Prepare the return from the work you already do.
Programme information, agreed price, learner status and delivery history should remain connected to the record your MIS team reviews. Journey brings funding preparation and ILR work into the apprenticeship lifecycle, with supported checks and a named history of changes.
Prepare. Check. Reconcile.
Journey supports funding administration and ILR preparation using the connected learner record, including supported versioned rule packs, agreed price and route information, return preparation and review. These checks support the provider’s process. They do not replace external validation, submission requirements or the provider’s responsibility for accurate information.
Treat return preparation as a repeatable review
The most useful preparation process makes exceptions visible early and gives each one an owner. Review what has changed since the previous return, identify the records that need attention and correct information at its source. Then check the resulting output using the relevant external submission process.
A record can be complete in one sense and still need investigation. A value may exist but disagree with the supporting agreement. A lifecycle change may be recorded but require another team to review its implications. Use supported system checks to direct attention, then examine the evidence behind the exception.
| Review point | Evidence to bring together |
|---|---|
| Programme and dates | The learner’s agreed programme, relevant start date, planned dates and recorded changes. |
| Price and route | The recorded agreement, funding route and the information used for reconciliation. |
| Lifecycle changes | Starts, breaks, returns, withdrawals and completions that need review for the period. |
| Exceptions and corrections | The affected record, the reason for review, the owner and the completed correction. |
A useful exception points to the next piece of work
Illustrative example: a preparation review identifies 12 records needing attention. Nine are missing an employer identifier and three have a price inconsistency. The useful output is more than “12 issues”: it identifies the learners, the field or recorded check, the source information and the person who can resolve it.
Journey AI in Advanced can help authorised users ask about the recorded preparation position and open its supporting sources. It should not be treated as a funding eligibility verdict or a promise that a submission will be accepted.
Keep the working record and the submission evidence together
Agree how your team records review decisions, retains submission evidence and handles a correction after a return. Versioned rules and dated records matter because requirements and circumstances can change. The appropriate source is the published material relevant to the funding year and learner, alongside the provider’s own evidence.
For implementation, identify your required programmes, start dates, return workflow and reconciliation needs before sign-off. If you are moving systems, include a representative parallel return and exception review in the migration acceptance plan.
This is Journey's funding-management overview: forecasts, evidence and versioned DWP rule controls, with ILR build and data-quality checks to support provider review before official submission.
Co-investment is the share of apprenticeship training cost an employer without enough levy funds contributes directly, alongside government funding, under the funding rules for that academic year. The provider records the agreed co-investment amount and collects it as part of the funding evidence for the apprenticeship.
Funding computed against the right rules
Funding-sensitive figures are calculated server-side against versioned DWP rule packs, selected by date. The controls help providers apply the relevant academic-year pack and retain evidence for review; Journey does not determine claim acceptance.
ILR build and data-quality checks
Build an ILR export from the live learner record, check required fields and funding-rule consistency before export, and retain Journey workflow records. External XSD/FIS conformance and official submission remain controlled downstream steps.
Audit-ready by design
Significant application actions are recorded against the person who acted. Generated funding figures retain their supporting evidence pack, helping providers prepare a traceable history for review.
What's covered
Journey connects implemented funding and ILR controls to the live learner record and supporting evidence. Providers remain responsible for official submissions and acceptance.
- Versioned England apprenticeship funding rule packs
- Server-side funding band, co-investment and incentive calculations
- Off-the-job (OTJ) hours evidence feeding funding compliance
- ILR build, data-quality checks and submission history
- Funding forecasting and period-on-period exports
- ILR identity, actual end date and break-in-learning handling
- Controlled audit history and per-figure evidence pack
Source check: 31 August 2026. Review funding-rule references by 31 October 2026 or sooner if the official guidance changes.
Funding management belongs on the same record as delivery
When funding is reconciled in spreadsheets, the figure you claim and the evidence behind it live in different places — and they drift. Journey computes every funding-sensitive figure server-side from the live learner record, so the number in Journey's funding controls and ILR build workflow are derived from the same implemented record and supporting evidence. The client can request a state transition but never supplies the resulting figure.
Off-the-job hours, key dates and decisions are captured as part of delivery and feed directly into funding compliance, with significant application actions recorded against the person who acted. These records can support a provider's own funding-review and evidence-preparation process; they do not determine an audit or inspection outcome.
2026/27 funding rule coverage
Journey holds the apprenticeship funding rules as packs versioned by academic year, selected by each apprentice's start date through a single source of truth. It carries the 2024/25, 2025/26 and published 2026/27 version 3 packs. The 2026/27 pack covers apprenticeship starts from 1 August 2026 to 31 July 2027, alongside the historic packs rather than in place of them.
Journey is independent software built around published funding rules. Its date-based pack selection and checks help providers organise evidence and review their records; they do not certify every funding-rule clause, make a funding decision or guarantee funding or inspection outcomes.
For the monthly-return workflow, see our apprenticeship ILR software page. For date-selected rule controls, see DWP apprenticeship funding rules software.
Funding & ILR questions
- Does Journey handle ILR submissions?
- Journey builds an ILR export from your live learner record and checks required fields and funding-rule consistency before export. External XSD/FIS conformance and official submission remain controlled downstream steps; Journey does not determine acceptance.
- How does Journey keep funding figures correct?
- Funding-sensitive figures are computed server-side against versioned DWP rule packs chosen by date. This helps providers apply the relevant academic year's rules and retain an evidence trail for review; clients can request a transition but never supply the resulting funding figure. Journey does not determine DfE or ILR acceptance.
- Is Journey ready for an apprenticeship funding audit?
- Journey records significant application actions against the person who acted and attaches an evidence pack to funding figures, including off-the-job hours and key dates, to support provider funding-review and inspection preparation. Providers remain responsible for their submissions and for responding to any audit findings.
- Does Journey track off-the-job training hours?
- Yes. Off-the-job (OTJ) hours can be captured against the apprenticeship standard, with shortfall alerts and linked records to support provider review and evidence preparation.
Evidence-linked and accountable by design
Built so your team can trace evidence, decisions and actions
Tenant-scoped access controls
Tenant-scoped access controls are designed to keep each provider's records separate on reads and writes.
Controlled audit history
Significant application state changes are recorded against the person who made them, supporting a traceable history.
Published funding-rule packs
Journey applies supported, versioned DWP funding-rule packs selected from the apprentice's start date, including 2026/27 version 3, to support provider review.
Bounded AI assistance
Journey AI in Advanced can help your authorised team inspect recorded funding and learner context. Return preparation, field confirmation and official submission remain controlled workflows with human responsibility.
Evidence-led security controls
Tenant isolation, access controls, audit records and governed operations are designed into the platform.
Your data and employers stay yours
Export options are available under the applicable terms, and employer relationships remain with the provider.
Journey is independent software and is not DWP, DfE or Ofsted approved. It does not guarantee funding or inspection outcomes.
Questions providers ask
Does Journey handle ILR submissions?
Journey builds an ILR export from your live learner record and checks required fields and funding-rule consistency before export. External XSD/FIS conformance and official submission remain controlled downstream steps; Journey does not determine acceptance.
How does Journey keep funding figures correct?
Funding-sensitive figures are computed server-side against versioned DWP rule packs chosen by date. This helps providers apply the relevant academic year's rules and retain an evidence trail for review; clients can request a transition but never supply the resulting funding figure. Journey does not determine DfE or ILR acceptance.
Is Journey ready for an apprenticeship funding audit?
Journey records significant application actions against the person who acted and attaches an evidence pack to funding figures, including off-the-job hours and key dates, to support provider funding-review and inspection preparation. Providers remain responsible for their submissions and for responding to any audit findings.
Does Journey track off-the-job training hours?
Yes. Off-the-job (OTJ) hours can be captured against the apprenticeship standard, with shortfall alerts and linked records to support provider review and evidence preparation.
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