A day in the life of a university finance officer

Fast paced, unpredictable and highly varied. That’s a day in the life of a UK university finance professional. Running a campus shop is especially difficult — between decentralised sales, navigating compliance and security and setting up proper reporting, there are many challenges to navigate. But the right technology partner can help higher ed professionals navigate these responsibilities and streamline processes, freeing up more time for higher impact work.

Early morning: Take command of decentralised sales with confidence and a custom-branded store

As the day begins, a department reaches out wanting to integrate some items for sale in your campus store. Because TouchNet’s Marketplace uStore comes ready to integrate department by department, you can easily set them up with an account and show them how to run their items within their own section of uStores.

Each campus shop can operate from one centralised uStore page with easy-to-navigate icon menus for each department. From university botanic gardens to catering to transcripts, each service and department gets its own menu bar and clickable page, helping you do more with less admin time and break down silos across campus. Creating digital storefronts has never been easier — or more freeing.

You end your morning knowing that your custom branded store is running smoothly. Not only is it differentiated from other university stores, you can also easily track your transactions, making accounting, reporting and reconciliation a breeze. Now, you have the peace of mind needed to complete the rest of the tasks in your day.

Midday: Navigating compliance and security with assured expertise

It’s time for the afternoon compliance checks, but with uStores you’re already one step ahead. All TouchNet solutions are backed by our parent company, Global Payments. The platform’s advanced encryption protocols and proactive security audits provide assurance that sensitive data is protected with uncompromising rigour. This mitigates risk and streamlines audit preparation, allowing the finance team to focus on strategic financial management.

By selecting TouchNet, a Global Payments company, as your partner, we’ll help protect sensitive data at your institution while reducing compliance hurdles.

Late afternoon: Reporting

It’s toward the end of your day, and now it’s time to ensure all your reporting is accurate and up to date. With TouchNet’s intuitive dashboard and actionable insights, reporting is simple and robust. Monitor sales trends, identify growth opportunities and optimise resource allocation with precision.

Customer experience is key

Happy customers? That’s the real measure of success. In recent UK studies, 51% of customers cited that customer experience is most important in eCommerce transactions. Campuses that use uStores support mobile and guest checkout, removing common customer frustrations when finalising a transaction. These small enhancements translate into a better bottom line. Newer clients report as much as 90% less abandoned carts and 30% increases in revenue growth. With TouchNet uStores, you won’t just be improving your day — you’ll be creating a better experience for each and every one of your customers.

Why do UK institutions choose TouchNet?

• 1,000+ Higher education institutions worldwide trust us
• 22m+ Students and families served
• £30b+ Processed annually

A day in review

Now that your day is done, you can reflect on how uStores has streamlined your campus commerce. With centralised sales, top-notch security and real-time reporting, many tasks that used to be stressful and tedious are now user friendly and simple. This is how a modern campus store can run — all the ease you desire, without sacrificing compliance.