Fall 2006 ParishsoftOfferings Newsletter for ParishSOFT Users & Friends FEATURE ARTICLE: PAX CHRISTI CATHOLIC COMMUNITY Changing Software Meets Needs of Large Minnesota Parish INSIDE THIS ISSUE PAGE 2 PAGE 2 PAGE 3 PAGE 4 PAGE 5 PAGE 6 PAGE 6 President William Pressprich reflects on Crossings An Envelope Tip From Our Sunday Visitor Did You Know? ParishSOFT Query Library Makes MS Access Reports Available Online Fall 2006 Customer Hero Award Welcome New Dioceses and Parishes New Contribution Reports ParishSOFT New Web Product Coming Soon MyOwnParish.com Built along the Mississippi River, the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul are known for far more than their picturesque lakes and cold winters. With a thriving economy and population of nearly three million people, the Twin Cities have more theatre seats per person than New York City (Wikipedia). But citizens of St. Paul are filling more than just theater seats. Pax Christi Catholic Community in Eden Prairie, Minnesota (just SW of Minneapolis) boasts nearly 4,000 registered members, 20 lay staff plus the pastor and associate, and is the fifth largest parish in the Archdiocese of St. Paul- Minneapolis's 222 parishes. Financial Development Associate, Barb Didier, is glad "a strong team is in place [at Pax Christi] with a wonderful community of people" to help manage all the details. Naturally, computer software is an essential part of their management, and ParishSOFT is proud to be their new vendor, replacing Shelby Systems management and accounting software in June 2005. "I like ParishSOFT for its ease of use," says Didier who prefers the quick and easy menu navigation to her old system. Didier likes how Pax Christi Catholic Community adding, changing, or deactivating family or member information is simple with very few steps involved. "I like how I can see our family membership base at the touch of a button," says Didier, and "how data is hidden (but stored for de-activated families) and [then] restored at the touch of a button if a family returns." Didier feels that ParishSOFT's family-based software works better for them than individual-based software and that Catholic-based software has more advantages than non-denominational software. For example, she likes the way ParishSOFT organizes data around the family and has accurate descriptions of sacraments. She also likes the module for tracking volunteer activity and finds the Religious Education Module to have "endless capabilities," for formation management. "We have many Faith Formation options available here at Pax Christi, and the program allows us to track each one separately, while giving us a collective overview of all program participants," says Didier. But Didier discovered she isn't the only one who finds ParishSOFT easy to use. A newly hired employee was able to get "up and running with [ParishSOFT] the same day because it is so intuitive," states Didier. Analyzing reports is an important feature for their parish, but Didier has found that she can always get the starting data she needs from ParishSOFT. "It's so quick and easy to get data into Excel," says Didier, and "it's nice to be able to customize existing queries and reports." Unlike other church management software systems on the market today, ParishSOFT has an open architecture database allowing Didier to simply open up MS Access to create her custom reports. She is looking forward to ParishSOFT's recentlyreleased ParishSOFT Query Library and future releases to include Dynamic Workgroups later this year to make it even easier to create custom information. Pax Christi parish has also found that "posting contributions goes quickly and allows for continuous 10-key entering," says Didier, "and the Religious Education Module provides all the classroom reports we need, such as class lists, teacher continued on page 3 {PARISHSOFT OFFERINGS FALL 2006 PAGE 1}
A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT Crossings One day Jesus said to his disciples, "Let's go over to the other side of the lake." So they got into a boat and set out. As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger. The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Master, Master, we're going to drown!" He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. "Where is your faith?" he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, "Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him." Luke 8:22-25 Five years ago, I met David Rosenberg, the founder of ParishSOFT. He had a compelling vision for using software and the Internet to make ministry more effective and dramatically ease the administrative burden for clergy, staff, and volunteers. He also made it easy for parishes to share information with the diocese, so the chancery staff might work more effectively as well. After prayer and speaking with each of our 30 parish customers at the time, I heard a gentle voice say this is what I have been preparing you for. Jesus was saying let s go over. Since then, my work at ParishSOFT has been the most satisfying and challenging time of my career. Most of all, I enjoy and appreciate our staff and those we serve. Elsewhere in this issue of Offerings, we recognize Tammy Mason, one of our many special customers. Because of her and everyone else who provides suggestions, we continuously improve our software and services to provide the best tools available for churches. We have had many crossings as a company, and a really big one occurred in April. David Rosenberg resigned from ParishSOFT, responding to the call of our bishop to work full time with Faith Magazine. David s vision had not only created ParishSOFT, but his technology and ministry gifts made it happen. This was a crossing that I didn t understand. I had sleepless nights when I asked the Lord where He was in this. How could we carry on alone? I thought Jesus fell asleep. In March, we hired Bob Kozal as a software programmer. I had noted that Bob had significant management experience that we might be able to use some day. Well, that day came far sooner than I had imagined. Bob is one of the rare software developers who excels with both leadership and technology. Bob is a patient teacher and, working with our team, has produced excellent software, on time. Once again, Jesus taught me about faith and His seemingly effortless ability to tame my storms. We owe a debt of gratitude to David Rosenberg and I treasure the deep friendship and camaraderie we experienced together. We wish him well. As we visit and talk to our now 2,400 parish and 25 diocesan customers, we learn of many challenges to ministry your winds and waves. Our prayer is that we all respond to the call of Jesus to cross over to the other side with Him and experience His power in our ministry. You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. Matthew 16:18 Bill Pressprich AN ENVELOPE TIPbrought to you by ParishSOFT s partner Make sure the amount boxes on your weekly envelopes really challenge your parishioners. Are the suggested amounts too high or too low? If your parishioners are actually giving at the levels listed, then your amounts may be too low! When was the last time your parish updated the collection amounts? Don't forget that parishioners need to have a guideline for their gifts; in fact, a small tithing scale could be printed right on the envelope. Display two columns one showing average weekly pay and the other illustrating what 5% or 10% of that paycheck represents! Windows Vista Coming in 2007 Next spring Microsoft is planning to release its most dramatic upgrade since Windows 95. ParishSOFT recommends that you wait until this operating system is fully tested by our staff and recommended by your technology advisors. One of Windows Vista's features will be a new approach to security that should greatly decrease spyware and viruses. Windows Vista will notify the user when disreputable websites attempt to secretly install malware through its new User Account Control (UAC) system. Another similar feature will be the ability to prevent user access to undesirable games or websites through password protection. Windows Vista promises to have a faster start-up and shut-down, better power management, an upgraded web browser, and Desktop Search, a new feature similar to Google's desktop search software. And thanks to new 3D graphics, users will enjoy an updated and attractive new interface. {PARISHSOFT OFFERINGS FALL 2006 PAGE 2}
DID YOU KNOW? NEW! ParishSOFT Query Library Makes Additional MS Access Reports Available Online Need a new report? Now the solution may be as simple as checking out a ready-made query from our new Parish- SOFT Query Library. Parish- SOFT users will now find more than 55 (and growing!) queries right at their fingertips. Simply log into the ParishSOFT Support Page and select ParishSOFT Query Library from the sidebar. (No login? Request one using the Support Request Form.) From there you can enter the ParishSOFT Query Library and browse for queries such as "Families With Students" or "Rel Ed Student Select Month Birthdays" or find those who have "Completed RCIA." We will add the most popular queries to the standard reports included rosters, and mailing labels." She also likes addressing envelopes and labels exactly the way she wants, and finds it easy to group families or members into particular Workgroups for communication or analysis. Most importantly, she has found that ParishSOFT integrates data into Microsoft Office programs better than any other software she's used in the past. Even though Didier said she hasn't used the Time & Talent Module much yet, she likes the option to create labels and lists for families, thereby eliminating duplicate mailings to a household with two or more members in the same ministry. She likes how this feature shows up throughout with our software in future updates. Follow the simple instructions to paste the readymade query right into any ParishSOFT module under Reports. And, presto! You're now ready to run your query. Didn't find the exact report you need? Ask support to add a new query or order a...pax CHRISTI FEATURE ARTICLE continued from page 1 ParishSOFT Query Library Barb Didier the software in other reporting areas as well. Didier noted that the responsiveness and knowledge level of the ParishSOFT support team is exceptional. She has found that email is quickly answered, making it an efficient way to get answers in a hurry. She also likes how new feature requests have already been incorporated into mid-year releases, and looks custom query using our Support Request Form, and if there is an existing report that you may have missed, we'll let you know. forward to future enhancements such as having open access rights in Family Workflow Groups so that users with "read only" rights can use the feature to report on their own Family Workgroups. She also looks forward to more menu-driven options in the future, rather than needing so many customized queries in Access. All in all, Barb Didier finds ParishSOFT "much more logical and understandable" than the previous software used at Pax Christi Catholic Community. "ParishSOFT is a very easy and comprehensive software package. It has the potential to meet any need, and the data is all there. It can only get better and better!" ENTERING NEXT YEAR S BUDGET... DON T WAIT, DO IT TODAY We know you re out there. Those people who hate working on Next Year s Budget. You ll put it off, and put it off, until next thing you know it s February! But there are a few tools in ParishSOFT Ledger & Payables that will make Budget entry, dare we say, bearable?! Pleasant? Enjoyable? (okay, maybe that s pushing it.) From your ParishSOFT Ledger & Payables system, click Reports > Budget/History > Budget Worksheet. You can print this handy little worksheet either by Account Detail or Summary, choose from five different sort levels, and select the report columns of your choice (Actuals for last year, this year, annual budget, line for revisions, etc). When you print, you ll be able to distribute the budget to the correct department head based on Fund and Program, analyze the numbers, and allocate funds as needed. Once you have your manual budget worked out, entering is a breeze! From the Ledger Main Menu, click Process > Budget Entry > Next Year. You can choose to insert the same figures as Current Year s Budget or Current Year s Actual. You can even insert a global change by a percentage! You can even click the Edit Months button and pinpoint your budget figures by entering in a specific budget per month for the account! Once you have your Next Year s budget entered, click Reports > Budget/History > Monthly Budget and History. The Monthly Budget and History report will allow you to compare the Actuals with the Budgeted number for each account per month for two full years. This may help you find patterns and trends that you can account for in the following year s budget! The system will automatically transfer the Next Year s budget to the Current Year s budget for you! So no more procrastination! You ll feel better getting it off your desk... today! {PARISHSOFT OFFERINGS FALL 2006 PAGE 3}
FALL 2006 CUSTOMER HERO AWARD Tammy Mason ParishSOFT is proud to present Tammy Mason, Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Diocese of Des Moines, with our Customer Hero Award for Fall 2006. Several years ago, the Diocese of Des Moines, working closely with parishes, schools, and other diocesan organizations selected ParishSOFT. Today, these organizations use nearly all of our software products and web solutions every day to streamline parish and diocesan operations, improve communica- tions, and help make ministry more effective. Tammy Mason, along with Roni Argetsinger (Project Manager), parish staff, and others in the diocese, have provided a key leadership role throughout the process, including building support and cooperation for the project, selecting ParishSOFT as the vendor, reviewing and improving business processes, and implement- A TEARFUL GOODBYE: WINDOWS 98 SUPPORT IS ENDING We're reaching in our pockets, for this is a real two-hanky affair. Microsoft technology has booted Windows 98 right out of the buggy to make way for a brand new baby due to deliver in 2007. Consequently, Microsoft no longer supports Windows 98, and, in the near future, ParishSOFT will need to do the same. As of December 31, 2006, ParishSOFT will end all support of Windows 98 systems. The main reason for this change is to safeguard you, our customer. Continuing to use Windows 98 with newer technology, such as ParishSOFT's, may cause your data to work improperly or even fail completely. That's why ParishSOFT relies upon its modern technology to give you the highest quality of service possible. Don't panic! Here's what to do: 1. Talk to your technology consultant about the upcoming change and necessary updates to your operating systems. 2. View minimum system requirements. Click on www.parishsoft.com, and choose either Church or Diocese software. 3. Read more about this change on Microsoft's website. 4. Click the Insight or Spectrum link located at ParishSOFT's Partners & Resources page for more information about updating your operating system. ing the system. Now she is leading the way to help users grow from familiarity with the system to proficiency. Along the way, she has worked closely with ParishSOFT. Tammy has been instrumental in shaping the technology and customer service that we provide to you today. As a result, Tammy s advice is much sought after by other arch/dioceses who are seeking similar solutions. She has generously shared her ParishSOFT experiences and implementation tips with several dioceses and their parishes and even hosted visits by the Dioceses of St. Petersburg and Fort Wayne- South Bend. Thanks in large part to Tammy, both of those dioceses and their parishes are now using ParishSOFT. Tammy in her role as CFO not only serves as a good steward for her diocese, she extends herself to see the needs and mission of other dioceses as her own. For her selfless service, we recognize Tammy and her staff with our Hero Award. We thank you! BOB KOZAL NAMED AS NEW DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT AT PARISHSOFT ParishSOFT is pleased to welcome Bob Kozal as the new Director of Development. Kozal brings more than 13 years of broad experience in software design, development, and quality to the ParishSOFT team. He studied in the seminary at the Diocese of Grand Rapids, where he gained a special appreciation for the sacraments, a deep insight into the inner workings of parish offices, and an appreciation for the organizational skills and technology tools needed by parish staff to keep the gears of the parish running smoothly so that they can minister to their parishioners. Kozal s experience in the seminary and the software industry, combined with his Bachelor of Science degree from Aquinas College and Master of Science degree in Computer Information Systems from Grand Valley State University, make him uniquely qualified to direct the development of church management software and web solutions at ParishSOFT. Bob Kozal Kozal previously served as the Director of Information Technology at DANTOM Systems and as Web Development Manager and Enterprise Architect at American Community Mutual Insurance Company. He and his wife, Kim, and their three children, Ashley, Brett, and Claire are active in their church, where Kozal volunteers with middle school youth programs and has assisted three youth group mission trips to Mexico. He also is an instructor at Cleary University in Ann Arbor, Michigan. {PARISHSOFT OFFERINGS FALL 2006 PAGE 4}
WELCOME NEW DIOCESES AND PARISHES! ParishSOFT Customers since May 1, 2006 Allentown, Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, Diocese of Our Lady of Fatima Parish Arlington, Diocese of St Louis Parish St Peter Parish Beaumont, Diocese of Queen of Vietnam Parish Biloxi, Diocese of Holy Family Parish St Elizabeth Seton Parish Boston, Archdiocese of St Ann Parish St Denis Parish St Mary - St Catherine of Siena St Catherine of Siena Parish Cathedral of The Holy Cross Sacred Heart-St James Parish St John the Evangelist Parish Blessed Sacrament Parish Our Lady Comforter of The Afflicted St John The Evangelist Parish St Columbkille Parish St James Parish Our Lady of Perpetual Help Basilica St Patrick Parish Holy Ghost Parish St Margaret Mary Parish St Christine Parish Bridgeport, Diocese of St Elizabeth Seton Parish St Margaret Mary Parish Brooklyn, Diocese of Holy Child Jesus Parish St Pius V Parish St Clement Pope Parish Our Lady of Peace Parish Our Lady of Refuge Parish Burlington, Diocese of St Francis Xavier Parish Camden, Diocese of Assumption Parish Cheyenne, Diocese of St Rose of Lima Chicago, Archdiocese of St Francisco de Asis Parish St Gertrude Parish St Ita Parish St Therese Catholic Chinese Parish Cincinnati, Archdiocese of St Jude The Apostle Parish Incarnation Parish Cleveland, Diocese of St Michael Parish Columbus, Diocese of SS Simon & Jude Parish St Francis de Sales Parish Dallas, Diocese of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish Davenport, Diocese of Detroit, Archdiocese of St Priscilla Parish Our Lady Star of The Sea Parish Fargo, Diocese of St Benedict Parish Fort Wayne-South Bend, Diocese of - Bluffton - Fort Wayne St Anthony Parish St Paul Chapel St Jude Parish Cathedral of St Matthew St Paul Parish Fresno, Diocese of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish Galveston-Houston, Archdiocese of St Philip The Apostle Parish Indianapolis, Archdiocese of St Joseph University Parish Jefferson City, Diocese of St Patrick Parish Joliet, Diocese of St Isidore Catholic Church St Patrick Parish Kansas City-St Joseph, Diocese of Cathedral of The Immaculate Conception Holy Rosary Parish Mary Immaculate Good Shepherd Parish St Louis Parish Holy Trinity Parish Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish St Elizabeth Parish St Joseph The Worker Parish Holy Trinity Parish Kuala Lumpur, Archdiocese of St John's Cathedral Lansing, Diocese of St Francis Xavier Parish Lincoln, Diocese of Los Angeles, Archdiocese of Immaculate Conception Parish Louisville, Archdiocese of St James Parish St Thomas Parish Metuchen, Diocese of Holy Trinity Church St Brigid Mission St Mary Church St Stephen Protomartyr Church Cathedral of St Francis Sacred Heart Church St Augustine of Canterbury Church St Mary of Mt. Virgin Church St Elizabeth Church St John the Evangelist Church St Ladislaus Church St Cecelia Church Our Lady of Victories Church St Theresa Mission Our Lady of Fatima Church St Joseph Mission Miami, Archdiocese of St Andrew Parish Milwaukee, Archdiocese of St Mary-Dover Parish St Robert Bellarmine Parish Monterey, Diocese of Cathedral of San Carlos Borromeo New Orleans, Archdiocese of Most Holy Trinity Parish Our Lady of The Rosary Parish New York, Archdiocese of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish SS John and Paul Parish St Frances De Chantal Parish Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish Newark, Archdiocese of - New Milford - East Rutherford Our Lady of the Visitation Parish Norwich, Diocese of St Agnes Parish Omaha, Archdiocese of Christ the King Parish Orange, Diocese of Holy Trinity Parish Paterson, Diocese of St Anthony Parish Philadelphia, Archdiocese of Visitation BVM Parish Pittsburgh, Diocese of Transfiguration Parish Portland OR, Archdiocese of Providence, Diocese of Diocesan Services Corporation Salt Lake City, Diocese of St Andrew Parish St John Bosco Mission San Juan Diego Mission San Bernardino, Diocese of Catholic Diocese of San Bernardino St Frances of Rome Blessed Teresa of Calcutta The Holy Name of Jesus St Louis Parish San Diego, Diocese of St Kieran Parish St Vincent De Paul Parish RELEASE 3.5.25 NOW AVAILABLE! Sacramental Details (all modules) New sacramental registry reports are now available for baptism, communion, confirmation, marriage, and death records Family Directory Status of ActOther family members are changed to Inactive when family registration is changed from Registered to Unregistered Santa Rosa, Diocese of St John The Baptist Parish Sioux Falls, Diocese of St Peter Parish Aquinas Newman Center Holy Spirit Parish St Thomas Aquinas Parish St Augustine, Diocese of San Juan Del Rio Catholic Parish St Petersburg, Diocese of St Mark The Evangelist Parish Corpus Christi Parish Church of the Incarnation St Michael the Archangel Parish Epiphany of Our Lord Mission Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission St James The Apostle Parish St Ignatius Parish of Antioch Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish St Cecelia Parish St Peter Claver Parish St Thomas The Apostle Parish St Thomas Aquinas Parish Good Shepherd Parish St Vincent De Paul Parish - Tampa - Pinellas Park Our Lady of Lourdes Parish St John Vianney Parish Trenton, Diocese of Church of the Visitation Church of St David the King Tucson, Diocese of Holy Angels Parish St Francis De Sales Parish Washington, Archdiocese of St Mary of the Mills Parish Wheeling-Charleston, Diocese of St Joseph Settlement Wichita, Diocese of St Peter Catholic Church Holy Savior Parish St Mary Immaculate Conception Christ The King Parish Worcester, Diocese of Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish Holy Family of Nazareth Parish St Brigid Parish ParishSOFT's latest suite of Church Management Software is now available. Version 3.5.25 contains many enhancements to improve performance and save you time. These enhancements were the direct result of requests from parish staff members who use ParishSOFT daily to manage their churches and schools. Thank you for your valuable feedback! For the complete list of enhancements and update instructions, please see the 3.5.25 Update Guide for Parishes, available now at www.parishsoft.com/support. Some of the new features are mentioned below: Time & Talent Minister names now display only once in the list view for any given ministry Reports Parish Statistics Report and Wedding Anniversary reports have been added New contribution report with many filter options {PARISHSOFT OFFERINGS FALL 2006 PAGE 5}
ParishSOFT 825 Victors Way, Suite 200 Ann Arbor, MI 48108-2830 PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID ANN ARBOR MI PERMIT #318 866.930.4774 (toll free) 734.205.1011 fax www.parishsoft.com Sales 866.930.4774 x1 info@parishsoft.com Customer Support Hours: Mon Fri, 9am to 7pm ET 866.930.4774 x2 support@parishsoft.com Billing 866.930.4774 x103 customerservice@parishsoft.com Training 866.930.4774 x126 training@parishsoft.com PUT SERIOUS MUSCLE INTO YOUR CONTRIBUTION REPORTS Need more from your Contribution Statements? Check out the new, muscle-bound Contribution Periodic Reports, available now. Here are the top 10 reasons to install this update before year-end: Features of NEW Contribution Reports 1. Set a date range not to exceed 12 months. 2. Select registered families, unregistered or both. 3. Choose givers, non-givers or both. 4. Filter on all contributions or an amount range. 5. Choose all funds, a single fund, or multiple funds. Specify which to include or exclude. 6. Filter on workgroups. Include or exclude specified workgroups from the list. 7. Choose 2 or 3 column layout for your Detail Statement. 8. Show pledge information for selected funds on statements. 9. Format report header background and font colors. 10. View Detail or Summary of records selected in Display Results mode for export. The new Contribution Reports will install with the version 3.5.25 product update package. If you are using version 3.5.22 or later, you can install just the new report without updating to version 3.5.25: click File > Product Updates, and select the ContribReport2000.ex_ file from the 3.5.25 directory. Install the new file via the usual method for product updates. MYOWNPARISH.COM COMING SOON! This exciting new web product will soon let parish staff and parish members update their basic family and member details, like name, address, and birth date information online! The initial release of MyOwnParish.com will be available for all ParishSOFT users near the end of 2006. Future releases will enhance the kinds of things members can do using the site and will include online contributions, giving history, and signups for classes, volunteer ministries, and events. If the thought, Let families into my database? Are those ParishSOFT people crazy? just ran through your head, don t worry! You still have full control over your data and who is allowed access to it. You can give parishioners a username and password that allows them log in to the secure website and update their basic information. You see exactly who has logged in, and what records have been changed. Once you approve the changes, they will be written to your ParishSOFT database. update member info Parishioner No changes can be made to your database without your approval. Watch www.parishsoft.com for more information on this hot, new Parish Staff MyOwnParish.com view approves changes My Parish Data technology...developed because many of you have asked us for just this type of product. PUBM617 2006 OCT