Thank you for considering ParishSOFT as your next software company! We assure you that we
will do everything we can to help you make the move to ParishSOFT with as little disruption to
your parish as possible. We are actively working with James Youngblood with Cornerstone
Software to ensure that the transition from Cornerstone is as smooth as possible.
This guide provides important information regarding ParishSOFT software and services, along
with tips for making a successful transition from Cornerstone Software. It provides specific
information comparing Cornerstone with ParishSOFT and a Question and Answer section.
You Should Feel Very Comfortable with
ParishSOFT
Like Cornerstone, ParishSOFT was designed for Catholic
parishes. You will find ParishSOFT to be a comprehensive,
yet easy-to-use program. ParishSOFT takes advantage of
the latest technology to provide you maximum timesavings and opportunities to improve communications and
collaboration with staff and parishioners.
Many former Cornerstone Software customers have
already switched to ParishSOFT, and they have found
ParishSOFT to be easier to use and more comprehensive.
They receive improved technical support and consistent
updates that keep making the program even better.
We are confident that you will quickly become proficient
with ParishSOFT. You will join other former Cornerstone
Software customers in streamlining your operations,
increasing stewardship, fostering collaboration and
improving communication.
We switched last year from
Cornerstone and we couldn't be
happier! ParishSOFT is just better
because it is easier to use and
learn, while giving us many more
capabilities. Support is much more
responsive. It is easier to create
reports because there are fewer
steps. Everything is carried over
from one program to the next,
saving us hours of data entry time.
We can also enter our
contributions much faster. Finally,
we were pleasantly surprised with
the accuracy and turnaround of
the data conversion.
Eileen McGuire
St Joseph Parish • East Rutherford, NJ
ParishSOFT Software
Choose from any or all of these modules:
• Family Directory – for maintaining a complete and up-todate census and membership information on your entire
parish. Also maintains a comprehensive sacramental
registry. All other modules use this central database to
guarantee that all of your parish offices can have the same
information for each family and member.
• Offering & Pledges – will help you completely organize
your parish income including contributions, payments, and
pledges. Will transfer data directly to ParishSOFT Ledger
or Quickbooks®.
“We are a former Cornerstone
Customer. ParishSOFT has gone over
and above our original expectations
for software like this. Reports are
more informative, explicit, and
accurate. They are also easier to read.
The teletraining is very helpful, and
we could do it in the convenience of
our own church office.
Denise Patella,
Church of the Visitation• Osbornville, NJ
• Electronic Giving – use this with your Offering module to automate your process for
collecting funds and posting transactions.
• Time & Talent – to create and manage your ministry groups, volunteers and liturgical
schedules with ease. You can even post your liturgical minister schedule to your website.
• Religious Education & Tuition – to manage all phases of your Religious Education and K-8
School programs, from registration and scheduling to sacramental certificates and reports.
• ParishSOFT Mailroom: CASS – will provide you immediate savings on mailing costs by
verifying mailing addresses with the national database provided by the US Post Office and
preparing applicable labels and forms.
• Ledger & Payables – used for managing vendors, printing checks, generating financial
statements and specific department reporting. Includes secure audit trails.
• Payroll – uses easy, visual steps to walk you through each part of the payroll cycle. Data entry
is streamlined, while benefits and deductions are tracked automatically. Check printing and
direct deposits are simple and foolproof.
• Web Solutions – this FREE service includes your own website, parish calendar, facility
scheduler, email, and remote backup. Check yours at www.parishesonline.com.
• MyOwnParish.com – this exciting new web product lets parishioners view and update family
and member details, like name, address, and birth date information--online! Information is sent
to parish staff for approval before actual updates are made to the database. Soon, they will be
able to make contributions and pay fees online, register for religious education and other
classes and events.
Our software can be requested by calling us at 866-930-4774 x131, or please visit
www.parishsoft.com to arrange for a free guided tour or view the product videos.
ParishSOFT and Cornerstone – A comparison
What you will receive with ParishSOFT that wasn’t available with Cornerstone:
Web Services
• Free website, hosting, email, church calendar, facility scheduler and more
• Free offsite, automatic backup of your data
• Post schedules to parish web calendar
Software Modules
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Seamless integration with Microsoft Word, Excel and Access
Mailmerge letters to anyone or any group
Easier to add, change or delete data
Add empty pledge records for all registered families
Easy to assign envelope #’s
Able to update information about students: knowledge, attitude, grade point, and milestones
Many more comprehensive reports and queries available
Enter full canonical detail for sacraments – ParishSOFT offers additional sacramental fields
for Holy Orders, Funeral/Cemetery and RCIA, can also lookup quickly in Official Catholic
Directory
Print professional quality sacramental certificates, and search an included national database for
parishes and contact information
Communicate with parish of baptism using the online Catholic Directory
Save on mailing costs with Parish Mailroom: CASS
ACH Electronic Giving (integrated with Offering & Pledges)
Integrated Ledger & Payables or Payroll programs
Schedule people more evenly with ParishSOFT’s Liturgical Scheduling
Quickly email reminders to ministers of upcoming assignments
Software modules are more closely integrated to reduce reentry of data
More defaults and automatic rollovers and updating to reduce data entry
Simplified reporting to your diocese
Track Safe Environment Program Compliance
Transfer offering or pledge information directly to Quickbooks or ParishSOFT Ledger
Services
• Complete printed documentation will be sent to you--Teletraining and User Guides
• Teletraining hands-on classes make it much easier to get trained and use more functionality in
the system
• Custom Query Library available on website
• Support call turnaround is much faster due to larger staff that is located in a single location
Data Conversion
We have worked closely with James Youngblood with Cornerstone Software to ensure your
conversion will be accurate and complete. You simply copy the Cornerstone database to a CD or
flash drive or you may copy/paste the database to our Conversions FTP Site.
To find your current database, please open your Cornerstone software, and you will find that the
path and name of your data file is listed at the top of the program. If you wish to submit data via
FTP, simple email [email protected] with Parish Name, City, and State and ask for
FTP instructions in the subject line. After we convert your data, we will send the converted data
back to you on CD. You do not have to wait for your converted data to start your TeleTraining.
We have converted data for thousands of parishes. You will have the most thorough data
conversion available because James Youngblood and his Cornerstone Staff has helped us to map
all the data fields in your database to ParishSOFT software. Our process includes:
1. Data mapping and translation of all Cornerstone Software Cornerstone fields to
ParishSOFT;
2. A thorough quality control process to clean, conform and normalize your data. For
example, we fix data to be the proper case, ensure consistent data formats, and add mailing
and tag names to your existing data; and
3. Help you to take advantage of additional ParishSOFT features not in the Cornerstone
Software through our conversion and translation process.
Special Pricing
If you will order ParishSOFT by July 31, 2007 or by the end of your paid support contract with
Cornerstone, you will receive the following special offer:
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40% discount off any ParishSOFT module(s)
50% discount off your data conversion from Cornerstone (you will pay just $500 for a full
census conversion, or pay just $250 for a Religious Ed only conversion)
Free TeleTraining classes for the first 90 days
Free Unlimited Support for your first year
Free product updates for the first year
Free networking and an unlimited number of users at no additional charge
Free Website, email, online calendar and facility scheduler, and remote backup
You will save hundreds of dollars by acting now, and ensure you will have continued technical
support after your Cornerstone Software support expires. You can enjoy peace of mind during this
next fiscal year (July 1, 2007 – June 30, 2008)!
To determine your pricing, find the number of active families in your parish in the grid on the next
page. Then subtract 40% to determine your price. For example, if you have 900 active families in
your parish, and you would like to purchase the Four ParishSOFT modules—Family Directory
(Census), Offering & Pledges, Time & Talent (Liturgical Scheduling), and Religious Education &
Tuition. Looking under the 999 column, the list price would be $3,000. Applying the special
Cornerstone discount of 40%, your total software price would be $1,800. Adding $500 to convert
your data, your software and services price would be $2,300. And remember, all ParishSOFT
software includes a 60-day, no questions asked, 100% money back guarantee.
ParishSOFT Software – List Price before Special Cornerstone Software Discount
Number of Families – Up To:
Family Directory
99
199
399
699
999
1,499
1,999
More*
$500
$600
$725
Offering & Pledges
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
125/1,000
Time & Talent
200
300
400
450
500
600
650
100/1,000
Religious Ed & Tuition
400
475
600
700
800
900
1,000
200/1,000
1,300 1,675
2,125
2,550
3,000
3,425
3,850
650/1,000
All of the above
(“Family Suite”)
$900 $1,100 $1,225 $1,400 $225/1,000
ACH Electronic Giving
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
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Mailroom (CASS) (annual)
100
100
100
150
200
275
350
150/1,000
Ledger & Payables
325
400
500
625
725
825
925
200/1,000
Payroll
325
400
500
625
725
825
925
200/1,000
Recommended Evaluation Process
Since you weren’t necessarily planning on changing software right now, we would like to help you
with your evaluation process. The following is our suggested course of action for Cornerstone
Software Customers to fully evaluate ParishSOFT:
1. Read this Transition Guide
2. Meet with your staff and pastor to determine additional software needs
3. View an online demo on the ParishSOFT website (www.parishsoft.com) by clicking on the
program you wish to view on the upper left section of our Home Page
4. Sign up for a Guided Tour held Wednesday’s at 2 p.m. EST or request your CD Demo
5. Call us with any questions
6. Ask us to provide you with the names of other ParishSOFT customers in your area
7. Place your order before July 31, 2007.
ParishSOFT: Questions and Answers
1. How long has ParishSOFT been around?
ParishSOFT was founded in 1998 by Deacon David Rosenberg
2. How many Catholic parishes use ParishSOFT?
2,564 in most U.S. (Arch)dioceses
3. How can I evaluate ParishSOFT?
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You can view an online demonstration at our website
You can signup for a Guided Tour held on Wednesday’s at 2pm ET or scheduled with a
Transition Specialist
You can request a CD Demo by contacting ParishSOFT at 866-930-4774 x1
You can ask to talk to other ParishSOFT users in your area
4. How do I reach ParishSOFT for support?
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Toll-free 866.930.4774 x2
Calls are handled on an incoming basis or, if necessary, responded to within 2 hours
5. What are your support hours, and can I email you my questions?
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9am – 7pm Eastern Time
ParishSOFT users can log onto the customer support section of the website anytime to
access Frequently Asked Questions, User Guides, Software Updates, and more
Email your questions to [email protected] anytime.
6. How can you provide support as well as someone who is located in my area?
We can actually provide higher quality support because our staff is devoted to supporting
ParishSOFT products 100% of the time, and they are available when you need support the
most. We also have all the tools and resources immediately available from the ParishSOFT
Development and Product Management teams. James Youngblood is also now part of
ParishSOFT.
7. What tools do you have to help me learn ParishSOFT quickly?
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Free TeleTraining classes – see www.parishsoft.com/training for schedule
TeleTraining is hands-on, in the convenience of your own office
You receive a complete set of User and TeleTraining Guides
Customer Support on our website has FAQs, Software Updates, Query Library, User
Discussion Forums, and more
Call or email us your questions
8. Does ParishSOFT allow our parishioners to access and update their information via the web?
Yes, coming later in this year, is our MyOwnParish.com. This new module will allow
Parishioners to login in via the Web and view/update their information. Soon, they will be able
to make contributions, pay fees, register for religious education and other classes and events
online.
9. Why should I choose ParishSOFT?
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Because we provide top quality software and responsive, knowledgeable support.
We are 100% devoted to serving the Catholic Community and provide the best
management software for the Catholic Church
We serve thousands of satisfied Catholic parishes all across the U.S.
You will receive the most accurate data conversion
ParishSOFT is the new leader in Catholic Management Software. More parishes have
purchased ParishSOFT in the last four years than from any other software provider!
We offer a 100%, no questions asked, money-back guarantee.
For More Information,
Contact a ParishSOFT Transition Specialist at 866.930.4774 x1.