Pricing
Overview
MinisterScheduling.com strives to maintain the pricing for our service so that it is affordable to parishes of all sizes. For that reason, we have adopted a pricing structure that is based upon the number of ministers who serve in the scheduled parish ministries. Because it is expected that smaller parishes will have fewer ministers and consume less resources from our servers, they will pay less for the service.
As shown in the table below, our service pricing is based on a monthly recurring fee that is billed quarterly, in advance. The monthly cost is as low as ten cents per minister account per month! In addition there is a one-time set-up fee of $50.00 charged when the service is installed for your parish.
When evaluating the cost of alternatives for handling the liturgical scheduling needs of your parish, it is wise to consider the out of pocket cost as well as the "hidden" costs, such as:
- Upgrade costs
- Information technology support costs
- Computer system maintenance costs
- Database maintenance costs
Review the material in our sidebar to understand how these costs might vary depending on the solution you choose.
Price Table
| Number of Minister Accounts | Price Per Month |
|---|---|
| Up to 100 | $15.00 |
| Up to 200 | $20.00 |
| Up to 250 | $25.00 |
| Up to 300 | $30.00 |
| Up to 350 | $35.00 |
| Up to 400 | $40.00 |
| Up to 450 | $45.00 |
| Up to 500 | $50.00 |
Service is billed quarterly in advance.
Comparing Prices
Comparing prices for information technology solutions can be a daunting task because there are many "hidden" costs that can go unnoticed and therefore be omitted from the decision process. This sidebar attempts to cover some of these considerations to help prospective clients make a decision that best serves their parish.
Obviously, the initial up-front cost is the first consideration. For packaged software where a license is purchased and the software is installed on the privately owned computers, the number of licenses needed for your parish must be determined and the cost to purchase these calculated. In addition, the cost of staff hours to install the software should be included in arriving at the total. For services, any set-up fees and the staff hours to install any special software needed for the service are totaled to arrive at the up-front cost for the service.
Next, maintenance costs should be addressed over a defined period, say three years. For packaged software this would include any charges for support that the software vendor may impose, the estimated costs for periodic upgrades that may be required as technology changes demand, and the staff hour costs for regular data backups to avert catastrophic loss of your parish data. For services, this cost would include the monthly charge for the service. For most services that do not require installation of special software on your computer, upgrades are included free of charge as they are introduced and your data is secured by the service provider as part of the service fee, so there is generally no additional maintenance costs beyond the monthly charge.
In some cases, an attempt is made to assign a cost for incidental activities such as the travel needed to access the computer used for the solution. These costs are very difficult to quantify and perhaps the convenience provided by the solution is best considered in the purchase decision apart from the cost analysis.