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!

You get A LOT for your money with this program!

I use the membership, donations, and accounting parts of Church Windows. It is a very thorough program with a lot of content, but if you take the time to learn how to use it well, it can really increase your productivity!

Pros

Our office originally switched to Church Windows because we wanted to be able to use one program for our membership and financial needs. Church Windows does this and a whole lot more! There is so much content to this program, that I am still discovering new things after years of using it! It was very daunting in the beginning, but I have found the Church Windows customer service to be invaluable. No matter how big of a mess I've ever thought I made, they are always able to walk me through it and get everything in its proper place with minimal effort. They are amazing!

Cons

Because there is SO much content, it can be quite difficult to master. I believe that the individual/s using this program should be someone who is able to teach themselves and learn by trial and error. Especially in the beginning. The program will do just about anything you want it to, but sometimes it can be difficult figuring out how to communicate it correctly.

Outstanding Paid Customer Support

I have had a much easier time creating reports and labels and gathering congregational statistics using this program than any other program. I appreciate the free webinars offered, too. There is a lot you can do with this.

Pros

CW is user-friendly and offers a plethora of customized reports for one's congregation. Track parishioners' contact information, church involvement, attendance, giving/pledges, class participation, pastoral visits, and more. You can even print telephone directories.

Cons

Sometimes it is so detailed/customizable that it can get a bit tricky to navigate some of the more detailed features. The customer support is wonderful, but you do have to pay for it with an annual or semiannual customer support subscription.

Stained Glass

We have over 500 members information to keep track of. We use this for many reports . I can get the reports done and print which is very convenient. I do get frustrated with not knowing what to click to get the correct report, sometimes it takes me several tries to get what I need.

Pros

I do like that you can put in attendance, have member information at one touch, and that our payroll can all be done from this software. The support they offer is great. You get a phonecall fairly quickly.

Cons

I still have problems with some areas, such as when i put in a new visitor and it has to have information i don't have yet. It wont let you save until you enter what you don't know. I have been using Church Windows for some time.

Church Windows is a mixed blessing.

We use Church Windows to run and administer a medium sized church (About 150 active members), and have in the past used other software for the same purpose. From the point of view of the user interface, Church Windows is far superior to all the others -- when it is working. Which is about 70% of the time. The rest of the time I am attempting to fix its frequent connectivity issues.

Pros

The User Interface is intuitive, powerful, and well designed. The Accounting module in particular is quite sophisticated, containing many standard and specialized reports. Our accountant loves it. It's modules are well integrated, and when it is working, it works beautifully. The local version, (as opposed to the Web version) is reasonably priced.

Cons

It is very touchy, installation wise. Wireless networking is not supported; neither are APUs, you MUST have CPUs in all Church Windows PCs for it to function reliably. It periodically loses connectivity, and sometimes requires reinstalls in order to correct problems. I am the administrator of the system, and frankly, if the users didn't like it so much (particularly the treasurer), I'd suggest a change. I am underwhelmed by their tech support; they tend to disclaim responsibility for problems, claiming networking issues, Windows issues, etc., are the cause even though no other software we use seems to have the problem.