and Tamworth. The Trust is committed to helping pupils achieve exceptional educational outcomes while also developing the cultural, emotional, and life skills needed for future success. Each academy is empowered to serve its community with a shared mission and strong central support.
About ION
Founded in 2016, ION has become the CFOs’ choice for technology. Its team of specialists works with education, mid-market, and private equity-backed organisations to implement powerful financial technologies, enabling the vertical integration and automation of billing, payments, revenue recognition, and accounting.
