E-procurement made easy: meet the IRIS Financials punchout partner network

For finance teams in schools and trusts, procurement can be one of the most time-consuming parts of the working week. Orders are placed on a supplier’s website, then re-keyed into the finance system, then checked against budgets and approvals – often across multiple sites, with multiple suppliers, and multiple versions of the same process.

E-procurement through IRIS Financials, powered by punchout technology, removes this duplication. And with our growing network of supplier partners, more of your everyday purchasing can now be brought into a single, streamlined process.

Several of the newest additions to that network came directly from you. At our recent roadshow events, schools and trusts told us exactly which suppliers they wanted to see added next – and we listened: every single supplier requested is now part of the network. Here’s what’s already live and what’s coming next.

What is e-procurement, and how does punchout work?

E-procurement simply means buying goods and services electronically – your finance system talks directly to your supplier’s system, instead of you typing the same information twice. Punchout is the technology that connects the two.

Here’s how it works: from within IRIS Financials, you ‘punch out’ to your chosen supplier’s online catalogue, browsing live prices, stock levels, and products exactly as you would on their website. Add items to your basket and confirm, and the order flows straight back into IRIS Financials as a ready-made purchase order – with no need to retype information or switch between systems, and no risk of pricing or product code errors.

Your usual approval and authorisation processes stay exactly the same. Punchout doesn’t bypass your controls – it removes the admin sitting in front of them.

Why e-procurement matters for school and trust finance teams

In a multi-academy trust, the scale of this challenge multiplies: more sites mean more orders, more suppliers, and more opportunities for inconsistency. Common challenges include:

• Hours spent re-keying orders from supplier websites into your finance system
• Pricing errors that cause orders to be queried, delayed, or rejected
• Disjointed systems that don’t talk to each other, leaving finance teams stuck in the middle
• Inconsistent purchasing processes across sites, making trust-wide oversight a challenge

E-procurement addresses all of these directly. Purchase orders are generated automatically from the supplier’s live catalogue, so the information is accurate from the start. Everything runs inside IRIS Financials, so your audit trail, budget codes, and approval chain stay intact – and the process stays consistent across every site.

Kieren Shepherd, Estates Manager at Cygnus Academies Trust, describes the difference it has made to his team:

“The IRIS punchout system has drastically reduced the required time in our purchasing processes. The system’s ability to automatically enter correct product codes, details and costs has significantly streamlined the process for our staff but also, more importantly, dramatically reduced the total number of errors due to human error. It makes those larger orders (the dreaded summer holiday ones!) an absolute breeze as the purchase orders are automatically filled out, and the order sent to the supplier once the purchase order has gone through our approval processes. All in all, the IRIS punchout system is a game changer.”

– Kieren Shepherd, Estates Manager, Cygnus Academies Trust

Your purchases, your suppliers – all in one place

The suppliers below are likely to include some of the names your school or trust already buys from most often – which means the time savings apply to your highest-volume, most frequent purchases from day one. IRIS Financials’ e-procurement network already connects you to three major names in education purchasing.

Amazon Business

Amazon Business punchout brings the full Amazon catalogue – stationery, IT equipment, classroom resources, SEN supplies, cleaning and catering products, and more – directly into IRIS Financials. For many schools, Amazon accounts for a large share of weekly orders in many schools, so the time saving from this integration alone is considerable. Watch the Amazon Business demo video to see it set up in IRIS Financials.

ESPO

ESPO is a leading public sector buying organisation, offering Department for Education-approved frameworks and a catalogue of over 28,000 products spanning stationery, classroom consumables, catering, cleaning, and facilities. The ESPO punchout integration brings all of this straight into your IRIS Financials purchasing workflow. See the step-by-step ESPO set-up guide for a full walkthrough.

KCS Education

KCS Education was the first dedicated education supplier to offer punchout with IRIS Financials. With a catalogue built specifically for schools – covering stationery, classroom essentials, art and craft supplies, and furniture – KCS punchout connects your existing KCS account directly to your finance system.

New partners joining the network

These four suppliers are now live – each one added to the network because schools and trusts asked for them directly at our roadshow events.

We already work with 12,000+ smarter schools across the UK, so we understand the budget codes, approval chains, and policies you rely on day to day. Each new supplier connection is built around that understanding, so it fits straight into your existing ways of working – keeping integration and implementation as straightforward as possible.

HBS

HBS is a family-owned education supplies specialist with over 50 years of experience supporting 3,000+ schools, colleges, nurseries, and trusts with more than 20,000 products.

Their punchout integration is now live in IRIS Financials, and they’ve created a step-by-step setup guide and video to help schools get started quickly.

Herts FullStop

With over 60 years of experience and a catalogue of more than 18,500 products, Herts FullStop is a trusted procurement partner for schools and trusts nationwide. Their punchout integration is now live in IRIS Financials – giving even more of your purchasing a direct route through e-procurement.

Findel

Findel has been supporting educators for generations, ensuring you get the right resources first time and on time, so that nothing gets in the way of creating great learning outcomes. Findel has a wide range of Made for Education resources including specialist SEND, Science, PE ranges, and more. With Punchout you can continue to shop the entire range from Findel – including GLS, Hope, and AtoZ brands with ease and efficiency.  View the easy setup guide here or contact one of the Findel team today.

YPO

Having supported schools and trusts for over 50 years, YPO has cemented themselves as one of the UK’s leading partners to educators nationwide. Their offering covers everything you could need, from classroom essentials and specialised resources to facilities supplies so your school runs smoothly. If it matters to you, then you can trust that it matters to them. YPO Punchout is now available through IRIS Financials, connecting your purchasing workflow to the YPO website to easily browse and build your basket before transferring it all back to your finance system for seamless efficiency.

Get started with e-procurement

With Amazon Business, KCS Education, ESPO, YPO, Findel, HBS, and Herts FullStop all live, many of your most-used suppliers are accessible directly within IRIS Financials. Less time re-keying orders, fewer errors, and a cleaner audit trail from the moment a basket is confirmed.

E-procurement is included as standard for every IRIS Financials customer – it isn’t a separate chargeable module, so there’s no extra purchase to make before you get started.

Speak to your Account Manager or visit the IRIS Help Hub to set up punchout for your school or trust today.