SIL (Support, Inspire, Learn) embarks on finance transformation with iplicit

Education services provider SIL (Support, Inspire, Learn) has enlisted the help of iplicit, a G-Cloud 14 service provider, to modernise its finance management system.

SIL aims to support educational settings to enable every child and young person to develop, learn and achieve. The organisation needed to gain more control over its financial controls and reporting and move away from its outdated legacy system, in favour of a more modern, future-proofed cloud solution.

SIL chose iplicit, the cloud accounting platform purpose-built for the UK’s mid-market, as its finance and accounting software provider as it was able to ensure a seamless transition to a fully cloud-based platform.

iplicit was named as a supplier on Crown Commercial Service’s G-Cloud 14 framework in October 2024. That means its cloud accounting services are listed on the UK Government’s Digital Marketplace and available to education and public sector departments in search of IT services.

G-Cloud 14 has replaced G-Cloud 13. It will continue to provide a large variety of cloud-based services from a range of suppliers. Services include cloud hosting, cloud software, and cloud support. G-Cloud 14 will run for 18 months from 29 October 2024.

Crown Commercial Service supports the public sector to achieve maximum commercial value when procuring common goods and services. In 2023/24, CCS helped the public sector to achieve commercial benefits equal to £4.9 billion - supporting world-class public services that offer best value for taxpayers.

G-Cloud significantly reduces time and costs for public sector organisations by offering a vetted list of suppliers and standardised contracts, thereby eliminating the need for a comprehensive tender process.

iplicit is now supporting SIL with features such as real-time financial insights, website integration for online payments and customer self-service, and automation of manual processes such as approvals, payments, and reconciliation.

Karen Lea, head of Finance at SIL adds: “We are committed to embracing digital transformation and our new finance system is a key step in this journey.”

“Following a robust procurement exercise, we are excited to be working with iplicit to implement a system that is fully aligned and responsive to our ambitions and goals. The team has provided invaluable support and expertise, seamlessly guiding us through the transition from our existing system and helping us establish the right workflows to best meet our needs.”

“This new system will not only enhance our financial processes but also provide valuable insights to help us better understand our position in the marketplace and the buy-in needs of our customers. This partnership reflects our core values of collaboration with purpose, knowledge, and integrity.”

iplicit serves more than 38,000 daily users in over 2,000 UK mid-market organisations. It primarily serves organisations with legacy, ‘on-prem’ finance systems that need to transition to the cloud, or those that have requirements beyond entry-level systems and would prefer to avoid the expense and disruption associated with complex, enterprise-level solutions.

Lyndon Stickley, CEO at iplicit adds: “We are, and have always been, committed to delivering innovative and reliable finance solutions to the UK’s public sector. A big part of this lies in understanding the unique needs and pressures of public sector organisations, such as budgetary constraints and formal procurement processes.”

“Our G-Cloud status has proven to be an extremely valuable channel for new clients in these sectors looking to acquire our services. It’s a step in the right direction, and towards our goal of making state-of-the-art cloud accounting software accessible to mid-market public sector organisations in the UK.”

iplicit can be found on the government’s G-Cloud digital market place here.