Shepherd's Staff

by Donna
(Olmsted Falls, OH)

I finally managed to enter my data into Shepherd's Staff. I was able to make a balance sheet report that I first exported to Excel, but the columns were mixed up. I then exported it to Rich text format which opened nicely in word. The Budget Report converted nicely into Excel, which I prefer since it is easier for me to make changes in Excel than in Word.

The Shepherd's Staff financial module was tricky with little or no free support after the initial set training. However, I used one of our free support phone calls and received good technical advice. I had to call twice, but since it was the same issue, they only charged me one phone call. I don't know what the church paid for the initial software; someone told me that it was over $1,000.

They also charge a yearly subscription fee based on your level of service. Ours is $329 a year with 20 free technical support calls, emails, etc. I would recommend that anyone purchasing this software have the financial person attend the initial training sessions. Once the funds and accounts are set up, it is very easy to use.


Vickey's Reply

Donna,

Thank you for letting other church administrators know about your experience with your church's accounting software. Buying accounting software is a monumental task. It helps to know other church administrators’ personal experience with their software.