Types of Church Accounting Software Programs
Everyday churches all over the world manage billions of dollars in donations and most of it comes from people who perceive the church as a revered institution. They expect the money to be used effectively to perform its religious, spiritual and other important duties. To perform the administrative duties of the church and to make it efficient and uniform with minimal human error, various types of software is used. Churches use accounting software to streamline and synchronize all aspects of accounting and payroll needs. There are various packages available in the market and you should choose one keeping in mind the accounting function of your church. You might expect the software to cover the salary of its employees, sales and marketing, memberships, contributions, order entry, purchasing, e-commerce, payroll, shipping and receiving, and more.
There are various kinds of church accounting software readily available in the market. The ACS Church Accounting Software is one of them. It works not for accounting purposes but is better classified as a church management software. The most outstanding feature of this software is that it comes up with outstanding reports. Once the church’s financial details are entered accurately, you can select a period of time you want to check out on and it will generate reports based on the facts you have entered. For those keen on excel, there is a feature that enables you to export all the reports to an excel worksheet. The software has a perfectly functional user interface which contains both names and numbers of the chart of accounts. This makes it quite user friendly. Each of the types of software mentioned below have special features for churches including membership tracking and pastoral sermon aides.
Church Pro Software operates on fund accounting basis. This is a bit hard to navigate and it takes a little bit of patience to understand its technology. But this is perfect for all church related accounting needs and tracking system. Hardware requirements: Microsoft Windows 98/ME/2000/XP, uses Pentium III, 500 MB of hard drive space, 256 MB of RAM, one CD ROM.
Power Church Plus is software that is relatively easy to understand in its basic form. Its advanced features are a bit complicated but can be mastered with a little bit of patience and time. Hardware requirements: Microsoft Windows 98/ME/2000/XP, uses Pentium class system operating at 250 MHz of faster, at least 120 MB of available hard drive space, 64 MB of RAM, and one CD ROM.
Assist 5.0 is a basic software that is operated on a member basis. However, it is not widely used because of its complex navigation methods and the indirect way it employs to access most of the software’s features. So many windows are required to perform one function. Hardware requirements: Microsoft Windows 98/ME/2000/XP, uses Pentium II or higher, one hard disk drive with 250 MB of free HD space, 128 MB of RAM, one CD ROM, Laser or Inkjet Printer, video graphic adapter or monitor.
Membership Plus, though hard to navigate is fairly easy to use. Because it has clicks everywhere, clicking on one link will make the previous link disappear and you will be taken to a new window. Though the accounting system works pretty well, it tries to stuff in so much without actually aiming to gain anything. Hardware requirements: Microsoft Windows 98/ME/2000/XP, uses Pentium III or higher, with 150 MB of HD space, 128 MB of RAM, one CD ROM.
Depending on the size and importance of your church, you might need accounting software that allows multiple user access and keeps track of all who are making entries and logging in and out. This is quite useful if you have many people handling financial transactions and working under you.
Choose a package that works best for your church; this may take a lot of research. If you find accounting software that is cheap don’t settle for it if it doesn’t cover all the features that you want. Choose software that suits the needs of your church regardless of its price. Check for the popularity of the software, read updated reviews, clear all unanswered queries before you settle for the one you feel is good enough for the church. These church accounting software packages come with customizable features, that permit you to work according to your needs and requirements to cover other aspects of the church including e-mail, websites etc.