Specialist Practice · Education & SMEs

Audit-Ready Data.
Without The Audit-Season Panic.

Most developers understand data. Very few also understand ESFA funding rules, ILR returns and Ofsted expectations. We do both — so training providers, colleges and data-heavy SMEs get clean, compliant, decision-ready information all year round, on a predictable monthly retainer.

ILR & Funding Assurance ESFA / Ofsted Audit Readiness Managed Power BI Reporting Fractional Head of Data GDPR & Data Governance
Led by a practitioner, not a generalist

GD Technology's founder currently leads the MIS & data function at a UK training provider — hands-on with ILR returns, funding data, stakeholder reporting and live GLA, Ofsted and Mazars audits. This practice is built on that day-to-day experience, not a textbook. More about that experience →

The Problem

Your funding depends on your data.
Your data is a mess.

If any of these sound familiar, you're carrying financial and regulatory risk you can't see until it's too late.

risk 01

ILR returns are a scramble

Every submission window becomes a fire drill — chasing errors, cross-checking spreadsheets, hoping nothing slipped through that costs you funding later.

risk 02

Audits keep you awake

An ESFA or Ofsted visit means weeks of prep because the evidence isn't organised and the data can't be trusted at a glance.

risk 03

Leadership flies blind

Directors ask "how are we doing?" and the honest answer is "give us a week to pull it together" — decisions get made on stale numbers.

risk 04

One person holds it all

Your MIS knowledge lives in one head. If they're off, on leave, or leave entirely, the whole operation is exposed.

risk 05

GDPR is "probably fine"

Learner and staff data is handled by habit, not by documented process — until someone asks to see the process.

risk 06

Systems don't talk

ACE360, PICS, your CRM and your finance system each hold part of the truth, and nobody has the full picture without hours of manual joining.

What We Do

Three ways to take data off your plate

Delivered as fixed monthly retainers so the cost is predictable and the support never stops — not one-off projects that leave you exposed again next quarter.

01

ILR, MIS & Compliance

Retainers from £600/mo

Hands-on ownership of your funding data — so returns are clean and audits are calm.

  • ILR validation & error resolution
  • Funding & eligibility checks (FIS, PDSAT)
  • ESFA & Ofsted audit-readiness reviews
  • ACE360 / PICS data-quality assurance
  • GDPR & governance documentation
02

Managed Data & Reporting

Retainers from £300/mo

Your numbers, always live — plus a plain-English readout of what they mean.

  • Power BI dashboards, built & maintained
  • Learner, funding & performance KPIs
  • Automated weekly / monthly reports
  • Monthly insight summary for leadership
  • Connects Excel, CRM & MIS sources
03

Fractional Head of Data

Retainers from £1,000/mo

Senior data leadership on tap — the strategy without the six-figure salary.

  • Data strategy & roadmap
  • Governance & risk oversight
  • Tool & systems decisions
  • AI-readiness & automation planning
  • Board-level reporting & advice
Retainer Pricing

Predictable monthly cost.
Cancel with 30 days' notice.

Starting points below. Final scope and price are confirmed after a free assessment — and there's a two-months-free discount for paying annually.

Assurance

£600/mo

For providers who need their ILR and funding data kept clean and submission-ready.

  • Monthly data-quality checks
  • ILR error resolution
  • Return-window support
  • Email & call support
Advisory

MIS Partner

£2,000+/mo

A true data partner — assurance, reporting and senior strategic direction combined.

  • Everything in Audit-Ready
  • Fractional Head of Data days
  • Systems & automation roadmap
  • Priority response
  • Board-level reporting

Book a Free Assessment

Prefer a one-off first? Start with a fixed-price AI & Data Readiness Audit from £750 — a short report on where you're exposed and where the quick wins are.

Why It Pays For Itself

The cost of getting data wrong
is far higher than the retainer

A single clawed-back funding error or a poor audit outcome dwarfs a year of monthly support. This is risk insurance that also makes you faster.

Days
Audit prep measured in days, not weeks — because the evidence is always in order.
£000s
Funding protected by catching ILR and eligibility errors before they're submitted.
1 day
Leadership questions answered same-day from a live dashboard, not "give us a week".
0
Single points of failure — your MIS knowledge no longer lives in one person's head.
Questions

Common questions

Yes — from small independent training providers up to mid-sized colleges and multi-site organisations. The retainer tier scales to how much data you have and how much risk you're carrying. We'll size it honestly after a free assessment.
ACE360, PICS, FIS and PDSAT for funding and ILR work, alongside Power BI, SQL and Excel for reporting, and the common CRMs (HubSpot, Salesforce). If you use something else, we'll adapt — the principles of clean, governed data are the same.
Often, yes — as a second pair of expert eyes and cover for a single point of failure. We can work alongside your team on assurance and audit readiness, or step in fully if you don't have the capacity in-house.
Rolling monthly with 30 days' notice — no long lock-in. Payment is by Direct Debit for simplicity, and paying annually gets you two months free. You can move up or down a tier as your needs change.
GDPR-aware handling and documented governance are part of every retainer — not an afterthought. We work to secure data practices and can help you produce the documentation an auditor or DPO will ask for.

Stop dreading audit season.

Book a free 30-minute Data & Compliance assessment. We'll look at where you're exposed, what it's costing you, and whether a retainer makes sense — no obligation, no jargon.

Book Your Free Assessment