PowerChurch Plus Review: Features and Pricing 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.
What We Recommend PowerChurch Plus For
PowerChurch Plus is a straightforward and easy-to-use software application that has most of the features a church needs, including donation management, budgeting and forecasting, and fund accounting. It includes an integrated payroll system that’s ideal for churches with paid staff.
PowerChurch Plus Is Especially Good For
- Small churches with a few employees: PowerChurch Plus is built to serve small churches with limited budgets and includes built-in payroll at no additional charge. It’s featured for its low cost in our best church accounting software guide.
- Churches that want desktop software: If your church prefers software that you can use without an internet connection, PowerChurch Plus is for you.
- Churches that want to track both pledges and donations: With PowerChurch Plus, you can record and track pledges and donations, print and email statements, and produce a variety of reports.
- Churches looking for true fund accounting software: PowerChurch Plus lets you create different types of funds for your church. PowerChurch Plus’ fund accounting feature can help you manage how the funds are being used and if donor restrictions are being followed.
PowerChurch Plus Is Not a Good Fit For
- Users that need telephone customer service: There are no phone numbers or call centers available as there are with Aplos. This can be a disadvantage for customers with serious concerns who need to talk with someone over the phone.
- Churches that need bookkeeping assistance: PowerChurch Plus doesn’t offer bookkeeping assistance like IconCMO.
- Churches that need to issue professional invoices: Invoices aren’t as customizable and professional-looking as those created with QuickBooks Online, which can be customized to work well for churches.
- Accrual accounting: PowerChurch Plus helps manage A/R and A/P, but it doesn’t include them in the financial statements until cash exchanges hands. Financial statements can only be printed on the cash basis of accounting.
Are you looking for something different? If you’re seeking basic bookkeeping features and don’t need church management tools, check out our guide to the best small business accounting software.
PowerChurch Plus Pros and Cons
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| Available as desktop software and online program | Desktop program is for Windows PCs only |
| Includes payroll processing with no additional cost | Online version allows up to two concurrent users only |
| Desktop version allows unlimited users and installations | A/P and A/R not included in the financial statements |
| Includes a free demo with sample data | Difficult to use compared to Aplos |
Comparison of PowerChurch Plus vs Competitors
PowerChurch Plus is a desktop church accounting program, unlike Aplos and IconCMO. However, it has an online version as well. Pricing is PowerChurch Plus’ advantage over Aplos since PowerChurch has a one-time payment. PowerChurch Plus’ weakness is ease of use. We find the software difficult to use and a bit inaccessible to users with less than perfect eyesight.
PowerChurch Plus offers a desktop version and an online version. If you choose the desktop software, you can download it or install it via physical CD. The online version is accessible anywhere, but only for two concurrent users.
Desktop Software
Versions | Pricing for New Users* (One-Time) | Pricing for Upgrades* (One-Time) |
|---|---|---|
Downloadable | $295 | $159 |
Physical Media | $315 | $179 |
Free Support | 90 days | 45 days |
Paid Support | $35 per call plus free follow-up calls for 1 week $149 for six months $280 for 12 months | $35 per call plus free follow-up calls for 1 week $149 for six months $280 for 12 months |
Online Program
Monthly Pricing ($/Month) | Annual Pricing ($/Year) | |
|---|---|---|
2 Concurrent Users | $39.95 | $445 |
4 Users | $64.95 | $730 |
*New users’ prices are for those who purchase PowerChurch Plus for the first time while upgrades are for existing users who want to upgrade to the newest version.
While you can purchase a license for four users, only two of those users can access the online program at the same time.
Downloadable
A link to the downloadable version will be emailed to you after purchase. It will include a PDF user manual, and the link is only valid for two weeks.
Physical Media
The physical copy, delivered through the United States Postal Service (USPS), costs an additional $20 and includes an installation CD along with a printed manual.
PowerChurch Plus offers an array of accounting features that help you pay bills on time, track cash flow, manage your funds, and more.
Here’s a quick rundown of PowerChurch Plus’s top features to help you decide if it’s right for you.
Dashboard and Interface Design
PowerChurch Plus Dashboard
When you open PowerChurch Plus, you’ll be greeted by an empty, blue dashboard screen. There’s a quick shortcut menu on the left side, but the main navigation will be through the menu bars.
PowerChurch Plus’s dashboard isn’t as modern-looking as the interface design we see in other popular accounting software products. Although the developers say that PowerChurch Plus 14 offers a “refreshed” look with bigger fonts and better font style, we still think it’s behind the times when it comes to design. Overall, there’s nothing to do on the dashboard unless you access the menus and open a module:
PowerChurch Plus 14 Refreshed Visuals
In Version 14 of the software, the developers said that they replaced the standard Arial font with the Segoe UI font used in Windows 10. We can also see from the image above that there’s “enlarged” text except for the menu bars. The developers said that menu bars may still have smaller font sizes since these elements are dictated by Windows. Though the input forms are a bit old school, Version 14 is cleaner and easier to read because of the new font style.
Fund Accounting
PowerChurch Plus uses a cash-based, double-entry accounting system. It classifies transactions according to funds, allowing you to track fund expenditures and balances separately. For instance, you can keep your building fund separate from your general-purpose fund. You can enter an unlimited number of transactions, record recurring transactions, reconcile bank accounts, track donor-restricted funds, generate graphs of account balances, and more:
Fund Accounting Menu
Chart of Accounts
PowerChurch Plus includes a default chart of accounts that excludes accrual accounts for A/P and A/R. When you open the chart of accounts, you see an old-fashioned way of viewing the chart of accounts wherein an account number is assigned to assets, liabilities, net assets, income, and expense. Nothing gets debited or credited to these accounts; they’re just presented for visual purposes:
Chart of Accounts
A/P
PowerChurch Plus stores vendor contact and account information, enabling you to record checks, whether they’re computer-printed or handwritten. You can also manage and track recurring payments such as mortgages, leases, and utility bills. Even though PowerChurch Plus has an A/P feature to help manage your bills, the software doesn’t include A/P in the financial statements:
Vendor Records in the A/P Module
A/R
If your church has invoiced income, such as room rentals and daycare tuition, you can issue invoices for payment in the A/R module. You can record unlimited transactions, enter recurring transactions, accept partial payments, and issue credit memos in case of overpayment or data entry errors. Just like A/P, A/R is only a tracker. When you record accrued income, you can see it in A/R but not in the books. Once it’s paid, the amount will appear in your financial statements:
Invoices and Payments Information in the A/R Module
Expert tip: After recording the payment of a bill (A/P) or the receipt of a payment (A/R), you must post the transaction twice. First, you post it within the A/R or A/P system to offset the outstanding invoice or bill. Then you post it to the fund accounting system so the payment will be reflected in your financial statements.
Check Printing
PowerChurch Plus has a check printing module under A/P. The form is easy to fill out. You only need to supply the amount of the check, and PowerChurch will generate the amount in words automatically. You can also complete the payee information using the vendor code or by searching the vendor name:
Creating a Quick Check
Cash and banking
Unfortunately, you cannot connect bank feeds to PowerChurch Plus. However, the software offers good account reconciliation features, which is essential for good bookkeeping. The lack of a bank connection isn’t a problem if you tend to enter transactions in the software as they occur, ensuring you constantly have up-to-date books. However, if you prefer to enter transactions after the fact as they appear on your bank statement, then you want a live bank feed like the one offered in Aplos:
Bank or Credit Card Reconciliation
Payroll
Power Church Plus allows you to record unlimited payroll transactions. You can set up your unique requirements for payroll, such as pretax deductions and Social Security exemptions. The program tracks employee contact information, salary, position history, emergency contact information, pastor salary, and housing allowance. PowerChurch Plus supports all federal and state tax forms:
Payroll Processing Module
Reporting
Each module included in PowerChurch Plus contains built-in reports that you can send directly to a printer, email, and share with other users. Every module has a Custom Report Writer that allows you to generate your own reports based on your needs. Reports included in the Fund Accounting module include a balance sheet, income and expense statements, restricted funds, equity accounts, transfer accounts, liability accounts, and more:
Sample Balance Sheet
Membership management
The membership management feature has several modules, including personal profiles, family mailing list, activities and skills, attendance, visitations, and ministry services:
Family Mailing List
Personal Profiles
Church Activities
Tracking Attendance
Visitation Data
Ministry Services
Family mailing list
Store information about each household, such as the street address, family pictures, and preferred mailing address.
Personal profiles
Record individual information like birthdays, cell phone numbers, and email addresses. You can use this module to manage church members and keep track of their participation.
Activities and skills
Create different activities like youth group, choir, and women’s ministry. You can use these groups to create email lists, mailing labels, and mail merge letters as well as record attendance and event calendars.
Attendance
Track attendance records of each individual in an activity. The attendance can be viewed in the member record.
Visitations
Store visitations that are made by the families listed in the Family Mailing List module. This module keeps track of visitors to your church. Users can also add a description of what happened during the visitation. Visitation data can be accessed in the member record.
Ministry services
Track ministerial services like weddings, baptisms, and funerals performed for people listed in the Personal Profiles module.
Contributions
The Contributions module helps you manage tithing and donations. The program stores giving records for each individual listed in the Personal Profiles module, and it uses envelope numbers to connect individuals to donation records. You can assign a gift to a specific fund, create different designations within each fund, track recurring contributions, import contributions from third-party online giving programs like Vanco Payment Solutions, and more:
Entering and Viewing Contributions
Pledges
Record pledges and track pledge progress for a specific purpose and date range. You can track pledges or faith promises on a weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly, or one-time basis. PowerChurch Plus includes built-in reports showing comparisons of pledged to actual donations:
Viewing Pledges per Member
Event scheduling
Schedule one-time or recurring events and announce them to your members through email. You can synchronize the Events Scheduling module to Google Calendar to ensure every event goes smoothly. Using the Equipment Inventory module, you can also reserve all kinds of equipment, such as church vans, chairs, and video projectors, and assign tasks to people listed in the Personal Profiles module:
Event Calendar
PowerChurch Plus doesn’t have the best user interface; the design and navigation flow are old-fashioned. When you open modules, windows stack over each other, which can make your screen cluttered.
Most of the actions can be done only through the menus. Users must familiarize themselves with the items under each menu to navigate around PowerChurch Plus easily. Overall, PowerChurch Plus is difficult to use. Users with less than perfect eyesight might have a hard time using PowerChurch Plus since the font is small and the form design is tight.
Customer support is free for 90 days for first-time purchases and 45 days for upgrades. After the free support period, users will pay $35 per call or email plus free follow-up for one week. Alternatively, users can get six or 12 months of support for $149 or $280, respectively. Users can call PowerChurch Plus for support during working hours.
PowerChurch Plus Alternatives
Best for: Churches needing assisted bookkeeping | Best for: Churches wanting customer service via telephone | Best for: Accrual accounting of income and expenses |
Software from: $35 | Software from: $59 per month | Software from: $25 per month |
Bottom Line
PowerChurch Plus offers a mix of accounting and church management features. The accounting side of PowerChurch Plus is based on true fund accounting to help with accountability and making sure donations are used appropriately. Its church management features are also remarkable. PowerChurch Plus has member tracking and event scheduling for church events, activities, or services. On the downside, A/R and A/P are only for tracking purposes and aren’t included in financial statements.
