Question 1

Is ChurchPlan really a free church management system?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The Essentials plan is free forever with unlimited members and no per-member fees. Free online donations, free tax receipt generation and the free branded church app are all included. Paid plans add engagement and education features.

Question 2

Does ChurchPlan issue automatic tax receipts?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Every gift is recorded on a cumulative Giving Summary. In nine countries — Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Czechia, Poland, Croatia and Italy — that statement becomes an official tax receipt at year end, built to each tax authority's requirements. Germany and France require a prescribed government form, so ChurchPlan does not receipt there. Everywhere else, including the UK and Ireland, churches receive the Giving Summary — a complete record of donations, not an official tax receipt. Generation is free and records are stored for seven years.

Question 3

Are there donation fees or donor tipping?

Accepted Answer

No donor tipping and no added ChurchPlan fees on online donations — standard card processing by Stripe applies, kept low through volume-negotiated rates.

Question 4

Is ChurchPlan a multi-language ChMS?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Language is a member setting rather than a parish setting, so each person switches the whole app to their own language in two taps — menus, giving, tickets, the digital ID card and curriculum screens. One parish app serves a congregation that speaks several languages.

Question 5

Does ChurchPlan include a church calendar?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Every event, liturgy and class publishes once from its own module and appears on one church calendar on every phone instantly, so the calendar is never out of sync.

Question 6

Can we schedule liturgies and worship services?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Plan a whole season of liturgies and worship services as one series, publish it to every phone in the parish, and go live inside the ChurchPlan app.

Question 7

Can we manage Sunday School, education and curriculum?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The church education system publishes Sunday School and youth curriculum to every parent's phone, takes QR attendance, and produces diocese-ready reports.

Question 8

Does ChurchPlan support QR check-in?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Events use QR ticket passes, including Apple Wallet, and classes, Sunday School and ministries take QR attendance.

Question 9

Do members get a digital ID card?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Every member carries a digital membership ID card in the free branded ChurchPlan app.

Question 10

Is ChurchPlan privacy compliant?

Accepted Answer

Yes. ChurchPlan is built for PIPEDA, GDPR, CCPA/CPRA, the Australian Privacy Act and the New Zealand Privacy Act 2020, with encryption in transit and at rest.

Question 11

Do members have to search the app store?

Accepted Answer

No. Every church gets its own custom download link and QR code — members land straight in your church in the app.

Question 12

In which countries does ChurchPlan issue official tax receipts?

Accepted Answer

ChurchPlan issues official donation tax receipts in nine countries: the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Czechia, Poland, Croatia and Italy. Germany and France require a government-prescribed form, so churches there receive a complete Giving Summary instead, as do churches everywhere else. Every gift produces a giving statement the moment it clears, which converts into the official annual receipt at year end where one is issued.

Question 13

What do churches in the UK and Ireland receive?

Accepted Answer

Neither country has an official donation tax receipt — relief is claimed by the charity, not the donor, through Gift Aid in the UK and the charitable donation scheme in Ireland. ChurchPlan provides HMRC-ready contribution statements and data exports to support the church's own Gift Aid process. Eligible UK charities reclaim 25p per £1 donated.

Question 14

Does ChurchPlan meet New Zealand IRD receipting requirements?

Accepted Answer

Yes. New Zealand is one of the nine countries where ChurchPlan issues official donation receipts. Each receipt carries the donee organisation's IRD number, its Charities Services number, an authorised signature with name and designation, and unique receipt numbering — the information Inland Revenue expects on a receipt supporting an IR526 donation tax credit claim. ChurchPlan is also built for the New Zealand Privacy Act 2020.