Finance Lead

Main duties

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.

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.

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.

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.

Qualifications