shulcloud and other shul management systems: experiences & recommendations

[talmid chuchem]

as someone with experience with the needs of a shul in software, &  I understand some coding. I have spoken to a few online shul management systems.

Donary is on to something, but meanwhile its not prefect for s shul, so I wouldn't use them currently, they keep on telling me for the last half year that within the next few weeks its going to be useful for a shul, but meanwhile its not, once it is, I think it will be a very good option. Con is that they are very pricey for a shul that only needs it to manage a shul, they have a lot of features that maybe justify the price, but a shul doesn't need most of the features, so its not justified price for them.

I heard that banquest is working on a shul software/website that will be very decently priced, but i never spoke with them.

I have spoken with shulspace (bitbean) at length, a ton of features are missing, ifeel that they are very good, but seems like the are missing salt & pepper.

So meanwhile I'm still using an access based software, as I am not willing to switch to something that's not %100 useful for us, I'm not switching from 1 unuseful thing (the access DB) to another thing that's not useful (websites), once something will be prefect, I'll gelidly switch

[yesitsme]

as someone with experience with the needs of a shul in software, &  I understand some coding. I have spoken to a few online shul management systems.

Donary is on to something, but meanwhile its not prefect for s shul, so I wouldn't use them currently, they keep on telling me for the last half year that within the next few weeks its going to be useful for a shul, but meanwhile its not, once it is, I think it will be a very good option. Con is that they are very pricey for a shul that only needs it to manage a shul, they have a lot of features that maybe justify the price, but a shul doesn't need most of the features, so its not justified price for them.

I heard that banquest is working on a shul software/website that will be very decently priced, but i never spoke with them.

I have spoken with shulcloud at length, a ton of features are missing, ifeel that they are very good, but seems like the are missing salt & pepper.

So meanwhile I'm still using an access based software, as I am not willing to switch to something that's not %100 useful for us, I'm not switching from 1 unuseful thing (the access DB) to another thing that's not useful (websites), once something will be prefect, I'll gelidly switch

What software are you currently using?

[talmid chuchem]

What software are you currently using?

a custom access software

[talmid chuchem]

as someone with experience with the needs of a shul in software, &  I understand some coding. I have spoken to a few online shul management systems.

Donary is on to something, but meanwhile its not prefect for s shul, so I wouldn't use them currently, they keep on telling me for the last half year that within the next few weeks its going to be useful for a shul, but meanwhile its not, once it is, I think it will be a very good option. Con is that they are very pricey for a shul that only needs it to manage a shul, they have a lot of features that maybe justify the price, but a shul doesn't need most of the features, so its not justified price for them.

I heard that banquest is working on a shul software/website that will be very decently priced, but i never spoke with them.

I have spoken with shulspace (bitbean) at length, a ton of features are missing, ifeel that they are very good, but seems like the are missing salt & pepper.

So meanwhile I'm still using an access based software, as I am not willing to switch to something that's not %100 useful for us, I'm not switching from 1 unuseful thing (the access DB) to another thing that's not useful (websites), once something will be prefect, I'll gelidly switch

I updated my post, I Spoke to shulspace, not shul cloud. (shul cloud is to expensive for me)

[AsherO]

a custom access software

If it was written for your Shul, you might consider reselling it. Even if it isn’t perfect, if it works and is only a one-time cost, Shuls might be interested.

[yesitsme]

I updated my post, I Spoke to shulspace, not shul cloud. (shul cloud is to expensive for me)

I believe this is the issue most average shuls have, to small to pay for a good product

[AsherO]

I believe this is the issue most average shuls have, to small to pay for a good product

To say it differently, developing, maintaining, supporting, and hosting, the software needs of a small Shul is cost prohibitive.

Generally speaking with Frum clientele they’ll be very picky if they’re paying for something, will want it customized to the nth degree for every rare minhag practiced in their Shul, and expect endless customer service/tech support, all for the low price of $9.99/month.

[yuneeq]

I don’t know anything about shul software but looking at what shul cloud provides in terms of features, it doesn’t seem expensive at all. The amount of time saved should pay for itself many times over. And optimizing the invoicing/donation process will easily increase revenue as well.

ETA: A lower priced competitor would have to strip out a number of features to compete

[lcm]

Sounds like someone needs to build something on Salesforce
@Yo ssi

[talmid chuchem]

To say it differently, developing, maintaining, supporting, and hosting, the software needs of a small Shul is cost prohibitive.

Generally speaking with Frum clientele they’ll be very picky if they’re paying for something, will want it customized to the nth degree for every rare minhag practiced in their Shul, and expect endless customer service/tech support, all for the low price of $9.99/month.

Not true.
Most average shuls understand that you won't get customization at a low price.
You can charge for support & customization, for anyone that wants, but why charge everyone a hefty fee. #everyonePaysForACouple #Lufthansa

[Yo ssi]

Sounds like someone needs to build something on Salesforce
@Yo ssi

Shh, it's a secret🤫

[yuneeq]

If trying to save money why not use a church management software? Something like Breeze https://www.breezechms.com/

Or something on this list- https://www.capterra.com/church-management-software/

[talmid chuchem]

If trying to save money why not use a church management software? Something like Breeze https://www.breezechms.com/

Or something on this list- https://www.capterra.com/church-management-software/

Does a church sell aliyos?

[yuneeq]

Does a church sell aliyos?

An aliyah is a donation with a different name. You want cheap software you can’t be picky and won’t get every single possible feature.

[Jellybelly]

An aliyah is a donation with a different name.

Does that mean we can use Maser money? 😜

[JoeyShmoe]

Being a programmer and a former Gabbai that was stuck without something good, I've had a project on my back burner for a while, I have a full roadmap of what I want (and even have an investor). Seems like I should really get something up since there's a bigger need than what I thought...

[Euclid]

Being a programmer and a former Gabbai that was stuck without something good, I've had a project on my back burner for a while, I have a full roadmap of what I want (and even have an investor). Seems like I should really get something up since there's a bigger need than what I thought...

Have you seen this? https://github.com/ShomreiTorah

[JoeyShmoe]

Have you seen this? https://github.com/ShomreiTorah

I haven't until now, this seems to be quite old (requires VS 2012 and .Net 4.0).

I have a lot more in plan, a robust Shul system is more than just a calendar and billing system

[aygart]

I have a lot more in plan, a robust Shul system is more than just a calendar and billing system

From the posts here it looks like it would be beneficial to make it scalable so smaller places can get more of a bare bones system for cheaper and pay for more features

[JoeyShmoe]

From the posts here it looks like it would be beneficial to make it scalable so smaller places can get more of a bare bones system for cheaper and pay for more features

Definitely, a simple system with possible add-ons and features