Church mangement software, simply referred to as CMS, is basically a set of programs and database that permits a congregation to keep and use information relevant to the various activities of the church, including its money, physical assets and, most importantly, its people. There is a number of church management software in the market. There is software that provides a simple people database, and there is software that features a comprehensive set of modules for accounting, inventory, scheduling, and membership management. It can get confusing as to what software to use for your church. The key is to choose one that best fits your church's unique needs.

Essentially, what you need to do is to match the features of church management software in mind to the practices of your congregation or church. Your congregational practices are no doubt different from those of other congregations. The way you do things is different from the way other congregations do things. By knowing intimately how your system works, you can have a better chance of finding the software that works best for you and your needs.

As examples, try to find out if your church uses offering envelopes, records attendance, keeps track of who receives communion, or is large enough to have members with the same names (both first and last names). Different software each responds differently to these needs. Some CMS require envelope numbers in order to record a contribution or a pledge that a member or members make. Some CMS record attendance while keeping track of those who receive communion every mass service. And some CMS can efficiently distinguish among multiple people who carry the same first and last names. Consider these things before settling on church management software.

Most churches consider keeping track of people as the primary purpose of using church management software. Of course, you need to think about how to accomplish this. As examples, see if you want to keep track of the various relationships each person has with your church, like if they're active members, visitors, children of members, spouses of members, and others; know the contact numbers of each person, like their cellular phone numbers, home numbers, pagers, fax, and others; do contribution entry onsite or from an isolated location; enter invoices, and keep vendor information files and asset inventory; use your church management software package on one computer or on multiple workstations through a network. Think about these details when you shop around for CMS.

Another thing you can do to get the CMS that matches your needs is to check references. This means that you have to get a list of other congregations that employ the very software you're thinking of using and ask the church leaders about that particular CMS' quality and features. Tell the church leaders about the details you're considering and see if you missed anything. Most CMS packages offer integration of contributions, attendance, and membership functions. The only thing you need to check is the value placed on each of these three vital features.