ParishSOFT

ParishSOFT is a church-management suite built for Catholic parishes and dioceses, with connected products for records, finance, giving, and ministry work. It is a strong fit for organizations that want those functions under one vendor; parishes choosing Family Suite should account for its reliance on a separate online-giving site.

Overview

The product family serves Catholic parishes, dioceses, schools, and ministry organizations in the United States and Canada. ParishSOFT says more than 185 dioceses and 12,000 parishes use its products, a scale that makes it a credible option for organizations looking for tools shaped around parish administration. Its modular breadth is useful, but buyers should identify which products they need before comparing cost or coverage.

Key features

ParishSOFT Families manages household and member information, sacramental records, parish communications, and reporting. Family Suite adds offering, pledges, religious education, and ministry scheduling. This range can consolidate common administrative work, while the separate product connections mean it is important to confirm the components needed for a parish’s workflow.

Family Suite Offering can integrate with ParishSOFT Accounting to create deposits and map offering funds to accounting revenue accounts. Accounting covers budgets, payroll, purchasing, and financial reporting, and ParishSOFT describes it as GAAP compliant and secure web-based fund accounting. That link is a practical advantage for parishes that want collections carried into accounting records; those with specific accounting requirements should confirm the product’s fit before committing.

ParishSOFT Giving supports online and recurring donations, payment forms, contribution and pledge tracking, and giving reports. Family Suite itself does not provide online giving, though it can link parishioners to the parish’s giving website. A parish seeking integrated online donations should consider ParishSOFT Giving rather than assume Family Suite covers that need.

MinistryOne is a separate mobile app offering digital giving, media, event management, prayer requests, group messaging, and push notifications. It integrates with ParishSOFT Giving and Facility Calendar, and can connect to YouTube and Vimeo for media. ParishSOFT also supports group management, event registration, child check-in, SMS messaging, and volunteer scheduling. For support, it offers a live support center, resource library, tickets, and professional services such as consulting, data services, and implementation.

Pricing

ParishSOFT uses a paid model, with product pricing generally handled through sales. ParishSOFT Giving has a free 30-day trial; its product price is custom pricing, so buyers should request a quote. The consulting plans have one-time prices, but they are not a substitute for product pricing:

• ParishSOFT Giving Consulting Plan: $250, paid once for two hours with a dedicated consultant and training on forms, pledges, events, and MinistryOne. It suits teams seeking focused help with Giving setup.
• Family Suite Guided Consulting Plan: $900, paid once for four consulting hours, self-paced learning, a dedicated consultant, and online learning access. Its lower consulting-hour allotment makes it the lighter-support Family Suite option.
• Family Suite Basic Consulting Plan and ParishSOFT Accounting Basic Consulting Plan: each $1,700, paid once for eight hours, a dedicated consultant, and implementation support.
• Family Suite Standard Consulting Plan and ParishSOFT Accounting Standard Consulting Plan: each $3,200, paid once for 16 hours, a dedicated consultant, and implementation support. These provide twice the consulting time of the Basic plans for organizations needing more implementation assistance.

Because the underlying product prices are custom, buyers should compare a complete quote—including the products and services they need—rather than treat consulting-plan prices as the cost of the software.

Platforms

ParishSOFT supports web, iOS, Android, and API access. MinistryOne gives parishioners mobile access to activities such as giving, events, and prayer requests, while the web offering covers the broader parish-management suite.

Who it's for

ParishSOFT is best suited to Catholic parishes and dioceses that need records, accounting, giving, and ministry tools from a connected product family. Schools and ministry organizations are also within its stated audience. Smaller organizations or buyers seeking a single, clearly priced package may prefer to compare alternatives, particularly if they do not need the breadth of modules or want online giving included directly in Family Suite.

Pros and cons

• Pro: Families and Family Suite cover member and sacramental records as well as offering, pledges, religious education, and ministry scheduling, addressing several parish workflows in one product family.
• Pro: Offering can pass deposits and map funds into ParishSOFT Accounting, reducing separation between collection and finance workflows.
• Pro: MinistryOne combines parishioner-facing mobile functions including digital giving, events, prayer requests, and messaging.
• Con: Family Suite has no online-giving functionality of its own; it only links to a parish’s giving website.
• Con: Product pricing is custom, so organizations cannot readily judge the full software cost from the consulting-plan prices alone.

Alternatives

CDM+ is worth comparing for churches that prefer a published entry price: CDM+ Essentials is $25 a month for one program and one user, billed monthly via auto-draw ACH. It has a free trial and supports Android, iOS, macOS, web, Windows, and API platforms.

FellowshipOne is another paid church-management option, with Android, iOS, macOS, web, and Windows support; its pricing is custom.

ACS Facility Scheduler may suit organizations comparing a paid facility-scheduling product for web or Windows.

Church Windows is an alternative for buyers seeking a published desktop module price: its one-module Standard plan is $19 a month on a 12-month contract, with standard support. It has a free trial and supports macOS, web, and Windows.

Other relevant comparisons include ADP Workforce Now, isolved HCM, PowerChurch Check In, and PDS Ledger.

Readers comparing by function can also explore Church Payroll Software, Church Accounting Software, Church Facility Management Software, Fund Accounting Software, Church Directory Software, and Church Giving Software.

Verdict

ParishSOFT is a strong choice for Catholic parishes and dioceses seeking a connected set of records, finance, giving, and ministry products, particularly where the Offering-to-Accounting connection matters. Its main caveat is that Family Suite does not itself deliver online giving, and custom product pricing makes a tailored quote essential. Choose it for the parish-focused breadth; look elsewhere if you need a single package with transparent pricing and built-in online donations.