Practice Manager Toolkit (Excel)
One free workbook containing:
- Monthly checklist: 24 routine tasks, April to March
- Annual planner: national deadlines by month
- Key contacts and systems log
- Training matrix: works out due dates and shows overdue training in red
- Risk register: scores and rates risks automatically
Adapt it to your practice. Training frequencies are suggestions: set your own in your training policy.
New in post? Your first 30 days
Week 1: find out what exists
- Get a copy of the practice's GMS/PMS/APMS contract and partnership agreement
- Find out which enhanced services the practice has signed up to
- Get the latest CQC report and any action plan
- Find the lease or property documents, and note rent review and break dates
- Get a list of system logins and who holds them, and set up your own
Weeks 2–3: get access
- Smartcard with the right roles
- NHSmail, plus access to any shared practice mailboxes
- PCSE Online, for payments, pensions and the Performers List
- CQRS, for enhanced service and QOF declarations
- SDCS, for the eDEC and complaints returns
- The DSPT
- The CQC provider portal
- Your bank, payroll and HMRC accounts
Weeks 3–4: meet people
- Your PCN clinical director and PCN manager
- The ICB primary care contracting contact
- Your accountant, payroll provider and HR adviser
- Your IT support
- The LMC
- Other practice managers locally, through a PM forum or WhatsApp group
The three things that most often go wrong for new managers: enhanced service claims missed because nobody told them what the practice had signed up to; pension estimates and certificates left undone after the previous manager left; system access that depended on a single person's Smartcard or login. Check all three in your first month.
Your monthly routine
| Area | Each month |
|---|---|
| Income | Reconcile the PCSE payment statement. Declare and approve CQRS achievement. Submit local enhanced service claims by the ICB deadline. |
| Payroll | Run payroll and the RTI submission. Pay HMRC by the 22nd (electronic). Check pension deductions and the 14.38% employer rate. |
| Pensions | Complete GP Locum A forms for locums. Check that partners' pension contributions match their estimates. |
| QOF | Run achievement reports, and target recalls and missing codes. Don't leave it until March. |
| Vaccinations | Check item-of-service claims, stock and ImmForm orders, and fridge temperature records. |
| Data returns | Submit Friends and Family Test data. Action list maintenance and PCSE queries. |
| Workforce | Review sickness absence and hold return-to-work meetings. Check training compliance. Process starters and leavers (Smartcard, NHSmail, clinical system and building access). |
| Governance | Review significant events, LFPSE reports, complaints, patient safety alerts, the risk register and the action log. |
| Premises | Check fire alarm and emergency lighting tests, and the emergency drugs, oxygen and defibrillator log. |
Key national dates
Dates marked * move each year. Check the source before relying on them.
| When | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 1 April | New contract year. Read the contract changes, apply pay uplifts once confirmed, submit partners' pension estimates, and confirm enhanced service sign-ups | NHS England, ICB, PCSE |
| 6 April | New statutory rates for SSP, family leave pay and the National Living Wage | GOV.UK |
| 31 May | P60s issued to staff | HMRC |
| Spring* | Annual complaints return (KO41b) | SDCS |
| 30 June | Data Security and Protection Toolkit submission | DSPT |
| 6 July | P11Ds, if you provide any benefits in kind | HMRC |
| Autumn | Flu and COVID programmes, and staff vaccination | UKHSA, NHS England |
| Mid-Oct to late Nov* | Annual eDEC self-declaration. In 2025 the deadline was 21 November | NHS England Digital |
| 31 January | Partners' self-assessment tax deadline. Make sure your accountant has what they need | HMRC |
| 28 February | GP pension Type 1 and Type 2 certificates for the year ending 11 months earlier | PCSE |
| 31 March | QOF year-end, and final enhanced service claims | CQRS |
The eDEC: The eDEC is a formal declaration of contract compliance. CQC also uses it as part of its pre-inspection information. Answers are pre-filled from last year, so check each one rather than clicking through, and have a partner review it before you submit. It also asks you to confirm that your practice catchment area is accurate.
Understanding the contract
Most of what a practice must do comes from four places:
- The contract itself: the GMS or PMS Regulations, or your APMS contract
- The Statement of Financial Entitlements (SFE): what the practice is paid, and for what
- The Network Contract DES: PCN obligations and ARRS
- The fundamental standards: CQC regulation
Each April, NHS England publishes the changes for the coming year. The 2026/27 changes include:
- Advice and Guidance funding moving into core funding
- a new practice-level GP reimbursement scheme
- compulsory participation in the General Practice Staff Survey
- a requirement that online consultation tools are not capped
- NHS England – Changes to the GP Contract 2026/27
- BMA – Guidance for GP practices
Covers what practices can and cannot charge for, fit notes, firearms licensing, access, premises and more
Governance
Complaints
- Follow the NHS complaints regulations: acknowledge within 3 working days, and respond in writing with details of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO)
- Keep a log, identify themes and share learning
- Submit the annual KO41b return
Significant events
- Record, investigate and share learning
- Report to LFPSE where appropriate
- Apply the duty of candour when a notifiable safety incident occurs
- Make CQC statutory notifications when required
Business continuity
- Have a written plan covering IT and telephony failure, loss of premises, staff shortage and a cyber incident
- Test it at least once a year
- Keep a copy off-site
CQC Support page CQC Support page for inspection readiness, statutory notifications and what to do after an inspection.
Workforce
- Recruitment: complete pre-employment checks before the start date: right to work, identity, references, DBS, professional registration, Performers List and occupational health. CQC checks these under Regulation 19
- Contracts: every employee must have a written statement of terms from day one. Salaried GPs must be offered the BMA model contract, or terms no less favourable
- Appraisals: annual appraisals with objectives and a development plan, for every member of staff
- Training: keep a training matrix covering safeguarding (at the correct level for each role), basic life support, information governance, fire safety, IPC and Oliver McGowan training. Oliver McGowan training is a legal requirement for CQC-registered providers
- Employment law: SSP has been payable from day one since April 2026. Tribunal time limits extend to 6 months from October 2026, and the unfair dismissal qualifying period falls to 6 months from January 2027
More detail is on our Workforce & Employment page.
Data protection, IT and cyber security
- DSPT: submit by 30 June each year. The toolkit is needed for continued access to NHSmail, the HSCN network and other NHS systems
- Data Protection Officer: every GP practice must have one. This is often provided by the ICB or a commissioned service, so check who yours is
- Subject access requests: respond within one month, usually free of charge. Keep a log
- Data breaches: report reportable breaches within 72 hours. The DSPT incident tool notifies the ICO
- Cyber security: enforce multi-factor authentication, keep software patched, remove access promptly when staff leave, and provide annual staff training
- Smartcards: never share them. Access for leavers must be removed on their last day
- Data Security and Protection Toolkit
- Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)
Guidance on subject access, breaches and data protection
Finance, premises and pensions
Income streams, premises reimbursement, NHSPS service charges and GP pension responsibilities are all covered on our Premises & Finance page. The deadlines that most often catch practices out are:
- the 12-week window to challenge a notional rent review
- 28 February for GP pension certificates
- submitting accurate pension estimates in April. Underpaid contributions are charged to the practice
Your own development and support
- Institute of General Practice Management (IGPM)
The professional body for general practice managers. Offers accreditation (MIGPM), toolkits and peer support networks
- Practice Managers Association (PMA)
Free membership, workshops, and ILM Level 3, 5 and 7 diplomas and apprenticeships
- GM Training Hub – Primary Care Integrated Development Programme
Fully funded learning open to practice managers and non-clinical staff across Greater Manchester, including leadership and management
- Londonwide LMCs – General Practice Management Training Programme
An RCGP-accredited programme covering contracts, finance, HR, premises and governance. Suitable for new and aspiring managers
- CQC GP mythbusters
CQC's own answers on common compliance questions
- NHS Employers
Guidance on employment, pay and pensions
- ACAS
Free employment advice and template policies
Look after yourself. Practice managers absorb a great deal of pressure from patients, staff and partners. Peer support through a local PM forum makes a real difference, and the LMC is always happy to talk things through in confidence.
Frequently asked questions
Need help?
West Pennine LMC supports practice managers as well as GPs. Get in touch about contract queries, ICB issues, workforce and HR problems, CQC, premises, or if you simply need someone to talk it through with. All contact is confidential.
[email protected]Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm
This page gives general guidance only and is not legal, financial or HR advice. Dates marked * change each year, so always check the source. Last reviewed: September 2026.