Realm

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

Aspetti positivi:

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.

Aspetti negativi:

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!

MY REALM EVALUATION

Commenti: WE ENJOY REALM OVER THE ACS PEOPLE SUITE

Aspetti positivi:

WE LOVE THAT ONLINE DONATIONS POST DIRECTLY TO CONTRIBUTOR'S ACCOUNTS

Aspetti negativi:

TAKES ME A WHILE TO FIGURE OUT SOME REPORTING FEATURES. ALSO CANNOT HAVE MORE THAN ONE GIVING DATABASE

Serious Gaps

Commenti: 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.

Aspetti positivi:

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

Aspetti negativi:

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

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.

Onrealm Feedback

Commenti: Overall, positive! We have used realm for 7 or 8 years and are satisfied.

Aspetti positivi:

Organization and efficiency is important to us and this helped with both.

Aspetti negativi:

The usability for our congregation. It was difficult to engage the whole congregation. People did not want another app.

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.

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.

Good product and always improving

Commenti: Tech support is very helpful if you just need basic help in making something work. They don't seem to know the "big picture" to make suggestions or improvements on what you are asking. However their developers are very accessible, so I like that I can reach someone else with a question or when I need guidance on setting up something.

Aspetti positivi:

It is very user-friendly and easy to train new employees on it. Being a new product, they are constantly updating and improving on the features. It was developed from years of software experience, so it is very relevant in everyday church use.

Aspetti negativi:

Several of the newer releases address needs we've been asking for, but they are done in a somewhat complicated way. It addresses the need, but not as directly and simply as I would like. I feel like they need to take a step back from some new features and refine and improve what they currently offer.

Realm Is The Best Database

Commenti: I was responsible for rolling out Realm to my church. The training we received was great and the support resource materials helped out a lot. Unfortunately, my budget and team was super small, so it didn't go as well as I would have liked. Many of the congregants are very resistant. I use Realm for taking attendance weekly and I maintain the directory. I am also responsible for all training. Everything is really easy to work with except the congregation themselves.

Aspetti positivi:

I've worked with many databases in the past, including helping to build them from the end user point of view, and Realm is the best I've used. It is very flexible and user friendly. The Help feature is really helpful and the rare times I've had to contact customer service, they've been super friendly and very knowledgeable. I love using Realm!

Aspetti negativi:

My biggest complaint is that I have some members in my groups that do not receive the Realm emails when I send them out. I've called customer service a couple of times and have been directed to look for the emails in Spam, but that is not always the problem. I don't understand why some emails don't get received.

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.

Highly Recommend

Commenti: Overall, it has been exceptional! I would highly recommend!

Aspetti positivi:

Realm is user friendly and if there is something that I can't figure out, the customer support is amazing!

Aspetti negativi:

Integration with ACS would be helpful. I haven't used the Accounting feature however, I was told that everything would go to Accounting and ACS would phase out. I haven't heard good things about the Accounting option and the fact that ACS hasn't been phased out, makes me leery of that option.

Realm, it's all you need!

Commenti: Keeping track of our members and finances in one place, anytime and where is a blessing. Realm allows us to stay connected and during this pandemic we have realized how valuable this software is. I use this product everyday, to enter information or just to make a phone call to a member through the app and most of all to check the news feed and comments from our members. So in short a great feature has been checking in our members for Sunday Service to contact trace has been a breeze.

Aspetti positivi:

This software is so useful no matter where you are, in the office, at home or even on vacation. Staying connected is a breeze getting work done or just to keep up with the church news feed, checking the events calendar and so much more. As a leader running reports and entering information can be done from anywhere. I highly recommend Realm.

Aspetti negativi:

We transferred from ACS OnDemand to Realm and it's been only an improvement. I have not started using the Serving feature just different groups. All are needs are accomplished so far. So I honestly can say I don't have any dislikes except one report we ran in OnDemand is not the same in Realm (Account Inquiry Detail (Filtered).

Realm Church Management Software

Commenti: I found it easy to use with so many functions and personalized capabilities. Customer support is always friendly and very helpful!

Aspetti positivi:

I love using the Event Registration--it allows us to put all the info for an event in one place, allows people to register and pay online, go back later to review details, allows us to email registrants for updates and reminders.

Aspetti negativi:

There seems to be a learning curve for member use--I think we need more consistant training & reminders of how useful it can be.

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 a Great Product!

Commenti: Overall, I like working with Realm (and ACS OnDemand). I do not take new clients that do not have or won't (can't) switch to ACS Realm or OnDemand. I do not work with any other church software.

Aspetti positivi:

I started using Realm for Contributions when it first came out. I got an overview with a sales rep for about 15 minutes and was able to move forward with setup and use. I love that events and online giving are integrated into Giving and I don't have to guess who gave or enter from another source.

Aspetti negativi:

Queries are not the easiest. Sometimes I need a report for a fund with memos because the memos tell me how much of Outreach is for Shoebox Postage. I was able to get something, but it was a round about way.

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.

Ease of use

Aspetti positivi:

I have always loved how easy it is to use & figure out. In the 7 years I've used, I've loved the integration with other apps/companies.

Aspetti negativi:

Might be getting to be too much. There is a lot of new stuff and I'm just one person. I can't get to it all.

Beware

Commenti: Not good. But because we have been so enmeshed with them since the ACS days they really have us locked in. our financials are tied to them and they know that and seem like they do't place our requests on anything but the lowest level.

Aspetti positivi:

This software is average at best. They sold us because they are the biggest player in the market. They promised that this tech was market ready when we came online and to this day we still have "trouble tickets" in que....3 years later. They said this was going to be like facebook for your church...people already have facebook - they dont want another.

Aspetti negativi:

They always seem to forget to included the final important details. Example - they told us that the online giving link allows people to make their offering without having to sign into their realm account (because all of the information is taken through the credit card anyway)...they failed to add the detail that if people regularly give a recurring donation you actually have to sign in to your account. They didn't tell or add that to their link. Sp now we have to double back and send an email to the recurring givers. Just poor form

Realm is very user friendly and the customer service representatives are very helpful.

Aspetti positivi:

We have had Realm for 3 years and seen the software improve a lot over that time. I am very impressed at their constant ingenuity to continue developing the product to meet customer needs. We love the check-in platform which is extremely simple to use.. even better now with customizable badges! We have met with the Realm team several times regarding various new program updates. The team would show us a sample of a new concept and ask for our feedback. It was fun to be a part of new innovation and it was especially exciting when we saw our suggestions implemented in the software.

Aspetti negativi:

Realm does not interact with our Planning Center Services account or our Resources calendar. Because of this, we have to duplicate information and ultimately manage 2 databases of people (PCO and Realm). This hasn't been a major issue but it would be nice if profiles that were updated in Realm would be automatically updated in PCO. Also, our small group leaders have found the mobile app to be limited in its functionality. Understandably, the app has less features than the web version but it would be really nice if, for example, a small group leader could add a new guest from the mobile app.

Get everything you need upfront

Commenti: I was satisfied even though I was not using everything Realm had to offer. I was offered a different program from another company. As a long time customer of Realm I wanted to see if they could offer us the same or more. I called and could not get a real person. I left a voicemail and someone called me back. However, she called in the middle of a meeting, I asked her to call me back in two hours and she acted like it was a problem. She actually didn’t call me back!! Well she did....in about a week and a half! I had switched by then!

Aspetti positivi:

The software is great for keeping records of donations and contributions. Also, it helps to track members attendance and giving.

Aspetti negativi:

It is not very user friendly, so many members didn’t utilize it. You have to search the help menu to find what you are looking for and it is not very easy to find it.

Realm is Great!

Commenti: We have been able to run much better reports for our Executive Committees and we absolutely love the dashboard feature!

Aspetti positivi:

I like that Realm is very user friendly. Also, if there is a problem I cannot solve, the helpdesk is super easy to contact, right from the app, and they are always very knowledgeable and helpful.

Aspetti negativi:

There may be a couple of features that would be helpful to add, i.e. being able to run a report from the pending page of online batches to see what was given on Sunday during the worship service, but nothing major. I haven't found any difficult aspects in using Realm. They have a great help section and videos to show you how to perform certain tasks. The integration for membership was outstanding, because Realm was able to pull our membership in from our previous software. The accounting side was a major task because we had to do it ourselves, but we're working with it and are satisfied.

The BEST Church Management Software Around!

Commenti: Our church started using Realm over a year ago. It is a wonderful software that provides great functionality, real-time data, and it's user friendly! Information is always just a couple clicks away and we delight in how well our members have received it! Using Realm has freed staff from spending great amounts of times trying to assemble reports because the data is already there. This allows them to focus on other, more important people and ministry driven tasks. One of the best features is the online giving! We're able to offer quick, easy, and secure online giving to our church members and even church visitors (plus TEXT GIVING)!! We are always amazed at how the ACS developers are constantly improving Realm. They take our input and suggestions of how the product can be even better, which is nice since we are the ones out in the real world using the software. We have a voice! Their customer service and support are without fail fantastic!
Overall, Realm is just a really great product and we would recommend it to others without hesitation. It certainly allows us to work smarter, not harder, and it gives us the tools we need to run our amazing church! Thanks Realm!

Aspetti positivi:

Everything

Aspetti negativi:

Nothing really!

An excellent tool to keep information and coordinate topics and events with your church

Commenti: I love being able to keep our members together on one place, look them up, and send them messages. It's easy to keep everything going on at the church together. I use it for events, for pathways, and to send messages to people. I was in charge of children's ministry until recently and the check-in was great!

Aspetti positivi:

- Messages and Topics are available as push notifications from the app - Huge improvements from it's predecessor program, The City - For larger churches, easy searches focusing on specific members or parameters - Giving to a church is easy - The Kids Check-In is initiative and easy to pick up for parents - Easy to create events that require registration and payment

Aspetti negativi:

- There is a learning curve for the average user - There is a time lag between messages sent via laptop/desktop and the app - The larger the church, and the more you use Realm, you will need to dedicate a significant amount of time to the software to keep it humming.

Great church management software

Commenti: I have loved using Realm, it's easy to use, the report feature is crucial and it is reasonably priced.

Aspetti positivi:

Our congregation loves the online giving feature, the directory and the communication tools.

Aspetti negativi:

Not all of our congregation members were able to find the communications easy to use.

Great ChMS

Commenti: Realm has allowed us to move away from a printed directory and allow all to have access to communicate with one another. It also allows members the ability to check their giving records at their convenience.

Aspetti positivi:

Easy to use for members and staff; cloud-based means you can access it from anywhere! We are still growing into attendance and check-in functions but look forward to using them.

Aspetti negativi:

Easier group functions could be useful! When we first transitioned they didn't have payroll so we aren't currently using Realm Financials.