A church management software can solve a variety of problems. It’s a time saver. It is an organization tool. Track people skills. Keep track of church finances. It is a communication tool. Mainly, it can add integrity to the activities of the church. Managing the needs and expectations of people can solidify all the activities carried out by a church.

The key components of a good church management program are membership management, skills management, communication, accounting, contributions, and reporting.

First, let’s take a look at membership management and skills. How useful do people feel in a church? Are they being called to serve when the need arises? One way to engage church members is to ask them what areas of service they feel comfortable in. Having a register of skills and interests is a great way to engage people as needs arise. A good church management software will have an easy-to-use membership skills module to track the interests of each member.

Next, it is important to be able to communicate with members. An integrated church management software will provide a way to contact members through various means. Beyond that, having a direct link to email or other online communication resources greatly benefits the church. Having the ability to create phone groups or email groups based on skills or needs is a great feature.

Church accounting systems are of great value. A double-entry bookkeeping system adds integrity to a church’s finances and reporting. The learning curve is a bit steeper for a double-entry bookkeeping system, but the reward is being able to produce an auditable report that ensures the proper use of church money. Recording contributions and providing individual reports for tax purposes is another key element in church management software.

Reporting is a large area and encompasses all other areas. Membership reports can include attendance, scheduling, scheduling regular email communications, and have different levels of detail available for different audiences.

Church accounting reports include budget reports, financial analysis reports, accounts payable and accounts receivable, and congregational annual reports. Contribution reports include individual tax reports, contribution trends, commitments and compliance, and envelope numbering.

PowerChurch Plus church management software is one of the few fully integrated church management software packages available. It can be run on an individual computer, an internal network, or on a server for churches to access through client software. Some enhancements to the software could include having a true cloud-based application, which can be accessed through a web browser rather than client software. Rewriting the software in a web-based computing language such as Java could also improve its usefulness for many years.