ChurchSoftware Accounting

ChurchSoftware Accounting is a free accounting suite for churches, with tools for designated funds, income and expenses, and financial reporting. It can track money reserved for missions, building projects, and benevolence, as well as tithes, offerings, donations, bills, payroll, and ministry expenses. Reports include financial statements, giving reports, and custom summaries. Online giving and donations connect to accounting for automatic recordkeeping. The vendor says its core platform is free, without fees or a trial, for eligible 501(c)(3) organizations, including churches, parachurch organizations, nonprofits, and mission organizations. The core offering also includes people, group, and volunteer management; online giving; check-in; event registration and forms; a sermon library; a church mobile app; custom reports; and customer support. It is available on Android, iOS, and the web and is intended for churches ranging from church plants to multi-site megachurches. Optional listed services include a church website at $59/mo, a branded mobile app at $149/mo, a website and app bundle at $199/mo, background checks at $10 per check, payroll at $25/mo + $9 per employee, and two-way texting at $29/mo.

ChurchSoftware Accounting combines church-oriented accounting with giving records and financial reports. Eligible organizations can use the core platform free, while several optional services have listed charges.

It is aimed at churches that need to track designated funds, giving, bills, payroll, or ministry expenses. The vendor says the free core platform is for eligible 501(c)(3) organizations.

ChurchSoftware Accounting is a church-focused accounting platform that combines fund tracking, giving records and financial reports with church-management tools. It is best suited to 501(c)(3) organizations that want those functions in one free core platform. The key trade-off is that eligibility is limited and some useful services cost extra.

Overview

The accounting suite handles designated funds, income and expenses, budgets and reporting, while the wider platform includes tools for people, groups, volunteers, events, check-in and forms. That breadth makes it a practical fit for churches seeking to bring financial and administrative work together. Organizations outside the stated 501(c)(3) eligibility, or those needing paid add-ons, should weigh other options.

Online giving and donations connect to accounting for automatic recordkeeping, reducing the need to treat giving and bookkeeping as separate workflows. The company describes the product as secure, but its privacy policy says it uses reasonable security measures and does not guarantee absolute security. It does not identify security certifications or compliance standards.

Key features

• Fund accounting: Track designated money for missions, building projects and benevolence. This is useful for churches that need to distinguish earmarked funds from other activity.
• Income, expenses and budgets: Record tithes, offerings, donations, bills, payroll and ministry expenses, with budget tracking and expense management. The coverage suits routine church finances, though payroll service itself carries an additional fee.
• Financial reports: Generate financial statements, giving reports and custom summaries. These give church leaders several views of financial activity without relying only on transaction entries.
• Church administration: The core platform includes people and group management, volunteer management, check-in, event registration and forms, a sermon library, a church mobile app, custom reports and customer support. That range is valuable for churches looking to consolidate operations, though it may be more than a church seeking accounting alone needs.

Pricing

The Church Plan covers fund accounting, income and expense tracking, financial reporting and integrated giving; its price is custom pricing. The Your Church Plan costs nothing, billed Free forever, and includes the core tools for eligible 501(c)(3) organizations. The vendor says the core platform has no fees and no trials, so there is no trial period to evaluate before committing.

Free access is compelling for qualifying churches and other eligible nonprofits, parachurch and mission organizations, but it is not an unrestricted free offer. Optional services have separate charges: a church website is $59/mo, a branded mobile app is $149/mo, and the website and branded app bundle is $199/mo. Background checks cost $10 per check; payroll is $25/mo + $9 per employee; and two-way texting is $29/mo. Churches that need these services should include them in the operating budget rather than assume they are part of the free core.

The company says it typically replies to contact form inquiries within 1–2 business days. That is a useful expectation for support inquiries, but churches needing a specific response commitment should confirm it before relying on support for time-sensitive work.

Platforms

ChurchSoftware Accounting is available on Android, iOS and the web, covering mobile access as well as browser use.

Who it's for

The vendor positions the software for churches ranging from church plants to multi-site megachurches. Its strongest fit is an eligible organization that wants fund accounting, connected giving and administrative tools without a core subscription fee. A church that is not a 501(c)(3), wants accounting without the broader management suite, or expects to use several add-ons should compare total costs and alternatives.

Pros and cons

• Pro: The eligible core platform is free forever, making it possible for qualifying organizations to use accounting and a broad set of church-management tools without a core fee.
• Pro: Designated-fund tracking and connected giving address church-specific financial workflows, including the separation of funds for particular purposes.
• Con: Free access depends on 501(c)(3) eligibility, excluding organizations that do not meet that condition.
• Con: Website, branded app, payroll, background checks and texting add costs, so a church using several services may pay substantially beyond the free core.
• Con: Security certifications and compliance standards are not identified, which may matter to organizations evaluating formal security requirements.

Alternatives

For a broader comparison, see Church Accounting Software and Fund Accounting Software.

• ParishSOFT is a paid alternative with a free trial and a $$250 one-time consulting plan that includes two hours with a dedicated consultant and training for forms, pledges, events and MinistryOne; consider it if that consulting and training package matches your needs.
• CDM+ is a paid alternative with a free trial and plans that include a $$25 monthly Essentials base price for one program and one user; consider it if you prefer a paid plan structured around a program and user count.
• ChurchTrac is a paid alternative with a free trial and monthly plans beginning at $$29 for 75 people; consider it if a defined people-count tier better matches your church's scale.
• IconCMO is a paid alternative with a free trial and Membership & Donation plans starting at $50 a month; consider it if you want a paid membership-and-donation plan.
• FellowshipOne is another paid alternative for churches considering a separate platform.
• Churchsoft Assist is a paid alternative with a free trial and a $$40 monthly Assist 2022 plan covering the entire suite; consider it if an all-suite monthly plan is preferable.
• OCM Financial is a paid alternative with annual plans sized by parish family count; consider it if a family-count-based parish plan suits your organization.
• One Church Software is a paid alternative with a free trial and a $$36 monthly accounting add-on; consider it if you want accounting as an add-on to a church management plan.

Verdict

Choose ChurchSoftware Accounting if your 501(c)(3) church wants church-oriented accounting, connected giving and administration tools without a fee for the core platform. Its main advantage is the breadth of eligible free tools; its main reason to look elsewhere is that eligibility restrictions and add-on charges can weaken the fit for churches needing broader paid services or formal security assurances.