Church Management Software

Church Management Software – 4 Steps to a Successful Implementation

If your current church management software isn’t working for your church, and you’ve decided to make a change, there’s much more involved than just converting data to a new system. Even if everyone on your team hates the current software, there’s still going to be some resistance to change. New software involves learning a new program, possibly changing processes, and the usual implementation headaches. They might all agree that change is necessary, but you still may deal with frustrations along the way. So, how do you have a successful church management software implementation and a happy team?  Tip #1: Fix Processes First One trap many people fall into is thinking a new tool will fix all their problems. Unfortunately, even the fanciest and most expensive ChMS can’t correct a broken process. Before you evaluate potential ChMS options, examine the processes you would perform within a new tool. Here are a few examples of the types of processes to review: If these processes aren’t functioning well now, fix those issues first. Decide how you want a process to work manually, then consider how a ChMS could help you automate aspects of each process. Tip #2: Evaluate Several Church Management Software Options There are several excellent options for church management systems. That’s the good news! The bad news is that the process to figure out which one will work best for your church can be cumbersome. Take your time evaluating various options and use these tips to make that effort a bit easier. Tip #2: Perform a Data Clean-Up If you plan on migrating data from a previous ChMS, take the time now for a data clean-up effort. It doesn’t make sense to bring outdated or inactive records into the new system.   One way to clean up the database is to remove the records of people who are no longer active at your church. You can find these by running reports to identify people who haven’t donated, registered for an event or small group, checked in as a volunteer, checked in their children, or other key activities within the last 12-24 months. Here are a few ways to verify you have valid contact information: Tip #3: Get Buy-in From Key Influencers Who within your staff or key volunteers has the most influence? This isn’t always the person in charge of a department. These individuals are those whom your staff and volunteers listen to and whose opinions they value. If they like this new software and are champions of the changes required in the implementation, then the rest of the team is more likely to buy in as well. Once you’ve identified these influencers, get them involved in the selection and implementation planning process. Once they’re on board and like the new system, they’ll be your best champions in getting the team to change. Tip #4: Make Gradual Changes Many ChMS applications have multiple modules you can implement separately (giving, check-in, event registration, facilities, etc.). Whenever possible, change over to a single aspect of the new ChMS at a time. For example, you might migrate contact information and start using childcare check-in, but wait a few weeks before using the online profile aspects of the system. Too much change at once, even good change, can be overwhelming. A phased approach gives your team time to learn the new system gradually. This approach also gives you the flexibility to work out any “bugs” in the process one module at a time. Tip #5: Invite Feedback Ask your staff, volunteers, and congregation to provide you with feedback about the new system. Find out what’s working, what isn’t, what they like, and what they dislike. As you receive this input, make whatever changes are appropriate and possible. When you implement requested changes, let everyone know you made the change due to their feedback. This communicates that you’re listening and taking action on their requests.  It is not easy to change a significant tool such as your church management software, so you need your team to fully support the new direction. As you involve key influencers early on, run a phased implementation, and invite feedback, you should have a much smoother changeover to the new software.

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How to Select the Best Church Management Software for Your Church

Church Management Software, or ChMS, can be a great tool to help church leaders do ministry.  You can leverage technology to follow up with guests, coordinate volunteers, provide online communities, record donations, manage church facilities, and much more. Fortunately, there are many vendors providing various options for churches. However, the potential downside of all these options is it can be challenging to find the best church management software for your church.  Whether you already have a ChMS and are considering making a switch, or you’re starting from scratch, selecting a ChMS is a big decision. The investment of time and money can be significant, so you want to take time upfront to carefully choose the system that will best support your church. This isn’t the time to just ask a few other churches what they use and go with that one. Nor should you simply go with the highest rated software – it might be great, but for someone else’s church.  Here’s how to select the best church management software for your church: Step #1: Tell the Story Pull your team together and ask them about a “typical” week.  Capture the narrative of your team’s regular routine. Discuss whether the current processes are working well or if some changes are necessary. Once you’ve documented that information, you can compile a document that lists what the church needs a ChMS to support.  This document should go beyond a list of features to see what software will match that list. Instead, consider how your church operates and what processes you’d like software to make more efficient. Make sure you’ve considered key areas such as: Step #2: Consider End Users Which staff members and volunteers will use the software and for what purposes? Will you provide members of the congregation access to update their contact information and view their donation records?   Once you determine who will use the system, consider their unique needs to anticipate what they’ll want from the ChMS. If you already have a church management tool and are thinking about switching, find out what these groups like/dislike about the current software. Step #3: Research Vendors Implementing a new church management software involves the initial purchase, possibly a long-term contract, migrating data, training your team, and more. After all that effort, you want this to be a long-term relationship with a vendor you like and trust. That means you’ll need to do some initial research on vendors to see if they might be a good fit. Here are several aspects of each vendor to research: Step #4: Request Information Now you know what you want the software to handle and what vendors you’d like to evaluate, it’s time to find out if they can meet your requirements.  A standard method for handling this is to send out a Request for Proposal or RFP. This document should include the narrative you captured from your team. Put the story and objectives at the beginning of the document, and then include a list of requirements. Send this to each vendor and ask them to respond to you by a specific date. Send out your RFP to the top 3-5 vendors you want to evaluate.  Some ChMS vendors offer free trial versions of their software online. In those instances, check out the trial version to see if it will meet your church’s needs. You’ll likely receive an email or call from a salesperson for that vendor, so that might be the opportunity to provide an RFP or schedule a more in-depth discussion. Step #5: Evaluate Responses As vendors reply, look for indications they understand what your team wants to accomplish using the software. Next, check to see if the vendor can meet specific requirements and if so, how. If a vendor doesn’t seem to understand your processes or can’t meet the most important requirements, eliminate them from the list. Rank the remaining vendors and select the top few to continue with the evaluation process.  Step #6: Participate in Demos Just because a vendor says they can meet your church’s needs doesn’t mean they’ll meet them in the way you expect. Their methods may not necessarily work for the culture of your church, so you need more than just reassurances – you need to see the software in action. Step #7: Ask Additional Questions You’ve narrowed the field and seen the software in action. Now it’s time to dig into even greater detail about the remaining vendors.  Step #8: Make a Decision This is where you compile all the information you’ve collected and consider your options. Realize that no software will be perfect or solve all issues. However, you need to select the one that is the best fit for the vision, processes, and culture of your church. Choose the vendor you can trust that provides a quality product and service. Once you’ve made the decision and started working with your new vendor, give careful thought to how to roll out this new tool. Too much change all at once, even good change, can cause friction. Get key staff and volunteer leaders using it first. Once they’ve bought into the new system and become fans of the tool, they can help get others on-board. A ChMS can be a valuable ministry tool or a tremendous headache. By taking the time in this selection process, you drastically increase your ability to choose a tool that supports the vision of your church.

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Top 5 Event Registration Tools

When it comes to planning church events, gone are the days of handwritten signup sheets and manually entering attendees into spreadsheets. With the use of online forms, you can now refocus your church’s attention to creating an impactful event for guests. If you’re gearing up for your next planning session, first check out these top five event registration tools to use for your church events. 1. Eventbrite Arguably one of the more well-known online event registration sites, nearly 800,000 event organizers used Eventbrite in 2018 alone. Some of its main features include professional event registration pages that are compatible on any device; organizer-friendly capabilities to collect registration information and email attendees registration summaries; and easy setup for different tiers of registration and discounts. Eventbrite also has a Facebook Integration function. This has proven to double registrations for free events and increase sales by 20 percent for paid events. Price: There are Essential, Professional, and Premium packages with varying functions depending on need. You can also try Eventbrite’s service for free before committing. 2. Planning Center Church events often require gathering several details about attendees and their needs at the event. Planning Center offers customizable options that allow you to create attendee types with their own pricing or special requirements. Using Planning Center as your church event signup also allows you to give attendees the option to purchase extras like T-Shirts, workbooks, or other special event accessories. There’s even a Church Center mobile app that congregations “can use to check in their families, give, join groups, manage their personal profile, and register for events.” Price: Planning Center is priced based on the number of attendees you’ll expect to register. Though there is a 30-day free trial, packages range from $14 to $199 per month. 3. Google Forms A survey administrative app, Google Forms has all the same collaboration capabilities as its other G-Suite siblings. It also has event registration options that allow you to collect email addresses, create polls and pop quizzes, and store all your survey data neatly in its app or viewable in Sheets. Just like the other G-Suite programs, Google Forms is free to Gmail users and allows other team members to add content in real-time. Price: Free! 4. Tithe.ly Events Tithe.ly was designed specifically with churches in mind. From simple registration forms to user-friendly online payments, Tithe.ly Events has everything you need for every type of event. Like other tools on our list, this online church event registration site has customizable features for age, merchandise, and multiple ticket types. Price: Tithe.ly has four plan options that range from $0, with no credit card required, to $99/month. Check out its pricing page to learn more about each option. 5. Your Church Management System (ChMS) Most church management software systems include the capability to create online forms for event registration (including processing payments). Check with the staff member who manages the ChMS for your church to see if it includes online event registration functionality. Price: This will likely be free since you’re already paying for church management software. With one of these tools in your repertoire, setting up registrations for your next church event should be easier than ever.

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Top 5 Volunteer Scheduling Tools

In any church, volunteers handle a wide variety of tasks to keep services running smoothly. Keeping track of these volunteers for weekly church services, fundraisers, and other special events can feel like a full-time job. If you’re still living in the sticky note and spreadsheet era of volunteer management, it’s time to leverage volunteer scheduling tools to make life easier. These 5 Volunteer Scheduling tools will provide the ability to easily: Check out these volunteer scheduling tools:  SignUp.com A simple, user-friendly tool, SignUp.com allows volunteers to sign up for specific duties on specific days. It even has a filter feature, making it easy to see what shifts and positions are open for certain events. If you’re looking for a “no-frills’ way to keep track of volunteers, this is the tool for you.Price: SignUp.com is relatively inexpensive compared to other volunteer scheduling software. In the Basic, free version, SignUp offers several features. These include unlimited emails and participants, simple shift swap, email delivery tracking and reminding, social media sharing, and more. If you need something with more capabilities, the software also offers Starter ($9.99/month), Plus ($24.99/month), Max ($49.99/month), and Campus ($99/year) plans. These come with unique functions like waiver uploads, increased organizer options, and custom URLs. Check out its packages for more details on what each plan can offer you. Planning Center Planning Center was designed with worship services in mind. This is a comprehensive church management software that allows you to plan and schedule all ministry activities in one space. You can even create a member database, manage member giving, and attach service rehearsal documents. It also allows you to upload detailed plans for each service, from what songs will be played to who the bandmates will be that day. You can use the Services feature to handle volunteer scheduling or leverage it with other features of the Planning Center system.Price: Planning Center comes with a 30-day free trial but no free version. Its pricing, which ranges from $14/month to $199/month, is based upon the number of team members who will be accessing the system. See the plans here to learn more. Churchteams Churchteams is a full software suite. It helps you manage membership, groups, volunteers, event registration, contributions, email marketing, reporting, and other important data. One unique component of Churchteams is its Text-to-Church feature. This allows guests, members, volunteers, and church staff to directly interact with the database through texting. This software is leading the pack in workflow automation as well. It works to identify and map out workflows to help you automate your systems and procedures for consistent communication and follow ups with church members and guests.Price: Like Planning Center, pricing for Churchteams is based on the volume of team members using it. They offer a free 30-day trial but after that packages begin at $37/month and go up to $297/month. More details on their various plans can be found here.  VolunteerMark VolunteerMark has a streamlined approach to recruitment, donations, scheduling, tracking, and communicating. The cloud-based software helps volunteers track commitments through a personalized dashboard. There, they can manage their events, reschedule, and communicate with volunteer leaders. You can create one-time events with unlimited shifts or create schedules as fixed or flexible based on need. There are a lot of possibilities for volunteer management with this intuitive program.Price: In addition to a free trial for its more advanced packages, VolunteerMark also offers a free version. The free version allows you up to 50 users and three events per month. Pricing ranges from $34/month for its Basic package and goes up to $125/month for the Royale package. See the differences in features here. SignUpGenius SignUpGenius boasts an impressive 18 million users every month. With its user-friendly interface, it’s easy to see why. SignUpGenius makes it simple to create sign ups, message groups, report accurately, and donate with a payment feature. The latter even allows you to track payment history and export into Excel for bookkeeping purposes.Price: There is a Basic plan through SignUpGenius that is free for small groups. More comprehensive packages include the Silver ($8.99/month), Gold ($22.49), and Platinum ($44.99) options. As the most inexpensive volunteer sign-up software on our list, SignUpGenius is a popular choice for both personal and professional functions. Bonus Volunteer Scheduling Tool Option: Your Church Management Software Ask whether the church management software (ChMS) your church uses has a volunteer scheduling option built-in. Many do, so this is a quick and cheap (since you’re already paying for it), way to implement an online volunteer scheduling process. Additional Resources on Volunteer Management

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5 Church Administration Time-Saving Tools

Time. It’s the most precious commodity yet the one we have the least of. That’s why saving time is a constant goal for church leaders with busy schedules. One way to save time is by streamlining church administration tasks.  When you work behind-the-scenes in the church office, you’ve got plenty of plates spinning. Coordinating events, fixing a website issue, plus a ton of other tasks are all in a day’s work. While I can’t trim your to-do list, I can recommend the following tools to make your job a bit easier. #1 – Project Management Software Asana, Basecamp, Trello, Monday, ClickUp, are a few of the excellent project management tools available. Most have a free or trial version you can use to see which one works best for you and your team. Complete the form below to receive a free Project Management Tools Overview guide (including information on the top software vendors): #2 – Expense Tracking App Keeping track of receipts for an expense report can be a pain. Instead of shuffling through your purse or wallet for that last receipt, use an app on your phone. Quickly snap a picture of a receipt immediately after making a purchase. Assign the appropriate expense code(s) and have a collection of electronic receipts ready for your next expense report. Staff members who forget receipts and finance team members responsible for collecting accurate data will all appreciate the convenience of an app. Two of the top contenders in this category are Divvy and Zoho Expense. #3 – Church Management System (ChMS) As a church grows, you need an easy way to maintain up-to-date records regarding church members and visitors. Contact information, family relationships, baptism dates, and more are a few examples of data you can use to minister to your congregation. A robust church management system enables your team to maintain accurate information, create follow-up workflows, keep tithe records, and more. There are many options available when it comes to ChMS tools. A few examples include Planning Center, Rock RMS, Fellowship One, Breeze, ACS, Elexio, ShelbyNext, Faith Teams, and TouchPoint. #4 – Facility Management Software From facility maintenance requests to tracking who reserved a room, facility management software can help your team stay on top of things. Smart Church Solutions has an excellent tool called eSPACE. Within this software, you can manage inventory, manage work orders, reserve facility rooms and resources, schedule preventative maintenance, and more. #5 – The Church Operations Toolkit At the risk of sounding self-promotional, the Church Operations Toolkit can save your church time and money. Within the Toolkit are templates, how-to guides, expert interviews, and resources to make church administration and operations tasks easier. Instead of spending hours searching online for a template, simply log into the Church Operations Toolkit and download one in minutes. There’s no magic formula to knocking out your to-do list (if only!). However, these are a few tools to make being productive a bit easier. Oh, and if you’re like me and consider coffee a productivity tool…Can I get an amen? 🙂

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