1) Do I have to convert to ParishSOFT and QuickBooks?
Well, strictly speaking, yes. But it doesn’t have to happen all at once or even right away. The diocese wants you to be successful and will work with you to schedule, train, and implement these systems in the most efficient and best way.
2) What is it going to cost us?
Of course nothing is free, but to keep parish budgeting problems minimized, the diocese is picking up the initial cost of the conversion with the parish paying for software maintenance after the first year. There are per-parish costs for ParishSOFT, and licensing costs for QuickBooks.
3) When do I have to do it?
The Office of Planning is working on a conversion schedule that will be shared with the clusters well before their time to convert begins so they can prepare. At that time we will work with your parish on analyzing your computer system, arranging training, and helping you through the conversion of data as applicable for your parish. We ask that you wait until we contact you with a scheduled date before starting or attempting a conversion to ParishSOFT or QuickBooks. If you have an emergency and feel your software must be converted immediately, contact us and we will discuss the situation with you.
4) Who is going to help me?
The diocese has “conversion personnel” who are to be your ready-resource when you have questions or problems, either now, during the conversion, or after you begin using the various systems. You aren’t going to be doing this alone.
5) How do I convert my data?
We will help you convert your data from whatever form you have it now into the correct form for the specific system. Generally you aren’t going to have to re-key any data. All of these programs accept data from an Excel spreadsheet (CSV format) while each of the programs also accepts data in more proprietary formats. Again, we are prepared to help you do this.
6) Why is this necessary? We like our current program.
The Bishop, in partnership with his pastors, has a fiduciary responsibility to know what is going on in each parish, be it financially, pastorally, or spiritually. We live in a very litigious society and it has been increasingly emphasized that there needs to be a certain amount of central control in a diocese. This is an effort to protect the Bishop, the pastors, and the people while, at the same time, making us better stewards of all which God has given us to do His work.
7) We already use QuickBooks, so what will happen at our parish?
We will assess your software and let you know if it needs to be changed or upgraded to a different version. Parish staff will be shown how to utilize QuickBooks with ParishSOFT and training classes on different aspects of QuickBooks will be offered to parishes.
8) We use both Church Management Systems for payroll and finance . . . we prefer the Church Management System and if the diocese is going to use ParishSOFT, wouldn’t it be better to stay within the same system for finances? We use PDS and heard that PDS can do everything ParishSOFT can. If that is the case why didn’t the diocese choose PDS since many parishes are currently using it?
The diocese explored the multitude of options offered by different church management, school, and financial programs to determine which three could integrate data with each other and the diocese based on parish/diocesan requirements. After careful research and testing, it was determined that ParishSOFT and QuickBooks offered the best ability to integrate with each other, the diocese, and could perform as well or better as what parishes were using, so they were chosen as the three programs the diocese will purchase, train, use, and support.
9) We only have dial-up Internet, will this be a problem?
The diocese will consult with each parish and school to identify their needs and unique situation. A conversion plan will be created that best fits this criteria. While Cornerstone, which is Internet based, requires a robust Internet speed, all of the software will benefit from DSL-like speeds in order to make them work efficiently.
10) Will we need a server?
It is not necessary or mandatory for a parish to have a server. Smaller parishes can utilize the equipment they currently have, but larger parishes will see more benefit in having a server. Our Information Technology staff will work with you to determine the specific needs for your parish.
11) We have Macintosh computers. Do we still have to/can we convert?
Yes. QuickBooks has a specific version for Macintosh.
12) I have a computer with Vista. Will that be a problem?
No. ParishSOFT and QuickBooks will operate within a Vista environment.
14) Can PDS financial data be converted to QuickBooks?
The simple answer is yes. The actual problem is the smooth transition from PDS/Ledger to ParishSOFT/QuickBooks, which we are working on.
15) How capable is ParishSOFT in comparison to PDS?
Please refer to the separate document listing all the key features and differences between the two products so you can compare them yourself. It has been our experience that ParishSOFT performs well for census and offertory. You can also “test drive” the program on the ParishSOFT website at: www.parishsoft.com. If you’d like us to send you a demonstration CD, send your request to us at ParishsoftContact@straphael.org.