Finding The Right Church Accounting Software
Saturday, July 11th, 2009There are some things that need to be done or checked before buying church accounting software.
Research and compare. As with any kind of purchase, doing the proper research on the product before committing to buy is a prudent practice. For the sake of convenience, one can compare accounting software packages online. Most providers of church software have an online presence. Vendors typically have an FAQ page in their websites. Some even go as far as offering free consultation via telephone, email, or chat.
A key consideration for software purchase is whether the computers of your church meet the installation requirements of an accounting software. Since a lot of software products online are non-refundable, it is a waste of money when you purchase a software that cannot be installed in the computers of your church. Software companies provide a list of minimum computer requirements on their sites. If you cannot find that information on a website, then you can contact the software provider via telephone or email.
Another consideration when it comes to buying accounting software is the budget of the church. The cost of accounting software packages for churches varies depending on the software provider. Costs vary according to the number of members or entries that can be entered in the accounting system. Some software vendors price their products based on the number of applications in the software program. The installation requirements also have to be considered when it comes to budgeting. The church may need to buy new computers if the old ones cannot install the accounting software. So in that case, the budget needs to be adjusted.
Compatibility. The church accounting software should meet the needs of the church well. Thankfully, most software companies provide demo versions of their products that can be easily downloaded from their website. These demo versions are fully functional for a limited span of time. Use the demo version for your actual accounting needs and see if all your requirements are met. Experiment with every feature of the software. Generate reports and present them to other church members and get their feedback if necessary. One feature to be checked if it is included is if the software has an audit trail. This is important for transparency purposes.
See if the accounting software can provide all the needs of your church. In addition to tracking down church finances, some software programs can also manage church events or activities, monitor church attendance, and store counseling records of church members. A number of software companies provide these features in various packages within the software, and each one is sold individually.
Finally, extra features offered by software companies should be considered. When choosing a church accounting software, look for useful features such as multiple user support and software upgrades. Some software upgrades are free, while others have to be paid. So make sure that your church needs this feature before you buy it. Your decision depends on the growth rate of your church. The higher the growth rate is, the more records need to be entered in an accounting system. In that case, software upgrades are necessary. Determine also if the software will be used in just one church or in various churches that are connected to a single computer network. Multiple user support is a great feature for churches where several users access records from an accounting software all at the same time.