Are you a member of a church or non-profit organization? If so, then you’re probably having to deal with member information, donations, and donations. It’s no wonder why those who work in churches and non-profits need software for church donations. This is where it can help.
Whether you’re a small non-profit or 15-branch mega church, software for church donations can help streamline the process of accepting donations. The right software can give you better reporting and make it easier for your congregation to make donations without too much hassle.
Church donations software…yes, you’re going to need software to track this. In fact, almost all churches use some type of software whether it’s for accounting, membership or any other number of uses. I know this seems hard and can be stressful when starting a new church but don’t worry…you can get through this!
People donate to churches via cash, check or through software. There are many software programs available today that can help your church manage its finances and donations. Many of these church donation tracking software programs have a series of tutorials to help your church with using them. Some programs will allow you to accept payments online.
Why Do Churches Need Church Donation Tracking Software?
Sometimes talking about money at church can be a touchy subject. But it shouldn’t be! After all, 11 of Jesus’ 39 parables are about money, and there are over 2,000 Bible verses that talk about money, wealth, greed, and the like. With today’s variety of giving platforms available (credit cards, debit cards, checks, cash, mobile app; the list goes on) it’s more important than ever for churches to track church donations. It would be nearly impossible for a church to build an accurate budget at the start of a calendar year if they aren’t able to track church donations accurately and regularly.
HERE ARE THE DONATION Software for Churches
Easily track your donors and donations / contributions / givings / tithes with the DONATION Software for Churches
DONATION works well for churches, charities, and other places of worship. The same version is used for all of them, but this page lists some of the features that will be specially appreciated by churches.
DONATION makes sense for small to mid-sized places of worship:
- Avoid the expense and complexity of a complete church management system.
- Focus on one thing you absolutely must get right – tracking donors and donations, and issuing charitable receipts.
Beyond standard features, churches can benefit from these DONATION capabilities:
- Quick multiple donation entry
- Envelope number entry
- User access controls
Quick Multiple Donation Entry
Quickly enter donations made on the same date, such as a Sunday collection or offering. Use the File ⇒ One Date Donation Entry menu option, or the Batch Entry button above the Donations area on the program’s main window. (See Help topic: One Date Donation Entry.)
Envelope Number Entry for Donors
If you use collection envelopes, you can record envelope numbers in the Donor’s Member/Env. # field.
- Type envelope numbers in directly, or assign them sequentially by right-clicking in that field.
- Auto-assign (or re-assign) some or all envelope numbers. (See Help topic: Reassigning Envelope Numbers.)
In the Donor List, typing an envelope number lets you find donors quickly by that number.
User Access Controls in DONATION
Your church might want to let volunteers like Tellers or Counters use DONATION to record collections – but only let them see envelope numbers, not donors’ names. Use the Limited User Password feature for this. Through the Maintenance ⇒ Main Window Options window you can control the features available to users who sign in with a limited-user password.
Note: The free feature-limited Lite version does not support the Batch Entry window, automated reassignment of all envelope numbers or the Limited User Password.
Did you know that individual donations make for the largest share of charitable and church giving in the United States?
What are the benefits of Church Donation Tracking Software?
A proper church donation tracking software will take all the guess work out of your accounting and financial forecasting. Knowing how much to pay staff, what events to throw (and how frequently), how generous your church can be for other local or benevolent needs, and what’s in the bank for missions all comes down to how accurately your church donation tracking software is.
What are the features of Church Donation Tracking Software?
There are several key features of using a church donation tracking software. You’ll be able to see detailed deposit information, search gifts by name and email, view summary deposit reports, create tax receipting, and have access to a host of incredible accounting and admin tools, making your finance team happier than ever.
Not only does a solid church donation tracking software help make sense of complex church finances, but it also works to alleviate some of the administrator responsibilities and many hats of the church leaders, and they’ll build greater confidence in the software managing what is otherwise done manually, with a greater possibility for human error.
Beyond tracking donations, you can integrate with church management software for attendance tracking, event management, volunteer scheduling, donor management, people management, church apps, and more! Great for small churches, midsize churches, and megachurches, donation tracking software is sure to be a game changer for all religious organizations.
With Tithe.ly you can get started for free (that’s right, $0) and have your church donation software up and running in no time at all. There is no setup fee. No monthly fee. No credit card required! You can cancel at any time. The features are endless. Give it a try!
How Is Software Different for Churches?
Different churches need different solutions. Like snowflakes, they’re all totally unique! Luckily, there are lots of solutions that are catered to meet your church’s needs across the various platforms that are available. Keep reading on to see a comparison of the 7 best church donation tracking softwares.
How to Chose the Best Church Donation Tracking Software:
- Who will be using the program?
More than likely, the manager (or team) of your church finances will be the one using the church donation tracking software. Whoever it is in your church (big or small) that typically counts the money and/or tracks online donations will sigh a huge relief when they switch from manual data entry to a robust donation software.
- What features do you really need?
Nowadays, it’s helpful to donors to receive instant email receipts. Think of it as the “Amazon effect”. People expect a confirmation email or text, especially in response to a generous gift. Instant email receipts, weekly giving reminders, ChMS integrations (with a system like Elvanto) are all important features for a church donation software. Nowadays, 49% of all church giving transactions are made with a card. Making online giving as easy as possible for those individuals who would like to use a credit/debit card is important.
- Will it actually save you time and money?
Yes. Absolutely. Remember back in grade school when you had to learn how to do math with pencil and paper, and then at some point in school you were given a calculator? Church donation tracking software is the calculator. You’ll save time, money, and plenty of headaches by automating countless operations and simply looking over the reports as often as you’d like.
- Where will you be in five to ten years?
This is a good question to consider. Church software will only continue growing and developing in the coming years. Learning how to integrate tech into your religious community will pay dividends over time as the world continues to be shaped by technological innovations.
Here are the Best Church Donation Tracking Software in 2021
Jump to review:
1) Tithe.ly
Ranked #1 on SoftwareWorld, Tithe.ly scores a 98/100 as a catch-all solution for every church and charitable organization to use in the 21st century. Used by 30,000 churches and organizations, Tithe.ly provides easily customizable solutions for church mobile apps, giving software, accounting and reporting, and more. With a totally intuitive interface, your church will fall in love with this all-in-one tool that customers love.
Tithe.ly boasts a complete giving system that will increase tithes and offerings by making online giving for your church simple while also allowing members to donate directly from your church website.
It only takes 5 minutes to set up and get started and there are no commitments whatsoever. Cancel anytime, risk free!
There are so many awesome features of using Tithe.ly for your church donation tracking software. Below are just a few.
Along with those features, you can easily brand your church donation form so that your logo and branding shows up all over the web form. This gives peace of mind to the donors throughout the process because they will know by the logo each step of the way that they are giving to the right place.
Beyond these great features, you can also track bank deposits, reconcile giving, and easily integrate your favorite accounting tools.
Accounting and bank reconciliation should be simple for your church staff, but all too often church giving platforms make it harder than it needs to be. In order to change that, we’ve gone to great lengths to spend time understanding exactly what churches, ministries, and non-profits need to effectively and efficiently manage their finances and gain the insights needed to grow.
Use cash and check gift entry, gift and deposit reporting, weekly/monthly summary reporting, tax receipting and more. Now with a seamless Quickbooks integration, Tithe.ly will be your new best friend.
It’s $0 to start with no setup fee, no monthly fee, no contract, and no credit card required.
2) Aplos
Aplos offers unlimited church giving forms to meet your every need. There is also a fun giving widget that you can embed onto your website so donors can give without ever leaving your webpage. Aplos hosts lots of digital giving features and can also provide text-to-give at an additional cost. The Aplos Suite starts at $59 per month.
3) PowerChurch Software
PowerChurch offers two different editions: Plus and Online. In comparison to Tithe.ly and Aplos, PowerChurch feels a little bit outdated, but it does boast tools like check in, online giving and administration, powerful record keeping, and more. The software starts at $395.00 per download for a new user.
4) ShelbyNext Financials
This system has some great features you might want for church financial reporting. Meet Net Asset accounting standards and comply with GAAP while you confidently track expenses, analyze spending, and clearly communicate fiscal health to the rest of your team. Their entry plan for the giving app starts at $19 per month.
5) FlockBase
FlockBase has an online giving application that pairs well with its accounting system, which makes reporting, taxes, and IRS compliance much easier. They advertise as being great for small to mid-size churches, so if your church is really big, FlockBase might not have every feature you’re looking for. Their basic plan that starts at $16 per month.
6) Breeze
Breeze makes giving and generating reports a “breeze”. Ah, I see what they did there. Along with their tracking software, they also offer powerful reporting, text giving, tax-season statements, and user-specific roles so different users see different features on the app. They have one plan only, and it’s $50 per month.
7) ACS Church Accounting
ACS is secure, accurate, flexible, and offers a built-in ACH options for those who’d like to give directly from their bank account (instead of with a card). ACS also gives the ability to run payroll, run accounts payable, send invoices, and more. Their “MinistryPlatform” has a great check-in suite and an intuitive donations and payments application. They give you pricing after you schedule a demo.
CONCLUSION
Churches are finding it hard to collect tithes and donations, because of their lack to update themselves in the present. In this article, we will share with you some innovations in church donations software that will help you to run your fund raising program efficiently and effectively.