Requirements checklist
What to ask for when choosing software for churches.
A checklist built from how churches work, to print or save as a PDF and bring to any supplier meeting.
What the software should cover
Tick each one that matters to your business.
- Member and family directory
- Visitors and follow-up
- Attendance and children’s check-in
- Giving and funds
- Groups and ministries
- Volunteer rotas
- Events and room bookings
Roles that need their own access
Who logs in, and what each person may see or change.
- For pastors and leaders
- For the church office
- For the treasurer
- For group and ministry leaders
- For members and volunteers
Reports to ask for
Ask to see each one with your own sample data.
- Attendance by service and group
- Visitors followed up and outcomes
- Giving by fund, method and month
- Pledges against campaign targets
- Rota coverage by team and date
- People not seen for several weeks
- Event registrations and attendance
Systems it may need to connect to
Note which ones you already run.
- SMS and messaging
- Online giving provider
- Calendar
- Accounting export
- Livestream and website forms
Questions for any vendor
Put these to every supplier you are comparing.
- Can we accept gifts online?
- Does it track giving by fund?
- Can children be checked in safely?
- Who can see pastoral notes?
- Can volunteers swap rota slots?
- Can several campuses share one system?
- Can we import our member spreadsheet?
- Who owns the data?
- What does it cost?
Where the work usually breaks today
Circle the ones you recognise. They set the order of the project.
- Member lists exist in many places
- Giving is hard to match to people and funds
- Volunteer rotas are arranged by chat
- Children’s ministry needs safe check-in
- Pastoral follow-up depends on memory
Prefer to talk it through? See the churches page.