Church Windows

Pros

We use Church Windows for accounting, payroll, membership records, and donation tracking, so it is an integral part of our church administration. Because we are careful to enter data accurately and use the suite of software systematically, Church Windows is an excellent way for us to manage information and make timely reports to church leaders. We like having one software package to handle so many of our functions, and there is some efficiency to the learning curve because of similarities across the various modules. One of the best things about Church Windows is the quality of the tech support. Our annual fee allows us to contact the support staff whenever we have questions about how to do something or correct something, and since the software is used by several individuals (a staff person and church volunteers) with varying degrees of expertise, questions do arise. The tech support staff is knowledgeable, clear, and responsive to both email and phone inquiries. That helps keep our system running like a well-oiled machine!

Cons

Some of the modules seem less user-friendly to us. For example, the Donations module where we record individuals' giving and generate reports for tax purposes is not intuitive to use, and we found it very difficult to set up quarterly and annual statements in the form and format that we desired, when we began using Donations when the software publisher updated an earlier Church Windows module, Contributions. We interacted extensively with tech support in the course of that transition, and, although they were as helpful as possible, we felt that the software was less flexible than we would like. So, the bottom line is that it can take some effort to learn how to use the software, and in an environment where there is turnover in the church office or among the volunteers handling church administration, that is a bit of an obstacle.

Pros

Church Windows is a very user-friendly software. It's easy to navigate through the different modules. I use the Accounting, Payroll, Membership and Donations modules the most. I went to their location in Columbus for one day of training when I started using this software. It was very helpful and our instructor, CSR, was excellent! Since then I have been able to breeze through the accounting module with ease. It's great for printing financial reports for meetings, payables and receivables, tracking income and expenses, creating individual funds, writing checks and processing payroll. For the most part it's super easy to use! If I do have a question that I just can't figure out, I call their customer support and they're very friendly and helpful.

Cons

The only draw back to Church Windows is when you call customer support, they can't help you right away. Someone has to call you back, normally it's within the hour. But sometimes it can be longer depending on the day and time you call. By the time you get a call back you're on to something else and you have to go back and remember why you needed them to help you. There have been times that I have figured it out before I get a call back. I believe you can pay more for immediate assistance, however I don't call very much so it's not worth the extra cost to our church. Some may want to pay the extra to get immediate assistance until you're more familiar with the software, then you can switch to the lower cost. Because it won't be long you'll be proficient and won't require much support!

Pros

Church Windows does a lot of things nicely. I love the way the Donations module dumps our members donations into income accounts in Accounting with the press of a button. Payroll, which is tailored for churches (handles ministers with no problems) also integrates with Accounting automatically. The Accounting module allows me to book typical church transactions quickly and easily, but provides the ability to do complex accounting transactions as well. While lots of church management programs claim to handle fund accounting, Church Windows does true fund accounting which allows our church great flexibility in tracking designated donations and spending. While not perfect, the program is an excellent value.

Cons

Church Windows has a web based version that uses browsers to view Windows type screens and I find this clunky to use. I'd much rather have an app on my phone that I can use to pull up membership data when I need someone's phone number and an Accounting app that would let me enter transactions remotely when I'm away from the office. The Accounting module also lacks an easy way to handle credit card transactions - I'd like to see something like Quicken that let's you check off the charges when you reconcile the monthly credit card statement. It handles credit cards fine, just not as easily as Quicken or Quickbooks.

Pros

The features are really great. It has everything we need and even some things that we don't! The reports are clear and concise and there is a variety as far as what types/kinds of reports are available.

Cons

The user-friendliness ability is lacking. There seem to be way too many steps to do one task. Also, it is not compatible with our label machine so we have to do our labels though the program provided by the label maker (Dymo) instead of through Church Windows, which is what we would prefer. One thing I really, really wish that Church Windows offered was the ability to separate families/people into groups that we choose as opposed to the default groups. There is also no way to do a mass delete of people/families, this is especially inconvenient for people who have only attended once or twice or for a function of one kind or another. Instead, I have to go through the entire list of people one by one and delete them. If I had a couple of days to devote just to that task, then maybe I could get it done but I don't so I can't! There should be a way for people to automatically drop off the rolls after "X" amount of time. It is a huge hassle to manually go through 1000+ people in order to see who needs to be dropped or moved to inactive.

Pros

The best thing about Church Windows is that it is integrated and fairly inexpensive. You can get a donations module, payroll, accounting, membership AND scheduling with online access for a low monthly fee. AND for only a little more per year, get unlimited phone support. The support is amazing. Never have I called and not gotten an answer to any issue that I was having. The modules are all integrated and talk to each other so there is no double entry or having to make sure to remember to upload something. Payroll is great and always updated with latest forms. The accounting module is good and fairly easy to use, especially for people that may not have formal accounting training. I don't actually use the scheduling, so I cannot evaluate it. Membership and Donations are also integrated and fairly easy to use. You can send professional letters and print any donation letters that you might need.

Cons

Unfortunately, Church Windows is not always intuitive. There are tons of things that it can do and it can generate tons of data and reports, but you to know EXACTLY how to ask it for what you want. There is quite a steep learning curve to really get the most out of the program. The accounting software does use different terminology and reports than most professional accountants are used to. And the flexibility to create your own reports in Accounting is not there. This is fine for most people, but if you have a professional accountant on your staff or in your congregation, be prepared to explain some of the quirks of the system. Some of the issues are because the Accounting software has to completely integrate with the other modules and so there are limitations. I for the most part, think it is great. I has taken me about 3 years to really get comfortable using all of the modules and using them to generate the reports that I want and give me the information that I want quickly and easily. Church Windows is not really quite as modern and flashy as some of the other programs out there. It doesn't integrate with a website platform. It doesn't have the ability to produce more modern points of contact like texting, or online church directories, or some of the fresh-er and more tech integrated programs. BUT, it is a heck of a lot cheaper than those other programs AND it has good, solid, integrated payroll and accounting modules.