When it comes to the financial awareness of a religious organization, there is always a wide range of visibility. There can also be a lack of timeliness, usually from any of the following reasons:
Inferior accounting & reporting system (like QuickBooks)
No cloud platforms being used
Bookkeeper that lacks technology resources
Too many reports dependent on Excel
Manuel entries from payroll and/or donations
Data always being inputted late or the next month of the activities
Having a service that can provide streamlined reporting process will save the church time, money, and resources. The likelihood of errors is decreased, because amounts are automatically synced into the accounting system.
The church also does not need to be the expert in syncing the various cloud-based systems. That is the job of the accountant. This also allows a layer of safety, keeping the data at arms length from those that handle and initiate the transactions. Having a well developed separation of duties is key to the integrity of the church's finances.
What if a church only needs or wants some of the software's? Do they have to switch to all the new platforms? The answer is of course no. Each organization can determine what they think best fits their needs and internal requirements.
Tech-Stack & Pricing:
The pricing is dependent on the tech-stack used. A smaller church ($350k-$750K in yearly donations) would most likely benefit from using Exhibit 1. You would use the following:
Accounting System: Xero This would be included in the monthly accounting
and various depending on the amount of
transactions.
Bill Pay System: Bill.com $75 per month for platform, plus $20 per user (also
payment fees, which are minimal*)
Payroll System: Gusto There is a fixed cost per employee (almost always
cheaper than ADP or equivalent*).
Donor System: Infoodle There are many ways to incorporate Infoodle. You
can keep your donation platform and use Infoodle
to pass the information into Xero. Not every church
will have the same set-up, it will depend on current
processes, current donor module, and desire to
improve processes.
Exhibit 1
Tech-Stack & Pricing:
The pricing is dependent on the tech-stack used. A smaller church ($750k-more in yearly donations) would most likely benefit from using Exhibit 2. You would use the following:
Accounting System: Sage Intacct This would be included in the monthly accounting
and various depending on the amount of
transactions. There would also be a monthly
software fee ranging from $200 - $2,000 per month
depending on the size of the organization.
Bill Pay System: Bill.com $100 per month for platform, plus $25 per user (also
payment fees, which are minimal*)
Payroll System: APS Their fees are determined by each organization
that signs up (always equivalent with ADP or
other payroll software providers*).
Donor System: Pushpay To see their pricing you can go here.
Exhibit 2
*Prices will vary depending on amount of transactions and other fees that the platform providing may have. Please contact for more information on pricing clarifications.