If you use a church software to help run the day-to-day ministries of your church, you have likely looked into some integrations to expand the use of your software and lighten the workload for your team.
There are many common software integrations that can benefit churches, but there are also many pitfalls that could prevent you from actually integrating your software systems together. We’ve compiled a guide that explains church software integrations so that you can feel confident moving forward, no matter what software you use!
Common Integrations
There are many integrations that can improve how you use your church management software, and how your members can more fully utilize it!
Websites
The first is with your church website! There are many good reasons to integrate it.
When you integrate your church website, you allow your members to log in to your church website (which logs them in to your church software). Seamless integrations like Church360° Unite and Church360° Members make it easy for your members to submit prayer requests, take part in online communities, and view information in a secure directory.
Giving Platforms
Integrating your eGiving platform with your church software is an easy way to create a seamless connection between your online giving and your membership information! This kind of integration allows your finance and administrative teams to avoid doing duplicate work, like manually entering offering entries and connecting them to member profiles.
By simplifying the offering entry process, you’ll also avoid the potential for human error in your entry process. When integrations are automatic, you’ll free up your team to do more high-touch work! New tools, like Church360° Ledger’s bank integration, further reduce duplicate work by automatically bringing bank transactions into your accounting workflow, giving your team a head start on accurate recordkeeping.
Ministry Tools
Another valuable integration for your church software is with your ministry tools. This might seem vague, but it’s important to recognize the breadth of what you can do with a simple integration!
You could likely integrate your church software into your email management software, your accounting software (like Church360° Ledger), or your SMS texting software. The possibilities are endless!
Common Pitfalls
Church software integrations aren’t without their pitfalls! Simply being aware of these common pitfalls can help you avoid them as you go through these integrations.
Intimidation Factor
Let’s get this out of the way. One of the most common pitfalls is simply the intimidation factor of having to make the integration. You might be worried that you’ll do something wrong or break the program, especially if you and your team are not particularly tech-savvy. (You probably won’t!)
The best way to combat this is to talk with the support team working with your church management software to see if they have any advice or integration support to help you. You’d be surprised what they’ll be able to help you with!
Adoption of Integration
Successfully implementing the integration is another common pitfall. While many integrations are simple, errors could occur during the process. But don’t let this intimidate you!
As mentioned previously, ask the support team if they can offer any assistance with the integration. The support team will be able to walk you through any issue or point you in the right direction, especially if your software supports a direct integration.
Broken Integrations
Even the most successful integrations can break over time—often at no fault of yours! Sometimes, software vendors push out updates, and those updates break integrations that have worked flawlessly for years.
If you notice a broken integration, reach out to both sides of the integration and see if there have been any updates, or if there are any known bugs. The support teams will be able to walk you through a solution, or they can log the bug and solve the problem for you!
The “Single Source of Truth” Concept
One of the benefits of integrating your church software with these common integrations is that everyone on your team and in your church is working with the same information. This concept is often called the “single source of truth,” and it’s common in the world of data.
The benefit of this concept is that you know everyone is on the same page! For example, you know that integrating your church software with your eGiving platform means that all information is consistent between the two. You no longer have to worry about manual entry errors or information not being updated automatically!
How Integrations Reduce Duplicate Work
These integrations have many benefits, but the primary benefit is that it reduces the amount of work your administrative team has to do!
For example, your administrators might manually enter records of offerings into your finance software, but then they might also manually enter those same records into your church management software. This duplicate work can cost your team time and your church money while increasing the likelihood of human error!
But with a seamless integration, you reduce this duplicate work and your team’s workload, allowing them to do more human-centered work.
Ready to create a single source of truth for your ministry? Church360° Members helps your team stay connected, organized, and efficient. Start your free trial today.
