Good Program with Great Customer Support

We are a small, small town congregation. We use the program for all our membership and financial records of the church. In general we have had a positive experience with the Church Windows program and helpline.

Pros

The Customer support is one of the best selling points of this program - professional, helpful, patient, and prompt in their replies. In regards to the program it is great how the system for Members, Donations, and Accounting are woven together, there is the ability in detail to establish security settings, and the system creates a trail for every action. For Accounting the system is robust for Fund accounting and provides a number of reports with the click of a button. We are glad to see the most recent overhaul to the software that has made significant improvements to the program.

Cons

The online mobile version is cost prohibitive for a small and medium sized congregations limiting its value for less centralized congregations and use in the mission field. Though the report creation tool is powerful, it is complicated to the point of needing to relearn how to create new reports each time one is needed (a definite time sink limiting the ability to readily create new reports). At times search results are baffling in that they do not appear to generate the full data one had requested. The interface between the Donations Module and Membership Module has the ability to create duplicates of people in which an individual's information is spread over two profiles. Lastly we have never found a meaningful use for the Scheduler Module as it is a self-contained module that can't be utilized to automatically populate online calendars or sync with other devices.

Sufficient for our needs, but always room for small improvements

Church Windows is a good general record keeping software for a church. We don't use some of the features (like class attendance) but those features that we use have helped us.

Pros

I appreciate that this software helps us to keep track of our membership and visitors both, gives us a central repository for their details and helps us to track attendance trends. Where there are options to customize some of the fields that appear in the main panel for each individual person is helpful as I was able to reorder per our interests and remove from view fields that aren't important. That I could add more tags than just Member and Visitor has helped to keep a better distinction between former and inactive members as well as visitors who are 'friends of the church' (i.e. frequent attendees) versus our more occassional or one time visitors.
We upgraded a few months ago to Version 21.18.1 - I like that the newer version has a more modern look and feel than the older version we had, and maneuvers around better.

Cons

-That the Comments field is 'buried' on another tab instead of being an option to include on the main tab/panel of individual's information
-Address entry is more steps than should be necessary, and there's no way to label addresses, such as for members who only reside in the area part of the year but provide their off-season address to us as well.
-Rather than having to hunt through tabs on an individual's record, could the interface go to more of a central screen that scrolls through fields so you don't have to switch between sections so much?
-I wish there was a way in Attendance Entry to have either (or both): A. Member names bold face and visitor names not so that it is easier to pick out your members when your list of names is large B. a feature where you can temporarily hide other categories of people to make the list of names shorter.
-I have had to learn the hard way through experience to enter any visitor info for a service before I do Attendance Entry because if you stop to add a name mid-way through inputting attendance, you have to close out and bring the attendance back up again to see the new name. Could this be fixed?
-When you export reports to Excel, there are way too many tiny or semi-merged columns to be able to do a proper sort function without having to basically deconstruct the report before you can work with it. There should be an option for report export that is just raw data with minimal formatting that would make this easier to work with.

November 2018

I am very pleased with the software. I like having access to ongoing learning options in the webinars (I used to receive emails about these dates coming up but now I don't which causes me to forget to go looking for them myself!) It takes awhile to become familiar with the software and how it works but now that I am comfortable I am most pleased that I can produce so many reports. I am sometimes frustrated that I don't have enough data from members of the congregation or ministers to produce more detailed and comprehensive reports. The creation and development of them is sound. The support staff is excellent in solving problems and being friendly and supportive. They respond in a timely manner.

Pros

Ease of extracting information from the data to create reports.
The number of boxes where details may be entered is excellent - every possible situation has been considered, including winter or out-of-town school addresses plus different last names for individuals within the family unit plus multi-level phone numbers and emails.

Cons

I love to have the support of the software by speaking with a real person.
My patience challenges me at times to wait for the phone call back!
Sometimes there are difficulties in choosing the right report ie. directory vs. basic because the format of the directory report is good but there are decisions embedded there which override any selections I might make for the report ie. individual vs. family identities

Professional & Productive

CWindows has been most beneficial with membership, donations and payroll for me. I hardly ever have a church member find an issue with their Giving Statement, and that says alot about the software. The revamped membership module has integrated members & visitors so much so that keying in data is a breeze. And I doubt that I'd be doing payroll if it weren't for Church Windows. Seriously, ya'll are the reason I wear so many hats over here!

Pros

I liked the software so much at my church job that when asked to "help" with the membership and receivables at the church I am a member of, I gladly accepted ... with one condition: that they purchase and use CWindows! The software is so easy to use, across the board, that I knew anybody would be able to come in behind me and learn it as quickly as I did.

Cons

The latest update was more of a complete rewrite. I lost a good bunch of data in this update, too. I've had to re-key alot of that lost data, some of which I was unable to retrieve. I'm still learning what the new update is capable of doing. It's almost like I'm having to learn a whole new program. I feel very inadequate at times when I'm in the program now.

CW Review 11/13/18

The best part is the payroll and the taxes. We originally were using QuickBooks and trying to "tweek" it to work. CW takes a lot of the guessing and headache out of the payroll differences in a church setting.

Pros

To be honest, the customer support. From the moment someone answers the phone until someone calls you back, the professionalism and friendliness is unmatched. I always feel like I am calling a friend who is knowledgeable about the software. At first I struggled to comprehend some of the aspects of the software because I do not come from an accounting background. It did take me some time to feel comfortable with what I was doing but once I was I no longer had fear that I would "screw" something up.

Cons

I wish some of the techs would tone down the accounting terminology when trying to explain things to me. Like I said I didn't come from an accounting background so the lingo was somewhat foreign and I felt lost when they would explain things to me. The software seems to be continuously updated which if I had the time to explore some of the new upgrades I believe I would be able to utilize them. Not sure if you have this or not, but a video explaining some of the new features that accompany an update would be nice.

Church Windows Review

Overall, not a bad experience and the wonderful customer service/support really makes up for other inefficiencies. 3.5 out of 5 stars overall.

Pros

I love that support is always prompt and responsive. Any time there is an issue, they are willing to help as quick as they can and they are always very kind and informative.
I like that only one user may be logged in at a time to prevent duplicate or missing information. That is smart and helpful in our Presbytery!
I love the tax reporting feature in the Payroll Module. It is easy and efficient!

Cons

I do not like how slow the software is, especially now that we access it through remote desktop. All the screens are slower and printing is excruciatingly slow.
I wish you didn't have to hit the print button so many times on so many different screens before your report or confirmation actually prints.
I feel like the software is difficult to learn. You guys do a great job making webinars and help materials available, which is great. But unless someone is trained on how to do things, I don't feel like the software is very intuitive or user friendly. I don't feel like an average AR/AP person could navigate through the system and figure things out without guidance/training.

Church Windows

Most folk who work or serve as lay leaders in a church have an clear understanding of the business end of things. Because Church Windows software is specifically tailored for churches, it enables me to report information in a manner that is easily understood over a broad spectrum of skill levels. They offer tutorials for all their modules and their customer service is second to none. Its a very rare thing to not receive a call back the same day I place a support call. Their staff are courteous, knowledgeable, and well trained. Over the last 19 years I have recommended Church Windows many, many times and will continue to do so in the future!

Pros

I've been using Church Windows since 1999. I currently use the Membership, Contribution and Accounting modules. They've come a long in the last 19 years and they are constantly upgrading their software as the market demands. Over the years they continue to solicit, and implement, suggestions from their customers. It's one thing to sell a product, but its another thing entirely to keep folks satisfied with your product for almost 20 years!

Cons

Probably the reports features, but that is mostly due to my reluctance to try creating custom-made reports. Its one of those things that you get out of it what you put into it - so no fault to Church Windows, just me.

My Review of Church Windows

I LOVE Church Window software!! I have been using it for 15 years and every church should be using it.

Pros

You can do so much with the Church Windows software. It is a great way to keep track of membership and visitors. Keep track of offering and printing reports are pretty easy to do. Customer support always returns call quickly but with work with you as long as you need. I'm a secretary at 2 Lutheran churches. The both have Church Windows. One use it for every thing. The other just uses the donation and accounting. The second church is hard to get things done and organized since they don't use the full scope of Church Windows. I think I have them talked in to using it more. Church Windows makes my job so much easier!

Cons

The most trouble I have had with church windows is all the updates. The software is easy to use until they start updating the software. The seem to take something that work good and makes it more difficult to use. I'm sure that it works for the large or mega church but us little church just need simple software. Maybe they need a software for large or mega churches and another for small churches.

Eastside

Our overall experience with Church Windows is great. We are able to keep track of our donations, pledges, great files for tracking membership and the information we need to update for emergency information and family information. Definitely a great tool for tracking our members and visitors donations and supplying them with their year-end reports for tax purposes. There are so many other services that we are offered but have not tapped into yet. Very pleased with Church Windows.

Pros

The service received. Have always received great help when I call even if it is a dumb question I am never made to feel that it is. Never have to wait long times for call backs. The Webinars are great and give instructions that are simple and easy to understand and you can get feedback during the sessions.

Cons

We do not use the accounting part and would like to see software that is simple math in adding and subtracting. We are a small church and all of our help is volunteer so we do not have an Accountant on payroll, just those that give of their time. So a software program that would allow us to enter donations, pledges, etc., and then be able to substract payments, and distributions would be awesome.

Awesome Church Management Software!

Church Windows has helped our church operations in so many ways. The reporting and budgeting options in Accounting have been especially helpful in financial planning and oversight. The payroll module simplifies all things related to payroll (direct deposit, taxes, W-2s, etc). Giving statements are easy to produce, as well as giving reports. People tracking is always a challenge, and the Membership module does so much to help. The support is fantastic, they know the program, and many of them also serve in their local church. Overall, Church Windows is an outstanding product!

Pros

Our church has used Church Windows for many years. It seamlessly tracks people, giving, accounting, and payroll. Each module can be used by itself, or integrated to all work together. The support people are fantastic--friendly, patient, and easy to understand. Training is readily available through online video tutorials, brief online training sessions, workbooks, and the program help feature. The user-friendly software is great for beginners, offers many features for seasoned users, and versatile enough for church volunteers and employees alike.

Cons

Nothing. I love everything about Church Windows!

Church Windows Revew

It allows a small congregation to maintain payroll and accounting records without the added expense of hiring an accountant. I have always found the support team to be helpful and responsive. The free webinars are also very useful - particularly the ones designed for year-end procedures!

Pros

It is user friendly for someone who is not a trained accountant or bookkeeper. Allows me to print professional appearing reports that are easily distributed to committees. The reports provide the information needed for various finance committees. Stored history in the various modules is helpful when I need to recall various transactions or help a committee remember a particular vendor or reason for an expense. Reports in the donations module are helpful during our stewardship campaign to track pledges and donations and compare them to previous years.

Cons

I do not like the most recent version of Membership! I think the previous version was much easier to read and edit. The result is that I use membership much less frequently. I also used to use it sending email blasts to our congregation but now use Mail Chimp instead.

Excellent program with great support

Good, great, love it. Someone at the church recently wanted to change b/c they don't feel the membership database is up to snuff but I was very vocal that I really like the accounting module, and I have worked with MANY accounting programs.

Pros

I work mostly the the Accounting and I love the Flexibility. You can change entries, work in a current month without closing out the prior month and I find it user friendly. (see below for a colleague's opposite view re: membership.) LOVE THE CUSTOMER SERVICE. Seriously, I could not have learned this program without them. The very best, smart, patient. Great folks.

Cons

Accounting: 1. the A/R module is a bit odd. You can't reprint invoices after they're paid for example. It seems a bit less thought through than the rest of accounting, perhaps because it's an add-on. 2. There should be better interface between the modules. For example, when you change an address in Membership or Payroll it doesn't change in any other module. 3. My colleague reports that Membership a. had a steep learning curve and b. is not "user friendly" in her opinion.

Church Windows is all you need!

The biggest advantage for both churches where I've used CW has to be the all encompassing package. We never needed a separate spreadsheet for payroll or Quickbooks for accounting and then worried whether the data reported was accurate. With the complete package, we can trust the integrity of the data.

Pros

I've used CW for 15 years and what I enjoy most is that it does it all and it's easy to learn. There's no need for other software packages or worrying whether it's compatible with or will interface with other software. It handles everything a church needs from accounting, payroll, donations and membership. Knowing you can trust the data that's shared within the modules is key. It keeps up with payroll tax changes and reporting and their customer support is the best! I currently use the web version, but for many years I had the desktop and both work equally well.

Cons

I've never been a huge fan of report writers, but it really is the best way to give every customer what they need. The reports they originally offered were all we needed and more.

Edgewood

The customer support is great and that's important.

Pros

It keeps everything flowing smoothly between modules so that everything is in one place and not fragmented. The church was using two or three different methods of keeping track of things prior to my setting up Church Windows.

Cons

It's a pretty good software program however since they have been changing it the Membership module is very cumbersome. Hard to follow. Not really user friendly at all. The person in our office that has to maintain this is very ready for a change.
The reporting could be a lot more efficient. Now, if I want to see what is happening in a fund I basically have to look three places (four if the money is coming through the donations module) to be able to piece it together. This is not different with the changes but has always been a bit more cumbersome when someone asks for the activity in detail for a fund for the year.
It is really mostly the membership module that is causing us to rethink whether or not this program still works for us, though.

Great software product specifically for churches

We use the Membership module for tracking our membership, attendance and creating a church directory. We use the donation module for pledges and contributions, the accounting module for all our bill pay and reporting of the church finances, and payroll to do payroll and file our taxes. I have not yet brought Scheduler into play as we are relatively new in our building, but have used it in the past with great success. All modules are current, and bug-free. Installation of updates is quick and easy, even with multiple workstations.

Pros

The Customer Support! Although the software is very user friendly everyone needs help. The customer support, webinars and training offered cannot be beat! I've take classes on site, through the webinars and have spent hours on the phone being instructed on how to do tasks, and have always felt comfortable at the end of the day. We use all the modules offered.

Cons

Occasionally there is a delay in getting a call back from the Customer Support group, but I know it's because they are helping someone else conquer a problem as thoroughly as they will help me solve mine!

Church Windows from a Church Administrator's Perspective

The church where I work has been excited to be able to view financial statements that are so much easier to understand than what they had been previously using. Yes, I can give them the same reams of data that they had been trying to wade through, but I can also condense that down where they can just ask questions about a specific area if needed.

Pros

I liked being able to purchase a denominational specific version of the software. The updates address issues that are relevant to the ease of using the product. Call back time for telephone support is excellent. There is definitely a learning curve for the product; however, there are multiple ways available to assist with that such as the short live tutorials each month that last approximately 20 minutes and then are available to view at your discretion.

Cons

There are times when I find it difficult to discern how to word my search question in the Help section to find the answer that I am needing. I would also like to be able to even further tailor my reports.

Amazing Customer Service

Overall, Church Windows is a great software and I could never say enough about the wonderful customer service. I can easily track day to day transactions and report to our Vestry board on a monthly basis. As we all know, churches run on budgets so it is important to be as accurate as possible every month to make sure we stay within the budget. Church Windows has been instrumental in showing us where we need to make cuts and where we can afford to grow.

Pros

Customer Service is amazing. I never have to wait on hold and they call back fairly quickly with a knowledgeable rep. Everyone I have spoken to has been extremely helpful and kind.

Cons

Having used software like Quickbooks my entire career, I am used to Intuit's ease of use. Pulling up the check register and being able to click right to the transaction. Church Windows is great and I can find everything I need and print any kind of report I would need but it's not quite as user friendly as I would like. I also don't like that payroll is in a separate icon and not built into the other modules.

Saved by Church Windows Software

I feel more comfortable starting my work day as I know that it will make sense. I appreciate the online support and the quick responses that we receive which are easy to work through. I wish we had discovered this software much earlier. I appreciate that it is affordable for small churches and that we don't have to struggle with poorly written programs because that is all our budget can handle.

Pros

I am so grateful for a program that is easy to set up, easy to navigate, and easy on brain power. I was using another program that caused me daily frustration and I hated to even open the program. When we switched it was like a mental vacation. I like the 20 minutes webinars that allow us to get training to refresher courses or that give us training prior to changes.

Cons

I'm not sure how to get the online help that I need which occurred when You Tube became the source. I have not had time to investigate how to navigate. I'm sure that once I have time to investigate it will be simple as the rest of the procedures.

Church Windows in Review

Keeping track not only of the churches bookkeeping but keeping up with what the Trustees are handling also. It gives the Finance committee a quick look at what is being done or not done so it can be addressed quickly.

Pros

I think the contribution area is the best. It gives an accurate and easy account of what my parishioners have contributed. It is easy to locate any area that I may have questions about. The online and telephone help is extremely necessary and most of the people I have spoken with have been very patient and explained how and why it was necessary to do something in the program.

Cons

I think setting up the fund accounts was the most difficult. I did not begin this program I am inherited it when I took this position. The fund accounts were difficult to learn how to set up but I have been using this program for 18 years now. Trying to teach someone else to use this program may be a little more difficult unless they have used an accounting program before.

Church Windows Software Review 11/13/18

Overall we have been very pleased with Church Windows software and especially the help staff.

Pros

The continuous updates and support of the Church Windows staff. I find the accounting side much easier to make corrections than the older version. I find the set-up of campaigns easier in in the donation version.

Cons

Donations. I find the new donations module very cumbersome, especially in entering batches. In Accounting it is one thing to edit an expense and have it drop to the bottom of the batch but in donations, to add a comment or make a correction and have it drop to the bottom of the batch means you have to pull the check and place it at the bottom if you want to keep things in order. It would be easier if you could make a correction and have it hold its place. In membership I find it more cumbersome to use the label section and the layout of the membership screen is hard to read. Overall the updates have made it less user friendly.