# ParishSOFT Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra > Is ParishSOFT the right Church Management solution for you? Explore 111 verified user reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice. Source: https://www.capterra.com/p/12500/ParishSOFT-Church-Management/reviews --- ParishSOFT 4.1 (111) [View alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/12500/ParishSOFT-Church-Management/alternatives/) Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/our-story/) * * * Last updated January 14th, 2026 # Reviews of ParishSOFT Ease of use 4.0 Customer Service 4.3 ## Pros and Cons in Reviews VS Valerie S parish secretaryReligious Institutions, 2 - 10 employeesUsed the software for: Less than 6 months. “It was cloud based and had great search features.“ October 21, 2024 MW Melissa W Administrative AssistantReligious Institutions, 11 - 50 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “Trying to do tax statements but their software is not pulling over all the donations, so I am having to had type them.“ February 13, 2025 RM Rebecca M Business ManagerReligious Institutions, 2 - 10 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “Very friendly staff to deal with when help is needed, which is often.“ August 24, 2023 JR Julie R coordinator of religious educationNon-Profit Organization Management, 2 - 10 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “You wait on the phone at least 15 minutes get someone not knowledgeable of the program.“ September 25, 2024 EG Earl G Director of Religious EducationReligious Institutions, 2 - 10 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “Every bit of data that I put in regarding classes, students, Sacraments, Fees, schedules is right at my fingertips whenever I need them.“ August 20, 2020 VS Valerie S parish secretaryReligious Institutions, 2 - 10 employeesUsed the software for: Less than 6 months. “No one answers phone calls or emails.“ October 21, 2024 JU Jean U parish secretaryReligious Institutions, 11 - 50 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “I like the ability to post the donations by parishioners and be able to give them a record of their contributions at the end of the year.“ August 21, 2020 MW Melissa W Administrative AssistantReligious Institutions, 11 - 50 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “Customer service is nonexistent.“ February 13, 2025 ## Showing most helpful reviews Showing 1-25 of 111 Reviews Sort by: Most Helpful Rating Company Size Reviewer's Role Length of Use Frequency of Use VR Verified Reviewer Monitoring And Evaluation Officer Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "ParishSOFT maintains an integrated database, so that everyone with access can view updated records" May 4, 2018 4.0 It made Parish management a little simpler but much still needs to be done Pros The app is so easy and simple to use and can generate timely reports wherever required form whatever location, but only with access Cons The application looks so dull and therefore outdated because it has not invested much in the use of graphics Review Source SP Seaneen P. Pastoral Associate Religious Institutions Used the software for: 2+ years ### "ParishSOFT Family Suite is the best Software for Parishes" September 1, 2020 5.0 Our experience with ParishSOFT Family Suite has been extremely positive. ParishSOFT understands the true meaning of customer service. They are easy to work with. When you call, the service rep is very knowledgeable with the product and they are easy to hear and understand what they are saying. We love this program and will never switch back. Pros The ease of using this software is one of the best features. It makes posting contributions fast and accurate. For us, posting Contributions before ParishSOFT took at the minimum a day but usually a day and a half. With ParishSOFT it take an hour. Cons The only thing that I think is needed is the ability to add a new family from the detailed contributions posting page. It would be faster if we didn’t have to close out of Contributions and go into Family Directory and then back into Contributions to post. Alternatives considered [Online Giving](https://www.capterra.com/p/149731/Online-Giving/) Reason for choosing ParishSOFT The ParishSOFT Family Suite is the easiest one to use. We preview a lot of other products and they didn’t have everything we needed. Switched from [Microsoft Excel](https://www.capterra.com/p/176574/Excel/) Because tracking contributions on Excel was very time consuming. Review Source MW Melissa W. Administrative Assistant Religious Institutions Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Customer Service is not at all good. " February 13, 2025 1.0 The first few years with them was great but lately their quality is poor. We are looking for a new company now. Pros When their software works, it is good, but lately it has not been working correctly. Cons Customer service is nonexistent. I have had support tickets in for weeks with no response. Trying to do tax statements but their software is not pulling over all the donations, so I am having to had type them. Review Source AM Alicia M. Parish Manager Religious Institutions Used the software for: 2+ years ### "ParishSOFT Family Suite" August 28, 2020 5.0 Our overall experience the last 7 years have been excellent, it makes our jobs easier and any questions ParishSOFT has an incredible team that will answer your questions or solve your issues in no time. Pros I can have all the information of our Parish in one software that I can access from anywhere. Family information, Religious Education Program, Offering that merge so easy from ParishSOFT Online giving, Tuition, and Administration to give the staff different levels of access. Cons Open different tabs at the same time, and a picture of the family. Reason for choosing ParishSOFT I wanted a program that was online, not a desktop. We can access from any laptop, desktop, iPad, or even phone. We didn't want the headache of upgrading the software, we don't have to worry about any of it, which makes the staff appreciate the Family Suite so much. Switched from [Act!](https://www.capterra.com/p/175860/Act/) I wanted a program that was online, not a desktop. We can access from any laptop, desktop, iPad, or even phone. We didn't want the headache of upgrading the software, we don't have to worry about any of it, which makes the staff appreciate the Family Suite so much. Review Source DG David G. Facilities Manager/IT Tech Religious Institutions Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Family Suite Implementatiion" August 28, 2020 5.0 We are tracking our parishioners easier now and have uploaded most of the Religious Education and Sacramental Records to the cloud. Pros Initial integration was a breeze. Uploaded a copy of our database and P/S transferred it to the cloud in one day. Now employees can access database from anywhere, even home, especially useful during the Covid-19 pandemic when everyone was locked down. Cons As administrator, when setting up a new employee, I like to test out the email function to make sure it works. In the beginning, P/S only supported a few mail sites and ours wasn't one of them. Tech support got it fixed but I want to test before turning over to employee. To do so, however requires me to put a dummy email address into the employee record so when the program generates the initial password, I can retrieve it, then reset the email address to the correct value. Too many steps just to retrieve a password for a test. Reason for choosing ParishSOFT Diocese recommended and we were using P/S already. Switched from [ParishSOFT](https://www.capterra.com/p/12500/ParishSOFT-Church-Management/) No longer required to run daily backups as it is automatically handled now. User access from any PC linked to the Web. Frees up space on local server not having to host the database. Review Source VS Valerie S. parish secretary Religious Institutions Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Don't sign that Contract!" October 21, 2024 2.0 Frustrating and pointless. No one answers phone calls or emails. Pros I liked what I saw on the demo. It was cloud based and had great search features. Cons We signed a contract for data conversion and use of the software the first of June 2024. It is now October 2024 and I am still waiting on data conversion. The project manager assigned to me does not return my phone calls or emails for weeks at a time. I have to repeatedly email her asking if we are ready to move on the the next step. for weeks! My last request was met with a "I'm on going on vacation, but you'll get my full attention once I get back." My requests for contract cancellation and refund have likewise are not being addressed. Switched from [Parish Data System](https://www.capterra.com/p/2678/PDS-Church-Office/) PDS is not cloud based and Realm was too expensive. Review Source TL Theresa L. Administration/Database Religious Institutions Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "A Welcome Improvement " August 20, 2020 5.0 Pros ParishSoft is extremely user-friendly. The ease at which you can obtain a quick report as well as a detailed report was a welcome change after using our antiquated database. The IQ (Intelligent Query) module makes it extremely easy to customize a report (birthday report for a specific month for example) for downloading to excel. Cons On the family information screen I had to get a bit creative as you are not able to customize what appears on that screen. For example, I wanted to note our school families, winter residents and volunteers but there was not an option to do so. By using the map code box, I manually type in school family, et al. Having an option to customize would be beneficial. Switched from [ShelbyNext Membership](https://www.capterra.com/p/71788/ShelbyNext-Membership/) Shelby was just not user-friendly. The reports were a nightmare. Review Source JS Jeanette S. Administrative Manager Religious Institutions Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "ParishSoft - Great Product" August 20, 2020 5.0 My overall experience with ParishSoft has been very positive. I previously had PDS which was much more difficult to use. Pros The software is so easy to use. Recording contributions is very easy and efficient. Thank you notes are easily generated. Love that labels can be created without have to enter additional information. The IQ feature is great and very easy to use and create reports. Cons I would prefer having the ability to add a new parishioner who is donating money while I am in the process of entering donations. Currently, I need to close out of contributions and enter the new family before I can enter their donation. It would also be helpful if I could store more that 5 letters in the system when sending out thank you notes. Alternatives considered [Realm](https://www.capterra.com/p/146265/Realm/) Reason for choosing ParishSOFT Did a lot of investigation. Received positive feedback from those using ParishSoft. Review Source JR Julie R. coordinator of religious education Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Not an efficient program" September 25, 2024 3.0 Lately very poor experience. Features that were in the program are no longer there. E.g get attendance for a single student in a class. Other feature missing is to attach a class to two sessions. It used to be there but now is gone. You now have to enter manually students rather than being able to transfer the whole class. I was told this by one of their agents. I am the directress of Religious Education for a parish. I'm waiting to find another product. Pros I used this program for the past 6 the first 3 seemed very good. It has most of the components for a parish. Cons Customer support is poor. You wait on the phone at least 15 minutes get someone not knowledgeable of the program. It doesn't have necessary features that were there six years ago. they have an assistant chat that sends you to read material Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Minister of Faith Formation Religious Institutions Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Nothing but frustration!" September 11, 2018 1.0 NONE! Pros The ONLY thing positive about this program is that I can access it remotely. Cons Where do I begin? Slow reaction time, lack of useful pre-formatted reports in religious education, no way to locate children by grade-level in the member section, the need to export to Excel and then re-format to create reports, dates to not automatically format mm/dd/yyyy (you have to add the / each time), same for phone numbers, lack of accurate answers from customer service, lack of responsiveness to upgrade requests.... Most recently I was told that all their development efforts were going to solving 'speed' issues - this should be a given before a program is released. Review Source CM Catherine M. Director of Development Religious Institutions Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Great Customer Support" August 28, 2020 4.0 Excellent experience Pros Once you learn to use the software it is easy to use. If rum into any kind of obstacles the support team is always cheerful, willing and patient (even when I am frustrated and maybe not so patient). They are truly helpful and listen to my concerns and suggestions with an open mind. Always respond quickly! Cons I find the IQ reporting very challenging. Reason for choosing ParishSOFT Because of ability to add on other components - such as Accounting Software Ability to communicate via the software platform Cost Review Source CH Craig H. Founder and CEO Marketing and Advertising Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "ParishSOFT is beyond my expectations" April 24, 2022 5.0 Pros ParishSOFT has an excellent customer service. They are fast in responsing and understands the problems I am facing. It is a pleasure to use their software. Cons ecerything is pretty fine so far, I have nothing to add negative for now. Review Source JR Joanne R. Administrative Assistant Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Vital Database for Parish" September 1, 2020 5.0 Tech support is to be commended for their efficient and timely response to concerns or issues with queries. Pros The many features of maintaining parish information especially offerings is very user friendly. Our parish has been using ParishSoft for many years but especially since we converted to cloud-based use and new version that was implemented over a year and a half ago is extremely helpful and efficient is handling data. Would recommend to other parishes. Cons Been using newest upgrade for over a year and have no complaints. Review Source AR Antonio R. Facilities Coordinator Religious Institutions Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Excellent Church Management System" August 25, 2020 4.0 I have worked with the system about 2 years and have been pleased with the ease of using it. The documentation and tutorials were most helpful in learning the system. Technical support has always been top notch. They were patient with me as a new user. When I discover system trouble, they have been quick to respond with solutions. Pros ParishSOFT ChMS is easy and intuitive to use. It provides us with the tools we need to manage our parishioner records. Cons Incomplete integration to ParishSOFT Online Giving System Review Source MP Mary P. ACCOUNTANT Religious Institutions Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Great Software" August 25, 2020 5.0 Overall great Pros Parish Soft Family Suite is easy to use for posting contributions and running contributions reports. Cons Reports for family and labels are not as easy to use Reason for choosing ParishSOFT Presentation Switched from [Shelby Arena](https://www.capterra.com/p/175655/Arena/) Was presented your product at a show Review Source TS Theresa S. Faith Formation K-8 Primary/Secondary Education Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Heaven sent! " August 21, 2020 5.0 Parish soft is used for our religious education program at St. Dominic's Parish in San Antonio. This is the first time I have used the program. I have been teaching in public schools for quite some time and this is one of the simplest programs I have used. Pros The support is awesome that I get from the Parish-soft staff. I especially like the reports that can be printed at any time. If a teacher calls me and needs a list of students I can print it with no problem. Especially for attendance its a great tool for any campus. Cons To be honest there is nothing that I don't like about this software. Review Source MJ Marcella J. Parish Secretary Religious Institutions Used the software for: 2+ years ### "My Review M. Jensen" August 28, 2020 5.0 Pros This system is very user friendly. I had just taken the job at my Parish, when we were transitioning into the new PS system, and it was a very easy transition for me. The training provided by your company was excellent. Cons I still have a hard time with some of the reports. Maybe some type of extra help with the different reports we can access or maybe a refresher. Review Source kD karina D. Bookkeeper Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Awesome!" September 1, 2020 5.0 Pros ParishSOFT is very user friendly, you can easily add members and contribution and print report. Customer service is awesome, they respond so quickly and they will give you all the resources that you need if you encounter any problem, they are very efficient. Cons Integration just had a few glitch but overall it was smooth after we went live. Review Source TY Terri Y. Communications Director Religious Institutions Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Excellent Product" August 25, 2020 5.0 My overall experience has been very positive. It was a majoy improvement over out old system, and I am very pleased. Pros This program is easy to use. I like that it has guided support for each page or section, and seems logical in its set-up. They are responsive when there is a problem. Many updates have been added over the years, making the system better. I also like how it is integrated with ParishSoft Giving, which makes our online giving very easy for our parishioners. Cons I found it straightforward to use, and questions were answered quickly. Reason for choosing ParishSOFT I am not sure. I was not the one who reviewed and shopped for the new system. Review Source RW Rita W. Parish Secretary Religious Institutions Used the software for: 2+ years ### "St. Thomas the Apostle Church" September 1, 2020 5.0 Good Pros The fact that it is so user friendly and had all the features we needed in a church software. Cons Having to keep logging in. Logs me out after about 10 minutes of non-use. Reason for choosing ParishSOFT One of our employees researched ParishSOFT and it fit our needs. Review Source ML Mike L. Pastoral Associate Religious Institutions Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Not A Fan" July 15, 2019 2.0 Parish Soft really made our lives difficult regularly. I think the worst thing was how slow it moved, there were also several lacking features that would have made it a lot more useful. Pros The interface looks decent, but that was it. Cons Lacking necessary functionality SLOW SLOW SLOW Review Source AA Anthony A. Director of Religious Education Religious Institutions Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Connect Now is slow, clunky, tedious, (did I mention slow!!) and the least user friendly system." July 12, 2017 1.0 Is wasted time or aggravation a benefit? Cons Slow - 15-20 seconds between mouse clicks Clunky - You can not do more than 1 thing at a time (each entry or change takes 30 seconds), each action requires that you make at least 3 mouse clicks (1-2 minutes of your life gone) Once you have your information in their, the ability to manipulate it, use it, reshuffle it is impossible. Running reports requires another module. Review Source SF Scott F. Director of Pastoral Ministry Religious Institutions Used the software for: 2+ years ### "A Gentle and Soft Review" August 20, 2020 5.0 Pros I appreciate the ability to check on parishioners from the three churches so easily as well as the students in the Religious Education/Faith Formation programs and the ability to run the various reports with varying degrees of information Cons Sometimes finding an individual child whose last name is different that the family name was a bit more difficult for me. While I tried using the search feature, that did not always give me the results that I was hoping to have in trying to find out the parents of the said child using the child's name. Review Source TE Teresia E. Parish Office Assistant Religious Institutions Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Parish Soft Family Suite SSTMCC" August 20, 2020 5.0 Pros very easy to navigate through the Family, offering & religious ed tabs. Cons I don't understand the querie section as well as I should. Always have to ask for help Review Source JF Judy F. Admin Assistant Religious Institutions Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Easy to use!" August 26, 2020 5.0 Pros Easy to use but protects info from unintentional errors when rushing or not paying close attention. Training videos are easy to understand and informative. Cons It was difficult to find the training videos at first. I kept looking in the help section not realizing there was an alternate site. Review Source Similar Products Featured ## Related categories [Church Management](https://www.capterra.com/church-management-software/)