Tips & Best Practices

Overview

A few suggestions to help your church get the most out of Church Genius Pro.

For administrators

• Set up your accounting categories before recording the first contribution. It saves cleanup later.
• Use the standard roles where possible. Only customise permissions for users who need an exception.
• Schedule recurring reminders for birthdays and anniversaries — small touches that members notice.
• Run the Tax Report in January and email statements to every giving member.
• Keep your member directory clean by marking inactive members as "Inactive" rather than deleting — you preserve history.

For pastors and ministry leaders

• Use Follow-Ups to track new visitors. A well-timed phone call dramatically improves visitor-to-member conversion.
• When assigning prayer requests, add a closing note when the request is answered. Members love seeing how God moved.
• Build your event volunteer roster from existing members where possible — they're already in the directory and easy to reach.
• Preview every email before sending. Typos and broken links are the most common feedback complaint.

For accountants

• Record contributions weekly, not monthly. Members notice incorrect totals on their statements.
• Attach receipts to expenses immediately. Searching for them later is painful.
• Reconcile online donations with Stripe payouts monthly using the Transaction Report.
• Use Pledge Campaigns for any fundraising drive — donors love seeing the progress bar.

For members

• Set up recurring online giving and forget about writing checks.
• Update your contact info whenever you move or change phones — keeps the directory accurate.
• Customise your Dashboard so the things you care about are at the top.
• Subscribe to push notifications so you don't miss events.

For everyone

• Always log out on a shared device.
• Use a strong password and don't share it.
• If a feature doesn't work the way you expect, check with your administrator — you may not have the required permission.