PowerChurch Plus Product Tour

Frequently Asked Questions


How is PowerChurch Plus licensed?
PowerChurch Plus is licensed to the church or organization, not to the individual user. This means you only purchase the software once for the whole church office to use. As long as the work that you are doing in the software is for the church or organization that the program is licensed to, it is completely acceptable to install the software on as many different computers as needed. This includes your home, work, or portable notebook computers.

Is PowerChurch Plus sold by individual modules?
No. The advertised price of the software is for the full program functionality. There will never be hidden fees to unlock program functionality. While we do offer add-on products and services, we will do our very best to make it clear what is a built-in option in the program, versus an add-on product or service.

Can you install PowerChurch Plus on a network?
Yes. PowerChurch Plus is network ready, right out of the box. We should issue a warning, however, if you are attempting to install the program to be accessed on a wireless network, it is very important to keep as strong of a connection to the server/host computer of PowerChurch Plus as possible. We recommend not using PowerChurch Plus on a wireless network. If you do not have any other option, we recommend backing up your PowerChurch Plus data files every day, as data corruption and loss of data is much more likely on a wireless connection.

Do I have to purchase upgrades separately?
When you purchase PowerChurch Plus as a new user, you will receive the latest build of the latest version of the program. In the future, when we release a new version of the program, we will inform our existing users of the features and changes made in the new version. Upgrades are optional at that point and are made available at a discounted price for existing users.

How do I upgrade from one version of PowerChurch Plus to the next?
The PowerChurch Plus installation CD contains a full program installation. The difference in upgrade vs. new user pricing is simply that, a price break for existing customers. When you install a new version of the program, it installs to a different location on your computer than the older version. Once it is installed, when you start it up for the first time, you will be prompted as to whether you are upgrading from a prior version. If you choose Yes, PowerChurch Plus will search your computer, looking for older versions. The information is copied from the older version and reformatted to fit the data structure and changes in the new version. No changes are made to your older version and it will still be fully functional after installing the new version. You get to choose when to uninstall the prior version.

I'm a new user. How do I get the data from my existing application into PowerChurch Plus?
PowerChurch Plus includes the tools you need to convert certain information yourself. You can import "Family Mailing List" records into PowerChurch Plus, which is only one record per family or household. This does not include personal information, or "Personal Profiles" data. This information would need to be entered manually. There is also an Import Contributions feature that will allow you to import your existing Contributions history, tied to the envelope number field in Personal Profiles and Contribution funds defined in the Contributions module.

PowerChurch Software offers a Data Conversion service, in which our Program Development staff would extract information from your existing application and insert it into the appropriate areas in PowerChurch Plus. It is possible to convert Membership and Contributions information. For more information, visit Data Conversion Information for more details.

What is the difference between PowerChurch Plus and PowerChurch Online?
PowerChurch Plus is a program that is installed locally on your computer or your local network server. PowerChurch Plus is sold at a one-time cost for the full program functionality. There are no limitations to the number of users working in PowerChurch Plus at a time. PowerChurch Plus is a Windows only application.

PowerChurch Online is an installation of PowerChurch Plus on our web server. You connect to the server remotely from across an active internet connection, then run the program as you normally would. PowerChurch Online is sold as a service, with a monthly or yearly fee. With standard licensing fees, you are able to have two users connected to the online server at any given time. You can add additional user licenses at a discounted price. PowerChurch Online supports connections from Windows, Mac, Linux, and even Pocket PC/Windows Mobile devices.

Is PowerChurch Plus available for Apple/Macintosh computers?
No. PowerChurch Plus is a Windows only application. PowerChurch Online, however, does support connections from Windows, Mac, Linux, and Pocket PC/Windows Mobile devices.

Is PowerChurch Plus compatible with Windows Vista and Windows 7?
Yes. We have thoroughly tested PowerChurch Plus versions 9 and higher in Windows Vista and Windows 7, 32bit and 64bit operating systems. Any time a new compatibility issue is introduced through Windows Updates, current versions of PowerChurch Plus will be updated via Maintenance Release.

What are Maintenance Releases and how do I get them?
PowerChurch Software issues updates to current versions of PowerChurch Plus called Maintenance Releases. This is the manner in which we distribute bug fixes, issue changes to existing program functionality, or implement user suggestions for new features. These updates are always free of charge and not dependant upon an active Technical Support plan. Newer versions of PowerChurch Plus will automatically check for available updates, if an internet connection is available. To manually check for available updates, visit the Maintenance Release download page.

Is Technical Support included in the purchase price?
New licenses of PowerChurch Plus include 90 days of free Technical Support. Upgrades include 45 days of free Technical Support. These free periods of support do not start counting down until your first call or e-mail for Technical Support. Once this free period of support has been used up, the next time you call or e-mail for support, you will be given the option of doing either a one-time support call for $30, which includes a week of free follow-up on the same support issue, or a six month support subscription for $124. These items can be billed to the church, if the account is in good standing.

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