Tales From Tech 2 - Issue: 29

Today I'm thrilled to announce that beta testing is over and PowerChurch Plus Version 9 is ready to ship.

In Volume 27 of Tales From Tech 2, I told you about the beta release of Version 9 and gave you a short list of some of the biggest changes. Now I'm going to overwhelm you with a more complete (though certainly not exhaustive) list of new features in Version 9.

There will be an announcement coming in the mail with lots of information about some of the new features, but I'm so excited about all the great new things in Version 9 that I couldn't wait (and I didn't want you to have to wait, either).

So, with all that said, prepare to be overwhelmed.

Once you catch your breath after reading about all the enhancements and improvements listed below, I'm sure you'll be ready to order, but if you need more convincing, just go to http://www.powerchurch.com/demo/ and request a demonstration copy of Version 9.

For current PowerChurch Plus users, the upgrade price is only $129 (US) plus shipping and handling. If you are new to PowerChurch Plus, the cost is $395 (US) plus shipping and handling. You can order Version 9 through our Web site with a credit card (it is a secure site) or you can place your order by phone. Our toll free number is (800) 486-1800 and our office hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern, Monday through Friday.

Anyway, thinking about the rain inside my head reminded me of that old saying: You can lead a horse to water, but you can't let a sleeping dog out of the bag, so let's stop beating this dead horse and earn some pennies.

ACCOUNTING CHANGES

Version 9 includes lots of updates throughout the program, but a concentration of the new features is in Accounting.

If your church uses the Fund Accounting module, you need this upgrade! If your church doesn't use Fund Accounting, but you think you might in the future, you need this upgrade. If your church doesn't use Fund Accounting and has no plans to, keep reading, because there are lots of neat new features outside of Fund Accounting that you won't be able to live without, so you need this upgrade.

Anyway, let's begin...

It is now possible to maintain multiple years of data in Fund Accounting. (Note: It is not possible to pull in Fund Accounting information from prior year backups or multiple copies of PowerChurch Plus in order to build these multiple years of data.)

You can now use the entire 3000 to 3999 account number range for equity (or fund balance) accounts, so you're no longer limited to a single equity account in each fund.

The program now lets you easily maintain donor restrictions.

There are several new reports in Fund Accounting that will help you keep better track of your finances.

If you decide you no longer need to use a particular account, you can now make it inactive.

You can change an account number in Fund Accounting whenever you want and the program will automatically update the number wherever it's used.

There is now an unlimited note field for Accounts Payable invoices and manual checks in addition to a description area for each line of distribution.

There's now a transaction description and an unlimited note field for Fund Accounting transactions.

You can now delete a vendor in Accounts Payable without deleting the history for all vendors.

Voiding checks in Payroll is now more like voiding checks in Accounts Payable. It's faster and a whole lot easier (and I do mean a WHOLE LOT easier).

You can now delete an employee in Payroll without deleting the history for all employees.

MISCELLANEOUS CHANGES

As you can see above, there have been some major changes in Accounting, but we didn't stop there. There are some wonderful new things outside of Accounting that make Version 9 one of the best upgrades we have ever released.

Let's find out a little more...

Locate screens can now search and sort by any displayed column. So, if you want to look up a family or an individual based on their first name, simply click the first name heading at the top of the Locate screen and then use the keyboard just as if you were searching by last name.

You can now have the program automatically open quick menus when you start it up (and each user can choose different quick menus to open when the program is launched).

You can now import images at a higher resolution (800x600 for you propeller heads), so the pictures on the Pictorial Directory reports will look a lot better.

The built-in reports can now be exported in PDF and HTML formats.

The Word and Excel export options for built-in reports have been improved. In fact, if you save a report in Word format, you will now get the lines and boxes from the report.

You can now change the top and bottom margins for built-in reports, so you can print any report on letterhead.

It is now possible to e-mail reports as PDF file attachments directly from the report preview window.

New options have been added to the password settings screen. As the System Administrator, you can now control who can post in Contributions and Fund Accounting. You can also control which users can close the Accounting Month and who is considered an Accounting Administrator. In addition, the backup and restore options have now been separated, so someone that can make a backup doesn't automatically have the permissions to restore data (and vice versa).

You can now e-mail Contribution Statements. The statement for each envelope number is sent separately to the contributor's e-mail address.

An assistant has been added to Membership to help you add families. This assistant will be particularly helpful for individuals new to PowerChurch Plus, but it is optional, so if you're already comfortable adding families, you don't have to use it.

It is now possible to mark an e-mail address as unlisted, so it won't appear on the Church Directory report.

There is now an option available so you can exclude an individual from bulk e-mailings.

Activity departments, types and roles can now be defined under Activities and Skills, so if you need labels for all the teachers or you need a report showing all the Sunday School classes, you can do it.

A First Time Attenders report has been added to the Attendance module, so if you need to see the people that attended for the first time on a particular date or during a range of dates, it's as simple as running a report.

The bulk e-mail utility has been greatly improved. It can now handle file attachments and HTML formatted e-mail. In addition, it now works with e-mail servers that require authentication.

Well, I guess I've gone on long enough. If I haven't overwhelmed you with all these wonderful new features, then you need to go back and read this issue again, only more slowly next time, and when you are ready to order, just let us know.