Realm

Realm has been an excellent resource for our congregation and staff.

Vorteile:

We use Realm Connect - the level that allows for congregants to log in and use the app feature as well. Realm is easy to use and intuitive to figure out. The staff love being able to get to it anywhere and that they can even work on their phones on things if needed. Realm has features that make life easier for church staff, while also allowing the congregation to connect with each other. The Realm development team is always looking at ways to make it easier for people to know where to go, while also trying to find ways to make the church staff's lives easier as they input the data. Additionally, the support staff is very knowledgeable and helpful. I rarely have to wait for support help and if they cannot fix an issue while I am on the phone with them, they are quick to follow back up.

Nachteile:

There are still areas they are building out and things that are not there yet. For example, today we tried to copy a list of people from a registration event into a group roster as the group decided they wanted to be able to communicate with each other during the study. This was not a feature that was available yet, so the person entering the data had to manually add the people to a group. But, they have an enhancement request portal where Realm staff users can enter ideas in on what to change or add and they follow that portal very closely. The things that are not there yet are a small trade-off in my mind, as overall Realm is incredible software. And knowing that those things will come soon makes it easier for me to help my staff realize that if they can be patient for a little bit longer, everything will be in one place. They really like that!

CRM system for churches

Kommentare: Realm is an excellent CRM system for churches and has the added benefit of offering (for additional cost) an integrated accounting system. Customer support hours and level of services are just fine. It takes a while for staff to catch on to its power and Excel skills for a few staff are critical for custom reporting. Cost is very reasonable considering its power and customer service support.

Vorteile:

Realm is a very well constructed CRM system for churches, not surprising consindering how long ACST (maker of Realm) has been in business. It has an integrated donations system. You can buy (which we did) the integrated accounting module, thus eliminating the need to double post donation summary information. Customer support is excellent. Customers get to suggest and vote on enhancements.

Nachteile:

Conversion to Realm should have been easier. I'd like to be able to construct queries like in any database system using parentheses to bracket query logic. It is overkill for many small (under 100 Average Sunday Attendance) churches in my opinion.

Realm is exceptional!

Kommentare: Exceptional product - and service! With each question that we have for the telephone support, the representatives take as much time as needed to provide in depth answers to the questions and solutions to the potential problem. I can't praise them enough!

Vorteile:

Realm Connect has been a tremendous way for our congregation and staff to communicate and keep abreast of news and events. Our people love the fact that they can not only see their own profiles, but also the online directory of members.

Nachteile:

I have not found anything that I do not like about Realm.

Serious Gaps

Kommentare: Frustration is the best word that describes my experience with Realm. Frustration on finding information, frustration on looking for help, and frustration even on the help desk. When I write an email, it is almost as if I am getting a computer response telling me only a simplistic response that does not consider my question on the background that I provided.
It seems that my complaints fall on unconcerned ears when i express them to the Staff.

Vorteile:

I like the ability to use a check scanner with the giving software

Nachteile:

There are serious gaps in the way Realm relays information. When certain payments are made online, the software does not notify the Administrator of their receipt. I have to go and look for the payments (such as VBS registrations) without the software telling me that it has come in. Then it does not list the deposits from the registrations, only the individuals that made payment, after I go outside the giving module. Our checking account has been out of balance because of this. Also the giving statements allow very little configuration. The pledge set ups do not allow for change. Nor can you easily go back to a previous screen or report that you had to navigate from. I do not find the software intuitive, and often have to search for long times to get information that I need, The searching seems fragmented and not easily connected. When i edit a previous gift I do not get a notification or ability to print out a report so I can do a journal entry so we can keep our records balanced. The online help is entirely worthless. It lags far behind many other help searches that I use for software. I feel that I am forced to call the help desk. Usually after searching for at least a half hour down many dead ends, the I call the help line and there's another 30 minutes explaining my problem. And another 20 minutes hearing the condescending comments telling me that I have to not expect REALM to preform according to my expectations. It is not seamless, nor is the contribution

Excellent Support System

Kommentare: Real is a relatively intuitive platform, but the support system available to the user is truly what makes

Vorteile:

The Realm support team are tremendously helpful, patient when we have questions or need instruction, thoughtful when crafting solutions, professional and polite. All our interactions with the Realm team have been very positive, and it is a relief to hear the voice of folks like [sensitive content hidden] on the other end of our calls with we need assistance!

Nachteile:

It sometimes difficult to make corrections or back out entries/actions when simple mistakes are made.