The best free church accounting software is more than something that can help you keep track of receipts. It’s an excellent reporting tool, and financial management solution for churches that will aid in the growth and effectiveness of any ministry.
Although some churches choose to outsource their financial records to a consultant or volunteer, I’ve compiled a list of best free church accounting software solutions so small groups and organizations can manage their books without spending a lot of money.
PowerChurch: Best all-in-one church accounting software for small to midsize churches
Founded in 1984, PowerChurch Plus is one of the most established church accounting software programs on the market. PowerChurch Plus is a desktop-based church accounting software, but the company also has an online option: PowerChurch Online. Unlike QuickBooks where the desktop and online versions of the software differ considerably, PowerChurch Online is an actual installation of PowerChurch Plus on PowerChurch’s servers.
PowerChurch is a complete church accounting software, membership management, and recordkeeping system for your growing church. If you need more functionality than the core program offers, you can purchase additional add-ons, such as to handle check-ins or mass mailings. Keep in mind though, this will raise the price of your church accounting software — but if you were paying for these things anyway, it can streamline the process to get them all from the same provider.
The PowerChurch user interface isn’t anything fancy — in fact, it harkens back to the accounting software of 20 years ago — but it does what it’s supposed to do, and it does it well. However, one downside to PowerChurch is that it’s not form-based like QuickBooks; instead, it assumes a basic understanding of double-entry accounting–including which accounts are normally increased by credits or debits — making the learning curve a bit steep for someone with no prior accounting knowledge.
PowerChurch Plus is available for a one-time purchase of $395 if you download the software, or $415 if you order a physical disk for installation. Upgrades are an additional $159 for downloads or $179 for physical media. PowerChurch Plus only works on Windows PCs.
PowerChurch Online is $39.95 per month for two users, with the option to pay an extra $25 per month for every two additional users. If you opt for annual billing instead of monthly, you will save a marginal amount and pay $455 for the standard two-person license, or $275 per two additional users. All upgrades are included in this price, and you can use PowerChurch Online on any computer with an internet connection. Back to top
Aplos: Best cloud-based church accounting software for churches of all sizes
If you’re looking for a 100% cloud-based church accounting software option that will grow with your church, look no further than Aplos Church Software. Aplos Church Software is a cloud-based, all-in-one church management and accounting system that grows as your church does.
There are a number of pros to choosing Aplos Church Software:
- It was built by a CPA who is also a pastor, so the accounting behind the software is solid.
- It does true fund accounting, making it easy to manage your restricted funds.
- The all-in-one platform helps you manage everything you need as your church grows.
- It’s easy enough to use internally, but an assisted bookkeeping service is also available through Aplos.
Ranging from $24 per month for smaller churches to $199 per month for established congregations, Aplos Church Software’s pricing scales as your church grows, meaning you won’t overpay in your church’s infancy or outgrow the platform as your church matures. An Advanced Accounting option for larger churches is available starting at $179 per month (and requires an annual contract). Aplos Church Software will also work with you to create a custom church accounting software solution, known as their Thriving plan, which is quote-based.
If you’re looking for church accounting software with payroll, Aplos Church Software does not include payroll services in their own software, but they do integrate with Gusto for seamless and stress-free payroll management.
If you don’t have someone on your church’s administrative staff who is comfortable with accounting, Aplos has you covered with their bookkeeping service. Their team of specialized nonprofit bookkeepers will do all the accounting heavy lifting for you, starting at $300 per month without payroll or $400 per month for church accounting software with payroll and bill pay services included. Back to top
Realm: Church accounting software honorable mention
With a 4.5 out of 5 star rating on Capterra, Realm deserves an honorable mention on our list of best church accounting software solutions. Users rave about Realm being user friendly and having amazing customer service — both important features for any church accounting software.
Realm can handle basically anything your church needs, from giving, to events, to accounting, and more.
Realm does not post its pricing on its website, but according to Capterra pricing starts at $29 per month. Pricing is based in part on weekly attendance, and you can easily configure your plan on Realm’s website.
Zoho Books: Best automation
- Starting at $15.00/mo.* (15% off for registered nonprofits)
- Fund and encumbrance accounting
- Multi-currency support (pricier plans only) and multiple user support
- Donation tracking and support
Data as of 6/18/21. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
*When billed annually
Zoho Books’s thorough reporting features include expense reports that simplify transparency and fund tracking. Zoho Books excels at collaboration—you can delegate as many tasks as you need to other organization members. (While users are limited by plan, you can add additional users to any plan for $2.50 per month per user.) Like Sage Intacct, Zoho Books uses automated workflows to streamline data entry and consolidate redundant tasks.
But if you want to accept donations (which you undoubtedly do) you can’t just sign up for Zoho Books. You also need Zoho Checkout, Zoho’s payment portal. Zoho Checkout is free as long as you accept only 50 donations—ever, not per month. Clients that need unlimited donations in multiple currencies will need to add a $9-a-month Zoho Checkout plan to their existing Zoho Books plan.
Still, Zoho Books offers 15% off its starting price for registered nonprofits, which helps lighten some of the fiscal load.
ParishSOFT/Logos
ParishSOFT is a church accounting and management software that is designed to be used by dioceses and parishes. The church is incurred on the basis of modules, with a great offer enabling you to get free access to updates and support for the first year. It helps member manage their schedules, memberships, religious education, etc. It can also enable the church staff to connect with the dioceses. This software is being used in the dioceses of Baltimore and Petersburg.
Pros:
- Great synchronization features of parishes to dioceses
- Software understands the needs of Catholic church management
- Impressive tracking capabilities
- Good support staff
Cons:
- Can’t create forms or fill scanned forms
- No impressive encryption technologies
- Not platform independent
- Very limited feature set
Aplos Software
Aplos software is one of the best picks in church accounting software since it is comparatively an inexpensive option. Although, it’s true that it has been designed for the use of relatively small churches. It is a perfect solution for those churches that depend on a non-accountant for the task of data entry. It is entirely web-based, which means you don’t need to download or install any plugin.
Pros:
- Very reasonably priced at $25/month
- Offers a 15 day free trial for your ease
- Offers free service for 6 months if church is new
- Provides services of online giving
Cons:
- Can’t edit scanned or image-based church documents
- Is not very feature rich
- No password protection or encryption facilities
- Can’t handle large amount of data
Sumac by Silent Partner
For nonprofit organizations that need customizable donation tracking and donor management tools, Sumac is our top choice in our review. With affordable pricing, free training sessions, and built-in email marketing, Sumac is a powerful fundraising tool.Pros
- Affordable pricing and different packages available
- Staff and volunteers can access databases simultaneously from anywhere
- Customizable donor profiles
Cons
- Does not include general accounting capabilities
- Implementation services and data migration may be an additional cost
- Additional training costs $150 per hour
Many small and midsize nonprofit organizations have excellent accounting software and keep their financials in good order, but need help when it comes to donor management and donation tracking. If you’re relying on multiple spreadsheets or outdated databases, Sumac can be an affordable upgrade that can streamline how you work with your constituents.
Sumac was launched in 2003 and supports thousands of nonprofit professionals around the world. In 2018, Sumac became part of Silent Partner Software Inc and is offered alongside other products like PartnerHR.
With Sumac’s fundraising program, staff can access critical data from anywhere, and they can view databases at the same time, so they always have the most up-to-date information. The program allows you to create customizable donor profiles so you can adjust fields to meet your organization’s needs.
Within Sumac, you can see each donor’s history with your organization, including past donations and communications. You can also create reminders to follow up with key donors.
Donation details can be converted into ledger entries and reports for your bookkeeper or accountant, and you can craft summarized annual giving reports.
The price for Sumac ranges from $35 per month to $250 and up per month, depending on your organization’s needs and number of records. Other services, like online donation acceptance, website management, and course registration require additional fees. With your fee, you get free training. If you need additional training, you’ll have to pay $150 per hour.
FlockBase
Flockbase is a popular small church accounting software solution (also good for medium-sized churches) that offers a user-friendly and affordable option for church accounting. The Flockbase Accounting offering provides effective and simple management of churches’ income and expenses, alongside bank reconciliations, payroll processing and check writing all with the running of a church in mind. A range of accounting reports provide all the information needed to make good decisions about the churches finances. Flockbase prides itself on ease of use, with users needing no specific training to get to grips with its platform.
This is a popular church accounting software choice because the elements consider how to work best with how a church needs to work internally and also with the wider community.
Pros
- Easy to use
- All accounting tools needed
- Simple to set up
- Good user manual
Cons
- Dated interface
- Issues with support process
- Reporting elements not easily split
ChurchWindows
ChurchWindows is a great alternative for church accounting software since it can help in the tracking and management of memberships, congregation, giving and happenings. It can be used to keep a record of everything the church receives, the payroll of its employees, its disbursements, and its budget. This has been a popular choice for a long time.
Pros:
- Involves the five important modules
- Can easily manage the budget
- Is a collection of programs that can be used as fits
- Good tracking facilities
Cons:
- Expensive for the use of smaller church
- New members will face difficulty in using
- Can’t create institutional documents
- Doesn’t have a lot of editing features
PowerChurch
PowerChurch is another popular choice amongst church accounting software which can not only help in keeping records but also in overall church management. It is an organizer in a complete package that can manage contributions, events, accounting, memberships etc. It is a good way to track the church budget.
Pros:
- Can automate church receivable and payable
- It is specially crafted for church uses
- Setup assistant helps in creating accounts and setting balance
- Payroll modules are also included
Cons:
- Costlier than other options
- Doesn’t enable digital document signing
- Can’t split or merge church documents
- Can’t add annotations on the documents
Conclusion
Chances are your church is growing (and rapidly in most cases, right?!) If you’re like me at all, I bet you’ve had the experience of starting to look around for Accounting Software for Church, only to find yourself frustrated with either cost or capability. I’m here to share the simple truth – There is an option.