What Is Church Accounting Software?
Church accounting software aids in managing, automating, and organizing the daily financial activities of churches and other religious organizations. Additionally, it assists these companies in ensuring that their financial records are correct and up to date and that employees are paid on time.
You have a lot on your plate as a church administrator. everything from planning the potluck menu for Sunday to determining how many volunteers are required for bible school. The financial management of your church is a responsibility that you cannot ignore. You must carefully manage each dollar that your members donate. You can accomplish all of this and more with the correct accounting software.
But you need to be aware that your church has certain requirements before you start experimenting with common accounting software packages. For instance, your membership management system and church accounting software collaborate to ensure that all gifts are tracked and identified for tax purposes. You will need a way to pull this information when tax season arrives.
You shouldn’t use general accounting software to manage your church’s accounting, just as you wouldn’t use general business management software to run your church’s daily operations.
Church accounting software may make tracking your church’s finances more effective and simple for everyone, regardless matter whether your church is large enough to hire a full-time accountant or small enough to use a team of volunteers.
Features of Accounting Software:
- Record all financial transactions in the general ledger.
- User-Friendliness
- Reporting and Analysis
- Regular updates and scalability
- Invoicing, billing, and payment processing
- Smartphone Use
- Security
- Invoices Payable
Benefits of Church Accounting Software:
Knowledge and efficiency are two factors that successful church groups use. While using paper spreadsheets to capture data may be less expensive, it is not the most effective use of time. It takes time and effort to have to search through files in various offices or file cabinets. Finding the ideal balance between efficiency and minimal accounting costs is crucial.
List of Top 13 Best Church Accounting Software:
We’ve picked the top church accounting software on the market and given you in-depth reviews that explain why they rank where they do. Even though they are ranked from one to ten, we want to point out that while one may be the finest for one church, it may not be for another.
So, spend some time reviewing each review and deciding which program is the most appropriate. Although each of them operates differently, they are all connected in some manner to the essential practices that you need in a ministry.
1. PowerChurch:
PowerChurch is distinctive since it is one of the only platforms created and created to engage directly with churches. Since it was introduced in 1984, not much has changed in terms of the way it appears, yet it still functions incredibly well.
There are two; one is an online version and the other is an application that can be downloaded. The advantage it has over QuickBooks is that both platforms are identical and connect. This implies that you can use one at work and the same thing while traveling.
Everything you would require for daily operations at a church can be tracked by the software. This records where money can be saved through tax deductions and covers member status, donations, income, and expenditure.
It has several add-ons that you may apply to somewhat strengthen the base platform. One is email marketing, and we were pleased to see capabilities for membership management included. You may already be paying for these things and want to combine them into one package if your church or minister is expanding.
2. Church360 Ledger:
For churches with a large staff and volunteer base, Church360 Ledger is a respectable option. The capacity to have many users in various roles is one of its main advantages. If your church doesn’t have a specialized administrator or accountant, Church360 enables you to give each member of staff a special responsibility for managing the finances and budgets of your company.
You don’t want the youth director to have access to payroll information, but you do want her to be able to enter her expenses directly into your accounting system. Church360 will take care of you.
Your software options will expand in line with your evolving technological requirements since further solutions from the same developer will integrate with Church360 Ledger. Just bear in mind that depending on your use case, pricing can quickly increase. Church360 offers an oddly precise 37-day trial period if you want to try it out for yourself.
3. MIP Fund Accounting software:
A True Fund Accounting System called MIP Fund Accounting was created with the knowledge that nonprofit financial administration is difficult. A clear audit trail that makes it simpler to spot fraud, openness for stakeholders at various levels, and connection with other mission-critical systems are just a few of the software’s top features.
The IP Fund Accounting software’s multidimensional logic, which enables users to handle money in many ways, is its key benefit. If you want a perspective of the entire organization, a certain department, or a grant, this tool enables you to follow any metric in various parts of the church organization. Because the tool uses segment-driven charts rather than the more typical linear charts featured in many church accounting software solutions, this is made possible. Diversified Billing, Martus, TripLog, Paypool, CUSI, and SkyStem ART are all integrated with MIP Fund Accounting.
Pricing for MIP Fund Accounting is accessible upon request, however, there is no mention of a free trial on the software’s website.
4. IconCMO:
You can manage your church’s tax reporting needs with IconCMO while assuring adherence to local, state, and federal laws. IconCMO is a web-based platform with a function for managing pledges that might assist you in creating a reasonable projected budget for your projects. This software suite includes options for managing a church’s finances in every way you can think of, including full fund planning, FASB compliance, banking, and accounts payable.
Let’s say you’re looking for the top online accounting program. IconCMO may be your best option in that situation because it enables you to take care of your church’s accounting needs from anywhere as long as you have a device and an internet connection.
IconCMO allows you to send donor statements by mail or email, making it easier for your donors to keep track of their contributions and the development of the organizations they support. IconCMO connects with Text-Em-All and Constant Contact.
5. Gabriel:
Church finance software developed by GabrielSoft is targeted at Catholic parishes and dioceses. Gabriel comes with management capabilities for contributions and promises, as well as reporting and analytics tools for both major campaigns and the Sunday offertory. Additionally, it has capabilities for managing communications, contacts, religious education, and more.
The specialized nature of Gabriel has both advantages and disadvantages. It might be the preferred program for Catholic churches, but it wouldn’t be an easy choice for any other kind of church. It lacks features for creating websites or apps, messaging parishioners directly, coordinating with worship teams, and other things. There is no cost-effective version available for very large churches, and pricing climbs dramatically when additional members are added.
6. ChurchTrac:
A church finance program called ChurchTrac provides capabilities for fund accounting, tracking revenue and expenses, setting up budgets, balancing accounts, and other tasks. With ChurchTrac, you can create pledge campaigns, generate financial statements, receive donations, and more.
ChurchTrac, like Tithe.ly, offers capabilities for managing people, check-in, and service scheduling in addition to its accounting software. It does not, however, provide the most complete set of marketing tools. It doesn’t have any free media, but it does include a website and app builder.
One of the more cost-effective solutions is ChurchTrac ($60 per month for everything, including unlimited names). However, the lack of complete giving features in its freemium edition makes it a less than ideal choice for churches searching for free financial tools.
7. FlockBase:
Key capabilities for church management, accounting, check-in, and online donations are included in the church accounting software FlockBase. Check printing, budgeting tools, payroll, and reporting are a few advantages of their accounting suite.
One of the most capable systems for church bookkeeping is called Flockbase. It does not, however, have a very complete range of marketing tools. For instance, FlockBase lacks marketing features like a website builder and a tool for creating unique church apps. Email and text marketing are included in some tiers, although they come at an additional expense.
One of the least expensive solutions is Flockbase, whose basic edition only costs $16 per month. However, this option only permits two people to be active at once, making it difficult for mid-sized or large-sized churches to add members (or a whole team of additional users).
8. QuickBooks:
One of the most well-known and popular accounting programs is QuickBooks. Based on this, we can provide a straightforward suggestion, but we’d like to take it a step further and support their “Premier” platform. also, look into software for charity auctions
The Premier edition is not cloud-based, although the regular online version is. When traveling, you lose the ability to use this, but you acquire much more, which is highly beneficial for churches. The main advantage is the addition of handling accounting for nonprofit organizations. Churches and ministries fall within this category, therefore you can quickly and easily create accounts that are suited to their requirements.
Another feature that you should use is the donation function. As a result, you can record donations made and even create end-of-year financial statements using only this data.
The only issue we have with it is that it is designed for smaller churches and may be too restricted for larger congregations. But there is a workaround for this that is covered by Breeze. Breeze is a QuickBooks add-on that provides access to a variety of functions not included in the base version. Examples include event planning, email marketing, managing volunteers, and online donations. After that, the date is put into QuickBooks and properly filed.
The annual cost of QuickBooks Premier is $549, and there is no option to pay in monthly installments. There is just one user included in this program, and additional users cost $300 each. However, you only need one user for an organization that many people can access, so this shouldn’t be a problem. Rates for the more expensive enterprise option, which is available, start at $938 annually. You get more users, more capacity, more report formats, priority customer support, and many other features designed specifically for larger congregations.
9. FreshBooks:
Although FreshBooks is one of the most popular accounting programs available, it isn’t specifically designed for churches but you could certainly adapt it to any business, even a nonprofit. With FreshBooks, you receive a huge support bubble from the firm as well as from specialized forums and websites, so you can’t go wrong.
The ability to link bank accounts and make reporting incredibly straightforward was something we valued. Although we must confess that it isn’t as trustworthy as we would like it to be, there is an option to let it track donations in addition to income.
If we had to make just one recommendation based on how simple it is to use, it would probably be FreshBooks because it is among the most user-friendly platforms. Although there are better choices available for churches, like QuickBooks, FreshBooks is unquestionably among the finest in its class for the money you will spend.
10. AccountEdge Pro:
Users of AccountEdge Pro may manage the day-to-day financial operations of their church, such as processing payments, printing checks, and handling purchases.
Any church that needs to handle balances, account numbers, and budgets can benefit from AccountEdge Pro’s practical accounting features. You may manage your assets, liabilities, equity, income, and spending using its more than 100 accounting templates. The software can be used to log employee hours, produce timesheets for payroll, and create activity slips for billable and non-billable activities.
AccountEdge Pro is a viable software option if you want local installation. Your bank, credit card, and expenditure accounts are all managed by the software in one location.
Users of AccountEdge Pro can automate repetitive tasks and get alerts about impending payments, giving them enough time to ensure the availability of cash. Rerun, TimeSolv Legal Billing, and Shopify are all integrated with AccountEdge Pro.
11. Realm:
Realm markets itself as a comprehensive, cross-denominational, and cross-functional church software solution. It has features for checking in children, reporting, messaging, church events, and more.
Realm’s primary features, however, are not very useful. There aren’t many choices for donors, such as text-to-give or giving via a mobile device, in its contributions feature, for instance. Realm instead highlights its capabilities for handling incoming check payments.
12. Aplos:
Aplos is one of several cloud-based accounting applications created especially for use by churches. The person who created Aplos was a former pastor, thus they are aware of the requirements for maintaining order.
One of the features of the platform is its value for money, which we’ll talk about next, but it’s also perfect for smaller churches looking to grow. Although Aplos will serve people with fewer needs beautifully, we would agree that there are better options for a large, well-established church.
The website is quite easy to use and one of the more appealing ones we’ve seen. If you have someone on staff who even has a passing familiarity with standard accounting software, the transition will go smoothly. Aplos has a tonne of instructional videos that can help a church that is starting from scratch get up and running quickly. also, look into social media marketing tools
There aren’t many cons, to be honest, however, it doesn’t offer payroll services. These can be added using Gusto, but there are additional costs.:
13. ZipBooks:
ZipBooks is free accounting software that allows for online invoicing and the delivery of PDF invoices and quotes. The beautiful thing with ZipBooks is that you may alter the invoices to suit the particular requirements of your church. With comprehensive records of all your church’s costs and the ability to save and track receipts, you may utilize it to ensure accurate year-end reporting of your church’s income and expenses.
In comparison to other free software applications, ZipBooks’ key benefit is that users may handle an unlimited number of suppliers and donations. It can also serve as a platform for managing donations that you receive via Square or PayPal. Additionally, ZipBooks allows you to access fundamental data and keep track of the financial situation of your church.
Conclusion:
The best church accounting program available right now is QuickBooks. There are two QuickBooks editions available, but the Premier version is what we advise.
Even though it costs about $50 a month, it is the most feature-rich option available. The ability of churches to collect and categorize memberships and donations is their main draw. It is easy to use, and both new and seasoned users can find plenty of assistance to boost productivity.
