# ACS Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra > Is ACS the right Membership Management solution for you? Explore 126 verified user reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice. Source: https://www.capterra.com/p/2668/ACS/reviews --- ACS 3.9 (126) [View alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/2668/ACS/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 March 13th, 2026 # Reviews of ACS Ease of use 3.5 Customer Service 4.5 ## Pros and Cons in Reviews Andrew R P Director of Family MinistriesReligious Institutions, 2 - 10 employeesUsed the software for: Less than 6 months. “ACTS is a trusted name in this space, and their products are solid and reliable.“ August 20, 2022 CS Cole S CEODesign, 2 - 10 employeesUsed the software for: 1-2 years. “We didn’t like that the UI was pretty ugly and made it look like we were outdated“ February 17, 2023 CB Cheikh B Indépendant Accounting, Self-employedUsed the software for: 6-12 months. “ACS is a very useful church management software, because we won't have the problem to manage the database of our members or the registration of the children, and even all the donations received.“ January 8, 2021 SP Sally P Finance MgrReligious Institutions, 11 - 50 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “There are absolutely no drill-downs in the new system - no calculation features and it is over-engineered so that nearly every entry field has a drop down box - really, really, really slows you down if you have a large JE to process - and if you just fill in the box and don't go through all the steps, half the time it loses that entry.“ June 13, 2020 SP Sally P Finance MgrReligious Institutions, 11 - 50 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “ACS had fantastic software until they created Realm Giving and Realm Accounting and decided to care more about form than function, and "dumbed" down the flexibility of the accounting module.“ June 13, 2020 Dave S Worship PastorReligious Institutions, 11 - 50 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “We had issues with updating older versions of the software and trying to make it work within our own bylaws and Canadian law, which wasn't on ACS as a software manufacturer, but it didn't help the overall experience.“ October 30, 2020 SP Sally P Finance MgrReligious Institutions, 11 - 50 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “Back with the awesomely designed old ACS On Demand I was a huge fan of everything about this company - great support - robust trouble-free (rarely had a file corruption issue) modules with tremendous flexibility.“ June 13, 2020 CB Cheikh B Indépendant Accounting, Self-employedUsed the software for: 6-12 months. “The look needs to be redesigned not too aesthetically pleasing, but also the API access which is almost non-existent.“ January 8, 2021 ## Showing most helpful reviews Showing 1-25 of 126 Reviews Sort by: Most Helpful Rating Company Size Reviewer's Role Length of Use Frequency of Use Italo P. Supervisor Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Very good tool to manage churches even small" April 3, 2018 5.0 Good application for the administrative management of churches Pros The customer service is very friendly and efficient. The application is quite robust for the administrative management of churches. Cons It is not a very intuitive application, which is compensated with the efficient support it has. Also the interface is a bit simple Review Source VR Verified Reviewer IBO Religious Institutions Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "ACS" December 6, 2018 5.0 Whereas I can work seamlessly with ACS a lot of my coworkers have difficulties and I'm constantly showing them how to do things they don't do on a regular basis. It has solved the issues of church body data management. Everyone has been trained on how to enter the information into the database. It's just difficult for those, who don't work in the details very often, to get information out of it. Pros I love that once you understand the logic behind the software it's very user friendly. Cons If you don't take a training class on the logic behind the software it's difficult to understand the more detailed inner workings of the software. Review Source SP Sally P. Finance Mgr Religious Institutions Used the software for: 2+ years ### "What happened to the wonderful ACS of past?" June 13, 2020 1.0 Back with the awesomely designed old ACS On Demand I was a huge fan of everything about this company - great support - robust trouble-free (rarely had a file corruption issue) modules with tremendous flexibility. The new Realm products - For the price they are charging - we would be as well served with Quickbooks. Don't get me wrong - I'm all about paying for quality but this Realm product falls short on too many important features. Pros ACS had fantastic software until they created Realm Giving and Realm Accounting and decided to care more about form than function, and "dumbed" down the flexibility of the accounting module. Their outstanding reputation is based on the old versions I believe. I am currently looking to overhaul our entire system at tremendous expense because the new accounting interface does not work the way I need it - we are locked out of any contra-accounting interface due to the product management team's decision to "appeal to non-accounting people" - If you are serious about your job then that should say it all. Cons There are absolutely no drill-downs in the new system - no calculation features and it is over-engineered so that nearly every entry field has a drop down box - really, really, really slows you down if you have a large JE to process - and if you just fill in the box and don't go through all the steps, half the time it loses that entry. I also can no longer run event and other income smoothly and directly to a contra-expense. The product management people have decided that they understand accounting better than professional users. Reason for choosing ACS For the ease of transition as we were already on the ACS On Demand product. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Student Ministries Director Marketing and Advertising Used the software for: 2+ years ### "ACS is overall okay. " September 16, 2018 4.0 Pros I like how it stores a lot of information and that the customer service is always very prompt. Cons I do not like the ​interface, it is outdated and can be confusing. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer IT coordinator Religious Institutions Used the software for: 2+ years ### "ACS " January 24, 2019 5.0 Pros ACS is a software that just has worked for us. I have been here for 7 years now and the finance department has loved it the entire time I've been here. Cons We just switched from on-prem to on-demand and while we love the ability to use windows or Mac machines, we had to downgrade the number of people who could access it to stay within budget. The 5 usernames is a nice starting point but it was not deemed cost effective to add more users. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Mediator and Consultant Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Not the best software compared to others that are comparable." February 19, 2018 3.0 I was able to do snail mailings from this software but only if it was a mass communication and not a more narrow piece. Pros I like the fact that it is easy to use at first glance. It is easy to log on and view information and to use the database entry pieces Cons I do not like the fact that you cannot sort out your database to a great degree. For example, you can add fields, but it is not easy to do and to then sort according to your added fields is not easy. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Founder, Managing Director Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Old and outdated" December 3, 2019 2.0 I would have never picked it and would have switched away from it if I could. Pros I worked at a church that had used this software for a long time. It was very old and clunky compared to newer competitors. ACS was working on a more modern version, but it wasn't available for churches of our size at the time. Cons It was archaic. Was cumbersome, ugly and not intuitive. The church paid a surprisingly high amount for the software. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Director of Family Ministries Religious Institutions Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Showing Its Age" August 20, 2022 3.0 ACS was once state of the art software--it is no longer. The company itself is working to move customers to newer products (Realm in particular) and current ACS users should get themselves into the cloud ASAP. Pros ACS does everything I need a ChMS to do--keeps track of members, church finances, volunteers, communications, etc. ACTS is a trusted name in this space, and their products are solid and reliable. Cons ACS may do everything I want a ChMS to do...but not without a lot of frustration. Sorting out workflow and finding the relevant settings takes far too long and is not at all intuitive. While all the modules technically work together, in practice their integration is flimsy and difficult to understand. Alternatives considered [Text In Church](https://www.capterra.com/p/142758/Text-In-Church/)[IconCMO](https://www.capterra.com/p/2675/IconCMO/)[Tithe.ly](https://www.capterra.com/p/154664/Tithe-ly-Church-Giving/) Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Director of Children and Family Ministry Religious Institutions Used the software for: 2+ years ### "ACS Review" April 26, 2019 3.0 Pros What I liked most about ACS is that it can be simple to just grab someone's contact info or address from a list. Cons What I like least about ACS is that it seems very large and clunky. Could use updating. Review Source Omar C. Profesor Asociado Used the software for: ### "It is really an option to maintain a conection between members of different churchs" March 19, 2018 4.0 As member of a catholical community I would have actual information about my churh Pros It is an important tool to communicate information , independent of the church size, with total access to information anytme and anywhere Cons This software only is supported in english, then it is exclusive to use only in english spoken countries Review Source CB Cheikh B. Indépendant Accounting Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "ACS CAN DO BETTER" January 8, 2021 4.0 We no longer have problems managing the donations received and the registration of our members in a database. Pros The first remark is the customer service which is very reactive and quickly solves your problem. ACS is a very useful church management software, because we won't have the problem to manage the database of our members or the registration of the children, and even all the donations received. I like the way it stores information. Of course, it is not quick to master ACS, but once you have mastered it you have everything you want to know about reports, campaign follow-ups, etc. In conclusion, ACS is a very good software to store any kind of information. Cons Despite the fast customer service, we notice that during the months of February and March the wait is rather long. The ACS software often bugs or slows down when donor files increase. The lack of functional expense reporting is lacking given the current state of the art technology. ACS is also limited on the choice of administrators on who should access this or that. The ACS software needs to be upgraded, as the speed is poor when running large reports. The look needs to be redesigned not too aesthetically pleasing, but also the API access which is almost non-existent. Alternatives considered [Planning Center](https://www.capterra.com/p/76708/Planning-Center/) Reason for choosing ACS ACS perfectly meets my needs Review Source JG Judy G. Parish Administrator Religious Institutions Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Consistent Product" June 8, 2023 5.0 Good product Pros Wonderful and quick Support when needed. Cons Learning to use from scratch. Report creation sometimes complicated Switched from [QuickBooks Enterprise](https://www.capterra.com/p/174984/QuickBooks-Enterprise/) Increased Functionality Review Source SS Sheri S. Volunteer Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Best Church Software - REALM" March 31, 2021 5.0 Great company and very helpful. They want us to succeed. Pros The ease of use. The versatility. They update and upgrade every week to stay relevant. Very helpful to make sure we are happy especially during Covid. Cons The ability to get a photo attached to your profile for an older person. That our church database is everyone - not just a database for members and one for donors/visitors. Reason for choosing ACS user friendly Review Source SC Susan C. Webmaster Religious Institutions Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Solid Church Software" January 22, 2020 4.0 We use ACS to keep track of our members. To track groups and to allow easy communication through email or mass mailings. Pros The attendance module has allowed us to automate a process that used to take many man hours. It has also improved our ability to keep in touch with our members. Cons The reporting feature of the software is highly customizable which is great for it's ability to enable you pull information exactly how you need it, but it makes it's user friendliness a bit lacking. Review Source JS Josh S. Lead Pastor (elect) Religious Institutions Used the software for: 2+ years ### "It does everything" April 29, 2021 5.0 ACS is dependable, strong and has always delivered. They have been in the game for awhile and show no signs of slowing down. Pros ACS does everything we need in church management software! Aside from service planning it does EVERYTHING needed! Cons I would love to see ACS step into the service planning side of things too and truly become an "all in one" stop shop! Interaction with CCLI, ect... The software does take a bit to get used to, it could be more user friendly. Review Source JT Jonathon T. Former Communications Director Religious Institutions Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Outdated" November 26, 2019 3.0 Pros ACS was powerful and stable. It's accounting software was also a huge perk. Cons The company started focusing on other products and this one got left in the dust. New features were non-existant. The user interface was clunky and reminiscent of Windos 95. Most of our staff were too intimidated to use it, so they made up their own solutions. This led to so many problems. Review Source AR Andrea R. CPA Accounting Used the software for: 2+ years ### "ACS User For Over 20 years--Using 10.0 Now " October 5, 2016 5.0 Our church is medium sized. We love the Flex Contribution Forms and it's layout. Customer service is spot-on. I agree with all other users who have reviewed. Ease of use, love the People and Financial Modules with its reports which we own. Don't know much about REALM but I think we would be interested. What would seal the deal is the reporting for my Boards and administrators. Pros Ease of use--the reporting is awesome. Cons Could look more pleasing to the eye like most of the programs today. But it gets the job done. I've seen the progression over the twenty years I have used ACS. Review Source ZN Zenobia N. Managing Director Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Grateful!" October 12, 2017 4.0 A very good product. I would recommend them to anyone looking for a flexible system. Pros As a small non-profit, we were looking for software to help streamline our data collection and reporting; one which focuses on client management and tracking. When we were introduced to ACS, they were a God-send. It was a flexible system that provided numerous options. We were able to manage our client intake much more easily than in the past. Overall, we found them to be a great fit for our organization. Cons Once you understand the main parts, the system works well, however, more integration is needed. Usually, the help-desk representative was very prompt with their answers to questions. There were so many features that we didn't get to learn them all. Review Source KB Kristin B. Admin Used the software for: 2+ years ### "ACS is an okay program I feel it is very outdated and needs some major updated to be compatible." September 8, 2017 3.0 Pros Navigation with this software is quite easy to use, I enjoy the ability to search for my contacts easily, but once again it is slow and outdated and could definitely use a face lift. Cons As stated before in my previous comments above, ACS needs to be updated to reflect more modern graphics, and accessibility. I think it would be wonderful to have an app that links to your phone. Review Source AT Angela T. Bus Manager Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "ACS software" June 26, 2019 3.0 Pros It manages our church membership well and the customer service is excellent Cons The software is a little clunky and out dated to a degree Review Source RP Richard P. HR Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Effective for our operations" November 9, 2017 5.0 Overall, nice evolution of the software Pros Ease of navigation, customizable reporting, effective help menu system. Adjustable to individual user in the settings and screen layouts. Cons Occasional crashes, if it locks up, you have to re-log in, and via the log in, exit the program that just crashed, then reinitialize. Review Source LW Laurie W. Office Manager Religious Institutions Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "ACS does what it needs to" July 28, 2022 5.0 Pros Although we no longer use ACS, it was a great church software for us. It held all the information we needed, such as financial, contributions, and church member information. Great customer service and mostly user friendly. Cons At the time we used ACS, I found it difficult to correct errors in accounting software. Review Source MT Mark T. Pastor Religious Institutions Used the software for: 2+ years ### "We Moved On from ACS" March 12, 2020 2.0 ACS was great in its time but newer products like Planning Center or ACS's own Realm are much better for the modern church. Pros ACS was one of the earlier full-featured church database management systems. Its original iteration was groundbreaking. Cons ACS struggled to keep up with the changing digital landscape and was too slow to implement online features, cross-platform compatibility, and the like. As a result, the software is clunky and not particularly user-friendly. Review Source BH Bob H. Teaching Pastor Religious Institutions Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Awesome Church Management Software" November 4, 2016 5.0 We have been using ACS software for over 14 years. It handles all of our church needs. I can recommend it to any church! It handles all of our financial and people needs. Pros ACS has a new version of their software that is called REALM. It is all online and extremely user friendly. They have online help for every aspect of the program. Cons The only con is the small learning curve to begin using. Review Source jD jennifer D. Finance Administrator Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "It is like working on Windows 15 years ago. " October 2, 2017 2.0 Pros It does do everything you need for church accounting. The support is very good. The training materials are extensive. The trainers and very good and usually very helpful. Cons It is cumbersome, very slow to use (with many extra steps for every task), not intuitive and and very outdated. Some of the training material goes back to 2003, and looks exactly the same. There are extensive training materials, but they are most often so basic they do not answer anything besides basic questions. 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