Grain Ledger
grainledger.com
What it is
Grain Ledger is cloud-based accounting software for churches, built around double-entry fund accounting. It tracks restricted and unrestricted funds and supports a customizable nonprofit chart of accounts. Plaid bank sync imports transactions for categorization and reconciliation; expense tools cover vendor bills, approvals, accounts-payable aging, corporate card activity, and 1099 vendor information. Reports include GAAP-compliant balance sheets, statements of activities, and cash flow statements, with drill-down to journal entries and transactions. Giving features import donations and include donor matching, giving analytics, and annual statements with IRS-compliant disclosures. Listed integrations include Planning Center, Ramp, Bill.com / Divvy, Pushpay, OnlineGiving.org, Rock RMS, and Subsplash; Tithely is marked coming soon. The free Starter plan allows up to $20k in monthly expenses, one bank connection, three users, and one active budget. Growth costs $70 a month. Optional Grain Payroll costs $50 a month base plus 10 USD per employee / month.
Spec sheet
- What it does
- Grain Ledger is cloud accounting software for churches built around fund-based double-entry accounting.Read 15 Oct 2026 · grainledger.com
- Purpose
- Grain Ledger is cloud-based church accounting software built around fund accounting.Read 30 Sep 2026 · grainledger.com
- Free plan
- YesRead 19 Sep 2026 · grainledger.com
- Paid from
- 70Read 19 Sep 2026 · grainledger.com
- Integrations
- Available integrations listed by Grain include Planning Center, Pushpay, OnlineGiving.org, Rock RMS, Subsplash, Ramp, Bill.com or Divvy and Plaid.Read 15 Oct 2026 · grainledger.com
- Security
- The maker says data is encrypted at rest with AES-256 and in transit with TLS 1.2+, and that its cloud infrastructure is SOC 2 Type II compliant in a US region.Read 30 Sep 2026 · grainledger.com
- Support
- Support covers books and reporting, setup and migration, and giving or integration troubleshooting through a web form or [email protected].Read 15 Oct 2026 · grainledger.com
- Headquarters
- Nashville, Tennessee, United StatesRead 23 Sep 2026 · grainledger.com
- Accounting
- It offers double-entry fund accounting for restricted and unrestricted funds, with customizable nonprofit chart of accounts.Read 30 Sep 2026 · grainledger.com
- API authentication
- API access supports organization keys and OAuth 2.1 with PKCE; OAuth requests require an organization ID.Read 15 Oct 2026 · docs.grainledger.com
- API availability
- MCP access is included on Growth and Scale, while organization API keys and unmanaged OAuth require Scale; managed OAuth apps may call the API on Starter and Growth.Read 15 Oct 2026 · docs.grainledger.com
- API limits
- The documented standard limit is 100 requests per minute per organization, with bursts potentially returning HTTP 429.Read 15 Oct 2026 · docs.grainledger.com
- API scope
- The public API can read and write transactions, bills, donors, contributions, pledges and households.Read 15 Oct 2026 · docs.grainledger.com
- Audit trail
- YesRead 19 Sep 2026 · grainledger.com
- Bank sync
- Plaid imports bank transactions for categorization and reconciliation.Read 15 Oct 2026 · grainledger.com
- Banking
- Bank sync via Plaid imports transactions for categorization and reconciliation.Read 30 Sep 2026 · grainledger.com
- Bills and expenses
- The product manages vendor bills, approvals, corporate-card transactions and expense accruals.Read 15 Oct 2026 · grainledger.com
- Breach notice
- The security page commits to notifying affected customers within 72 hours after verifying a qualifying breach.Read 15 Oct 2026 · grainledger.com
- Budgets
- Budgets can be organized by ministry and compared with actual results; Scale adds multi-scenario planning.Read 15 Oct 2026 · grainledger.com
- Chart of accounts
- A nonprofit chart of accounts is preconfigured and can be customized.Read 15 Oct 2026 · grainledger.com
- Coming-soon integration
- Tithely is marked as coming soon rather than available.Read 15 Oct 2026 · grainledger.com
- Company headquarters
- An ECFA directory listing gives Grain Ledger's address as 217 6th Avenue North STE 43012, Nashville, Tennessee 37219.Read 15 Oct 2026 · ecfa.org
- Company legal name
- The legal and service-provider name stated in the terms is Grain Ledger Company.Read 15 Oct 2026 · grainledger.com
- Data retention
- Customer data is hosted in US SOC 2 Type II compliant infrastructure; personal identifiers are targeted for deletion 30 days after termination and financial audit trails may be retained up to seven years.Read 15 Oct 2026 · grainledger.com
- Documentation
- The API documentation provides an introduction, quickstart, authentication guidance and endpoint reference, and was last modified September 15, 2026.Read 15 Oct 2026 · docs.grainledger.com
- Expenses
- The product tracks vendor bills, approvals, AP aging, corporate card activity, and 1099 vendor information.Read 30 Sep 2026 · grainledger.com
- Financial reports
- It provides balance sheets, statements of activities, cash-flow statements and fund-balance reports with drill-down to journal entries.Read 15 Oct 2026 · grainledger.com
- Founder
- Gibson Brueher identifies himself as Grain Ledger's founder on LinkedIn.Read 15 Oct 2026 · linkedin.com
- Fund accounting
- The ledger tracks restricted and unrestricted funds with nonprofit net-asset classification.Read 15 Oct 2026 · grainledger.com
- Giving
- Planning Center, Pushpay and Rock RMS donations can be imported with donor matching and tax-compliant giving statements.Read 15 Oct 2026 · grainledger.com
- Independent company launch
- Learn of Christ lists Grain Ledger as launched in 2025.Read 15 Oct 2026 · learnofchrist.com
- Independent review limitation
- An independent review notes that public evidence does not establish Grain's own SOC 2 examination, uptime history, recovery objectives, advanced SSO or migration accuracy.Read 15 Oct 2026 · learnofchrist.com
- Limit: early bugs
- A verified reviewer says the product is early-stage and still has bugs to work through.Read 15 Oct 2026 · softwareadvice.com
- Limit: learning curve
- A reviewer says the feature-rich product takes time to learn, despite added tutorials and training videos.Read 15 Oct 2026 · capterra.com
- Limits
- Starter includes one bank connection, three users, and one active budget; it is for churches with up to $20k in monthly expenses.Read 30 Sep 2026 · grainledger.com
- Mobile app
- The Google Play app lets authorized users view dashboards and budgets, capture receipts, review transactions, clock in, access paystubs and switch organizations.Read 15 Oct 2026 · play.google.com
- Mobile data safety
- Google Play states that the app shares no data with third parties, encrypts data in transit and allows deletion requests.Read 15 Oct 2026 · play.google.com
- Notable news
- A Grain Ledger blog post dated June 4, 2026 explains church financial-report structure and fund accounting.Read 15 Oct 2026 · grainledger.com
- Payroll
- Grain Payroll advertises fund allocation, mobile time clocks, approvals, direct deposit and federal and state filings.Read 15 Oct 2026 · grainledger.com
- Praise: integrations
- Capterra and Software Advice reviewers praise Planning Center, Bill.com or Divvy, bank synchronization and reduced duplicate data entry.Read 15 Oct 2026 · softwareadvice.com
- Praise: responsiveness
- Reviewers repeatedly say the Grain team listens to feedback and turns suggestions into improvements quickly.Read 15 Oct 2026 · softwareadvice.com
- Praise: usability
- A Capterra and Software Advice reviewer describes the interface as straightforward and easy to use.Read 15 Oct 2026 · capterra.com
- Rating on Capterra
- 5.0 out of 5 from 2 reviewsRead 15 Oct 2026 · capterra.com
- Rating on GetApp
- 5.0 out of 5 from 2 reviewsRead 15 Oct 2026 · getapp.com
- Rating on Software Advice
- 5.0 out of 5 from 2 reviewsRead 15 Oct 2026 · softwareadvice.com
- Reports
- It provides GAAP-compliant balance sheets, statements of activities and cash flows, and drill-down to journal entries and transactions.Read 30 Sep 2026 · grainledger.com
- Retention
- The maker says personal identifiers are deleted 30 days after account termination and financial audit trails are retained up to seven years.Read 30 Sep 2026 · grainledger.com
- Security controls
- Production and administrative access requires MFA, access is reviewed quarterly, and role changes trigger immediate revocation.Read 15 Oct 2026 · grainledger.com
- Security encryption
- Grain states that data uses AES-256 encryption at rest, TLS 1.2 or newer in transit, and AES-256-GCM for API keys and tokens.Read 15 Oct 2026 · grainledger.com
Plans and prices
Strong points and limits
Strong points
- Tracks restricted and unrestricted funds
- Imports bank transactions through Plaid
- Includes GAAP-compliant statements with transaction drill-down
- Offers donation matching and giving analytics
- Free Starter plan includes unlimited funds
Limits
- Starter allows one bank connection
- Starter allows three users
- Starter allows one active budget
- Payroll costs $50 a month base plus 10 USD per employee / month
Who it suits
Grain Ledger suits churches that need fund accounting, donation tracking, and financial reporting. The free Starter plan is scoped to churches with up to $20k in monthly expenses.
Grain Ledger in depth
Read the full write-up
Grain Ledger is church accounting software for congregations that need to track restricted funds alongside everyday expenses and giving. It is strongest for churches seeking those workflows in one system, but Starter’s tight operating caps make it best for smaller organizations.
Overview
Fund accounting is the center of the product, with banking, payables, donation imports, and financial reporting around it. That breadth can reduce the need to split church finance work across separate systems. The trade-off is a narrow free tier and a higher-capacity Scale plan whose pricing depends on scale.
Key features
Accounting, banking, and expenses
Double-entry accounting supports restricted and unrestricted funds, while a customizable nonprofit chart of accounts gives churches room to organize their finances. Plaid bank sync imports transactions for categorization and reconciliation. Bill tracking, approvals, AP aging, corporate card activity, and 1099 vendor information bring several recurring expense tasks into the same product. Starter’s one bank connection and one active budget may be workable for a small church, but are limiting if it manages multiple accounts or needs several budgets in progress.
Reports and giving
GAAP-compliant balance sheets, statements of activities, and cash-flow statements can be drilled down to journal entries and transactions. Donation imports, donor matching, giving analytics, and annual giving statements with IRS-compliant disclosures make the product relevant to churches that want giving activity connected to their financial records.
Integrations, payroll, and security
Integrations include Planning Center, Ramp, Bill.com / Divvy, Pushpay, OnlineGiving.org, Rock RMS, and Subsplash; Tithely is marked coming soon. Grain Payroll is an optional add-on with automatic fund allocation, a mobile time clock and approvals, direct deposit, and federal and state tax filings. The maker says data is encrypted at rest with AES-256 and in transit with TLS 1.2+, and that its cloud infrastructure is SOC 2 Type II compliant in a US region. Personal identifiers are deleted 30 days after account termination; financial audit trails are retained for up to seven years.
Pricing
Starter is free and includes unlimited funds, but is capped at $20k in monthly expenses, one bank connection, three users, and one active budget. It suits a small church that can work within those ceilings; growing beyond any of them means moving to a paid plan.
Growth costs $70 a month, billed $70/month. It raises the scale ceiling to up to $1M in annualized revenue or expenses and includes three bank connections, unlimited users, unlimited monthly expenses, and unlimited active budgets. This is the clearest fit for churches that have outgrown Starter but do not need Scale’s custom roles and reports.
Scale costs $100 a month, billed $100/month, with scale-based pricing, unlimited bank connections and users, and custom roles and reports. Churches needing those controls should consider it, while those with straightforward reporting needs may find Growth sufficient. Grain Payroll works with every accounting plan at $50 a month base plus $10 per employee / month, so its cost rises with headcount.
Platforms
Grain Ledger runs on the web. That makes it a browser-based option rather than a choice for organizations seeking a listed desktop or mobile app.
Who it's for
Grain Ledger is a good match for churches that need restricted-fund accounting, giving workflows, expense tracking, and drill-down financial reports together. Its free plan offers a low-cost starting point for smaller operations, while Growth adds room for more users, budgets, and expenses. Churches that exceed Growth’s annualized ceiling or need custom roles and reports can consider Scale, but should weigh its scale-based pricing.
Pros and cons
Pro: Restricted and unrestricted fund accounting sits alongside donation imports and financial reports, connecting church-specific finance tasks.
Pro: Bill approvals, AP aging, card activity, and 1099 vendor information cover more than basic bookkeeping.
Pro: Starter includes unlimited funds at no cost, giving smaller churches a way to begin without a subscription.
Con: Starter allows only one bank connection, three users, and one active budget, which can constrain even modestly complex operations.
Con: Scale uses scale-based pricing, making it less straightforward to budget for than the fixed-price Growth plan.
Con: The platform is web-only, so it is not suited to buyers who require a listed native mobile or desktop app.
Alternatives
For a broader set of church and nonprofit accounting options, compare Nonprofit Accounting Software, Church Accounting Software, and Fund Accounting Software.
MoneyMinder is worth considering if free budgeting tools, a custom chart of accounts, forecasting, and Excel export matter more than Grain Ledger’s church-specific giving and expense workflows.
Church Windows may suit buyers who want a desktop option and are comfortable with a 12-month contract for its $19 a month Standard plan.
Churchsoft Assist 2026 is another option to compare.
Clubtreasurer may be worth considering for buyers seeking a web-based paid option with an Essentials plan priced at £7 a year.
NP Ledger may suit smaller nonprofits seeking a paid Starter plan with two users and 1099 contractor tracking.
Tangicloud Fundamentals is an alternative for buyers considering per-user annual pricing and Microsoft hosting.
FastFund Accounting is worth comparing for buyers seeking a $50 a month plan that includes fund accounting, budgeting, and project tracking.
Fund EZ is another option to compare.
Verdict
Choose Grain Ledger if your church needs fund accounting tied to giving, expense controls, and detailed financial reports, and its plan limits fit your scale. Starter is a useful entry point for smaller churches, while Growth is the practical step up for those needing more users and budgets. Look elsewhere if you require a mobile or desktop app, or if Scale’s custom, scale-based pricing does not fit your budget.
Verdict
Grain Ledger combines church fund accounting with expense tracking, giving tools, and financial reports. Starter is free but has explicit bank, user, budget, and expense limits; Growth costs $70 a month.
Where Specifiction places it
- Accounting software#2 of 699.0
- Fund Accounting Software#8 of 708.9
- Nonprofit Accounting Software#4 of 258.9
- Church Accounting Software#7 of 278.9