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CMS Child Check-in We're UniqueChurch Management Software FAQ
Click here for FAQs about our child check-in system
General Information
What are the system requirements?
Can it run on a mac?
Do you have references I can contact?
If I get the church management software, what am I getting?
What size database do I need?
What's the difference between a member and a pre-member?
What training options do you offer?
Upgrades and additional features
What is the multi-user license?
Can I create my own fields to track information?
Can the contributions side do tax receipts for countries other than the US?
What happens when my church grows and we fill all the slots we purchased?
If I have both the church management software and the check-in system, do upgrades cost more?
What about upgrades to the software?
How often do you come out with a new upgrade?
Networking
Can I use Excellerate with a wireless network?
Ordering
Click here for pricing information
How do I get the software? Is it download or CD?
If I buy the download only option and my computer crashes, can I re-download the program?
I used to have Excellerate but stopped using it. What do I need to do if I want to start using it again?
Advanced Technical Info and Specs
Click here to view them
What are the system requirements?
Can it run on a Mac?
Excellerate is built for Windows, but many new Macs can be set up to run both Mac OS and Windows simultaneously. Excellerate works fine in this environment.
Another option is to load Excellerate on an old Windows machine and connect remotely from the Mac. This works even on Macs that are older and can't run Windows.
Do you have references I can contact?
Yes. If you are interested in getting a list of our references, tell us by email info@msdweb.com
If I get the church management software, what am I getting?
The church management software comes with everything you see, except for the check-in system. It includes visitor follow-up tools, contribution tracking, web integration, small group tracking, and much more. The check-in system can be added onto your order for an extra $395 (This is a flat fee, so the size of your database does not affect the price of the check-in add on). If you want to see an example of what you would get, check out our demo
What size database do I need?
The size you need is based on how many records you will use, and how many members you have. It is not based on a rough count of how many people walk through your door. This is especially important to note if you have a large number of guests. If you have a church attendance of eleven hundred, but 200 of those people are pre-members, you can easily fit into the thousand member version. Pre-members have their own section of the program and count toward their own limit. That limit is equal to whatever the limit on your members records is. That is to say, the 500 member version is 500 members and 500 pre-members. The 1,000 member version is 1,000 members and 1,000 visitors, etc.
One often overlooked issue to consider is that visitors who make contributions or join a cell group need to be in the member module, so you will need to count them toward your total. For more information on why that is, read our answer to "What's the difference between a member and a pre-member?"
What's the difference between a member and a pre-member?
Members are people who are involved in the life of your church in any way. This involvement can include making contributions, joining a cell group, etc. People who have not joined your church could still fall under the category of member if they, for instance, got involved by joining a small group or making a contribution to the church. In that case, you would need to put them in the member module so you can record that information. If someone needs to be in the member module, but is not a regular attendee, you can note that by giving them a member type of "visitor," even though they are in the member module.
Some churches use the term "member" as an organizational term, with membership being restricted to believers or adults or perhaps each family counts as one member. Excellerate will let you designate this status in each person's record. But, for the purpose of calculating the size of your database, you need to count the number of individuals who meet any of the criteria in the paragraph above, rather than the number of people who carry the title of "member."
Pre-members, on the other hand, are people who aren't involved in your church, but you would like them to be, so you have their information on file and follow up with them. Since pre-members are, by definition, people who aren't involved in the church, the pre-member section of the program does not include the ability to track a visitor's cell group attendance or contributions. However, there is compensation for these limitations. All our programs include as many pre-member records as you bought of member records. So, when you buy something like the 100-member version, you're really getting the 100 member records that you're thinking about getting, plus you get an extra 100 slots that are set aside for pre-members. The same goes for the 250 member version (250 members / 250 pre-members), the 500-member version, etc.
What training options do you offer?
First, you should know that we try to make our program as intuitive as possible, and all new clients automatically get 3 months of tech support free, allowing them to ask any questions they may have. Most people do fine without any formal training at all. If you would like training, we have several options:
- You can have us come to your church and train you. Most sessions last two days.
- If you only need to be trained in a couple of topics that you're fuzzy on, rather than the whole system, we can also do a remote training session via the web.
What is the multi-user license?
This option is a site license that allows you to install Excellerate on all of the computers in your church office. It also allows you to use Excellerate on a network where multiple people can access the database at the same time. Even if you dont have a network, and you would like to use more than one copy of Excellerate in your church, you need to purchase this option. You only need to purchase one site-license for your entire church.
You do not need the multi-user license in order to run multiple check-in stations. You only need it for multiple installations of the database.
Can I create my own fields to track information?
Absolutely. We've already build a few extra fields for you and given them names like "user1," "user2," etc. You can go into the preferences section to change these to names that reflect what you want to track.
If the pre-built fields don't fit your needs for whatever reason, we also have a utility called "flex fields" installed in the program. It allows you to build more fields and to customize them to be date fields, or drop down boxes, or whatever other type of field you want.
Can the contribution module do tax receipts for countries other than the US
Yes. You will have access to change the template of the receipts, so you can make it fit whatever style you need. Also, if you live in a country that requires that each transaction have a unique receipt number, Excellerate can automatically generate that for you.
What happens when my church grows and we fill all the slots we purchased?
Upgrading the size of your database simply costs the difference between the cost of what you have now and the cost of the size you want. You will not pay the full sticker price of the next size up.
The process for upgrading is that you will go to the order page, and at the top you'll find an area to log in as an existing customer. Once logged in, you will see the upgrade options. Simply select the upgrade you want, and purchase it. You will get an email from us a few moments later with your new registration code. Go into Excellerate, re-register using your new info, and the items you bought will be unlocked. It's that simple.
If I have both the church management software and the check-in system and I want to upgrade, do I have to pay to upgrade both?
The process and cost would be the same as upgrading without the check-in system. The church management software and the check-in system, when combined, become one unified system, so an upgrade to one automatically upgrades the other with no additional cost.
What about upgrades to the software?
The cheapest way to get them is as part of a support package. Customers with either our Standard or Premium Support packages receive access to the latest upgrades.
How often do you come out with a new upgrade?
There is no predetermined schedule, but the general goal is to make one major release per year. We also try for 4-5 minor releases per year.
Can I use Excellerate with a wireless network?
Excellerate can run in some wireless environments. But, we strongly discourage it. Anytime you deal with wireless networking, you have the possibility of bits of information being lost in transit. This puts a lot of wear and tear on your database, increasing the chances of it becoming corrupted.
Instead of wireless networking, we recommend a hard-wired network. If that is not possible, we recommend that you make frequent backups of your database, to avoid losing data to corruption. You should also be very mindful of how far the data travels to a hub. The farther it has to fly through the air, the greater the odds of losing information. So, if you must use wireless, try to arrange your offices in such a way that those using Excellerate are close to a hub.
How much does it cost?
Click here for pricing information
How do I get the software? Is it download or CD?
You decide.
When you order, we will send you an email with a link to download the software, as well as your registration information. With that, you can get started. If you pay for shipping of any kind or order hardware, you will get a CD and user manual a few days later.
If all you buy is software and you want to save money, there is also a download only shipping method. Obviously, that's free. You can get a pdf of our user manual online from the downloads section of our website, and if you ever lose the program we will send you a link to reinstall the last version you had. The download only option doesn't include a CD or a print copy of the manual.
If I buy the download only option and my computer crashes, can I re-download the program?
Yes. When you buy the software, it's yours. If you can't find your installation CD or never got one, you can contact us and we'll give a link to re-download the program. You can either get a link to the last version you had (which may be out of date, but there's no charge), or you can purchase a support plan and upgrade to the newest version of Excellerate and have access to all the new features.
I used to have Excellerate but stopped using it. What do I need to do if I want to start using it again?
You still own your copy of Excellerate, so you can just start using it again with no problems. If you have trouble logging in, let us know and we can walk you though finding your registration code and the like. If it's been a while, you may want to consider getting a support plan so you can have the latest version of Excellerate, but that isn't necessary.
Click here for FAQs about our child check-in system
Click here to read advanced info and the technical specs for Excellerate