Overview

CDM+ is provided by Suran Systems, Inc. Its accounting centers on fund balances, transfers, budgeting, bank reconciliation, and customizable reporting, with unlimited accounts and an unchangeable ledger audit trail. That combination suits organizations that need to distinguish designated from undesignated funds and preserve an auditable record of changes.

The suite also handles clergy payroll, electronic 1099 filing, online invoice payment, and expense submission. Customers can pay invoices by card or ACH, with payments saved to CDM+ Accounting; staff can photograph receipts in the mobile app and send expenses to Accounts Payable. Data Hosting is included with every plan, providing 24/7 database access, off-site daily backups, and automatic server upgrades. CDM+ says most hosting facilities are SOC-2 certified and remote access is limited to Suran staff using best-practice security controls.

Key features

Fund accounting and audit trail: Track designated and undesignated balances, transfer funds, and use a general ledger with an unchangeable audit trail and reports. This is central to CDM+’s fit for organizations managing restricted funds.
Budgets and reconciliation: Set annual and monthly budgets, compare actuals against budget, and reconcile bank accounts. Bank integration connects accounts to accounting and reconciliation workflows.
Payroll: Clergy payroll, different employee roles and payers with unique Federal EINs, electronic 1099 filing, and automatically updated tax tables make the payroll tools relevant to organizations with varied ministry and staff arrangements.
Billing and receipts: Customers can pay invoices online by credit or debit card or ACH, with payments recorded in CDM+ Accounting. Staff can photograph receipts and submit expenses directly to Accounts Payable.
Hosting, training, and migration: Every plan includes hosted access, daily off-site backups, server upgrades, and introductory training. Phone and email support are available during weekday business hours, alongside online and in-person training, documentation, and videos. Data conversion is free for new subscriptions that remain active for at least 12 months.
Integrations: An API supports integrations into the CDM+ suite. Essentials can export data, but it does not provide a specific QuickBooks integration.

Pricing

CDM+ is paid software with no free plan. SaaS plans are billed monthly through automatic ACH withdrawals; annual SaaS payment is not available. Most plans include one concurrent user, with additional users generally costing $5 monthly; additional organizations generally cost $15 monthly, subject to a $30 monthly cap. Desktop licensing permits installation on any number of computers, but simultaneous users remain limited except on Complete.

Essentials — $25.00 USD per month: The lowest-cost entry point, priced for one program and one user. It suits organizations needing the Essentials offering, but data export is not a dedicated QuickBooks integration.
Starter — $25.00 USD per month: One program and one concurrent user, capped at 50 individual records and 25 giving unit records. Those caps make it a constrained starting tier for smaller record sets.
Grow 1 — $50.00 USD per month: One program and one concurrent user, with 75 individual and 50 giving unit records.
Grow 2 — $75.00 USD per month: One program and one concurrent user, with 100 individual and 75 giving unit records. The higher allowance may fit an organization outgrowing Starter, though the record ceiling remains.
Core — $100.00 USD per month: One program and one concurrent user, without a stated record cap in the plan details.
Choice — $50.00 USD per month: One program and one concurrent user, with unlimited individual and giving unit records. This is the clearest fit for a single-program organization that needs room to grow its records.
Complete — $175.00 USD per month: Unlimited programs, concurrent users, individual records, and giving unit records. It is the natural choice for organizations needing multiple programs or broad concurrent access.

Online payment processing adds transaction fees: $0.30 plus 2.9% for Visa, MasterCard, or Discover; $0.30 plus 3.5% for American Express; and $0.30 plus 0.8% for ACH. Payroll direct deposit costs $0.50. New subscribers can receive their first three months free, with data transfer at no extra cost. CDM+ offers a free trial, but no trial duration or refund policy is stated.

Platforms

CDM+ supports Android, iOS, macOS, web, and Windows, and provides an API. It offers desktop software and Apple, Google, and Amazon mobile apps. Mobile Receipts can be installed on unlimited personal devices, which gives staff a way to submit expenses without requiring each person to use a desktop installation.

Who it's for

CDM+ is a strong match for churches and nonprofits that need fund accounting, bank reconciliation, budget tracking, and payroll in one suite. It is especially compelling when clergy payroll, online invoice collection, or receipt-to-payables workflows matter. Organizations with record counts above Starter or Grow limits should compare Choice and Complete rather than assume the entry plans will scale; teams needing broad simultaneous desktop access should look at Complete.

Pros and cons

Pro: True fund accounting, designated and undesignated balances, transfers, and an unchangeable audit trail support accountable financial management.
Pro: Accounting, clergy payroll, online billing, and receipt submission are combined, reducing the need to separate these workflows across tools.
Pro: Hosting, backups, server upgrades, and introductory training are included across plans.
Con: Starter and Grow impose individual and giving unit record limits, so growing organizations may need a higher tier.
Con: SaaS subscriptions require monthly automatic ACH payments and have no annual billing option.
Con: Added users and organizations can raise the monthly bill, and payment processing carries per-transaction fees.
Con: Essentials exports data but lacks a specific QuickBooks integration, limiting its fit for organizations that require that connection.

Alternatives

For payroll-focused comparisons, see Church Payroll Software and Nonprofit Payroll Software. For broader accounting comparisons, see Church Accounting Software and Fund Accounting Software. Organizations focused on check-in workflows can consult Church Check-In Software.

ADP Workforce Now is worth considering when an all-in-one payroll and HR suite, with a higher tier adding benefits administration, is the priority.
isolved HCM offers a modular platform with customized pricing for organizations of different sizes and industries.
Shelby Financials Payroll is an option for organizations already using Shelby Financials; its payroll module requires an active Shelby Financials subscription.
Amplify Accounting is an alternative for churches seeking accounting priced by church size and selected solutions through a personalized quote.
CarbonHRM is an option for organizations seeking core HRM and payroll with a mobile app and a custom subscription.
IconCMO Payroll starts at $40.00 USD per month for unlimited employees and is an add-on to an accounting or membership and donation package.
Paycor is a paid alternative with Basic, Essential, Complete, and HCM plans for organizations under 50 employees.
SurePayroll starts at $20.00 USD per month plus $4 per employee for its No Tax Filing plan, a lower stated entry price for small-business payroll without tax filing.

Verdict

Choose CDM+ if your nonprofit or faith-based organization needs real fund accounting and wants payroll, billing, and expense workflows in the same hosted suite. Its audit trail, budgeting, bank reconciliation, and included hosting make a persuasive package for organizations with those needs. Look elsewhere if monthly ACH billing, extra-user costs, limited entry-tier records, or the lack of a specific QuickBooks integration would interfere with how your organization operates.

	CDM+	Ellucian Banner Finance
Free plan	No	No
Free trial	Yes	No
Paid from	$25/mo	—
Open source	No	No
Platforms	Android, api, iOS, macOS, Web, Windows	Web
Free plan	No	—
Paid from	25 /mo	—
Grant management	—	Yes
Budget vs. actuals	—	Yes
Deployment	—	cloud

CDM+ vs Ellucian Banner Finance

CDM+

Ellucian Banner Finance