Our tech is built for education payroll

Modern, secure, and built to make education payroll simpler - not more complicated.

The right people + the right tech = payroll perfected

A lot of payroll providers get this wrong in one of two directions. Some lean too heavily on technology, automating everything and leaving clients feeling like they’re doing the work themselves.

Others rely on great people but lack the systems to back them up – which means processes are slower, errors creep in, and quality becomes inconsistent.

We’ve built our service to get the balance right.

Our technology handles the data-heavy, repetitive work with precision
Our people bring the expertise and judgement that technology can’t replicate.

For education clients managing complex payrolls, pension submissions and multi-site approval processes, that combination matters.

Elementary Manager - your client portal

Elementary Manager is our secure cloud-based portal through which you access and manage your payroll with us.

It’s been built from the ground up by our team, based on years of experience of what works and what doesn’t in managed payroll in the education sector.

We believe technology should adapt to how you work, not force you into rigid processes. In education, where approval structures, data formats and reporting requirements vary between schools and Trusts, that level of flexibility is essential.

Core capabilities that transform client service

Flexible data upload
We work with whatever format your HR or MIS system exports. No rigid templates, and all data transfers are encrypted and GDPR compliant.

Full data visibility
Review, interrogate and compare current and historical payroll data at any time. Real-time status updates mean you always know where your payroll is in the process.

User management and permissions
Set up accounts with access levels matched to each person’s role – school business manager, trust FD, and central HR. Everyone sees what’s relevant to them, nothing more.

Flexible approval workflows
Multi-level sign-off built around your governance structure, not ours. For multi-academy trusts with complex approval chains, this is particularly valuable. Every approval is logged and auditable.

Two-way secure messaging
All communication between your team and ours happens within the portal and is encrypted, documented and easy to refer back to. No sensitive payroll data sent by email.

Smart features built in
Deadline reminders, action tracking, payroll comparison, anomaly notes, custom reporting and flexible reporting periods – control and visibility without the admin burden.

Security and compliance by design

Education organisations hold sensitive employee data, and the expectations around how that data is protected are high – from governors, trustees, regulators and employees alike. Our technology has been designed with security and privacy as core requirements, not afterthoughts.

Our Elementary platform supports our ISO 27001 (Information Security Management), ISO 27701 (Privacy Information Management) and ISO 9001 (Quality Management) certifications. Every file transfer is encrypted. Every access is logged. Every process is documented.

This isn’t just good practice – it’s how we ensure that your data, and your employees’ data, is handled to the highest standard at every stage.

AI that supports our team

Education payroll generates a significant volume of data across multiple contract types, pension schemes, pay frequencies and sites.

Our technology uses AI to do what it does best:

Crucially, AI doesn’t operate alone. Every flag and anomaly identified by our systems is reviewed by an experienced payroll professional. AI can spot that something looks unusual in a term-time contract calculation or a pension contribution figure – it takes a payroll expert to understand why and decide what to do about it.

For education clients, this means fewer errors reaching payroll approval, faster identification of issues, and a team that’s already across the detail before you’ve had to raise it.

Payroll information at your employees’ fingertips

Every member of staff at your school or trust can access their pay information through the Elementary App – on any device, at any time. It goes well beyond a digital payslip.

Current and historical payslips
P60s and P45s
HR documents, such as contracts of employment
Ability to sign documents through the app
Access the latest HR policies
Secure messaging

For education organisations managing staff across multiple sites, or with a mix of term-time and full-year employees, giving everyone easy access to their own pay and HR information reduces the volume of routine queries to your admin team.

The app is built to the same security standards as Elementary Manager – with encrypted access, proper authentication, and controls that ensure employees can only see their own data.