6 Best Church Accounting Software Applications for 2022
Tim is a Certified QuickBooks Time (formerly TSheets) Pro, QuickBooks ProAdvisor, and CPA with 25 years of experience. He brings his expertise to Fit Small Business’s accounting content.
Eric is a staff writer at Fit Small Business focusing on accounting content. He spends most of his time researching and studying to give the best answer to everyone.
This article is part of a larger series on Accounting Software.
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’s integrated with good accounting software. We looked at several options and chose the six best church accounting programs:
- Aplos: Best overall church accounting software
- Wave: Best free accounting software for small churches to track income and expenses.
- PowerChurch Plus: Best low-cost church accounting software with true fund accounting.
- IconCMO: Best for church management with integrated payroll
- QuickBooks Online: Best easy-to-use accounting software that can be customized to the accounting needs of churches.
- QuickBooks Premier Nonprofit Edition: Best customizable accounting software for churches with an experienced bookkeeper.
Best Church Accounting Software Compared
Software | Pricing | No. of users | Accessibility | Compatibility | Online donations | Assisted bookkeeping | Recurring donations | Nonprofit Chart of Accounts | Fund accounting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | $59 to $179 monthly | 2 | Web | Windows & Mac | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
 | Free | Unlimited | Web | Windows & Mac | N/A | ✔ | N/A | N/A | N/A |
 | $295 or $315 (one-time payment) | Unlimited | Desktop or Web | Windows | N/A | N/A | N/A | ✔ | ✔ |
 | $35 to $124 monthly for one to 3,000 families | Unlimited | Web | Windows & Mac | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
 | $25 to $180 per month | 1 to 25 | Web | Windows & Mac | N/A | ✔ | N/A | N/A | Mimic via Class Tracking |
 | $549 to $1,7499 per year | 1 to 5 | Desktop | Windows | N/A | ✔ | N/A | ✔ | Mimic via Class Tracking |
Answer a few simple questions to see the software we recommend for your church. Afterward, continue reading for more information about each program.
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Aplos: Best Overall Church Accounting Software
Aplos
Overall Score: 4.08
OUT OF 5
What We Like
- Includes church management software
- Full suite of accounting functions and reports
- Track giving and create statements
- Integrates with Gusto Payroll (separate fee required)
What's Missing
- Base price includes only two users
- Base price doesn’t include donations by text
- Could be difficult to find an external accountant who is familiar with the program to assist you
- Invoices are not customizable
Aplos Pricing
- Aplos Lite: $59 per month
- Aplos Core: $79 per month
- Aplos Core + Advanced Accounting: $179 per month
Features
- Online donations: Aplos features an online donation tool that helps churches organize fundraisers and donation campaigns through online payment systems. Moreover, Aplos has a dedicated secure platform for credit or debit card payments and a recurring donation feature for tithing. With the donation form designer, users can customize the form’s design, donation amounts, wording, and form URL.
- Event registration: If you have church activities or events, you can create an event registration form to facilitate the registration process easily. You can also send the registration link to social media accounts and email or embed it on your website.
- Outstanding accounting design: When we tested Aplos’ accounting functions, we liked how easy and understandable it was to use, even for non-CPAs. The interfaces of the invoice and bill creation modules are understood easily and very convenient to fill out. Visit our review of Aplos to view our in-depth accounting features video.
Our Expert Opinion
Aplos has served thousands of nonprofits with its easy-to-use and affordable accounting software. It’s an excellent alternative to IconCMO, especially for churches with inexperienced bookkeepers. For only $59 per month, you can perform a wide range of church accounting and management duties, such as tracking donors, managing donations, and allocating income and expenses. A unique feature is its website builder. If your church doesn’t need unlimited users or customized invoices, Aplos is for you. To simplify your payroll duties, we recommend integrating Gusto with Aplos.
Wave: Best Free Accounting Software for Small Churches to Track Income and Expenses
Wave
Overall Score: 3.01
OUT OF 5
What We Like
- Accounting, invoicing, and receipt scanning features are free
- Offers affordable self- and full-service payroll packages
- Connect to bank and credit card accounts
- Offers an assisted bookkeeping option (Wave Advisors)
What's Missing
- Lacks church management features
- No budgeting features
- No way to account for multiple funds
- Cannot track income and expenses by program service
Wave Pricing
Wave offers its accounting, invoicing, and receipt scanning features for free. You only pay when processing financial transactions such as payroll and bank payments.
Features
- Free accounting and invoicing: Wave offers free accounting and invoicing without hidden charges or ads. This free version is best for small churches that don’t need complex fund accounting. Wave is also great accounting software if your church organizes small fundraisers.
- Bookkeeping assistance: Wave certifies accounting professionals as Wave ProAdvisors. These advisors can help you with bookkeeping, coach in accounting, and assist in tax preparation.
Our Expert Opinion
Wave offers a simple way to track income and expenses for free. It has no church management and accounting features, so we don’t recommend it if you need to account for multiple or restricted funds. For easy fund accounting, try our best overall pick, Aplos. Wave is great for minimal bookkeeping and basic invoice tracking. However, there are no church-specific reports, so you’ll have to manually prepare them.
PowerChurch Plus: Best Low-cost Church Accounting Software With True Fund Accounting
PowerChurch Plus
Overall Score: 3.58
OUT OF 5
What We Like
- Choice of desktop software or online program
- Integrated payroll with no additional fees
- Includes fixed-asset management and tracking
- Desktop software includes unlimited users and installations
What's Missing
- Payroll tax schedules must be maintained by users
- Online version supports only two concurrent users
- Cannot prepare budgets of income and expense
- Reports are cash basis only
PowerChurch Plus Pricing
New Users
- Downloadable: $295
- Physical CD: $315
Existing Users (Upgrades)
- Downloadable over-the-air: $159
- Physical CD: $179
Online Version (PowerChurch Online)
- Monthly: $39.95
- Annual: $455
- Additional licenses: $25 per person
Features
- True fund accounting: PowerChurch Plus lets you create different funds to keep track of donations. These funds can help you manage how donations are used in your organization, especially if there are donor-imposed restrictions in the usage of the funds.
- Attendance tracking: Through PowerChurch Plus, you can manage the activities of your members and their participation in your congregation. You can track the attendance of your members in worship services, Sunday school, outreach activities, and much more.
- Church calendar: PowerChurch Plus has an event scheduler that can connect with Google Calendar to remind congregation members of upcoming events, and you can email your members about upcoming church events and activities directly from the app.
Our Expert Opinion
For churches with only a few employees, we recommend Powerchurch Plus as your next church accounting software. If you feel stuck between online or offline accounting, PowerChurch Plus lets you choose between its desktop or cloud-based program. This software tracks donations and pledges, processes unlimited payroll transactions, and manages your church’s restricted and unrestricted funds. As a low-cost accounting system, it comes with several trade-offs, such as the lack of telephone customer support and no assisted bookkeeping service. We instead recommend Aplos because you can hire Aplos Advisors who can help you with bookkeeping and creating financial reports.
IconCMO: Best for Church Management With Integrated Payroll
IconCMO
Overall Score: 4.08
OUT OF 5
What We Like
- Payroll add-on is for unlimited employees
- Comprehensive church management features
- Childcare security add-on (separate fee required)
- Affordable for small and medium churches
- Includes unlimited users
What's Missing
- No fixed-asset tracking
- Expensive for larger churches
- Event registration feature requires an additional fee
- Can’t use Icon Check-in without an internet connection and Rubix account
IconCMO Pricing
Pricing scales up depending on the number of families:
- 1 to 100 families: $35 monthly and $385 annually
- 101 to 250 families: $49 monthly and $539 annually
- 251 to 500 families: $49 monthly and $539 annually
- 501 to 750 families: $74 monthly and $814 annually
- 51 to 1,000 families: $84 monthly and $924 annually
- 1,001 to 3,000 families: $94 monthly and $1,034 annually
- 3,000 plus families: $124 monthly and $1,364 annually
Available add-ons include:
- Icon Check-in add-on: $15 per month or $180 per year
- Icon Payroll add-on: $25 per month or $275 per year
- Event registration add-on: $15 per month or $180 per year
- SMS Messaging: $5 to $500 monthly or $60 to $6,000 annually for 250 to 25,000 allowed messages per month
Features
- Online donations: IconCMO offers an online solution for receiving donations through Vanco Payment Solutions and Bambora. Donors can use credit cards, debit cards, and ACH payments to donate.
- Unlimited payroll: If you get the payroll add-on, you can process the payroll of unlimited employees, compute taxes, and help in filing W-2s for your employees. You should get the payroll feature if you have a lot of employees. The payroll add-on can be a great timesaver when processing payroll.
- Child check-in: If your church has religious activities for children, IconCMO has an add-on for child check-in. This feature is an online tracking system for parents that are sending their children to Sunday school or church activities. Parents can access a portal to see if their children are still within the group. The child check-in add-on also allows you to input basic information and special remarks for things like allergies or conditions.
- Fund accounting: IconCMO allows you to create different types of funds for your church. You can use these funds to monitor fund usage and ensure that all transactions involving the fund are within donor-imposed restrictions.
Our Expert Opinion
IconCMO has features that church administrators can use to keep everyone in the congregation updated about church events, activities, and services. We also saw accounting features that help churches keep track of funds and ensure that every transaction is accounted for correctly.
Though IconCMO offers many useful features, most of them don’t come with the base price. If you want a child check-in feature, you’ll have to subscribe to Icon Check-in. So you can’t fully utilize IconCMO’s maximum capabilities if you don’t get service add-ons within the Icon system. That said, IconCMO is still a great church accounting software. We think that it’s worth it if you want to have an organized accounting system for your church.
QuickBooks Online: Best Easy-to-Use and Customizable Accounting Software
QuickBooks Online
Overall Score: 4.03
OUT OF 5
What We Like
- Leading small business accounting software
- Share books continuously with a QuickBooks ProAdvisor for assistance
- Unlimited free customer support
- Monthly price includes multiple users except for Simple Start
What's Missing
- Expensive after adding third-party church management software
- Must mimic fund accounting by using classes and subclasses
- Price includes books for only one organization
QuickBooks Online Pricing
We recommend the Class tracking feature of the Plus version if you need to track multiple funds for your organization:
- Simple Start: $25 per month (one user)
- Essentials: $50 per month (three users)
- Plus: $80 per month (five users)
- Advanced: $180 per month (25 users)
You can also add payroll for $45 plus $4 per employee. QuickBooks currently offers a 50% discount for the first three months or a 30-day free trial.
Features
- Class tracking: One of QuickBooks Online’s best features is class tracking. You can use this feature to track funds, contributions, or pledges. Classes can be customized based on your needs, so it’s flexible for church accounting.
- Easy accountant access: If you have a volunteer CPA in your church, you can invite them easily to help you manage your accounts. When you invite an accountant, it doesn’t count toward the user limit. For QuickBooks Plus and up, you can invite up to three accountants.
- Access to bookkeeping assistance: If you need help in bookkeeping, QuickBooks Live is a special QuickBooks service that lets you work with a QuickBooks Advisor. For a starting price of $200 per month, you’ll get an initial cleanup, ongoing bookkeeping, and financial statement preparation. The price may vary depending on your average business expenses.
Our Expert Opinion
QuickBooks Online is our choice for best small business accounting software and is flexible enough for church accounting. You can use class tracking to track funds or contributions. The only downside of QuickBooks Online is that it doesn’t have church management features. If you need help in bookkeeping you can outsource QuickBooks ProAdvisors or, better yet, get a QuickBooks Live subscription for monthly bookkeeping assistance and financial statement preparation. We recommend QuickBooks Online if you already have dedicated church management software or your organization is small enough that you don’t need these features.
QuickBooks Premier Nonprofit: Best Customizable Accounting Software for Experienced Bookkeepers
QuickBooks Premier Nonprofit
Overall Score: 3.44
OUT OF 5
What We Like
- Outstanding accounting functions from an industry leader
- Bookkeeping for an unlimited number of organizations
- Integrated Intuit Payroll (separate fee required)
- Extensive network of independent QuickBooks ProAdvisors for support
What's Missing
- No church management features
- Difficult to use especially for non-accountants
- Sharing data with external accountant is hard
- Maximum of five users only
QuickBooks Premier Nonprofit Pricing
QuickBooks Premier Plus 2022 is available on an annual subscription. The annual plan includes unlimited product updates, security patches, and unlimited customer support:
- 1 user: $549.99
- 2 users: $849.99
- 3 users: $1,149.99
- 4 users: $1,449.99
- 5 users: $1,749.99
Features
- Nonprofit chart of accounts: By selecting the Nonprofit Edition of QuickBooks Premier, your software application will come with a default chart of accounts for nonprofits. There’s no need to modify the chart of accounts since it’s also compatible with church accounting.
- Nonprofit-specific reports: You can generate the basic financial statements for nonprofits and churches and create specific reports like year-end donation statements and donor contribution summary reports.
- Unlimited customer support and updates: Another good thing about QuickBooks Premier Plus is that it comes with unlimited support and updates. With the old version, you had to purchase a customer support plan to get live support.
Our Expert Opinion
QuickBooks Premier Nonprofit is an industry-specific edition of QuickBooks Premier Plus 2022 desktop accounting software. Although it’s specifically for nonprofits and churches, QuickBooks Premier Nonprofit still comes with the outstanding accounting features of QuickBooks Premier.
The only problem with QuickBooks Premier Nonprofit is that it can be difficult for non-accountants to use, and it lacks church management features. So, we recommend choosing another program in this list if you’re looking for church management features like member tracking, church activities tracking, and SMS reminders. We recommend IconCMO or Aplos because they have excellent church management features that are easy to use.
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 and took into account the flexibility that general-use software can give an experienced bookkeeper. Finally, we considered a software’s ability to integrate with church management software.
10%
Pricing
20%
Accounting features
20%
Church features
30%
Ease of Use
20%
Expert Analysis
10% of Overall Score
We compared the pricing plans of each church accounting application and ranked it from most affordable to least affordable. In scoring, we considered the price point, number of users, limitations on transactions, and overall affordability of the software for churches.
20% of Overall Score
20% of Overall Score
Church accounting software must have church-specific features that can help administrators manage the day-to-day operations and long-term plans of the church. In evaluating church features, we considered the following:
- Fund accounting features, such as creating and managing funds
- Donation and pledge tracking by members
- Recurring donations
- Reporting features, such as printing nonprofit financial reports
- Congregation management features, such as member profiles, church activity tracker, and event scheduler
30% of Overall Score
Our major focus for ease of use was customer support and assisted bookkeeping options. We also considered payroll and online payment integration, as long as it was not through a third-party app. Overall, we also gave a score for subjective ease of use based on the overall experience when navigating and using the software.
20% of Overall Score
Our expert analysis score is based on the overall experience of the software, from its general accounting features to specific church management features.
*Percentages of overall score
Bottom Line
There are various factors to consider when choosing the best church accounting software, including your church’s budget, size, and unique needs. While every software program in this list is worth using, we recommend Aplos because of its robust, flexible, and easy-to-use features for church accounting.
If your church wants to focus more on the accounting side, we recommend QuickBooks Online or QuickBooks Premier Nonprofit. Small churches can start with Wave because it’s free, even if it lacks church accounting features. If your church needs an affordable payroll add-on, IconCMO is the best choice. For robust congregation management features, we recommend PowerChurch Plus because of its outstanding member profiles and church management features.
