Simple and easy, but with advanced features for those who need it.

We began using Aplos as a brand new church. They helped us every step of the way as we grew - absolutely stellar customer service! We still don't have the complexity that some larger churches do, but every time we have needed to add something, the capacity has been there. The one exception was the lack of payroll integration, which I understand that they are now adding but we have not used yet. What I love about the product is that it is easy for us who are new to accounting to use, but also robust enough that our treasure (CPA) is able to use it in more complex ways.

Pros

Cloud-based Accounting with multiple user accounts makes it easy to keep finances updated. Clean, simple, straight-forward layout makes use easy. Super-responsive customer service are always there when you need them. Bank integration makes it easy to import transactions. Contact management. Reports are quick and easy to generate with customized data. Ability to connect to online-giving.

Cons

At the moment we are unable to link families within the contact management system. There are awesome graphs and charts on the dashboard, but unfortunately they do not have a lot of customization options or the ability to easily export.

APLOS Software for my Small (but growing) Church

The people at APLOS are great to work with. Easy to reach out to, quick to respond, They are really good at listening to my particular need and showing me how APLOS helps with it vs. just a generic response. Also, you can't beat the price. (I got a Black Friday 50% off special for a year). I looked at other options - some were too much for my need (both cost and complexity) and some could be made to work (Quickbooks for example) but were not really designed for a church. This is PERFECT for us.

Pros

I purchased this software to help me take on a new role as treasurer of a small church. Am about 6 weeks into a "practice period" and will wipe out my practice data and start clean in January. It has (almost) everything I could want and some things I did not expect. The people database for church members, vendors, & prospects supports communication and there are robust accounting features (budgeting, bill pay, offerings, etc.). It has predesigned reports of all kinds that can be easily customized. You can import and export data. And it is really easy to use. Clearly designed for non-professionals like me - a volunteer doing a treasurer's job. Loved it from the first time I started playing with it during the free trial period. Also the resources (webinars, academy, one on one support) are great! Have watched several webinars, and chatted with people in customer support several times to get specific guidance/suggestions on my questions.

Cons

Have found only 2 things missing so far: 1) My pastor wants the ability to use the letter/email functions to communicate with members (uses the contact database) without seeing their donation records - and right now that "separation" isn't available. Also in recording donations, I would like to differentiate between cash and check because you need that info to make your bank deposit. APLOS doesn't provide for that. There's a workaround but not a great one. Customer Service made note of both of these needs for future releases.

Intuitive Software and great support

We have a robust reporting for our church finances. Better than most I've seen and I think it is in most part due to the ability to talk through the needs with Aplos support and get the help on what functionality meets those needs.

Pros

When I came on board as treasurer we were using the software inefficiently and not taking advantage of functionalities that would help us. I worked with the team asking questions about my needs and they translated those needs to functionality. Within a very short time I created funds and tracked financials that gave a much better picture of our finances.

Cons

I was not around for implementation so I am unsure if the problems were the Aplos or GVC team related. Now I understand the software, it is critical to plan the uses than implement .

Good Software for Beginning Nonprofits

Pros

I like that everything is all together in one spot - donor software, accounting, newletters and online giving forms. I like how when someone gives online through your forms that it automatically incorporates into your accounting and saves info from the giver into your contacts. Their customer service and support is their beacon of light. Extreme strong point. It's almost as if you have nonprofit accountant on your staff to answer your questions. They answer you quickly, and their answers are always helpful. And often times they've logged in and completely helped me fix an issue. This is the best thing I love about them and something that makes them completely unique. This was a game changer for me as a brand new nonprofit and didn't know what I was doing. I can't say enough about this! This is what makes me recommend them to everyone I know that's a nonprofit leader.

Cons

The newsletter email templates and online giving forms are very template-y and don't give you a lot of control. The final product can help you get information out, however it looks pretty amateurish, which in turn makes your nonprofit/your brand, look amateurish - which is more important than most people know. If Aplos could follow constant contact's lead on design formatting they would be top notch. The other thing I don't like is often I'm fundraising for events and have options for customers to pick (example : I want to buy tickets for an event and a tshirt for two people), or want them to be able to buy multiples of items and it really needs somewhat of a "cart" option for online giving forms. Third, I get lots of complaints from customers about the transaction errors which make it hard to give. I get this a lot. Which can hinder givers, often they won't go back again and give again when they get an email way later that the transaction didn't go through, so you lose donations. I've addressed this with them several times, but there hasn't been any resolution. I think it has to do with that the provider they use does a micro-transaction to the bank and then banks don't approve it.

The Aplos Advantage

Our church accounting is much more efficient with Aplos. It is easy to set up and use. I'm able to keep track of multiple accounts with ease. Two of us use the software almost daily and have never had any issues or hiccups.

Pros

I love that this software is cloud based. All entries are automatically saved and easy to correct or delete. Because it is "in the cloud" I can access from anywhere.

Cons

Instead of using accounting terminology, they use simpler words or methods. It all makes sense, but I had to get used to words such as tags and purposes.