Did you know that there are thousands of Awana clubs that are using database software to maintain their club records? There are five software packages that I am aware of that are made available by third party vendors to clubs to help them maintain their records. (If you are aware of others, please let me know so I can include them).
It is a daunting task to try to keep the information on my site up to date as each software provider updates their software at various times. I am pleased to report that all five software products have updated their software for the 2009-10 Awana year. When I checked back in August, several were still lagging behind and had not updated the software to include the latest items/information from Awana as my comparison chart shows, but I will be revising that information soon to have it accurate.
I am dependent upon the software developers to keep me informed of revisions and added features to their software, and there are some who are faithful to keep me up to date with information. Consequently, those who do not keep me up to date are not listed in detail as to what their product offers because it is my goal to have an accurate representation of their software product. Basically all of then products keep basic records, and then it is up to each club to decide which software product is best for their club (“bells and whistles”, costs, etc.). I can tell you from all of my communication with the various software developers, they all simply seek to help streamline your administration so you can focus more on the clubbers and reaching them, while still maintaining good records.
If you do not use record keeping software, then I encourage you to look into it. It can be a great blessing to your club. Of course if the way you are keeping records now is working for you, then keep ding what you are doing well.
PLEASE NOTE: Awana DOES NOT endorse, nor support any of the software products for record keeping that are available. They are all provided by third party vendors. If you look in the secretary role book in the FAQ section, it had been noted that there are no computer products available for record keeping. It is my hope that Awana will recognize the availability of these products in the secretary role book, noting that they do not endorse, nor offer support to users, but that they will diligently work with these developers to help them stay current with materials being provided by Awana.
Commander Bill’s Awana Record Keeping Software Comparison
If you have used any of the available software products, please send me a small testimony about how long you have used it, why it is meeting your club’s need, and what feature you like most about the software. I would like to include some testimonies on the site to help people as they decide which product to use.
I have been using Approved Workman for 3 years. I really like all of the preformatted reports and the excellent support.