Church management software: what it needs and how to choose
Church management software, often shortened to ChMS, is the program that brings the treasury, the membership records and the day-to-day running of a church into one place. It replaces the spreadsheet, the group chat and the drawer full of receipts. This guide covers what it should do, how to compare the options and what changes for a church in Europe.
What church management software should do
- Record tithes, offerings and expenses, with the receipt attached to each one.
- Keep the cash box and the bank account apart, with both balances always up to date.
- Produce the report for the members' meeting without manual work, and without exposing who gave.
- Hold the register of members, families and visitors.
- Give each person only the access they need: treasurer, secretary, finance committee, member.
- Let the church leave whenever it wants, taking its own data with it.
How to compare before you choose
Most products promise the same list of features. What separates them are these questions:
- Is the price per church, or does it grow with every person in the database?
- Does it use your church's words, such as tithe, offering and members' meeting?
- Where is the data stored, and does that meet the law where you are?
- Who can see how much each person gave?
- Can you export everything to CSV and PDF?
- Will someone help bring in the history you already keep in a spreadsheet?
- Does it work well on a phone, in the hall, right after the service?
What matters for a church in Europe
Many church management tools are built for churches in the United States and priced in dollars. A church in Europe needs the basics to fit the country it's in.
- Amounts in euros and the time zone of your city.
- Offerings by bank transfer and card terminal, as well as cash in the plate.
- European invoices, with the supplier's tax number, kept with each expense.
- Data stored in the European Union, with consent, copy and erasure as the GDPR requires.
- A church that may work in more than one language.
How Atrium helps
Atrium is church management software for churches in Europe, in English, Portuguese and Spanish. The Essencial plan costs €39 a month per church, with unlimited users and members, and the first 3 months are free.
- Treasury: transactions with receipts, the Sunday count with the signed sheet, bank statement import, and reports in Excel and PDF.
- Members' meeting: the month's slide and a dossier with every receipt in one file.
- People: members' register, families, birthdays and a map.
- Coming soon, in the Ministério and Completo plans: a member area, a QR code for visitors, letters and certificates.
- GDPR: consent recorded, plus copy and erasure of each person's data, with everything stored in the EU.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a ChMS and church management software?
None. ChMS is short for church management system, another name for church management software.
How much does church management software cost?
It depends on how it's charged. Some tools charge per person in the database, others per church. Atrium's Essencial plan costs €39 a month per church, with unlimited users and members, after 3 months free.
Does a small church need church management software?
It needs good records, and software is the shortest way to keep them when one person carries the treasury. If that person moves away, the church's financial history stays with the church.