Advantages and disadvantages of church accounting software

What is a church accounting system?

As mentioned, churches have some unique requirements that aren’t a consideration for most commercial organisations, meaning some out-of-the-box accounting software won’t have the capabilities required.

Church accounting software focuses on the need for accountability over profitability and gives you the ability to produce a Chart of Accounts structure that supports all of the required reporting requirements – from fund management, to Trustee and SOFA reporting. 

Why is church accounting software important?

This level of insight is vital for finance teams to have a view on available funds so that the organisation can run smoothly and continue to deliver its mission. Where these funds can be generated from a variety of different sources, a robust fund accounting platform can help ensure records are kept accurately and efficiently. By selecting an accounting system that caters to these needs, as well as some of the basic functionalities such as bookkeeping, you can be confident that you’re set up to meet your financial aims and legal obligations.  
 

Advantages of church accounting software

1. Visibility and control - A key benefit of a dedicated church accounting system is the fact it removes the need for several siloed systems and brings everything together in a single system, giving you an end-to-end view of your finances and reporting. You’ll have a simple view on funds and costs across multiple funds, income types, projects and departments and with the ability to assign different roles within the software, your project managers can input their own data with e-approval workflows to ensure you remain in control.
2. Accurate reporting - Accuracy can’t be underestimated with any accounting system and the process for churches and non-profits is no different. With legal obligations to meet and transparency key to your stakeholders you’ll want a system that enables you to deliver SOFA reporting, restricted and unrestricted fund reporting, partial VAT exemptions and VAT returns. Platforms like Access Financials include all of this and plenty more with 100s of ready-made reports. 
3. Easier auditing - Transparency. Consistency. Accountability. Knowing you have a system capable of providing a clear and precise audit trail for all transactions is of the utmost importance for a non-profit organisation. Church accounting software should also give you full visibility and tracking on public and donated funds with approval procedures to safeguard the proper use of funds.
4. Cloud-based - With your teams, trustees, volunteers and other stakeholders likely to be running a busy day-to-day life, a cloud-based solution for your church provides you the additional flexibility you need. No matter what device they’re on or where they’re based, a secure cloud-based software empowers everyone to be able to submit data, complete tasks, action approvals and view relevant reports remotely. Cloud-based software often boasts stronger security, allowing you to better protect your reputation and corporate social responsibility. 
5. Integrations - Whether your finance team is a one-person operation or you’ve got the luxury of several experts at your disposal you’ll want to know that your accounting system can integrate seamlessly with any other software you’re using to run your organisation. Two-way communication between these platforms can help increase efficiency – integrations with commonly used software such as Microsoft Excel could save you enormous amounts of time in the long run.  

Disadvantages of church accounting software

1. Cost - Of course, equipping yourself with the best possible tools on the market is going to make a bigger dent in your budget. Whilst there are free versions of both standard and dedicated non-profit accounting software on the market these are likely to have some feature limitations versus a paid-for option. A lot of available options are billed on a monthly basis, allowing you to spread the cost rather than pay out a lump annual sum which may soften the blow. However, you’ll need to weigh up your options before deciding whether to invest. Take a look at our charity accounting software prices.
2. Implementation - If you’ve already got an established platform in place to take care of your accounting needs there could be a significant amount of work required from your finance teams and elsewhere in your business to switch over to a new software provider. Most enterprise software companies will take you through a detailed and comprehensive onboarding process to help ensure your new platform is integrated and up and running without much hassle. With this in mind, it’s worth making sure your teams are prepped and ready to move over to a new system and dedicate the time required for training to ensure you get the most out of the software. Our switching finance software hub can help you through the process.

How church accounting software helped Church Mission Society save 200 hours per month

Church Mission Society made the switch from Sage 100 to our charity accounting software. It's saved them 200 hours each month, equating to £50,000 each year. Other benefits they now get:

• Simplifies nominal codes
• Reduces admin for accounts team
• Saves more time after eliminating paper processes
• Stronger fund accounting and reporting
• Better planning for the future

Read the full case study.

The right church accounting software for you

So, whether you’re looking to switch from your current accounting solution to a dedicated church accounting software or looking to migrate from a paper-based system to digital, we hope this article has helped answer some of the questions you might have.

If you’ve still got unanswered questions, check out our Access Financials for Non-Profits brochure. You can also drop us a line in the live chat where one of our finance experts will be at hand to help you out or request a call back to discuss your queries over the phone.