ChurchFinance

Overview

ChurchFinance is web-based financial software for churches and religious organizations that want accounting, budgeting, giving and reporting in one service. It is strongest for churches ready to manage those workflows together; the free plan is a limited starting point, while Growth is the first tier with a fuller finance toolkit.

Transaction tracking, fund accounting, budget management and online giving sit alongside oversight tools such as an audit trail and a read-only auditor portal. ChurchFinance says it has not pursued SOC 2 or HIPAA certification, a material consideration for organizations whose procurement or compliance requirements call for either.

Key features

Transactions, funds and budgeting

Income and expenses can be organized by category and fund, with recurring entries, bank rules and CSV imports supporting routine recordkeeping. The audit trail adds a record of activity. Annual budgets, ministry-scoped plans and budget-versus-actual tracking let finance teams compare plans with actual performance across ministries and funds. Bank reconciliation is included in Growth, so Starter is better for basic tracking than for a complete accounting process.

Giving and reports

ChurchFinance accepts one-time or recurring gifts by card, ACH bank transfer and Apple Pay through Stripe, and says it charges no platform fees for giving. Stripe processes those payments and is PCI DSS Level 1. The report set includes income statements, budget-versus-actual reports, fund summaries, cash-flow and reconciliation reports, giving statements and board packets. That range serves both finance teams and board reporting, though the Board Packet is a Ministry-plan feature.

Oversight, AI and data handling

The auditor portal gives scoped, read-only access for a limited period and exposes the audit log, a practical way to grant review access without handing over broader account control. The read-only AI Assistant answers questions using church data, logs its queries and does not use church data for model training.

ChurchFinance states that connections use HTTPS/TLS, sensitive credentials are encrypted at rest with AES-256-GCM, passwords are hashed and backups are taken daily. Users can export donor, transaction and fund data in JSON or CSV at any time. Those controls and portability help with operational oversight, but they do not replace SOC 2 or HIPAA certification where an organization requires formal certification.

Pricing

ChurchFinance uses a freemium model, with a 7-day trial and paid plans from $71 a month. Starter is free and allows one team member, transaction tracking, and category and fund management. That makes it a no-cost way for a solo administrator to organize basic records, but it omits the budgeting, reconciliation and reporting features that make the service a fuller finance system.

Growth costs $71 a month, billed $853 annually, and supports up to five team members. It adds budget management, recurring transactions, bank reconciliation, financial reports, unlimited donors, the online giving portal, campaigns and pledges, giving statements and an audit log. This is the sensible tier for a small finance team that needs a working budget and reporting workflow as well as giving; the five-seat cap may be restrictive for larger teams.

Ministry costs $134 a month, billed $1609 annually, with unlimited team members and everything in Growth. It adds a Board Packet, multi-campus and location support, ministry financial management, advanced analytics and forecasting, a custom report builder, giving-page customization and embedding, and a customizable dashboard. It fits churches with multiple locations or more demanding reporting needs; smaller organizations may not benefit enough from those additions to justify the higher price.

Platforms

ChurchFinance runs on the web, so it suits organizations managing finances through a browser rather than seeking a dedicated mobile or desktop app.

Who it's for

Churches that want fund-based transaction records, budgets, reconciliation, reports and online giving in one service are the clearest fit. Growth suits a team of up to five that needs the core accounting workflow; Ministry is more appropriate when unlimited seats, multiple locations or advanced reporting matter. A solo user needing only categories, funds and transaction tracking can begin on Starter, but should expect to move up for budgeting and reconciliation.

Organizations that require SOC 2 or HIPAA certification should look elsewhere. Churches that need an app beyond the web platform should also consider their platform requirements before choosing it.

Pros and cons

• Pros: The feature set spans transaction tracking, fund accounting, budgets, reconciliation, giving and detailed financial reports, reducing the need to split these workflows across separate tools.
• Pros: Growth includes unlimited donors and online giving with no ChurchFinance platform fees, while Stripe processes card, ACH and Apple Pay payments.
• Pros: Scoped auditor access, a logged read-only AI Assistant and JSON or CSV exports support oversight and data portability.
• Cons: Starter is limited to one team member and basic tracking and fund management; budgeting, reconciliation and reports require a paid plan.
• Cons: Growth is capped at five team members, and unlimited seats require the more expensive Ministry plan.
• Cons: ChurchFinance has not pursued SOC 2 or HIPAA certification, which rules it out for some compliance requirements.

Alternatives

Compare church accounting software if you want to weigh ChurchFinance against the category more broadly.

• CDM+ is worth considering if you prefer paid software with broad platform support; CDM+ Essentials is $25 a month, billed monthly by ACH, for one program and one user.
• ChurchTrac is an option for churches that prefer pricing by people-count, with plans from $29 a month for 75 people.
• Grain Ledger suits a church seeking a web-based freemium alternative: its free Starter supports up to $20k in monthly expenses, one bank connection, three users, unlimited funds and one active budget.
• Vestrybooks is another web-based freemium choice; its free plan covers recording money in and out, fund tracking, a donor list and online giving with no platform cut where available.
• Churchsoft Assist may suit buyers seeking a paid suite with broad platform support; its Assist 2022 plan is $40 a month.
• FellowshipOne is another paid alternative with custom pricing.
• IconCMO may appeal if you want paid membership and donation software, with its Basic plan at $50 a month.
• One Church Software is worth comparing if you want accounting as an add-on to a church-management plan; its Accounting add-on is $36 a month.

Verdict

Choose ChurchFinance if your church wants one web service for fund accounting, budgeting, giving and reporting, and Growth's five-seat limit fits the team. Ministry is the stronger match for multiple locations or advanced reporting. Look elsewhere if certification is mandatory, your team needs more than five seats without Ministry's added cost, or the narrow free tier cannot support your accounting workflow.