ACS

[Paul Jones]

ACS is the organization that currently provides us with a CRM of sorts, Accounting (i.e. Payroll, General Ledger, Accounts Payable/Receivable, Contributions Tracking), and Resource Planning/Scheduling applications. I am currently looking into moving the entire solution to a SAAS platform which means they would house all this data on their site. I am waiting on a quote from them now but the tentative figures are this:

Existing service (hosted on our server) $263/month

SAAS option (with 5000 records and only 5 users) $384/Month + a one time installation fee of $1542

Clearly the SAAS service is more expensive but if we go with the Google option can we afford to get rid of All Covered (our current server maintenance company) and still do business as before with the ACS data housed on the server? What are the pitfalls here? Please help me wrap my brain around this.

Kind Regards,

Paul

[chrisscheels]

I like the idea, SaaS is a powerful SMB tool, but i think the budget needs to be looked at wholistically including telecom. it may be worth the extra expense or it might be better to use the extra expense to run it on an IaaS service, with full server support and never have to worry about spending $10,000 on a new server, OS, software, etc).

Off the top of my head:
monthly recurring charges
telecom (often a source of savings)
ISP
IT support
web hosting
support and helpdesk
hardware maintenance and warranty
software maintanance
hardware capex needs
software capex neeeds
consumables (toner, paper, backup tapes, etc)
hardware vendors
software / application vendor support (ACS, quickbooks)
proactive maintenance

[Paul Jones]

An illustration of how quickly things can change I have been looking into Power Church Online to replace ACS and in just this week we have been back an forth with is several times as a viable option so I wanted to expand this conversation to you guys.

Here is the link:

powerchurch.com/

This information should also be in the project plan that was sent to you.

I am going to need to develop a training program as Doug mentioned and the sooner I can over come the user acceptance issues the sooner we can begin the implementation (and essentially saving about $500/mo). I am currently asking several of the users to demo the program on their machines but I am not certain it is actually being done.

here are some emails I received regarding this service:

Hello, Paul,

All of the customer data is backed up and copied off site daily for disaster recovery purposes. We do encourage our online customers to make backups of their own, as the Backup & Restore utility in PowerChurch Plus is functional in PowerChurch Online. This allows you to have your own backup to restore if transactions were posted to the wrong month, or if a family was accidentally deleted. Our server backups are for disaster recovery only.

Thank you,

[Paul Jones]

Here is another email I received regarding the ACS Saas Option.

Paul Jones / McKendree UMC:



It was a pleasure speaking with you on the phone this week and thank you for using ACS Technologies for your church management software needs. I wanted to share with you additional information about our conversation.



Our software is utilized in one of two ways, the traditional desktop way (ex. Applications loaded on your pc/server – like at your church) OR via our web-hosted solution called OnDemand. Both methods utilize the same software, but the delivery or connection is different. With our OnDemand solution, you simply use a high-speed internet connection to use your software providing a variety of benefits and features including:

* Flexibility: Connect to your ACS applications WHEN & WHERE you want to via the Internet – 24 / 7 / 365.
* Backups: WE professionally back up your ACS data for you – daily / weekly / monthly.
* Security: We use the most up-to-date technology available to ensure your data is secure at all times.
* Updates / Enhancements: WE take care of this for you without you having to do this yourself.
* Mac compatible: Mac or PC . . . Both work great.
* Reduced IT costs: The need to maintain a file server for your applications is eliminated. WE host your applications on our server at our expense. (A server can cost many thousands of dollars to operate, maintain, and keep up-to-date.)

· Access ACS: This membership facing application is FREE when you choose our OnDemand solution and provides:

o The ability to give your church online access to member related information 24/7
o Small Group Management: allows staff & leaders to track members, their interests, how/where to connect, including their assignment to a group
o Leaders and staff can screen, setup, and schedule volunteers and events
o Members (and guests) can register for events and pay for them online
o Online giving and review – members can print their own statements!
o Leaders can mark attendance online
o Ability to view selected calendars and submit requests for rooms and equipment (requires Facility Scheduler module)
o Integration with other ACS Solutions
o Mobile phone connectivity available with applications suitable for iPhone, Windows Mobile, and Blackberry

Some restrictions may apply due to what software modules you have. Additional fees apply for online giving and online payments.



Click on the words in bold for links with additional information (CTRL + word):

Got less than 2 minutes? Here is a short video link describing OnDemand



WEBINAR recording on OnDemand & Access ACS: connectpro42951830.na5.acrobat.com/p87034167/

The first 30 minutes of this recording discuss how our web-hosted OnDemand service works. The last 60 minutes is devoted to our Access ACS module and gives you many examples of how you can utilize this product at your church. THIS IS GREAT INFORMATION!





Pricing Information For Our Web-Hosted, OnDemand Service – based on the following:

· Up to 5000 records in your database

· Up to 5 “named” user/logins (maximum number at the same time)

· Applications to be used: People, Contributions, Attendance, Connections, General Ledger, Payroll, Accounts Payable, Cass It, Reservations, upgrading Ministry Scheduler to Facility Scheduler (excludes Special Mailings and Church Growth Tools)

· Access ACS for free (with unlimited records)



$2042 minus $500 client discount = $1542 one-time setup and unlimited toll-free service/support at $384/month – as above

$1744 minus $500 client discount = $1244 one-time setup and unlimited toll-free service/support at $324/month – as above but without Reservations & Facility Scheduler

$1595 minus $500 client discount = $1095 one-time setup and unlimited toll-free service/support at $294/month – as above but without Reservations, Facility Scheduler, and Cass It



The support rates listed above do not include Extend (website) and are not in addition to your existing rates but would replace these (currently at $253/mth plus $79.95/mth for Extend/Website. Additional modules are approximately $149 each plus $20-30/mth for support each. Additional users are approximately + $25/mth and additional records (per 5000) + $15/mth





Online Giving / Payments can be added with Access ACS . . . . Click this link to learn more: Online Giving/Payments with Access

Pricing: $125 setup, $35/month hosting fee, $.20/transaction fee plus Merchant Account fees. We recommend SAGE as your Merchant Account provider, although this is not required. However, SAGE will work with our software for credit card transactions and with ACH/Electronic Check transactions.





Please let me know if you have any questions, or if I can be of any assistance to you.



Best regards,

Tim Heustess