This month I’m trying out PcMars. Someone had mentioned it to me about 2 years ago, and I remember giving it a quick try. This software was created by two farming brothers out of Iowa. My assumption is that they are church-going farmers as well because this software is also works for churches. They made software that would work for them.
First Impressions
- Good fit for Rural Churches & Nonprofits? In my experience, there are quite a few people that keep the books for the farm and also keep the books for their church. PcMars advertises that over 7,000 farms use their accounting software. It would be cool if the person keeping the books for the church could use the same software also for their farm or small business.
- Affordable and Scalable: It’s only $80/year! That will give you everything you need to keep the books. For an extra $32/year, you can add on payroll (not sure how well it handles clergy). You can also add on Accounts Receivable for $43/year (not sure if this could work for pledges or giving records).
- Downloadable: I admittedly prefer a cloud-based accounting system. Partially this is because I like being able to access the system from wherever I’m at. There are a lot of people that just want a program that doesn’t have to be connected to the internet. If that’s you, this would be a plus for PcMars.
- Made by Users: That was what impressed my about MoneyMinder is that you could tell that their software was made by people who actually keep the books for nonprofits. You can tell that also from PcMars. When I chose the church pre-set, the default accounts make sense.
- Is the Traction Ag acquisition an issue? I really hope not. I understand why they sold out. The two brothers must be at retirement age so someone has to carry it on. My hope is that PcMars will carry on as usual. My fear is that PcMars will be phased out or changed dramatically. I don’t think Traction Ag has any interest in maintaining church accounting software, but I could be wrong.
Useful Links
- PcMars: https://pcmars.com/
- Traction Ag acquires PcMars: https://www.tractionag.com/blog/traction-ag-acquires-pcmars-uniting-two-leaders-in-farm-accounting-software