Everything You Need to Know About Church Management Software

Have you been looking for a way to get organized? Or, as pastor, have you been desperate for more free time so you can better serve your community?

If so, the answer may be as simple as document management software. Indeed, church management software is smart enough to pull you away from the computer for extended spans of time and help you get back out there on the front lines where you belong.

It’s a tool that can help you stay organized and remember everything you need to know about your members.

Below, we’ll outline this invaluable tool and provide an overview of everything you’ll be able to achieve.

What Is Church Management Software?

Church management software emerged from a need to centralize data. It eradicates the need for paper files and centralizes everything in one database.

Imagine the days prior to computer technology. Everything was written by hand and stored in a filing cabinet somewhere. There would’ve been separate papers for congregants’ addresses, upcoming events, and tithes and offerings.

Church management software isn’t just an elaborate spreadsheet. It’s a database designed specifically for churches that can organize nearly every component of ministry.

It streamlines daily operations and provides overviews of ongoing initiatives and projects.

What Can It Store?

Church management software takes data that’s housed in multiple programs and pulls it all together in one cohesive space. Let’s take a look at some of the data that can be streamlined.

Contact Information

Mailing lists are important for so many reasons. You might need to mail out “save the date” cards for important events or financial breakdowns of annual tithes and offerings.

Also, you’ll want a central database that tracks new visitors so you can reach out to them via telephone, email, or snail mail. Pulling this together in an electronic database allows you to search for contacts with ease.

Aside from outreach, it also allows you to organize your ministries. Through your contact information, you can note who serves on what ministry and other important data about their service.

Calendar of Events

Another built-in program is a calendar of events to track upcoming gatherings, important announcements, and attendee lists. It’s nice to set recurring events like Donut Sundays or evening prayer services. Beyond that, you can also store your live stream services before uploading them to the website or YouTube.

Church management software is also another way to organize your church’s small groups such as at-home Bible studies. This will allow you to see who’s doing what, maintain their contact information for interested parties, and see how they’re growing.

And don’t forget birthdays and anniversaries. These are special events that call for celebration and, depending on the significance, may require another email blast.

Church management software can even track important dates such as the next evangelist’s visit. Therein, you can make sure everything’s in order from lodging to payment. Essentially, it’s the best way to make sure you never drop the ball on the multitude of ongoing activities.

Communications

Imagine a program that can help you design your next “save the date” card and send it out in one mass communication. That’s a whole lot easier than stuffing envelopes and licking stamps.

When your Christmas Jubilee is on the horizon, you can send out important email blasts, telling everyone what to expect and where to sign up.

Anytime there’s a major event or announcement, you can not only save all your correspondence, but also send them out from one central space.

Finances

This, again, makes a management software system one of the best church tools you’ll ever purchase. You can pull in all the information that makes the church go ’round in the same place.

Here, you can track tithes and offerings and allocate where each member’s sacrificial offering should go.

If there’s a new church expansion, you can set aside funds until you’ve reached your goal. You can also track everyone’s tithes in case they need documentation for tax season. Church management software can even perform attendance tracking.

In many ways, it takes on an element of accounting software. But, it is centralized in a space where all your other data lives.

It’s worth noting here that church management software makes it easier to offer multiple avenues for giving. Church members will appreciate different options such as online giving, text messages, or even kiosk giving.

Then, of course, contributions will be pulled in through the software, allowing you to annotate who gave what and where those funds are being funneled.

Personnel

Whether they’re volunteers or staff members, church management software makes it easy to monitor the progress of training and other important employment data.

Regarding volunteers, this is a nice way to detail which ministry they’re serving, as well as any other pertinent information.

Regarding staff, your church management software can house personnel data including pay stubs, tax information, and other important documents that pertain to their role.

If anyone needs to complete training programs, such as campus security, this can be noted and stored here, as well.

Why Do You Need It?

Simply outlining the many facets of a smart software program speaks for itself. Have you ever looked at a laptop with 40 open tabs and 10 different spreadsheets? It’s a recipe for disaster.

This is when things start slipping through the cracks. Take a look at iconcmo.com. You can see how neat and tidy things become when data is centrally stored.

Not only does it put everything at your fingertips in a cohesive manner, but it also helps you automate a lot of your processes. You can automatically trigger outreach attempts to new members, and send birthday emails and reminders.

The right software system will also integrate with other digital tools, including the website, mobile app, and online giving platform. This, again, makes financial reporting much easier.

The Best Tool for Revival

As your church experiences the surge that comes with ongoing revival, you’re going to want to monitor all that progress.

Imagine taking rows of filing cabinets and placing all the contents into one tidy, little laptop. It’s a spring cleaner’s dream.

Beyond the obvious organizational benefits, church management software will also help you monitor your growth and free up valuable time so you can get out there and enjoy the revival that’s taking place.

As you continue to seek new tools to streamline your organization, we invite you to keep coming back to visit our blog. It’s continually being updated, with your success in mind.