QuickBooks alternative for churches
A QuickBooks alternative built for church funds
Intuit's advice for church funds is a class for each one, and classes start on QuickBooks Online Plus at $140 a month. But a class only labels a transaction. It doesn't keep a balance. Grain gives every fund its own balance, takes giving deposits straight from Planning Center, Pushpay and other platforms, and it's free for churches with up to $20,000 in monthly expenses.
$244,570
Best QuickBooks alternatives for churches in 2026
Most QuickBooks alternatives are built for small businesses. A church needs restricted funds, giving deposits and reports a finance committee can read, and that's what we built Grain to do. Here's Grain next to QuickBooks Online, set up the way Intuit tells churches to use it. If you'd rather have an all-in-one suite, three options follow the table.
Other church accounting options
- AplosFund accounting from a nonprofit software company that also sells fundraising, CRM and payroll products.Grain vs Aplos
- ChurchTracOne product for the church database, online giving and accounting, aimed at small and mid-size churches.Grain vs ChurchTrac
- PowerChurch PlusWindows software that keeps membership, contributions and accounting in one package.Grain vs PowerChurch Plus
What a church pays to track funds
Follow Intuit's own setup and the bill is QuickBooks Online Plus. Here's a year of it next to a year of Grain.
$140 a month list price, 5 users
Up to $20k a month in expenses, 3 users
Up to $1M a year in revenue or expenses, unlimited users
Bigger than $1M a year? Scale starts at $100 a month.
Why churches switch from QuickBooks
A fund is a balance, not a label
A QuickBooks class can slice a report, but it doesn't hold a fund balance. Intuit's own guide says that in fund accounting, spending stops when a fund is empty. Yet the QuickBooks steps it gives are classes, bank sub-accounts and a profit and loss report by class, and none of them describes a check on a fund before the money goes out. You review each fund in the report. In Grain, every fund carries its own balance, so "how much is left in missions?" has an answer in the ledger. When a bill or expense would take a restricted fund below zero, Grain warns you.
Six funds shouldn't mean twelve things to track
A typical church tracks about 6 funds (anonymized Grain data, 2026 so far). Intuit's method gives each one a class and a bank sub-account, so the treasurer has 12 things to match up every month. In Grain, a gift is posted to a fund once, and the fund balance, the bank reconciliation and the board report all read from it.
Giving deposits land in the right fund
Intuit's nonprofit page describes importing donation data from apps like Fundly or DonorPerfect. Grain connects to the giving platform you already use, so gifts arrive with their donor and fund, and the deposit matches the Plaid bank feed. Sunday's giving is in the books before anyone opens Excel.
Reports a finance committee can read
Grain's fund balance report shows restricted and unrestricted balances, with the change in net assets. Your board sees what's available in the building fund or benevolence. Nobody has to stand up at the meeting and explain a P&L filtered by class.
Still on QuickBooks Desktop?
Intuit stopped selling new QuickBooks Desktop Pro Plus, Premier Plus and Mac Plus subscriptions in the US on September 30, 2024. If your church already has one, you can keep renewing, and Intuit still ships updates and support. QuickBooks Enterprise is still sold, and Intuit encourages everyone else to consider QuickBooks Online.
So nobody's forcing you off Desktop today. The question is where the books go when you do move, and the Desktop file comes with you either way. Move to QuickBooks Online and you're back to classes, on Plus. If you're going to move the books once, move them to a ledger that was built around funds.
Bring your QuickBooks books with you
One-Click QuickBooks Migration is on every Grain plan, the free one included. Grain's team helps you map funds, accounts and opening balances from QuickBooks Online or Desktop. Many churches are up and running within a few weeks. The goal is a month-end close you can run fund by fund, not a pile of old history you can't use.
Common questions
- How much does QuickBooks cost for a church?
- QuickBooks Online lists Simple Start at $38 a month, Essentials at $85, Plus at $140 and Advanced at $340. Intuit recommends churches use Plus or Advanced, so for a church the real starting price is $140 a month. New customers get 50% off for the first 3 months. Intuit also offers a nonprofit discount through TechSoup, but its church page doesn't say how much.
- Is there a free QuickBooks alternative for churches?
- Yes. Grain's Starter plan is free for churches with up to $20,000 in monthly expenses, measured as the median of the last 3 months, so a big December doesn't force an upgrade. It includes unlimited funds, 3 users, ChMS integrations, a bank connection and giving statements. It's not a trial, and there's no credit card.
- Can churches do fund accounting in QuickBooks?
- Partly. Intuit's guide gives each fund a class (Plus or Advanced only) and a bank sub-account, then runs a profit and loss report by class, and its church page also suggests tags. Classes and tags only label transactions. Neither one holds a fund balance, so the treasurer keeps the funds straight by hand.
- How hard is it to switch from QuickBooks to Grain?
- Not very, and you don't do it alone: Grain's team does the mapping with you, from QuickBooks Online or Desktop, at no extra cost. The one decision that's yours is when to switch. Pick the start of a month or a fiscal year, so your opening balances come from a period you've already closed.
- Does Grain replace our church management or giving software?
- No. Grain is accounting software, not a church management system or a giving platform. It connects the ones you already use, such as Planning Center or Rock RMS, and keeps the ledger, bank reconciliation and fund reports in one place. Your people, groups and giving forms stay where they are.
Leave QuickBooks classes behind
Start free and give each fund its own balance. Or watch a short demo first.