A church management software is a program that can help churches of all sizes centralize administrative tasks, communication, and facility needs. Although church management software is common for large churches, church leaders of small churches can also benefit from using church management software.
In this article, I will discuss some of the best church management solutions for small churches that you can use for basic communication and facility organization needs.
The Best Church Management Software for Small Churches
Here’s a shortlist of the best church management software for small churches:
- ChurchInfo
- ChurchCRM
- ChurchTrac
- Flocknote
- ChMeetings
- DonorPerfect
- Church Windows
- Neon One
- ChurchStq
- Elexio
Comparison Criteria
What do I look for when I select the best church management software for small churches?
Here’s a summary of my evaluation criteria:
- User Interface (UI): Small churches usually struggle with limited resources, meaning they can’t spend a lot of time or energy learning the ins-and-outs of a new tool. I’m looking for an intuitive, clean interface that does away with complex clutter.
- Usability: Small churches often have young and old members. It’s important to find a software that is user-friendly, easy to learn, and easy to master for all age groups. I’m looking for a tool that offers good tech support, user support, tutorials, and training.
- Value for $: Small churches will need a good balance of fair pricing (preferably a free or low cost plan) with must-have features, like communication tools and facility administration.
Church Management Software for Small Churches Key Features
- Membership Management: A feature that allows a church administration to maintain a record of church membership, personal details, phone numbers, and other crucial information.
- Volunteer Management: Volunteer management helps ensure that the volunteer schedule is updated, ensuring that all tasks and events have an adequate workforce.
- Event Management: Churches can use this feature to plan events, outreach programs, print name tags, handle event registration, and attendance tracking during events.
- Donation Management: allows users to track online giving, tithes, and payments from donors and stakeholders.
- Communication Tools: Allows users to reach out to the church community through mass emails and SMS reminders, and follow-ups.
- Church Accounting Software: Allows users to handle accounting-related church needs such as expense tracking, fund accounting, budgeting, and tax filing.
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Overviews Of The 10 Best Church Management Software for Small Churches
Here’s a brief description of each church management software for small churches to showcase each tool’s best use case, some noteworthy features, and screenshots to give a snapshot of the interface.
1. ChurchInfo - Best for organizing Sunday schools
ChurchInfo is a free church software solution that you can use to record and maintain data about your members and groups. You can use ChurchInfo to manage pledges, launch text-giving initiatives, and even track donations. ChurchInfo can be ideal for you if you want to use a free management software to manage volunteer opportunities.
ChurchInfo is best for your church if you have a Sunday school class or program because you can use it to maintain a Sunday school database of participants, class schedules, and volunteers. You can assign roles to members such as servant keeper, student, liaison, or teacher. You can generate attendance sheets using ChurchInfo for easier record-keeping.
ChurchInfo is a free software created and supported by an open-source community.
2. ChurchCRM - Best mobile app
ChurchCRM is a cloud-based CRM that your church can use to keep track of your members, contributions, and facility data. You can count on ChurchCRM when creating volunteer programs, fundraisers, and other church events. ChurchCRM allows you to input an unlimited number of people and families into the system, making it ideal for growing churches.
ChurchCRM is best for churches that organize outdoor activities such as bible camps, team building activities, and family days. Its mobile app version allows you to use the program while working remotely. ChurchCRM’s intuitive mobile app lets members check-in for events and organizes volunteers while on the field. The app lets you use your tablet or mobile phone to attend to your congregation’s needs even if you’re not in front of your workstation.
ChurchCRM is a free church management software. You can try ChurchCRM’s features through their demo version so you can decide if ChurchCRM will fit the needs of your church.
3. Churchtrac - Best accounting features
Churchtrac is a SaaS program you can use to manage the membership of your congregation. You can use the program to designate roles to members, donors, or prospects to know which members will be a fit for specific tasks. Churchtrac also allows you to organize worship services and schedule essential worship team members such as greeters or choir members. It also helps you organize your worship song library to pull up appropriate songs depending on the occasion.
Churchtrac is best for religious organizations that need a church management program with accounting capabilities. You can use Churchtrac to manage donors and their contributions. You can also use Churchtrac to monitor your funds and spending. Churchtrac also allows you to create budget plans to ensure that your funds can support the needs of your congregation.
Churchtrac is free to use. Paid plans with additional features start at $50/month.
4. Flocknote - Best for Text and Email Communications
Flocknotes is a user-friendly church management program that you can use to stay in touch with members of your congregation. You can use it to send newsletters to keep your congregation abreast of the latest news and articles about your church. You can also use Flocknotes to maintain a member database so you will have access to contact information, important documents, and attendance records.
Flocknote is the best church management software if you use text messages and emails to engage your congregation because it offers unlimited text messages and emails with its monthly plan. Flocknote also has an email composer that you can use to send emails with customizable colors, gifs, layouts, and fonts. The email composer allows you to take polls, send attachments, embed videos, and track RSVPs to special events.
Flocknote has a free plan for churches with under 40 members. Paid plans cost from $8/month. And up depending on the length of your contact list.
5. ChMeetings - Best for events management
ChMeetings is a church management software that you can use to track and store your members’ data. It has a mobile app version that works on iOS and Android mobile devices and is accessible to both admins and members.
What I love about this tool is its customization features. You can get a custom-named app to reflect the name of your church. You can also get customized icons, store listing, and login screen for a small add-on fee. ChMeetings also empowers church members to access their profiles and update their information or customize their notification settings.
ChMeetings is the best church management software if you frequently organize events because you can use it to create events and send invites via text messaging, email, or push notifications. You can also use it as a planning hub to handle event registration and print QR codes or QR cards for easier management of attendees. You can use your ChMeetings generated QR codes to quickly check-in attendees and avoid long queues during registrations.
ChMeetings is free for up to 100 people. Paid plans cost from $10/month and go up depending on the size of your congregation.
6. DonorPerfect - Best for donor management
DonorPerfect is a fundraising CRM that can help your church optimize your fundraising efforts. You can use DonorPerfect to create branded forms that include your church’s logo to encourage more donors to join your fundraising efforts. DonorPerfect’s forms are configurable and mobile-friendly; you can send them via email, your church website, or through social media accounts.
DonorPerfect is the best fundraising CRM to build a better relationship with your donors because it lets you sustain a constant email marketing campaign to keep your donors engaged. You can also use DonorPerfect to make donating easier through a simple click-and-pay method. You can also use DonorPerfect to send automated receipts with thank you messages to show gratitude to your supporters.
DonorPerfect costs from $99/month for up to 1,000 records.
7. Church Windows - Best for payroll management
Church Windows is a church management software that you can use to maintain individual and household records for your congregation. It also gives you a means of connecting with members through customized emails and by scheduling personal visitations. The software also has reporting capabilities so that you can generate visitation and attendance reports based on the criteria of your choice.
Church Windows is the best church management program for handling your church’s payroll because it can accommodate a wide range of compensation requirements. It has updated tax tables so that you won’t encounter any issues during tax season. You can use Church Windows to produce reports on salaries, allowances, taxes, donations, and deductions so you can avoid errors usually brought by manual computations.
You can integrate TaxBandits in Church Windows as an optional service so you can file your taxes electronically.
Church Windows costs from a one-time payment of $303 and up, depending on your needs.
8. Neon One - Best for customizations & integrations
Neon One is a management software that can provide non-profit organizations with a unified platform to manage their relationship with stakeholders. You can use Neon One to manage fundraisers, community-giving activities, and donor-centered events for your church. It also has built-in digital (video messages, social media posts) and conventional communications tools (text messaging, newsletters) that you can personalize to stay in touch with members of your congregation.
Neon One is the best management software to personalize your church management solution because you can develop tools and features through Neon One’s API. Integrations are also available so you can connect to preexisting software like GivBee, Salesforce, VolunteerLocal, and Fundraise Up.
Neon One integrates with Zapier so you can access additional communication, project management, marketing, and accounting software if you have a paid plan with them.
Neon One costs from $99/month.
9. ChurchStaq - Best for community building
ChurchStaq is a community engagement solution that you can use to manage the profiles of the members of your congregation. It has a custom church app that you can use to access ChurchStaq data while working remotely. You can also use ChurchStaq to manage your calendar and schedule events.
ChurchStaq is best for those who want to improve community engagement because it can help you measure and understand the impact of your ministry to your community through easy-to-generate reports. It also provides you with a means of connecting to congregants both in-person and online.
ChurchStaq integrates with Intuit QuickBooks, Elvanto, and other CMS programs.
ChurchStaq offers customized pricing upon request.
10. Elexio - Best for workflow automation
Elexio is a church management system that you can use to manage groups, track attendance metrics, and maintain a database of your congregation. You can use it as a central communications portal to send text messages, emails, or newsletters with your members. You can also use Elexio to improve coordination within your ministry through a calendar management feature to schedule events, make church room reservations, and allocate church facilities and equipment.
Elexio is best for churches that want to streamline their workflow by automating repetitive and straightforward tasks. You can use workflow automation to send text reminders for events or welcome new members to your congregation. You can also use it to send an automated thank you note to donors for their contributions.
Elexio’s pricing plan starts at $35.13 per month and offers a 30-day free trial.
Other church management software Options
Here’s a few more that didn’t make the top list.
- Simple Church CRM - ChMS with modules for communication, giving, training, and organization. Sliding scale monthly fee based on directory size.
- Continue to Give - ChMS that enables users to send communications, organize events, print tickets, and audit funds.
- Raklet - App that allows users to organize a contacts database, send communications, organize events and raise funds.
- Cahaba Works - A church accounting software with features that allow users to manage contributions, payroll and balance accounts.
Are there any free church management software options?
Yes! In fact, many on our list are free to use or offer a free subscription tier for small churches. Try ChurchInfo, ChurchCRM, ChurchTrac, Flocknote, ChMeetings, Continue to Give, Raklet, and Cahaba Works.
What Do You Think About These Church Management Software?
Church Management Software can equip religious organizations with the proper tools to ensure that their members are well-taken care of. Make sure that you follow The Lead Pastor if you want to learn about the latest church management software and tools in the market.
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