About this role
Job summary
We are a forward-thinking GP practice of around 25,000 patients across two sites in Kent, rated Good by CQC, with a clear ambition to become one of the best-performing practices in Kent and Medway.
We are looking for a Finance Lead to join our new leadership team. You will be our Xero expert, building a chart of accounts that lets us see every cost by site and cost centre. You will run payroll and NHS pension administration, reconcile every source of income, and produce the reports that drive our decisions. You will also play a key part in reviewing past income to make sure the practice receives everything it is entitled to.
If you are accurate, organised and confident with numbers, and want to see your work make a real difference, we would love to hear from you.
Main duties of the job
Main duties
Design, build and manage the practices chart of accounts in Xero, with tracking by site and cost centre. Keep the books accurate and up to date, including weekly bank reconciliations, purchase orders, supplier invoices and payments. Run monthly payroll, and manage NHS Pension Scheme administration for staff, salaried GPs and partners, including year-end pension certificates with our accountants. Reconcile the monthly GP payment statement, drug and vaccine reimbursements, PCN income and private fees. Produce weekly finance reports, monthly management accounts, budget tracking, cash flow forecasts and quarterly benchmarking for the Head of Practice. Lead a review of past income to identify anything the practice was entitled to but did not receive. Manage debtors and creditors, petty cash and the contract register. Prepare complete, reconciled records for our accountants at year end.About you
Expert, hands-on Xero user (or similar software). AAT Level 3 or equivalent experience. Payroll experience, and a working knowledge of NHS pensions in general practice. Accurate, organised, discreet and confident explaining numbers to non-accountants.
About us
About us
Northdown Surgery and Dashwood Medical Centre are one GP practice across two sites in Kent, caring for around 25,000 patients. We are rated Good by CQC, and our ambition is to become one of the best-performing practices in Kent and Medway.
We are an exciting place to join right now. We are in the process of setting up a new leadership team to lead the practice into its next stage, with clear roles, clear goals and a strong focus on quality, efficiency and our patients. You will be part of that team from the start, with a real say in how the practice develops.
Our values of fairness, integrity, accountability, collaboration and innovation guide how we work. We are a friendly, supportive team who expect high standards of each other, share ideas openly and take pride in getting things right for our patients and colleagues.
Job description Job responsibilities
The Finance Lead reports to the Head of Practice and is part of the leadership team. The role delivers the Finance pillar of the practice strategy: the Finance Lead produces accurate numbers and reports, and the Head of Practice uses them to judge whether cost containment and income plans are working, and to bring decisions to the Partners.
Decision rights
Decides: processing approved invoices, payments and payroll; coding transactions; querying suppliers and income bodies; requesting approval before payment.
Recommends to the Head of Practice: changes to financial procedures; variances that need action; payments outside the approved budget or limits; cash flow risks.
Key responsibilities
Bookkeeping and payments
Keep the accounts in Xero accurate and up to date, with every transaction coded correctly and the bank reconciled at least weekly.
Process purchase orders, invoices, payments and expense claims promptly, checking each has proper approval.
Keep financial records organised and retained in line with legal requirements.
Xero and the chart of accounts
Design and build a chart of accounts in Xero, agreed with the Head of Practice and the accountants.
Code every transaction by site (Northdown, Dashwood or practice-wide) and by cost centre, such as reception, nursing, GPs, premises, IT and each income stream, so the practice can drill down into any cost.
Manage Xero end to end: bank feeds and rules, approvals, budgets, reporting templates, user access and connected apps.
Keep coding clean, so reports can be trusted without adjustment, and train leads to read their own reports.
Map historical transactions into the new chart of accounts for [the previous X years], so past and present can be compared like for like.
Lost income review
Stage 1 the full picture. Compare income received with income due for every stream, including the global sum, QOF, enhanced services, local schemes, PCN payments, premises, locum and drug reimbursements, and pension deductions. Record every gap, however old.
Stage 2 the decision. For each gap, set out the amount, the time limit for claiming, the evidence and the effort to recover it, so the Head of Practice and Partners can decide what to pursue.
Pursue agreed recoveries with the QOF, Quality & Population Health Lead and the accountants, report progress until each is closed, and fix the cause of every gap so the same income is not lost again.
Payroll and pensions
Run monthly payroll accurately and on time, using HR's notifications of every starter, leaver and change, including PAYE, National Insurance and other deductions.
Manage NHS Pension Scheme administration for staff, salaried GPs and Partners through PCSE: contribution rates, joiners, leavers, changes and locum forms.
Reconcile pension contributions deducted from NHS payments with what is due, and correct errors.
Prepare Partners' and salaried GPs' year-end pension certificates with the accountants, so they match the final accounts.
Keep payroll and pension records ready for year end and audit, and answer staff payroll and pension queries.
Income and reconciliation
Reconcile the monthly GP payment statement line by line to Xero, covering every payment and deduction, and query anything missing or wrong.
Each month, receive the QOF, Quality & Population Health Lead's claims schedule, check it against approved claims using view access to CQRS, and report back every missing, short or unexpected payment through a shared income tracker.
Reconcile drug and vaccine reimbursements, matching stock bought, items given, claims and payments.
Reconcile PCN income, private fees (weekly, with the Operations Managers) and petty cash (monthly).
Run credit control, pay suppliers on agreed terms, and review aged debtors and creditors monthly.
Reports for the Head of Practice
All reports come from Xero and can be broken down by site and cost centre.
Weekly Finance report: cash, income and claims outstanding, headline spend, private fees and petty cash.
Monthly Management accounts: profit and loss, balance sheet, and budget against actual, with commentary on variances.
Monthly Site and cost centre: where money is earned and spent across Northdown, Dashwood and practice-wide costs.
Monthly Staffing costs: pay costs by site, team and role, including overtime, locums and agency, against the workforce plan.
Monthly Operating costs: premises, utilities, consumables, equipment, IT and contracts, for each site.
Monthly Income by stream: each income stream against what is expected.
Monthly Debtors and creditors: what the practice is owed and owes, and how old each item is.
Monthly Cash flow: rolling forecast, with early warning of pressure.
Quarterly Reforecast: full-year forecast against budget and the Partners' targets.
Quarterly Benchmarking: income and costs against comparable practices, with commentary on opportunities.
Yearly Budget: next year's budget by site and cost centre, for the Partners to approve.
Produce the monthly reports within an agreed number of days of month end.
Benchmarking and insight
Compare the practice each quarter with similar practices, using NHS practice payment data, the accountants' benchmarking and PCN and ICB comparisons.
Benchmark income per patient and by stream, staff cost per patient and as a share of income, and operating costs per patient and per site.
Show which services make money, where costs are higher than comparable practices and why, and which income streams can grow.
Prepare the figures for decision papers, so every proposal shows its financial effect.
Contracts, controls and year end
Keep the contract register, with values and review and renewal dates, and alert the Head of Practice before each date.
Own the payroll, purchasing, petty cash and anti-fraud procedures, and apply the Standing Financial Instructions on every payment.
Make sure a trained deputy can run payroll and payments, with clear separation of duties.
Prepare complete, reconciled records for the accountants, and support them with Partners' tax and pension information.
Leadership team contribution
Bring financial evidence to the leadership team: where costs are rising, where income is at risk and where savings could be made.
Help leads understand their own budgets, and make finance processes simpler and more automated.
Weekly finance report
The weekly finance report is the one-page red, amber and green summary listed under reports above, adding payroll issues and upcoming contract dates.
CQC accountability
Supports Well-led. Evidence includes management accounts, reconciliations, the contract register and procedure records.
Person Specification
Qualifications Essential
AAT Level 3, or equivalent bookkeeping experience Expert, hands-on Xero user, including chart of accounts design, tracking categories, budgets and custom reporting Experience running a full set of books, including bank reconciliation, supplier payments and credit control Experience running payroll, including PAYE Working knowledge of NHS Pension Scheme employer administration in general practice Experience producing management accounts, cost centre and budget reports that non-accountants can understand, with clear commentary on what the numbers mean Willingness to learn general practice finance quickly Accurate, organised, discreet and trustworthy Integrity, and a calm approach to deadlines
Desirable
AAT Level 4 or above Xero Advisor certification Experience migrating or restructuring a chart of accounts, including historical data Experience preparing Partners year-end pension certificates Cash flow forecasting and reforecasting Experience benchmarking GP practice finances Knowledge of GP income streams and the partnership model Knowledge of CQRS and how approved claims flow through to payment Experience reconciling GP payment statements and drug reimbursements Experience of income recovery reviews
Disclosure and Barring Service Check This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Employer details Employer name Northdown & Dashwood Surgery
Address Northdown Surgery
St Anthony’s Way
Cliftonville
Margate
Kent
CT9 2TR
United Kingdom
Employer's website https://northdownsurgery.org.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)