Question 1

What is Altarflow?

Accepted Answer

Altarflow is a financial operating system for small and mid-sized churches and nonprofits — a single platform that replaces spreadsheets, QuickBooks, and patched-together church management tools.

It manages donations (digital and cash), tracks expenses, generates real-time financial reports, runs your member database, and powers your donation pages and web portal. AI agents categorize transactions, scan receipts, and auto-match Zelle donations to donors and funds — learning from every correction.

Built natively bilingual in English and Spanish from day one. Designed for organizations with 50 to 300 members where one or two people wear every hat. Founded on the conviction that the church is God's business and deserves to be stewarded with clarity. Lead your people. Leave the spreadsheets to us.

Question 2

Is Altarflow a good fit for small churches and nonprofits?

Accepted Answer

Yes — Altarflow was built specifically for organizations with 50 to 300 members where the pastor, director, or a small volunteer team handles the books.

It replaces the patchwork of spreadsheets, QuickBooks, Tithely, Breeze, or ChurchTrac that small churches typically string together — for one flat $99/month price, regardless of headcount. No per-member fees. No add-ons. No enterprise tier you will never use.

Best fit for:
• Churches and nonprofits with 50–300 members
• Leaders wearing multiple hats (pastor, bookkeeper, admin)
• Spanish-speaking and bilingual communities
• Organizations replacing spreadsheets, paper, or QuickBooks
• Teams with limited budget but real ambition

Not a fit yet: organizations under 25 members, large churches over 500 members with dedicated finance staff, or multi-location ministries (in development for 2026).

Question 3

Does Altarflow work in Spanish?

Accepted Answer

Yes — Altarflow is fully bilingual in English and Spanish, and is currently the only church and nonprofit financial platform built that way from day one.

Every surface translates: donation pages, donor portal, admin dashboard, expense categories, member profiles, financial reports, automated emails, and year-end tax statements. Each user sets their own language preference, so a Spanish-speaking volunteer and an English-speaking treasurer work in the same account without friction.

This is not auto-translation. Every label, message, and report has been professionally localized for U.S. Hispanic congregations — a market of 40,000+ churches that ChurchTrac, Breeze, Tithely, and Planning Center have ignored. Portuguese and French are on the 2026 roadmap.

Question 4

What features does Altarflow include?

Accepted Answer

Altarflow combines five core capabilities that small churches usually buy separately. Specific features ship on the Seed, Growth, or Scale plan — see the pricing page for the per-tier breakdown.

Donation Management — Manual entry (cash, check, envelope) on every plan, plus digital giving (Apple Pay, Google Pay, card, ACH), Zelle and Venmo auto-matching to donors and funds, daily Stripe payouts, donation campaigns with goal tracking, contributor profiles with complete giving history, automated receipts, and year-end tax statements on Growth and Scale.

Expense Management — Manual entry and OCR receipt scanning on every plan, plus AI expense categorization, an email receipt inbox, and connected bank and credit-card account pulls on Growth and Scale.

Financial Reporting — Basic donation and expense reports on every plan, plus fund accounting, board-ready financial reports, and variance and burn-rate analysis on Growth and Scale, and an AI budgeting agent on Scale.

Member Management & Community — Full member CRM, custom intake and registration forms, web portal with landing pages, NFC tap programming, and event management — included on every plan.

AI Agents — Transaction categorization, Zelle and Venmo matching, and OCR receipt agents on Growth and Scale. Custom AI sub-agents, WhatsApp chat execution, and MCP integrations (email, calendar, tools) on Scale.

Plus: granular user permissions, custom themes, mobile access, encrypted backups, bilingual EN/ES across every surface, and free data migration of up to five years on every plan.

On the 2026 roadmap: card issuing for instant fund access (Stripe Financial Accounts), bank-as-a-service infrastructure for organization checking accounts, an Altarflow card program for staff and ministry expenses, and expansion to Central and South America.

Question 5

How is Altarflow different from ChurchTrac, Breeze, Tithely, or Planning Center?

Accepted Answer

Altarflow treats finance as the core product. ChurchTrac, Breeze, Tithely, and Planning Center treat it as one feature among many and tell you to export to QuickBooks. That is the category difference.

Three concrete advantages:

1. Financial OS, not church management with finance bolted on. Altarflow handles donations, expenses, reports, digital giving, and member management in one place. Most competitors require you to bridge their tool with QuickBooks, Tithely, or a separate accounting package.

2. Native bilingual support. Altarflow is built English and Spanish from day one. Every other major platform is English-only — leaving 40,000+ U.S. Hispanic churches without an option.

3. AI agents that learn. Altarflow agents categorize expenses, scan receipts, and (first in market) auto-match Zelle donations to donors and funds. They learn from every correction. Competitors offer manual entry or basic rule-based automation.

Plus daily Stripe payouts (vs. Tithely's 7–14 day ACH delays), $99/month flat (vs. Planning Center's $318–$2,000/month or Breeze + QuickBooks at $90+/month combined), and free 5-year data migration when you switch.

Question 6

How long does it take to set up Altarflow?

Accepted Answer

Most organizations are fully operational in under two hours.

Setup includes connecting your Stripe account for digital giving, importing your member list, customizing your donation page and web portal, and reviewing the dashboard. Every new account includes a one-hour guided onboarding call covering full setup with your real data.

If you are migrating from QuickBooks, Tithely, ChurchTrac, Breeze, or spreadsheets, our team handles up to five years of historical data — donations, members, fund structure, expense categories — at no extra cost. Most migrations finish within one to two business days.

Question 7

How do I migrate from ChurchTrac, Breeze, Tithely, or QuickBooks?

Accepted Answer

Send your data exports to support@altarflow.com or upload them securely from your dashboard, and our team handles the rest — for free, including up to five years of historical data.

We migrate:
• Donation records (transactions, contributors, funds, campaigns)
• Member profiles and contact information
• Expense history and categories
• Fund structure and chart of accounts
• Year-end giving statements

Most migrations from ChurchTrac, Breeze, Tithely, or QuickBooks finish in one to two business days. Migrations from spreadsheets typically take a single day. Your data stays yours — exportable anytime in CSV, Excel, or PDF — and complex fund structures get a dedicated migration specialist.

Question 8

What support is included with Altarflow?

Accepted Answer

Every Altarflow account includes a one-hour guided onboarding call, free data migration (up to five years), priority email support with a 24-hour response window, and a searchable help center.

Support channels:
• Email: support@altarflow.com (general support, 24-hour response)
• Sales and partnerships: sales@altarflow.com
• In-app chat: direct from your dashboard
• Onboarding call: scheduled when your account is created
• Help center: step-by-step guides covering every feature

Beta customers also get direct access to the founding team and a private feedback channel that influences the product roadmap.

Question 9

How much does Altarflow cost?

Accepted Answer

Altarflow runs three plans: Seed at $49/month, Growth at $99/month, and Scale at $149/month. Every plan includes unlimited admins, free data migration of up to five years, bilingual EN/ES support, and cancel-anytime billing. Digital donations process at 4% per transaction through Stripe.

Seed ($49/mo) — for churches that take cash, check, and envelopes only. Manual donations and expenses, OCR receipt scanning, member CRM, intake forms, web portal, and basic reports.

Growth ($99/mo) — the financial OS most churches need. Everything in Seed plus digital giving (Apple Pay, Google Pay, card, ACH), AI Zelle and Venmo donation matching, AI expense categorization, daily Stripe payouts, donor portal, year-end tax statements, and fund accounting.

Scale ($149/mo) — for ministries that need their tools to think. Everything in Growth plus an AI budgeting agent, custom AI sub-agents, WhatsApp notifications and chat, MCP integrations, and multi-campus and multi-site support.

Growth and Scale include a one-time setup fee that covers your data migration, onboarding call, and Stripe Connect activation. The exact amount depends on migration scope (years of data, number of funds, custom field mapping) and is quoted on your demo call before you sign up — never charged after.

For reference: Planning Center runs $318–$2,000/month, Breeze runs $72/month plus QuickBooks ($30+/month combined), and ChurchTrac runs $9–$50/month but typically requires three additional tools to match Altarflow's coverage.

Question 10

What payment methods does Altarflow accept?

Accepted Answer

Altarflow accepts all major credit and debit cards — Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover — processed securely through Stripe.

Monthly billing on every plan:
• Seed: $49/month
• Growth: $99/month
• Scale: $149/month

Annual billing is available with additional savings — your sales rep will share exact annual rates on your demo call. ACH bank transfers are available for annual billing on request.

You can update your payment method or switch billing cycles any time from account settings. Invoices are emailed automatically and downloadable as PDF for bookkeeping.

Question 11

Is there a free trial of Altarflow?

Accepted Answer

Altarflow does not offer a traditional free trial. We offer a 20-minute live demo where we walk through Altarflow on your real church scenarios — you'll see exactly which plan fits your church and what your setup looks like before any payment.

Once you sign up, cancel any time from account settings with full data export. No annual contract, no cancellation fee, no data held hostage.

Question 12

Can I change plans or update my Altarflow billing?

Accepted Answer

Yes — switch tiers (Seed, Growth, Scale), change billing cycles, or cancel any time from account settings, with no penalties or change fees.

• Upgrade tiers (Seed → Growth, Growth → Scale): takes effect immediately, pro-rated against your current charge
• Downgrade tiers: takes effect at your next renewal date
• Switch monthly to annual: applies on your next billing date with the annual discount
• Switch annual to monthly: takes effect at your next renewal date

If you start on Seed and add digital giving later, upgrading to Growth takes about two minutes. If you outgrow Growth and need multi-campus or agentic AI, Scale adds those without re-onboarding.

Question 13

Can I cancel Altarflow any time?

Accepted Answer

Yes — cancel from account settings with no contracts, no cancellation fees, and no phone calls required.

Your access continues through the end of your current billing period. You have 90 days after cancellation to export all your data — donations, members, expenses, reports — in CSV, Excel, or PDF. After 90 days, data is permanently deleted in line with our retention policy.

Not satisfied within your first 30 days? Email support@altarflow.com. We will work with you to make it right — or refund your setup fee in full if one applied.

Question 14

Does Altarflow offer discounts for new churches or nonprofits?

Accepted Answer

Yes — the Altarflow Partnership Program offers up to six months free for newly-planted churches and nonprofits.

Eligibility:
• Organization founded within the last 12 months
• Fewer than 100 members
• Independent (not a satellite or chapter of a larger organization)

What you get: six months of full Altarflow access at no cost, priority support, and a dedicated onboarding session.

How to apply: visit our contact page, select Partnership Program as your inquiry type, and include your organization name, founding date, current size, and a short description of your mission. Decisions return within three business days.

Question 15

Is my church's data secure with Altarflow?

Accepted Answer

Yes — Altarflow uses bank-level AES-256 encryption at rest and TLS 1.3 in transit, follows SOC 2 compliance standards, runs daily encrypted backups, and processes all payments through Stripe (PCI-DSS Level 1 certified).

What that means in practice:
• Credit card numbers are never stored on Altarflow servers
• Bank account connections (for expense pulls) are read-only and tokenized through Plaid
• All staff access is logged and audited
• Multi-factor authentication is available for every user
• Data is hosted on AWS infrastructure in U.S. regions only

Your data belongs to you. Export anytime, with a 90-day post-cancellation grace period before any deletion.

Question 16

Can I export my data from Altarflow?

Accepted Answer

Yes — every record in Altarflow is exportable on demand, in standard formats, with no fees.

You can export:
• Donation records (CSV, Excel)
• Expense records and digital receipts (CSV, Excel, PDF)
• Member lists (CSV, Excel)
• Financial reports (PDF, Excel)
• Year-end giving statements (PDF, batch download)
• Campaign and fund performance (CSV, PDF)

How: Settings → Data Export → select records and date range → download. Most exports complete in under 60 seconds.

After cancellation, you have 90 days to export everything before permanent deletion.

Question 17

What does "beta" mean for Altarflow?

Accepted Answer

Beta means three things: the core platform is fully operational and used in production by paying churches today; we are intentionally limiting onboarding to ensure every customer gets concierge-level support; and beta customers get direct access to the founding team with a private feedback channel that shapes the roadmap.

Live in production today across the Seed, Growth, and Scale plans: manual and digital donations, expense tracking, AI expense categorization and OCR receipt scanning, AI Zelle and Venmo donation matching, daily Stripe payouts, fund accounting, donor portal with year-end tax statements, member CRM, intake forms, web portal, donation campaigns, AI budgeting agent, custom AI sub-agents, WhatsApp chat execution, MCP integrations, and multi-campus and multi-site support.

Still being built (2026 roadmap): card issuing for instant fund access (Stripe Financial Accounts), bank-as-a-service infrastructure, an Altarflow card program, and expansion to Central and South America.

Why beta is good for you:
• Direct line to the founders
• Your feedback shapes what we build next
• Early access to every new feature
• Concierge-level onboarding and support

Question 18

How many churches use Altarflow?

Accepted Answer

Altarflow is in private beta with a small, growing group of paying churches. We are intentionally capping new customer slots each month so every account gets a one-hour onboarding call, direct founder access, and a private feedback channel that influences the roadmap.

If the beta cohort feels too small for you, that is the point — we are trading scale for service quality during launch. Customers today include Spanish-speaking and bilingual congregations across multiple denominations and U.S. states, with new organizations onboarding each week.

Want to know if there is a slot open for your church? Book a 20-minute demo and we will walk you through current availability.

Question 19

What support do beta customers get from Altarflow?

Accepted Answer

Beta customers get more support than most paid SaaS plans, regardless of price tier.

During setup:
• Guided self-service onboarding inside the app
• One hour of live video onboarding (included)
• Free migration of up to five years of historical data
• Email support throughout setup with same-day response

Ongoing:
• Priority email support (24-hour response, often same-day)
• Searchable help center with step-by-step guides
• Direct feedback channel to the founding team
• Early access to every new feature
• Quarterly customer calls with the product team

You are not just a customer — you are shaping the product.

Question 20

Does Altarflow support multi-location or multi-campus churches?

Accepted Answer

Yes — Altarflow supports multi-campus and multi-site churches on the Scale plan ($149/month).

Scale includes:
• Separate books per campus with consolidated reporting at the organization level
• Location-level user permissions (campus admins, central finance, board view)
• Campus-level fund and program tracking
• Aggregated dashboard across every location
• Cross-campus donor profiles so a single donor's giving rolls up correctly

The Seed and Growth plans are optimized for single-location churches. If you have two or three small locations and want to start lean, you can run them inside a single Growth account using custom funds, programs, or expense categories — and upgrade to Scale when separate books matter.

Multi-campus is built and in production on Scale today. Email sales@altarflow.com or book a demo for a walk-through on your specific structure.

Altarflow, answered.

About Altarflow

What is Altarflow?

Is Altarflow a good fit for small churches and nonprofits?

Does Altarflow work in Spanish?

What features does Altarflow include?

How is Altarflow different from ChurchTrac, Breeze, Tithely, or Planning Center?

Setup & Migration

How long does it take to set up Altarflow?

How do I migrate from ChurchTrac, Breeze, Tithely, or QuickBooks?

What support is included with Altarflow?

Pricing & Billing

How much does Altarflow cost?

What payment methods does Altarflow accept?

Is there a free trial of Altarflow?

Can I change plans or update my Altarflow billing?

Can I cancel Altarflow any time?

Does Altarflow offer discounts for new churches or nonprofits?

Security & Data

Is my church's data secure with Altarflow?

Can I export my data from Altarflow?

Beta Program & Roadmap

What does "beta" mean for Altarflow?

How many churches use Altarflow?

What support do beta customers get from Altarflow?

Does Altarflow support multi-location or multi-campus churches?

Ask them on a 20-minute demo.

Altarflow, answered.

About Altarflow

01What is Altarflow?

What is Altarflow?

02Is Altarflow a good fit for small churches and nonprofits?

Is Altarflow a good fit for small churches and nonprofits?

03Does Altarflow work in Spanish?

Does Altarflow work in Spanish?

04What features does Altarflow include?

What features does Altarflow include?

05How is Altarflow different from ChurchTrac, Breeze, Tithely, or Planning Center?

How is Altarflow different from ChurchTrac, Breeze, Tithely, or Planning Center?

Setup & Migration

06How long does it take to set up Altarflow?

How long does it take to set up Altarflow?

07How do I migrate from ChurchTrac, Breeze, Tithely, or QuickBooks?

How do I migrate from ChurchTrac, Breeze, Tithely, or QuickBooks?

08What support is included with Altarflow?

What support is included with Altarflow?

Pricing & Billing

09How much does Altarflow cost?

How much does Altarflow cost?

10What payment methods does Altarflow accept?

What payment methods does Altarflow accept?

11Is there a free trial of Altarflow?

Is there a free trial of Altarflow?

12Can I change plans or update my Altarflow billing?

Can I change plans or update my Altarflow billing?

13Can I cancel Altarflow any time?

Can I cancel Altarflow any time?

14Does Altarflow offer discounts for new churches or nonprofits?

Does Altarflow offer discounts for new churches or nonprofits?

Security & Data

15Is my church's data secure with Altarflow?

Is my church's data secure with Altarflow?

16Can I export my data from Altarflow?

Can I export my data from Altarflow?

Beta Program & Roadmap

17What does "beta" mean for Altarflow?

What does "beta" mean for Altarflow?

18How many churches use Altarflow?

How many churches use Altarflow?

19What support do beta customers get from Altarflow?

What support do beta customers get from Altarflow?

20Does Altarflow support multi-location or multi-campus churches?

Does Altarflow support multi-location or multi-campus churches?

Ask them on a 20-minute demo.