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How Church Management Software Benefits Your Staff

November 12th 2021

Churches have unique needs when it comes to managing their missions to spread the gospel, minister to their congregation and communities, and continually engage with members. As ministry happens and the church grows, having the necessary tools for member management, online giving, accounting, and church safety will drive your vision forward. If these tools are integrated and all work together within a complete church management solution, your missions will continue to advance with much less operational burden.  

Ease-of-use consistently ranks as the most important purchase criteria for church software among faith-based organizations. Integrated church management software (ChMS) is one critical way to simplify church operations. With integrated ChMS, you’ll have access to everything you need for your ministry to run smoothly.  

Pastors, staff, and church administrators will be able to streamline behind-the-scenes administrative work. Rather than having different software for membership, online giving, accounting, communications, website and content management, and security, a complete church management solution cohesively ties all the tasks into one system. This means fewer logins and passwords to remember, and more importantly, all the tools work together. 

So, what is church management software?  

Church management software (ChMS) is computer technology designed for the church, so church admins, pastors, staff, and volunteers are well-equipped with the necessary tools to engage their community, stay organized, and expand as membership grows. A ChMS is generally the foundation for integration with all other tools.  

Managing daily tasks within a church can be complicated without established procedures, programs, and automated workflows. With such a wide array of members, finances, and activities to monitor and process, the ChMS is a helpful tool to increase efficiency and reserve more time for ministry, not to mention to lighten the burden of church administrators everywhere. 

Benefits of Integrated Online Giving 

ChMS integration is one of the most important features churches look for in online giving platforms. It reduces the administrative burden for staff by simplifying generosity through an online giving platform that syncs with your complete ChMS. By providing various online giving options—text, web, app, and kiosk—your financial team can save time by not having to complete manual donation updates. Below you’ll find five ways that integrated ChMS and giving will benefit your church staff. 

#1 Easy to Manage 

Using an online donation platform greatly improves organization and management when it comes to church finances. The administration is simpler because your financial team can manage all contributions in one system. All donations can be managed in real-time, which will significantly reduce the administrative burden that comes with tracking tithes and offerings.  

One way you can lessen the workload for church staff is by having members manage their own giving accounts. By putting this task in the donors’ hands, it will save time for your teams. The ability for givers to view personal contribution statements online will also save the church money because you won’t have to spend extra on printing and mailing. 

#2 Integrates with other software  

Having an online giving program that integrates well with other church software can save time and effort. That’s because all the software programs are working as a team and sync with one another. One of the most desired features for churches who use online giving is that it integrates with their other systems. 

With integrations, you can streamline event registration and accept payments from the same software. Export transaction data for use in your accounting software. Connect with and manage donors with integrated church management software. 

#3 Encourage Recurring Giving 

Recurring giving is easy for donors to use, and it’s especially beneficial for the church. It makes budgeting easier, too, because your team can have a better idea of how to anticipate increases or declines in giving. 

Monitor and stabilize giving trends with recurring giving options. Churches often see giving levels decrease during slower seasons like summer, so having automatic giving set up will help reduce seasonal slumps and keep donations more consistent. By having a dependable flow of donations, your staff will be able to stick with their budgets and prepare for future ministry.  

#4 Use Forms 

Custom forms rank in the top five most important features of an online giving platform.  Easy and effortless, these forms can attract givers by establishing a connection between their donation and your church goal.  

The intuitive form-building process means church staff can explore, modify, and create with ease. Rather than having to print forms for people to fill out and then staff must manually input the information, digital giving forms simplify the entire process. Everything is saved and synced to your complete ChMS.  

#5 Customize Reports 

Your online giving platform and ChMS allows your church staff to view a range of custom reports by person, transaction, fund, and date range.  

They can create valuable giving reports for church leadership and track data to help predict progression and fluctuations. Pull charitable giving reports to view who is donating, how much, to which fund, and when they’re giving. Graph monthly trends, recurring giving, and forecasting. This reporting will help your team and board members better manage donations all around. 

Church Management and Online Giving 

Your church staff works hard to serve the people in your church and community. Now, you can make it easier for them with a complete church management system.  

The software and team at Elexio will streamline your processes to free up more capacity for ministry to take place. If you want to see how integrated ChMS and online giving can help your church, contact us today! 

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