There are times when I’m asked what type of software someone should use for church communication. When clients ask me this, I always tell them to choose the communication software they like the most. Whether it’s CRSource, MeWe, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YoutTube or Snapchat. The software that works best for your church is the one you should use.
Have you ever wondered what software does a church need to run smoothly? I have. I’ve been working at my church for the past six months trying to learn everything about the software that our church uses. Our website just happens to have a blog where I have posted all the software that we are currently running. If you are interested, feel free to check it out!
What is Church Management Software? – Church management software is a technical solution designed for use by churches as well as other religious organizations. Also known as ChMS, the system helps churches organize, manage and automate their everyday operations with ease. The tasks handled by such a computerized system range from simple to the most complex. For instance, managing member databases and communications to tracking online giving.
» How to choose the best church management software? – To reap the desired benefits from a church management system, you need to choose the right solution with the right set of features. While features tend to vary with the vendors and the church’s requirements, certain factors remain constant. An ideal church management solution would allow you to easily capture, monitor, and maintain your members’ data. It would also facilitate recording and tracking of member attendance at your church and events. The software would also offer management of donations and contributions, including online giving. Apart from that, look for a system that contains calendar management, reporting and analytics, secure child check-ins, and seamless communications within the entire group. And since there is a sea of such systems in the market, we’ve compiled a list of the best 20+ church management software here so you can choose nothing but the best.
Software for Church
#1) monday.com
monday.com – Best for centralizing communication within your church.
Price: A free trial available at monday.com. It offers a free plan for individuals. There are four more pricing plans, Basic ($8 per seat per month), Standard ($10 per seat per month), Pro ($16 per seat per month), and Enterprise (Get a quote).
monday.com offers a platform for managing the church from a single tool. It can help with various use cases such as centralizing communication within the Church, event planning, Worship planning, youth group management, etc. Boards can be used for organizing the departments of the Church.
Features:
- monday.com has functions for managing all Church administrations.
- It has features for organizing the Church finances and having a clear understanding of it.
- It helps you with creating worship flow, scheduling spiritual leaders, writing & editing sermons, etc.
- It provides a facility to build a member or employee directory.
Verdict: monday.com offers a simple and friendly platform that can be used by anyone for church management.=> Visit monday.com Website
#2) Breeze chMS
Best for Small to medium-sized churches.
Price: $50 monthly. A free demo is also available.
Breeze is one of the easy to use web-based church management software around. It features most management tools for small to medium churches, except for accounting.
It also allows you to import data from previous software when switching over. If you do not have the necessary expertise, then they can also do it for you at a free of charge.
Features
- People, groups, and volunteer management.
- Donation and gifting.
- Events, check-in, and schedules.
Verdict: Customers love the easy to use interface, easy reporting, and the check-in system. It is a great choice for small churches, however, it doesn’t feature accounting.
Website: Breeze chMS
#3) ACS Technologies
Best for Medium to large churches. However, it can be tailored to fit the needs of churches of any size.
Price: On Request
ACS Technologies is one of the most popular church management solutions available in the market. It contains everything that your church needs and can be customized to the needs of your church and staff. It’s a complex software and generally, it is not very easy to get used to.
Having said that, ACS Technologies does have excellent customer service as well as many seminars for all the users which indeed can make the process of learning the system easier.
Features
- Accounting
- Member information, Group, and Volunteer Management, Communication tools, etc.
- Entirely cloud-based
Verdict: ACS Technologies is a sophisticated church management tool. It is loved for its functionality and customer support. It is also cloud-based, thus it can be accessed from anywhere at any time.
Website: ACS Technologies
#4) ChurchWindows
Best for Small to large churches.
Price: From $379. A free trial is available.
ChurchWindows is a church management software solution that features most of the things that any church might need. You can also choose the features you need, thus you don’t pay for those you are not going to use. For Example, if you only need a system to manage donations, then you can get only that and pay less.
There are four modules in total i.e. Membership/Scheduler, Donations, Accounting, and Payroll. You can pick one, two, three, or all four of them.
Features
- Accounting and donations.
- Church calendar and schedules.
- Member’s database
Verdict: According to the customer reviews, ChurchWindows is great for accounting and membership management. The interface, however, is not very intuitive and is known to have a bit of a learning curve.
Website: ChurchWindows
#5) ServantKeeper
Best for Small to large churches.
Price: Small church $299, and Full price $599. Free 30 days demo is available.
ServantKeeper is a church management tool that can be used as a cloud-based solution or locally based. The software is easy to use and features a user-friendly interface. Fields in the member database can be easily customized to fit the particular needs of different churches.
The ServantKeeper dashboards can give you a succinct picture of finances, memberships and other valuable insights.
Features
- Accounting and donation.
- Managing members, volunteers, children, and groups.
- Events & attendance, sacrament management, etc.
Verdict: ServantKeeper is a user-friendly church management software. Customers are mostly happy about the customizable fields, mailing options, as well as the reports and insights it offers.
Website: ServantKeeper
#6) PowerChurch
Best for Medium to large churches.
Price: $295 for desktop software, and $455 yearly for online software. A free demo is available.
PowerChurch is a church management system available online or as desktop software. The online version allows you to access the software from any device. It features all the necessary tools that one might require for church management.
The software also features a few additions, including a check-in system and OneBody Hosting.
Features
- Membership and contribution management.
- Accounting
- Events and calendar.
Verdict: Customer reviews state that PowerChurch is very easy to use and has great customer support. The price is more affordable for medium to large churches as it doesn’t have special prices for small churches.
Website: PowerChurch
#7) Aplos
Best for Small and mid-size churches and non-profit organizations.
Price: From $59 per month. A 15-day free trial is available.
Aplos is a cloud-based church management software solution. It is an all in one management tool that can take care of all the aspects of small to mid-sized church or non-profit organization.
It is simple to use and features training programs for all users. Alpos also has a children’s check-in system and an online donation feature.
Features
- Accounting and donation management.
- Event management and fundraising tools.
- Custom communications
Verdict: Alpos is easy to use and easy to access church management software. It is cloud-based and features everything that a church might need. According to customer reviews, Alpos is very simple to use and has excellent customer support.
Website: Aplos
Conclusions
Churches are almost always working on a budget when it comes to software. They also have diverse needs, but nevertheless, they need solutions that are much better than the default software found in many churches. Here are the top 4 software solutions that all churches should be using to make your administrative life easier.