Recensioni su Realm

Great, user-friendly software and world-class help desk.

Commenti: Easy to learn and to use. Helps us track everything from giving to attendance, as well as trends. On-line (as opposed to desktop loaded) software keeps the worry out of losing data. Affordable, even for a smaller church.

Aspetti positivi:

Realm is extremely user-friendly. I love that they have teamed with Vanco for donations/payments and the payments are recorded directly into the person's record in Realm. The pastor likes to do analytics and uses that feature all the time. I work in the contribution section every week and it couldn't be easier. The "icing on the cake" is the world-class Customer Service. After two quick prompts, a real person answers the phone within seconds. I don't get transferred. The person is very knowledgeable, friendly, polite, and most of all can answer my questions. They will also log onto my computer - with my permission - if that is the best way to help me.

Aspetti negativi:

I can't get all the reports I used to get in ACS People. Also, I have not found a way to link different families together (i.e. showing one family is a mother and father to another family). I also wish that Realm Financials would stop pushing back their timeline to include Payroll so we can switch from ACS Financials to Realm for that part of business, also.

Realm is Great!

Commenti: Our overall experience with Realm has been great, we truly enjoy using this product; our senior members love using the Realm app for their giving and enjoy the accounting module.

Aspetti positivi:

Our church transitioned to Realm July 2018, one of the initial reasons we switched was because of the people side, the ability for our congregants to create and manage profiles, as well as, the ability to give and see/manage their giving, the ability to view and print their own statements. We also appreciated other features such as check-in and pathways. The accounting module made the entire process so much easier the placement of the modules and ease of use, the ability to track giving using the dashboard as well as attendance and membership. The transition was easy we discussed the modules we needed and what information to transition and the representatives did everything else. It was a very seamless transition.

Aspetti negativi:

Currently, there is not a lot that is disliked about this product, but there is always room for improvement, there are some additional features I would love to see in the accounting module that allows for even more ease of use. I have submitted those ideas and so far one of them has happened and they are working on the other.

Engagement/ministry portion of software only

Commenti: While I am disappointed in its current messaging/ministry/engagement portion I cannot speak to the entire program. Since it is touted as a software that addresses all these church needs, I find it lacking on the ministry side. It seems more like this was added on rather than being an integral and integrated portion. My hope and expectation is that this capability will improve with time as the concept of a single system is very much needed.

Aspetti positivi:

The most favorable thing about this software is it intended as a single system for Church Management as well as ministry and group support. From the promotional videos it appears there is a very dynamic and interactive church management portion of the software to which I do not have access.

Aspetti negativi:

I can only comment on the ministry portion since I am not church staff and have no access to that portion. As an end user involved in leadership of several different ministries I was looking for this part of the program to be user friendly, attractive and engaging output, and easy to communicate and interact with group members. In its current format it does not support this type of need. It is a good membership listing but offers no analytics or graphical capabilities to the end user and really no ability to interact with the church. A standard e-mail system, which it should replace, is much more functional. The architecture of this portion of the software is very simplistic but not very simple. Finding where you need to go is difficult and getting back to where you previously were is equally difficult. There is a chat portion which is a nice idea but it tends to draw the user away from the program. The event posting has an RSVP but you can’t see all the names of those responding, only 1 or 2, and then the number of responders. There is minimal text formatting available. You can’t change font. or sizes, no bullet or number list, no centering. You can send a picture but it must be at bottom of message and will not accept a link. You can copy and paste but not pictures. You cannot change coloring of fonts or background.

Excellent Support System

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

Aspetti positivi:

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!

Aspetti negativi:

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

A decent web-based database

Commenti: The customer service has been good, and their demo was reasonably well done, though their app crashed for their employee multiple times. I asked some tough questions about features that they said they were still building, and they admitted that they really couldn't compete with planning center in terms of a service planning module, but other things seem pretty good. My preference would have been Planning Center overall, but our finance people pushed us towards Realm because of some of the options on that side, so I'm living with it and trying to figure out how to manage my volunteers and services in planning center while keeping our main database and pathways on Realm. It's not ideal, but Realm doesn't seem bad per say. One oddity was that Realm's marketing pitch included the fact that they were a family business. I love families, but "family business" to me is a point against when I'm dealing with a software development company - as a user I want excellence of design and programming with great customer service, not friendly staff who are also designing software. That being said, we haven't had any significant issues or feature limitations yet!

Aspetti positivi:

Because we were previously on ACS, it was easy to import previous data. The online interface is much friendlier than the old version, and it generally has good features and capabilities, but as with any database/CRM, it's all in how you set it up and implement use. Overall, it's a solid choice.

Aspetti negativi:

Being a Planning Center Services user who's dabbled in other Planning Center products, I prefer the integration and user interface of planning center. Overall Realm feels more PC than Mac - sturdy, but not as pretty and at times a bit frustrating with the number of clicks you need to do to get to where you want to go. It's functional, but it feels like it'll take longer for people to learn how to set things up and do things properly, which will impede good rollout and ultimately depth of functionality because of that.

Realm is a good church database

Commenti: Overall Realm is a good a product. It was first rolled out to small churches and it shows that. It seems that the programmers and decision makers still look at the small churches instead of larger churches when adding features.

Aspetti positivi:

It is a communication tool as well as a database. They keep improving Realm. Ease of finding duplicate entries. Customer support is the best in the industry.

Aspetti negativi:

There are many features that larger churches need to use the software the best and Realm does not seem to be in any hurry to provide those features. They make larger churches figure out work arounds which is never good. Difficult to get the needed reports for our auditor each year. Contributions is not done by the best practices for debits and credits. They line through entries when a charge back is made at the bank instead doing a debit, which shows a money trail for audit purposes.

REALM is Easy

Commenti: We enjoy the products ability for us to track giving, children/youth that are registered to track for attendance. We track worship service attendance that is required by our Diocese and of course giving is imperative and the system allows us to do this an efficient matter.

Aspetti positivi:

The best part of the feature that all religious institutions could benefit from is the giving module. The online giving is very easy and user friendly and processing of the gifts is very easy for the administrators of the church. We recently rolled out groups and have a BETA group using it. They are very excited about the capabilities and have added their own members and published documents for them to use and communicate. We use the product for event registration and that process has been easy as well, it is intuitive and provides a lot of options for tailoring to particular event needs.

Aspetti negativi:

Currently the serving module needs to be built out more for us to fully utilize it. We are trying to avoid having the serving team send emails back and forth about coverage and needs. We also would like more customizable features when it comes to background color and newsletter type communications.

St. Andrew Realm Review

Commenti: We all enjoy Realm and what it can do for us and our church. We do not use the Financial piece, but hope to someday in the future.

Aspetti positivi:

This software is now used by our entire staff. We all speak Realm language and we keep our teams trained.

Aspetti negativi:

Probably how some of the reporting exports are not all the same. The opportunity to expand on queries and customize downloadable data would be great. Another thing is that there isn't a calendaring program that replaces Facility Scheduler. To have this all in one place would be good.

Strong Software in a Frustrating Box

Commenti: Compared to our previous ChMS, Realm is very good, and the frustrations are surpassed by a solid experience and feature set.

Aspetti positivi:

Realm does almost anything you would need a church management software suite to do, and does it well: tracking attendance, giving, financial transactions; keeping family and sacramental records; providing good communications and volunteer coordination features. It even integrates with ConstantContact and the web interface is intuitive and keeps improving.

Aspetti negativi:

Realm does so much so well--but it isn't good at anything out of the box. For instance, each household in Realm must have a "head of household" --an antiquated notion of family dynamics that isn't necessary. The structure of reports--and what reports are available by default--are limited and can be frustratingly to customize on the fly.

Glad we chose Realm

Commenti: Getting used to a new system is never easy, but with use I'm very comfortable with Realm. The reporting is very helpful, and managing the data is pretty straight forward.

Aspetti positivi:

We haven't encountered any glitches in Realm. It works as it is supposed to. Once you get used to how things work in Realm, it's easy to use.

Aspetti negativi:

There are features I requested be added to Realm. These requests have not been acted upon.

Good option for Church management and Community building

Commenti: It has been a good experience so far. Helped us manage the church much better than before.

Aspetti positivi:

One window church management tool that brings all aspects of church life together -- well almost all.

Aspetti negativi:

Sometimes confusing for users when it comes to privacy management and notifications.

Church Membership Projects and Sacraments

Commenti: I work on our membership records, groups, the Realm app, events, registrations, classes, and even meals. I able to schedule all of these in Realm and push them out to a congregation of over 4,000 with relative ease.
As a communications tool for a large congregation, Realm is our software of choice.

Aspetti positivi:

I like that, when used properly, Realm allows us to create profiles and provide a 360-degree story of a member's engagement with our church. Births, baptisms, marriages, deaths are dome of the events that we need to tell a member's story. Using the attachment feature allows us to attach all letters, documents, certificates, an communications that allow us to tell these stories. Realm allows us the option to digitally replicate the traditional church records and ledgers that we keep. It allows all of these documents to be easily accessed by out staff. We also find that Realm is critical to our mission when we are preparing for our annual Charge Conference. Being able to pull reports and statistics through setting up custom queries is critical to this mission. I also like that we can add specific attributes, roles, and committee descriptions that apply to the life and the ministries of our church. I taken on a project of digitizing decades of church records and documents and connecting them to member profiles. I would never have been able to accomplish this with such ease and accuracy if I did not have Realm as my primary software.

Aspetti negativi:

There is an occasional hiccup where we receive error messages, such as "504 Gateway Timeout" or "Internal Error." These are usually easily resolved when we contact the service center.

Great product and support!

Commenti: This product is not as robust as some of the other big products out there, but it has almost everything you need to get the job done. Many organizations do not need or want all the bells and whistles that those products have, nor the cost they come with. Realm manages people and their contributions with ease. It has the ability to use groups to track attendance and facilitate communication among the groups/ministries of the church. The customization fields allow for tracking needs specific to individual ministries as well. For attendance, there is a check in system that can be utilized that can be set up to provide security labels for children's ministry. It can also be used to check in for Sunday School or other events as well. This is tied to the attendance so that if the check in is utilized, the support staff/volunteer posting of attendance is reduced as well. Then you have the support. If you ever run into a question or issue, there are wikis to help you along. The wikis are not just a long list of stuff, but are set up so that when you click the "?" button, it opens the wiki that is specific to the page you are on, so no more searching for what you need in a long list. If that doesn't help, you always have the support team standing by so you can call and get assistance as well. They are always ready to serve and never talk down to you because you ask a "dumb" question.

Aspetti positivi:

I like that the software developers take the time to listen to the users and frequently upgrade the software with features that users need, not what they think we should have. The UI is intuitive and easy to use. The wikis are robust and use lots of pictures so there is not confusion as to what needs to be done. The support team in knowledgeable.

Aspetti negativi:

The search engine is not as robust as some other products, but that is improving as the product develops.

Chapel in the Pines Review

Commenti: Overall our church and it's members enjoy using Realm. We just got it in 2017 so don't have a lot of experience with it. I do think the communication functions will be a big help to us. Your support staff has always been very professional and friendly. I think in 5 years we will be using it as our main communications tool.

Aspetti positivi:

The cost is probably the best feature for us as a small church. It also allows our members and friends to donate an online gift and have it immediately posted to the member's statement. It is also very user friendly.

Aspetti negativi:

When creating the photo directory with family information, there is no "refer to" for couples who have different last names (i.e., Bob Warren and Karen Fisher, Nathan Kotecki and Garrett Southerland). Access ACS had that feature. When creating a .pdf file of the directory, there is no way to password protect it without running it through a different program. Access ACS had that feature. In the photo directory, there is no way to flag various people (like ordained minister, staff, non-member friend, etc.) The .pdf document created is static, not dynamic (in other words, you can't click on an email address and go straight to an email, nor can you cut and paste phone numbers, addresses, etc.) The mobile app for Realm Connect opens automatically to the "news" feed. Since we don't use the news feed, people who are using the app to get contact information do not easily find that information. It would help if we could choose which feature Realm Connect opens with.

Probably Will Go with Realm

Commenti: We are comparing PowerChurch, Servant Keeper and Realm. Of the three, Realm is the most robust, organized and simplest to jump right in without a lot of training. We can track records in our Adult Spiritual Education program. We can track visitor outreach. We can track attendance collectively and individually. Gift entry is awesome! You must enter a batch first, meaning the full dollar amount of your deposit; then you enter individual gifts against that dollar amount. If the final figures do not match, you know immediately that you have a data entry error. Can't tell you how much I love this feature! Also, they have a super robust wiki site that explains every facet of their software. The info is broken down into bite-sized, easily digestible chunks. It is presented through a combo of pictures, videos, and text. Very well laid out; easy to navigate. I found things in the free demo that made no sense to me. The help button to me to the wiki site where I was able to easily get my question answered. I rarely use the help on other software programs because it's confusing and not worth the effort. By contrast, I spent over an hour each with the folks from PowerChurch and Servant Keeper to get help making sense of their software. All 3 solutions are highly customizable. But, Realm is the most organized. For example, our education program includes 2-3 years of classes. I need to track students through classes and know when they've finished. Both PowerChurch and Servant Keeper allow me to create a customized tracking system. But each makes use of multiple screens that take some effort to navigate between. Because this info is entered periodically (not daily), I'm concerned my volunteers will need to retrained every time they use it. Realm offers a solution where everything is on one screen. No complicated navigation. Can't guarantee a volunteer won't need retraining, but they'll only have one thing to learn and remember with Realm. It's the right price point for a church of our size. The ONLY reason for the 4-stars overall is that the accounting module is extra and I cannot find the cost for it ANYWHERE on their site. Very frustrating! Also Realm does not integrate with MailChimp. Just Constant Contact (my least favorite email solution). If it weren't for the data conversion, we'd be able to get started for under $200! You can't beat that kind of value. The only reason we wouldn't go with Realm is that I get outvoted. :)

Great for churches!

Aspetti positivi:

Sending messages quick, keeping reach of giving for management stand point and being able to have one location for everything you need.

Aspetti negativi:

Initially setting this up was a little of a hassle from when we migrated. But the customer support was super amazing and helped so much!

Realm Review

Commenti: Great experience overall with Realm. No issues with the program or the customer service. When there have been issues with the program, the Realm teams have fixed them. The issue of nursery, classes, etc. check in does not effect my experience with Realm. I know they are working on getting that particular area upgraded for their cliental.

Aspetti positivi:

Transferring data and setting up new procedures to Realm was easy. It has made a huge impact on the time I spend working on the accounting and people side for our church. Transferring to Realm was a huge benefit to not only me as the administrator of the church but to our members and visitors.

Aspetti negativi:

Realm does offering a check in system for nursery, classes, etc. but not user friendly. Set up is difficult and requires to many devices to work. Currently we are using another system that only requires a tablet and wireless printer.

Realm is AWESOME!!!

Commenti: It has been great!! The support staff is unbelievable people are using it for group communications as intended.

Aspetti positivi:

I love the way Realm integrates our membership database, grouping, and tracking with a social media type of platform. Actually allows our members to use it for effective communication! It is ground-breaking and we love it!!

Aspetti negativi:

I wish the financial software was capable of handling our book-keeping needs, but thankfully, we are still able to use ACS Financials for that.

Using Realm for People and Accounting

Commenti: I have been using Realm to manage people (contributions, attendance, etc.) for about 8 months. I have also had the privilege to be a part of the pilot program for Realm Accounting. People management is very straightforward. Accounting process will be very familiar for existing ACS Financial Suite users. Chart of Accounts structure is a bit different, but I like the use of Account Codes (core accounts) that are available across funds. Accounting might be a little too strong for one-person office environments, especially those accustomed to QuickBooks functionality. ACS partners with Vanco for processing gifts and registration payments. Vanco is great to work with. Together, they have just launched text giving for Realm.

Aspetti positivi:

I've been able to successfully check-in people from Windows tablet and have labels waiting at the check-in station (label printer shared from another Windows computer). I like being able to verify attendance with a tablet during service. Text giving in Realm is included with online giving. Dashboards readily available and can be customized for Giving, Attendance, and Involvement. Plus the Overview can provide quick insights to your database.

Aspetti negativi:

Built-in reports have a ways to go.

I'm not a fan of Realm

Commenti: I'm not pleased with the inadequacy of the software. It's very basic and does not run reports that the Vestry and Clergy need. I find myself having to merge several excel spreadsheets to get the info I need for email merges, etc.

Aspetti positivi:

I was not part of the integration and am having a hard time find something positive to say about Realm. It's unsophisticated as far as software goes, the reporting system is very simple and the results are inconsistent and I often find unexplainable errors.

Aspetti negativi:

When running queries, I would LOVE it to be more complex. You cannot run a giving query and get email addresses. Also, i've noticed households in queries when they dont match the criteria - I find a lot of mistakes.

Poor

Aspetti positivi:

To be all honest the only feature I like about this software is that multiple users can be logged in at once and users with a login can see the same info another person can see.

Aspetti negativi:

I don't think there's anything I like with this software. I get errors all the time and then I continually have to contact support.

Realm makes managing church finance and events easy!

Commenti: Realm helps us accomplish many of the basic tasks of running our office from a financial and people management perspective.

Aspetti positivi:

The best qualities of Realm allow us to easily track donor gifts and create registration events to which congregation members can RSVP and pay.

Aspetti negativi:

There are occasionally things that are not intuitive and require a call into Realm/ACS for help. The help line does almost always get us a quick answer and help us with our concerns.

Great Company, Great Value!

Aspetti positivi:

We have used ACS products for nearly 10 years and are so happy to leave behind the painful inhouse and shrinkwrapped systems we used to use. Our Realm Consultant is super knowledgeable and helped us determine the best processes,practices and scope for our ministry needs. Support is always available and super helpful. ACS is a true pleasure to work with.

Aspetti negativi:

The Realm team is working on a couple of functions that are important to our operations. They have released weekly enhancements and are quick with workaround solutions. They release enhancements weekly and seamlessly.

Realm Review

Commenti: Overall, I like the program and feel it is easy to use. But, there are several things that could be improved. Some things were easier in ACS.

Aspetti positivi:

Realm is easy to learn how to work it. The videos and instructions provided are very helpful, as well.

Aspetti negativi:

I do not like having to create payroll from scratch and making adjustments for prior payrolls. it is hard to do payroll for two checking accounts, because options are needed to make correct entries. I have to make adjusting entries to correct it after every payroll.

Realm Changed the Way we do Ministry

Commenti: Very positive and the best tech support I have every worked with. If they don't know an answer, they find it and get back to you quickly.

Aspetti positivi:

We have been thrilled with Realm and the communication tool it has provided us. Our groups and members are more connected than they have ever been. Elderly people who are home-bound can stay connected to their church and their groups. It has communication features similar to Facebook so congregants to realize it is a database that staff find very useful. The Pathways feature keeps us on track with visitors, baptisms and confirmation steps. Love it!

Aspetti negativi:

Enhancements to Realm come often but there are still developments that need to come faster.