Your church management software decision touches many lives—members, visitors, staff, and volunteers. From research to final purchase, every step of your investigation is important. Between 30 years of church management software experience and input from 3,500 customers, our team understands how difficult it can be to sort through options. To help you navigate this process with confidence, we’re offering a free, interactive webinar that features our inside information on how churches like yours shop smart for software solutions.

1. Church Management
Software Checklist
106 Questions to Ask before
You Buy Church Management Software

2. 106 Questions to Ask beforeYou Buy Church Management Software
Introduction
Peter Frank
Manager
Concordia Technology Solutions
peter.frank@cph.org
(314) 268-1408
(800) 325-2399

3. 106 Questions to Ask beforeYou Buy Church Management Software
ConcordiaTechnology Solutions
• Developing Church Management Software
(ChMS) since 1984
• Two ChMS Products
• Shepherd’s Staff (since 1994)
• Church360° Members (since 2012)

4. 106 Questions to Ask beforeYou Buy Church Management Software
Survey
• Surveyed over 3,500 of our current customers
• Received hundreds of responses
• Feedback from pastors, office managers,
treasurers, volunteers, and more

5. 106 Questions to Ask beforeYou Buy Church Management Software
Guide
• Questions you should ask the people
who will be using your church
management software.
• Questions you should ask the sales
representative with the software you’re
considering.

6. 106 Questions to Ask beforeYou Buy Church Management Software
Decision
1. “Why are you moving away from your
current software solution?”
2. “What brought about this change in
software?”
3. “What do you not like about your current
solution?”
4. “What do you like about your current
software?”

7. 106 Questions to Ask beforeYou Buy Church Management Software
Decision (…continued)
5. “What’s your time frame for making a
decision?”
6. “What’s your budget?”
7. “What is the process at your church for
making the decision to purchase new
software?”
8. “Who needs to be involved in making the
decision?”

8. 106 Questions to Ask beforeYou Buy Church Management Software
Decision (…continued)
9. “Who will review the different software
options?”
10.“Who has the final say on what to
purchase?”

9. 106 Questions to Ask beforeYou Buy Church Management Software
Users
11.“Who will use the new software?”
12.“What level of computer knowledge do the
users have?”
13.“Does your church staff use PCs, MACs,
or both?”
14.“What other software does the church
staff use on a regular basis?”

10. 106 Questions to Ask beforeYou Buy Church Management Software
Users (…continued)
15.“Does your church utilize a computer
server?”
16.“Who is your on-site technical support
person?”

11. 106 Questions to Ask beforeYou Buy Church Management Software
General
17.“Do you prefer a web-based or server-
based solution?”
18.“If web-based, do you plan on using the
software on mobile devices?”
19.“Do you prefer a one-time fee or regular
billing?”
20.“If regular billing, do you prefer to pay
monthly or annually?”

12. 106 Questions to Ask beforeYou Buy Church Management Software
General (…continued)
21.“Does it allow the number of users you
need?”
22.“Does it allow for different user permission
groups?”
23.“Will the price change if the church
changes in size?”
24.“Does it integrate with other standard
software?”

13. 106 Questions to Ask beforeYou Buy Church Management Software
Membership
25.“How many people do you have recorded
in your database?”
26.“How many members do you have in your
church?”
27.“How many member households do you
have in your church?”
28.“Does it limit the number of records that
can be kept for individuals?”

14. 106 Questions to Ask beforeYou Buy Church Management Software
Membership (…continued)
29.“If your church grows, can you easily
upgrade the software?”
30.“What information do you ask visitors to
submit?”
31.“Does it allow you to quickly add visitors
to the database?”
32.“Does it allow you to print mailing labels?”

15. 106 Questions to Ask beforeYou Buy Church Management Software
Membership (…continued)
33.“Does it provide a denominational report
for your church?”
34.“Does it automatically group your
members based on the data?”
35.“Does it allow you to track involvement in
small groups?”
36.“Does it allow you to keep track of
individuals’ skills, hobbies, etc.?”

16. 106 Questions to Ask beforeYou Buy Church Management Software
Communication
37.“Where does your master church calendar
reside?”
38.“Does it have the functionality to serve as
your church calendar?”
39.“What is your primary way of
communicating to members?”
40.“What information do you regularly
communicate to members?”

17. 106 Questions to Ask beforeYou Buy Church Management Software
Communication (…continued)
41.“Do you want the software to
communicate with your website?”
42.“Does it provide a desired level of
integration with your website?”
43.“Does it allow you to send mass emails for
no additional charge?”
44.“Does it support text messaging at no
additional charge?”

18. 106 Questions to Ask beforeYou Buy Church Management Software
Communication (…continued)
45.“Will it allow you to securely post your
member directory online?”
46.“Does it allow your members to securely
communicate online?”
47.“Does it integrate with an automated
phone tree service?”
48.“Will the software allow you to manage
your facility schedule?”

19. 106 Questions to Ask beforeYou Buy Church Management Software
Attendance
49.“How do you take attendance at your
church?”
50.“Who enters the attendance information
into the database?”
51.“Would you like for attendees to check in
electronically?”
52.“Does it allow you to enter attendance in
your preferred manner?”

20. 106 Questions to Ask beforeYou Buy Church Management Software
Attendance (…continued)
53.“Does it allow you to quickly enter
attendance for each church service?”
54.“Does it provide quick access to the list of
absentees?”
55.“Does it allow you to easily track member
activity?”

21. 106 Questions to Ask beforeYou Buy Church Management Software
Check-In
56.“Do you have a need for secure check-
in?”
57.“Do you currently have secure check-in
software?”
58.“What is your current process for
recruiting volunteers?”
59.“Does it integrate with a background
check provider?”

22. 106 Questions to Ask beforeYou Buy Church Management Software
Check-In (…continued)
60.“Does your church’s layout limit the
entry/exit of attendees?”
61.“Does the software provide a secure
check-in process?”
62.“Does it support check-in for multiple
events at the same time?”
63.“Does it allow check-in for events that do
not need security?”

23. 106 Questions to Ask beforeYou Buy Church Management Software
Check-In (…continued)
64. “Does the check-in software require
touch screen monitors and barcode
scanners?”

24. 106 Questions to Ask beforeYou Buy Church Management Software
Offerings
65.“In what ways do members contribute?”
66.“To what funds do members contribute?”
67.“Who enters, or will enter, the offerings
into your church database?”
68.“Who distributes the contribution
statements?”

25. 106 Questions to Ask beforeYou Buy Church Management Software
Offerings (…continued)
69.“How do you distribute the contributions
statements?”
70.“Does it allow you to quickly enter
offerings in your preferred way?”
71.“Does it integrate with your preferred
online giving vendor?”
72.“Does it support offering envelopes?”

26. 106 Questions to Ask beforeYou Buy Church Management Software
Offerings (…continued)
73. “Does it allow you to easily renumber
envelopes when needed?”
74.“Does it allow users to enter offerings
without seeing the names?”
75.“Does it convert the list of offerings into a
deposit in your church finance software?”
76.“Does it allow for recurring offerings?”

27. 106 Questions to Ask beforeYou Buy Church Management Software
Offerings (…continued)
77.“Does it allow you to enter pledges for
each contributor by fund?”
78.“Does it allow for easy distribution of
contribution statements in your preferred
manner?”

28. 106 Questions to Ask beforeYou Buy Church Management Software
Finance
79.“Do you plan on changing your finance
software as well?”
80.“Who uses your church finance software?”
81.“What is their level of accounting
knowledge?”
82.“Do you currently have a solution for
processing payroll?”

29. 106 Questions to Ask beforeYou Buy Church Management Software
Finance (…continued)
83.“Does it allow for quick and easy entry of
transactions?”
84.“Does it require knowledge of credits and
debits?”
85.“Was it developed specifically for
churches?”
86.“Does it provide a secure audit trail?”

30. 106 Questions to Ask beforeYou Buy Church Management Software
Finance (…continued)
87.“Does it allow you to print checks?”
88.“Does it allow you to process payroll?”
89.“Does it integrate with your preferred third-
party payroll software?”
90.“Does it integrate with your online
banking?”
91.“Does it help you in the budgeting
process?”

31. 106 Questions to Ask beforeYou Buy Church Management Software
Company
92. “How long has the company been
developing church software?”
93. “Does the company currently have a large
customer base?”
94. “Is the average church size of their
customers comparable with your church?”
95. “Do they offer live/online product
demonstrations?”

32. 106 Questions to Ask beforeYou Buy Church Management Software
Company (…continued)
96. “Do they have printed materials available
that provide more information on their
products?”
97. “What are the future plans for this
software?”
98. “Are there any upcoming specials or
promotions?”

33. 106 Questions to Ask beforeYou Buy Church Management Software
Implementation
99. “How long does software implementation
typically take?”
100.“What kind of training is offered?”
101.“Is the training free, or does it cost extra?”
102.“If training costs extra, are there any
discounts for new users?”

34. 106 Questions to Ask beforeYou Buy Church Management Software
Implementation (…continued)
103.“Does technical support cost extra?”
104.“If support costs extra, are there any
discounts for new users?”
105.“What is the availability of technical
support?”
106.“Are upgrades released on a regular
basis?”

35. 106 Questions to Ask beforeYou Buy Church Management Software
Conclusion
Download the complete
Church Management Software
Checklist at:
bit.ly/ChMSChecklist