Selecting you Church Room Scheduling Software

Room Scheduling Software: The 10 questions to ask before you buy

Posted by TIm on February 7, 2010
Stored in Blog

In today’s world of web 2.0 applications, cloud computing, and web based solutions, it can become confusing as to what is the tim 155x199 Room Scheduling Software: The 10 questions to ask before you buy right application for our church/ministry. What will meet our needs? What are our needs (always a good place to start…identify the “pain” then resolve it)? How much will it cost? Will it be easy to learn? Well….to assist you in your selection process, we have developed a guide to help you make the RIGHT decision. The following need to be asked and answered as you navigate through the selection process.

1. Is your software Web-based? In today’s ever changing world of technology, web based software is the most effective, efficient and accessible. No more software to down load. No more servers to house and maintain. No more manual updates to buy. No more system upgrades and patches to implement. No more thick manuals to read. No more issues between PC’s and Mac’s (praise God). Web based software is not only the wave of the future, but the reality of now.

2. How many users can have access to the system and do we pay extra for each user? Many software solutions are tethered to the number of “users” that can access to the software. This can be inconvenient and frustrating….who should be included…who is left out? It also puts an undue burden on certain staff members to not only be the gatekeeper of the schedule but also serve as the data entry person for everyone that wants to schedule an event or reserve a space. In addition, if you are paying for multiple users the cost can become excessive…if you don’t believe me, check out some of the other apps and see how much the REAL costs is. Some specific applications such as accounting software, facilities management, and the like work well in a “user” based format…but scheduling is generally not one of those applications.

3. Do we have to maintain multiple calendars? OUCH…what a nightmare…just take me out and shoot me now. Can you imagine having to try and coordinate multiple schedules for the use of your ministry space? One says this and another says that….PULL MY HAIR OUT. You need a single source solution for all your room, space, resource and service scheduling…all in one easy to use solution.

4. Do we have to purchase your other products/services to use your scheduling solution? Many room/space scheduling solutions are an “Add-on” to a more robust church management system. You may find that X system is great for membership management but their small group component is not right for you and the room scheduling module is too “skinny” for your needs or feels clunky. Find the RIGHT solution for your ministry…even if it means using different applications for what works best for YOU. What is going to make your life easier and more effective?

5. We don’t want to break the bank to have software…how much should we pay for a room scheduling solution? The cost of web based solutions continue to improve. That is a real benefit for your ministry. piggy and hammer 200x149 Room Scheduling Software: The 10 questions to ask before you buy We do not believe that you should have to pay more than about $100/month for room scheduling software. And there should rarely if EVER be a set up fee. What is that set up fee for any way? What are they setting up that you can not do yourself? Let me give you a prime example… Elevation Church in Charlotte, NC is one of our clients and is loving our ministrEspace solution. We did a quick price check of another popular web based Event application. If we were to sign up for all of the users, resources and viewers that Elevation needed for this Event system, the cost would have been well over $200.00 per month…ours is less than $40.00 per month Our service starts as low as $39.95/month and does not exceed $99.95/month for a single campus…now that is cost effective. Why would you ever want to pay more?

6. What kind of support will you offer? You should never feel alone or on your own. We believe that the best web based services provide multiple levels of support including website tutorials, website “wiki” forums, e-mail, web demos/training as well as a real person on the phone. We will be with you every step of the way.

7. Will you listen to us? Can you still hear me…are you still out there???? Ever make a purchase and then feel like you have fallen into the “customer service abyss”? I know we have. Your suppliers of services and goods need you (even if they don’t think they do)…they need to hear from you…and then they need to actually HEAR you and not just listen to your words. What are you really saying and how can we (your solution provider) adjust to meet your needs? After all…it is your ministry.

8. Can rooms be double booked? Why would you want to pay for a software solution that allowed you to double book rooms, spaces or resources? Frankly, one of the main reasons for having a room scheduling solution is to avoid these issues. We would suggest that you steer clear of any software that would not address such overbooking. It is one thing to double book a classroom…but can you imagine double booking a wedding???

9. Does your software have features that we will never use? We have seen far too many software providers…in many fields of endeavor…throw all sorts of features and functionality that were added for just a few users, but require everyone to “pay” for them in their base fee. Our approach to developing software solutions is to develop core features and functionality that are at the heart of the majority of users needs…not the minority. This may mean that some solutions do not have all the bells and whistles that others have…but are you really going to use those features? And if not…why pay for them?

10. Can we see our calendar on our Website? As our world becomes more reliant on the internet for much of our basic communication, more ministries are utilizing their websites as the common repository for most of their communication…including the church calendar. If this is important to your church and ministry, then you need to make sure that there is a component of your space scheduling software that will allow for this function. But also make sure that there is a way to separate “private” events from “public”.

There is no doubt many more questions that need to be considered…but these are a great starting point and should be explored in detail before proceeding. For more information on our Web-based solutions, visit our website or click on the ministrEspace logo below…you will be glad you did.