Churchsoft Assist 2026 vs LineLedger

Churchsoft Assist 2026 brings church membership, contributions, fund accounting, payroll, and communications into desktop and online versions. Churches can add unlimited people and create unlimited groups at the same price, whether they have 10 or 10,000 people. The software supports SMS and email to individuals or groups, and Churchsoft says staff can transfer records from an earlier system or Excel at no additional cost.

Giving tools include gift entry, donor reports, and year-end statements. Accounting features cover fund accounting, budgeting, and income and expense reports by account, account group, or fund. Payroll supports employees, self-employed contractors, and nonemployees, with reports including 941, W-2, W-3, and 1099 forms. The desktop version runs on Windows 8 and later, with Windows 10 and later recommended. Assist Online works on internet-connected devices, including Mac, PC, Android, and iOS. Churchsoft describes online backups with triple redundancy, along with module-level protection and full or restricted user rights. A purchase includes 60 days of free unlimited support; the online subscription includes unlimited toll-free support, backup, and updates.

LineLedger is open-source, double-entry accounting software that runs on infrastructure the user controls. It includes a general ledger, invoicing, bills and payments, bank reconciliation, reports, budgets, inventory, fixed assets, sales-tax tracking and multi-currency support. Users can import a QuickBooks chart of accounts and replay general-ledger history from multiple files, mapping accounts and linking contacts. The customer portal supports Stripe payments, and payroll runs can be posted from Gusto, ADP, Paychex, OnPay or any US payroll processor.

LineLedger offers a REST API v1 and a built-in MCP server with 20 read-only reporting tools. Optional agentic writes require human confirmation before posting. Access controls include passkeys, two-factor authentication and section-level roles. Accounting changes are recorded in an append-only, cryptographically chained audit log, and organizations can be exported as portable ZIP backups. The maker says the software does not phone home or include third-party analytics or telemetry. Its plan is free, with unlimited companies, users and transactions. Setup requires Docker and Docker Compose, uses MySQL and provides amd64 and arm64 images. LineLedger states it is not SOC 2 certified.