Churches must have strong accounting systems to provide detailed transaction information and reports to key stakeholders, such as donors and the board of directors. In addition, many churches can benefit from church management software that is often integrated with good accounting software. We looked at several options and narrowed it down to the seven best church accounting software:
- Aplos Accounting: Best overall church accounting software for small- to medium-size churches looking for a combination of church management and accounting software for one low price
- QuickBooks Nonprofit Edition: Best for churches with an experienced bookkeeper
- PowerChurch Plus: Best for churches with few employees that need a simple, low-cost payroll system
- QuickBooks Online: Best for new bookkeepers wanting help from an external accountant on a regular basis
- Wave: Best free accounting software for small churches
- IconCMO: Best for medium-size churches needing an unlimited number of users and security features
- Church360 Ledger: Best for churches looking for affordable church accounting software with both unlimited users and unlimited organizations
Answer a few simple questions to see the software we recommend for your church. Afterwards, continue reading for more information about each program.
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How We Evaluated Church Accounting Software
We evaluated financial and accounting software for churches based on price and how they meet the needs of small- to medium-sized churches, such as tracking donations. We prioritized systems tailored for use by churches, but also appreciated the flexibility that general-use software can give an experienced bookkeeper. Finally, we considered a software’s ability to integrate with church management software.
Beyond the special needs of churches, we evaluated whether the software provided core functions that allow users to:
- Issue and track invoices
- Input and track unpaid bills
- Reconcile bank accounts
- Produce financial statement reports
- Integrate payroll
- Create budgets
Aplos Accounting: Overall Best Church Accounting Software
Aplos Accounting is our top pick because it combines both full-function accounting software and church management software in an online platform for a very reasonable price of $59 per month. Aplos Accounting includes online donations, event planning, and a portal for members to log in and coordinate activities.
Aplos Accounting Pros | Aplos Accounting Cons |
|---|---|
Includes church management software | Base price includes only two users |
Full suite of accounting functions and reports | Could be difficult to find an external accountant that is familiar with the program to assist you |
Track giving and create statements | |
Integrates with Gusto Payroll (separate fee required) |
Aplos Accounting Pricing
- $59 per month, includes two users
- $159 per month with advanced accounting features like fixed-asset tracking, budgets by fund, and managing multiple entities
- $10 per month for additional users
- 15-day free trial
Aplos Accounting Features
- Cloud-based program allows access from any computer connected to the internet
- Receive donations online and schedule recurring giving
- Connect your bank accounts to transfer transactions and easily reconcile.
- Print or email a balance sheet and income statement by fund
- Create budgets and compare them to your actual results
- Includes church management software that helps you know more about your congregation, create lists for groups and services, organize events, and create mass mailing and emails
- The monthly subscription includes a free website builder with customizable website templates; Aplos will even host your website for no additional fee
QuickBooks NonProfit Edition: Best for Experienced Bookkeepers
QuickBooks Desktop is the best software for experienced bookkeepers because of its unmatched flexibility and report customization. It is rated as one of our best accounting software for small businesses, and there is an industry-specific edition tailored to nonprofits and churches. Even if you don’t have experience, you can unlock the potential of this powerful software if you dedicate some time to learning.
Quickbooks Pros | QuickBooks Cons |
|---|---|
Outstanding accounting functions from an industry leader | No church management features |
Bookkeeping for an unlimited number of organizations | Powerful program takes time to learn |
Inexpensive when purchased for a one-time fee and used for three years | Not accessible from the internet |
Integrated Intuit Payroll (separate fee required) | License required (at full price) for each concurrent user |
Large network of independent QuickBooks ProAdvisors for support |
QuickBooks Desktop for Nonprofits Pricing
- $499.95 one-time purchase: You must upgrade every three years to continue to receive maintenance updates or use payroll services
- $499.95 per year with Plus subscription: Plus includes automatic backups, unlimited customer support, and an annual upgrade to the newest edition
- 60-day money-back guarantee
- Price is per concurrent user, with a maximum of five users at one time
QuickBooks Nonprofit Edition Features
- Create receipts for donations and track total by donor
- Record pledges and track payments received
- You can print or email year-end letters to donors for substantiation of their tax-deductible donations
- Connect bank accounts and reconcile imported activity
- One license to QuickBooks Nonprofit allows you to do the bookkeeping for an unlimited number of organizations
- Assigning classes within QuickBooks is a powerful way to separate revenue and expenses by program service, fundraising, special events, campuses, or anything else you want to track separately
- Create budgets by class and then compare to actual results.
- You can easily print or email a templated or customized balance sheet, profit and loss statement or statement of cash flow
PowerChurch Plus: Best Church Accounting Software With Payroll Included
PowerChurch Plus is great for churches with a few employees to pay, but not enough to justify the cost of a payroll provider. In addition to solid accounting and church management features, PowerChurch Plus includes integrated payroll at no additional cost. PowerChurch Plus can be purchased as either a desktop program for a one-time fee or as a cloud-based program with a monthly subscription. You can download a demo version of PowerChurch Plus with sample data to follow along with very helpful tutorial videos.
PowerChurch Plus Pros | PowerChurch Plus Cons |
|---|---|
Comprehensive church management features | Payroll tax schedules must be maintained by users |
Integrated payroll included | Online version supports only four concurrent users |
Includes fixed-asset management and tracking | Cannot prepare budgets of income and expense |
Desktop software includes unlimited users and installations |
PowerChurch Plus Pricing
- PowerChurch Plus desktop software: $395 includes unlimited users and installation on an unlimited number of computers for one organization
- PowerChurch Online: $39.95 per month for two concurrent users, $64.95 per month for four concurrent users
- Integrated payroll included
PowerChurch Plus Features
- All transactions are classified by fund and reports can be printed by fund
- Track contributions and print or email contribution statements
- Track pledges and print reports and graphs showing budgeted income from pledges
- Includes payroll processing complete with direct deposits or paychecks
- Quarterly payroll returns can be printed or transmitted electronically
- Store contact information, talents and activities, track attendance and visitation history, and schedule events
- Manage and organize your equipment inventory, music library, education, and even past sermons
QuickBooks Online: Best for New Bookkeepers Wanting Assistance
QuickBooks Online can be continuously shared with your independent QuickBooks ProAdvisor, which means help is only a phone call away. QuickBooks Online is an industry leader and is our best overall pick for small business accounting software. While not tailored for churches, QuickBooks Online integrates with a large number of third-party apps for church management tasks like attendance, group communications, and event planning.
QuickBooks Pros | QuickBooks Cons |
|---|---|
Industry-leading accounting software | Expensive after adding third-party church management software |
Continuously share books with QuickBooks ProAdvisor for assistance | Complicated to track income and expenses by fund |
Unlimited free customer support | Price includes books for only one organization |
Monthly price includes multiple users |
QuickBooks Online Pricing
- Essentials: $40 per month includes three users
- Plus: $70 per month includes five users
- 30-day free trial
QuickBooks Online Features
- Connect to bank accounts to download transactions and reconcile accounts
- QuickBooks Online Payroll available for an additional fee
- Print a large array of customizable reports
- Create budgets of income and expense
- Mimic fund accounting by tracking transactions by user-defined classes (not available in Essentials version)
- Third-party church management apps include Kindful, Donor Receipts, Method: Donor, Tithe.ly, Servant Keeper, Roll Call, easyTithe, and Church Office Online
Wave: Best Free Church Accounting Software for Small Churches
If all you want to do is compile the income and expense from a few bank accounts, Wave is probably all you need. Wave is solid accounting software that you access online and is completely free. You can perform all the basic accounting functions and even add integrated payroll for a fee. Wave does not offer any church management features but can keep your accounting in order while you use other apps to manage your church.
Wave Pros | Wave Cons |
|---|---|
Free | No church management features |
Access anywhere | Only one user |
Connect to bank and credit card accounts | No budgeting features |
Integrated payroll (for a fee) |
Wave Pricing
- Free
Wave Features
- Connect bank and credit card accounts to load and classify transactions automatically
- Easily reconcile bank and credit cards accounts
- Issue invoices and track payments received
- Enter unpaid bills and track until paid
- Set up donors as customers to track donations.
- Print balance sheet, income statement, general ledger and income by donor
- Integrates with many Zapier apps
For more information, read our review of Wave.
IconCMO: Best for Medium-size Churches With Unlimited Users and Security Features
IconCMO pricing is based on the number of families you serve but always includes unlimited users. For an additional $15 per month, you can add Icon Check-in to enhance the security of your child care center, if your church runs one. IconCMO is a great mixture of good accounting and church management features.
IconCMO Pros | IconCMO Cons |
|---|---|
Comprehensive church management features | Expensive for larger churches |
Child care security add-on (separate fee required) | Event registration features require an additional fee |
Affordable for small and medium churches | |
Includes unlimited users | |
Integrated Payroll Add-on (separate fee required) |
IconCMO Pricing
- Base subscription varies from $35 to $124 per month
- $35 per month for up to 100 families
- $124 per month for 3,000 or more families
- Icon Check-in add-on: $15 per month
- Icon Payroll add-on: $25 per month
- Event registration add-on: $15 per month
- 30-day free trial
IconCMO Features
- Assign all revenue and expenses to funds for better tracking and reporting
- Track pledges by fund to assist in budgeting
- Print or email donor contribution statements
- Create budgets by fund
- Create financial statement reports by fund
- Maintain on online membership directory
- Organize names, manage groups, track talents, send emails and texts, and take attendance
Church360 Ledger: Best Affordable Church Accounting Software With Unlimited Users
One subscription to Church360 can be used to keep the books for an unlimited number of organizations. Church360 Ledger is for nonaccountants and records cash received and spent without the complication of unpaid bills and invoices. Churches can subscribe to Church360 Ledger now and then add Church360 Members (church management software) and/or Church 360 Unite (website software) as they grow and see a need for the additional modules.
Church360 Ledger Pros | Church360 Ledger Cons |
|---|---|
Inexpensive with unlimited users | $199 setup fee |
Can do bookkeeping for multiple organizations | Cannot track unpaid bills |
Can add Church360 Unite for website design and hosting (additional subscription required) | Cannot send and track invoices or pledges |
Can add Church360 Members for church management software (additional subscription required) | Cannot track individual donors |
Church360 Ledger Pricing
- $199 setup fee
- $40 per month for unlimited users
- $30 per month if also subscribed to Church360 Members
- $20 per month if also subscribed to Church360 Members and Unite
- 37-day free trial
Church360 Ledger Features
- Set budgets for income and expense accounts by month
- Designed for nonaccountants
- You can reconcile bank accounts when you receive your monthly statement
- Saved transactions can be edited easily, but all edits are saved in a transaction listing for review by management
- Users can be given access to only the portion of the program they are allowed to see
Bottom Line
Church accounting software comes in many forms and spans from the very basic bookkeeping tasks to integrated apps that allow you also to manage church operations. If you’re looking for a simple solution that will allow you to stay on top of your income and expenses throughout the year and help manage your congregation and events, Aplos Accounting is a great choice.
Aplos Accounting not only offers great accounting features, but also will help you keep a directory of your congregation, plan events, design a website, and even host your website for one low price. You can get started today with a 15-day free trial with no credit card required.
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