Paxton Church & Charity Accounting Software

paxtonsoftware.co.uk

From £50/mo Free trial WebWindowsmacOSiOS

Spec score 8.6 #8 of 27 in Church Accounting Software

What it is

Paxton Church & Charity Accounting Software is paid accounting software designed for churches and charities. It runs through a cloud-hosted online version and a Windows desktop version, with access also listed for iOS, macOS and the web. Standard provides multi-fund accounting, purchase ledger, budgets, donations and Gift Aid, document attachments, Charity Commission reports, transaction imports, VAT processing through Making Tax Digital, user access levels, and telephone and email support. Advanced adds sales ledger, invoicing, sales analysis, foreign-currency processing, project analysis and project budgets. Reporting follows Charity Commission SORP requirements and can produce a SOFA in Charity Commission format. The software manages Gift Aid and creates an HMRC-format schedule. Bank transactions can be imported from statements, but there is no automatic bank feed. Standard costs £50 a month and Advanced £75 a month, excluding VAT, with a 30-day trial and no free plan.

Spec sheet

Purpose: Paxton Church & Charity Accounting is built for charities and churches, combining fund accounting, donation handling and charity reporting.Read 21 Oct 2026 · paxtonsoftware.co.uk
Deployment: The product is offered as a cloud service and as a Windows desktop program.Read 21 Oct 2026 · paxtonsoftware.co.uk
Trial: A no-obligation free trial lasts 30 days.Read 21 Oct 2026 · paxtonsoftware.co.uk
Security: Paxton states that its online service is hosted in a UK data centre with current security certificates and three password-protected security layers.Read 21 Oct 2026 · paxtonsoftware.co.uk
Support: Subscriptions include telephone and email helpdesk support, maintenance, updates and new features.Read 21 Oct 2026 · paxtonsoftware.co.uk
Headquarters: The registered office is 61a High Street South, Rushden, England, NN10 0RA.Read 21 Oct 2026 · find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk
Founded: 1979Read 28 Sep 2026 · paxtonsoftware.co.uk
Access and platforms: The online version is hosted in the cloud and can be accessed from internet-connected devices, while a desktop version runs on Windows computers.Read 8 Oct 2026 · paxtonsoftware.co.uk
Advanced features: Advanced adds sales ledger, invoicing, sales analysis, foreign currency processing, project analysis, and project budgets.Read 8 Oct 2026 · paxtonsoftware.co.uk
Advanced invoicing: Invoice creation is available only in the Advanced edition.Read 21 Oct 2026 · paxtonsoftware.co.uk
Bank transactions: Users can import bank-statement transactions, but the FAQ says automatic bank feeds are not available.Read 21 Oct 2026 · paxtonsoftware.co.uk
Budgets: Fund budgets are supported in both editions, while project budgets require Advanced.Read 21 Oct 2026 · paxtonsoftware.co.uk
Business classification: Companies House classifies the company under SIC 62012, business and domestic software development.Read 21 Oct 2026 · find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk
Company history: Paxton says it was established in 1979 and has offices in Rushden, Northamptonshire.Read 8 Oct 2026 · paxtonsoftware.co.uk
Company profile: The Company Check describes Paxton Software as a Rushden-based SaaS and B2B provider founded in 1979, offering accounting, payroll and independent-examiner services.Read 21 Oct 2026 · thecompanycheck.com
Documentation: Public documentation includes online instructions, trial guidance, Standard and Advanced procedure guides, transaction and donor import guides, and a Members manual.Read 21 Oct 2026 · paxtonsoftware.co.uk
Foreign currency: Foreign-currency processing is restricted to the Advanced edition.Read 21 Oct 2026 · paxtonsoftware.co.uk
Free onboarding: Each purchase includes database setup valued at £250 and one hour of training valued at £75.Read 21 Oct 2026 · paxtonsoftware.co.uk
Gift Aid: Donation and Gift Aid tools produce schedules in HMRC format for claims.Read 21 Oct 2026 · paxtonsoftware.co.uk
Integrations and import: The FAQ says there is no automatic bank feed, but transactions can be imported from bank statements.Read 8 Oct 2026 · paxtonsoftware.co.uk
Legal entity: Companies House lists Paxton Software Ltd as an active private company, number 01424228, incorporated on 31 May 1979.Read 21 Oct 2026 · find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk
Licence: The public pages do not identify an open-source licence or provide source-code licensing terms.Read 21 Oct 2026 · paxtonsoftware.co.uk
Limit: documentation effort: The same reviewer said users may need to create their own instructions for colleagues.Read 21 Oct 2026 · softwaresuggest.com
Limit: interface: One Trustpilot reviewer reported an older-generation interface and awkward keyboard navigation requiring extra mouse use.Read 21 Oct 2026 · trustpilot.com
Limit: reconciliation: The SoftwareSuggest reviewer said some small-organisation tasks, such as bank reconciliation, may be more practical manually.Read 21 Oct 2026 · softwaresuggest.com
Limit: scope: Solevant characterizes the product as highly specialized for charities, which limits suitability for general businesses.Read 21 Oct 2026 · solevant.com
Limit: Standard edition: Solevant notes that Standard lacks sales-ledger and invoicing functions, while Advanced does not support receipts-and-payments accounting.Read 21 Oct 2026 · solevant.com
Limits: Receipts and payments accounting is available only in Standard, while invoicing and foreign currency are available only in Advanced.Read 8 Oct 2026 · paxtonsoftware.co.uk
Multi-fund accounting: Users can create unlimited designated, restricted and endowment funds, with a required general fund.Read 21 Oct 2026 · paxtonsoftware.co.uk
Permissions: Multi-user subscriptions can assign restricted or read-only permissions to different users.Read 21 Oct 2026 · paxtonsoftware.co.uk
Praise: charity workflows: Trustpilot users praise fund-based income recording, clear reports and straightforward Gift Aid files for HMRC.Read 21 Oct 2026 · trustpilot.com
Praise: support: Trustpilot reviewers repeatedly describe the support team as responsive, helpful and quick at solving issues.Read 21 Oct 2026 · trustpilot.com
Praise: usability: The SoftwareSuggest reviewer found setup and data entry easy, with clear monthly and year-end reports and good support.Read 21 Oct 2026 · softwaresuggest.com
Public API: The public product and documentation pages describe imports and manuals but do not publish an API, SDK or developer reference.Read 21 Oct 2026 · paxtonsoftware.co.uk
Rating on SoftwareSuggest: 5 out of 5 from 1 reviewRead 21 Oct 2026 · softwaresuggest.com
Rating on Solevant: 0 out of 5 from 0 reviewsRead 21 Oct 2026 · solevant.com
Rating on Trustpilot: 4.5 out of 5 from 27 reviewsRead 21 Oct 2026 · trustpilot.com
Reporting: The software supports Charity Commission SORP-compliant reporting, and its FAQ says it produces a SOFA in Charity Commission format.Read 8 Oct 2026 · paxtonsoftware.co.uk
SORP reporting: The software produces a Statement of Financial Activities in Charity Commission format.Read 21 Oct 2026 · paxtonsoftware.co.uk
Standard features: Standard includes multi-fund accounting, purchase ledger, budgets, donations and Gift Aid, document attachments, Charity Commission reports, transaction import, VAT processing via MTD, user access levels, and telephone and email support.Read 8 Oct 2026 · paxtonsoftware.co.uk
Usage territory: The online service terms say the service is available to subscribers within the United Kingdom unless Paxton approves otherwise.Read 8 Oct 2026 · paxtonsoftware.co.uk
VAT: The FAQ says the software handles VAT and can submit VAT returns via Making Tax Digital.Read 8 Oct 2026 · paxtonsoftware.co.uk
VAT and MTD: Paxton supports VAT processing and electronic VAT-return submission through Making Tax Digital.Read 21 Oct 2026 · paxtonsoftware.co.uk

Plans and prices

Standard £50 a month Monthly in advance via direct debit; prices exclude VAT @ 20%. Online & Desktop · supports receipts and payments or accruals accounting Read 8 Oct 2026 · paxtonsoftware.co.uk

Standard £50 a month monthly in advance by direct debit; VAT at 20% extra online and Windows desktop · multi-fund accounting · purchase ledger · budgets · donations and Gift Aid · document attachments · fund manager · receipts-and-payments or accruals accounting · Charity Commission reports · transaction import · VAT/MTD · multi-user access · telephone and email support Read 21 Oct 2026 · paxtonsoftware.co.uk

Advanced £75 a month Monthly in advance via direct debit; prices exclude VAT @ 20%. Online & Desktop · accruals accounting only Read 8 Oct 2026 · paxtonsoftware.co.uk

Advanced £75 a month monthly in advance by direct debit; VAT at 20% extra online and Windows desktop · all Standard features except receipts-and-payments accounting · sales ledger · invoicing and price files · sales analysis · foreign currency · project analysis and budgets Read 21 Oct 2026 · paxtonsoftware.co.uk

Every Paxton Church & Charity Accounting Software plan and price →

Strong points and limits

Strong points

Multi-fund accounting supports church and charity finances
Charity Commission SORP-compliant reporting
Gift Aid schedule in HMRC format
VAT returns through Making Tax Digital
Cloud and Windows access

Limits

No automatic bank feed
No free plan
Advanced features require the higher plan
Prices exclude 20% VAT

Who it suits

It suits churches and charities needing fund accounting, budgets, donations, Gift Aid and formal reporting. Organizations requiring invoicing or foreign-currency processing need Advanced.

Verdict

Paxton covers core church and charity accounting, including funds, budgets, Gift Aid, VAT and regulatory reports. Check the plan split and manual bank-statement imports before choosing it.