Totally Free Church Accounting Software
Do church accounting and business specific accounting software differ from each other?
In addition to a number of popular small business accounting products, there are dedicated church accounting software systems that work for many churches. While searching for free church accounting software remember that the accounting needs of a nonprofit such as a church differ significantly from those of a for profit company.
One specific difference is the need for a church to use fund accounting which is not the type of accounting used by a for profit business. Almost all nonprofits such as churches use this type of accounting. Fund accounting creates asset and liability categories based mainly on their use by the not for profit organization.
Cost accounting differentiates between funds that are restricted such as contributions for missions, and those that have general or unrestricted flexibility. Differences in what data is collected and how it is organized are significant between a church and a business although they both must keep accurate and audit verifiable records.
Is free church accounting software a viable option for your church?
You might find that a simple business accounting program can work for your church. But if the program is too basic it could be possible for someone to make dishonest changes to your records with no easy way to find who made them or how to audit the changes once made.
Some other problems would arise if you used a business style accounting program. You would need to find additional freestanding software to record contributions or attendance because business accounting software has no reason to includes theses capabilities. In addition, if your congregation is already quite large, you probably should check out some of the inexpensive programs for sale because your needs may be beyond the scope of the free choices.
It would be wonderful if more church accounting software would be made available at little or no cost, especially for those congregations that are just getting started. Some of the software vendors have reduced the price or given software to small congregations so it would certainly not hurt to ask.
If you are interested in free church accounting software, then check out our website to locate great free church downloads for new or small church needs.
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