FAQs for Access ACS

Compatibility
1. Q. Does Access ACS work on a Macintosh?
   A. Your members and leaders can use Access ACS from a Mac. Since some of the administrative features will not work on a Mac the Access ACS administrator should use a PC.



2. Q. Does Access ACS use a Microsoft Access database?
   A. No, it uses an SQL database.



3. Q. Does Access ACS work with Web browsers on handheld devices like a PDA or SmartPhone?
   A. Yes, it will work with a wireless hand held device for those users who have permission to search for records.


Getting Started
4. Q. How do I sign up for Access ACS?
   A. Click the signup button at www.accessacs.com and simply follow the directions on the screens. It's simple!



5. Q. How long does it take to do an upload to Access ACS? How often should I do it? Can I do it over a modem line?
   A. We have improved the upload process so that it generally only takes minutes. On a typical DSL line, it will take 3-4 minutes to upload 1000 records with all the data in the records. We recommend that you upload at least once per day if you are making changes in your ACS database at the church office. A modem line will work, but will be slower and is not recommended for large churches.



6. Q. I have thousands of church members. Do I have to set up each user myself?
   A. No. You will have a link on your website which will allow your members to sign up without your help. The system is set up so that any member signing up will automatically be given a Member Login user profile.



7. Q. How do I put a link on my church website to get members to go to Access ACS?
   A. When you sign up for the Member Login feature inside Access ACS , the system will generate a link for your screen. You simply copy that link and put it on your website.


Managing Records
8. Q. If I upload records to the Access ACS server and then change my mind, can I remove the records?
   A. Yes. You simply do a search in ACS to get the records you wish to upload. Then upload again using the search results. All records are removed and replaced by the new upload.



9. Q. Can I only upload select records from ACS , or do I have to upload all of them?
   A. You can choose the records you wish to upload by doing a search in ACS. Then, check the box indicating you want to use the latest search results when you upload!



10. Q. Can I only upload some of my calendars from The Ministry Scheduler, or do I have to load all of them?
    A. When you do your uploads, you will be able to select the calendars you wish to load.



11. Q. If I upload contributions, can other people see them? For example, can the Access ACS administrator see them?
    A. Members can only see their own contributions. You determine who can see the data by assigning permissions inside the user profiles. Thus, you determine who gets to see what data.



12. Q. If I know another member's name and email address, can I sign in as that member and see their record?
    A. No, when you first sign up, you will enter the name and email address. However, the email with the password will be sent to the email address of the member you typed in. So, even if you enter another member's name and address, that other member will receive the email with their password! See our ACS security document for more security information.


Rights and Permissions
13. Q. I don't want any changes made to my ACS data without my approval! How does Access ACS give me total control?
    A. When you upload your data to the Access ACS server, you are essentially copying your data to another database. That is the database the members and leaders will work with, not your ACS database. Then, when you are ready to approve the changes and data that your members and leaders have made, you simply click a button to accept those changes into your ACS database.



14. Q. What if I have one leader whom I want to give more permissions than the others. Can I do this?
    A. Yes, you can create as many user profiles as you need and you can also customize a user profile for one person.



15. Q. Do you have to be an ACS administrator to be an Access ACS administrator?
    A. No, you can assign administrators in Access ACS separately from the ACS administrator.


Event Registration and Online Giving
16. Q.Does my church have to have Access ACS to use Event Registration or Online Giving?
    A. Yes, currently you must purchase Access ACS to use Event Registration. You must also have Access ACS for Online Giving, but the ability to accept money tracsnactions of any form will cost an additional fee. Online event registration with no money transactions involved is free with the basic Access ACS.



17. Q. How do I sign up for Event Registration/Online giving if I already have Access ACS?
    A. Go into your Access ACS Admin section, and go to the link called Add New Features. Click to sign up for this functionality. You will be walked through the process.



18. Q. If my church already has a merchant account, can we use them?
    A. Yes, but only if your current merchant account is compatible with either Authorize.net, PlugNPay, or Vital.net. You can contact your merchant account and ask them if they are compatible with one of these gateways. Also, be aware that if you are not using Axia as your merchant account, you will be able to accept payments with credit cards, but not with electronic checks (ACH). We can only accept ACH payments through Axia at this time.



19. Q. If we do not already have a merchant account, is there a certain one we should use? How do we sign up with them?
    A. Yes, if you do not have one already or if you want to accept ACH-electronic checks online, you should sign up to use Axia as your merchant account. We provide a link on our site that allows you to download the Axia Information Sheet. This sheet is the first step towards getting your merchant account with Axia. You should complete this sheet in total, then fax it to Axia. Axia will then contact you and give you a more detailed application form to complete.
    Once you get your merchant account set up with Axia, you can then log into Access ACS and enter your merchant account information so we can process your payments.



20. Q. Can we accept payments from people using electronic checks (ACH) and not credit cards? Our church does not want to accept credit card payments because of the costs associated with it.
    A. Yes, if you use Axia as your merchant account, you can choose to only allow payments that are electronic checks.



21. Q. What are the fees associated with the Event Registration and Online Giving and how do we pay them?
    A. There is no charge for Event Registration. However, we do charge for doing online financial transactions. If you sign up for Online Giving, and/or you sign up to accept payments on events, we bill you a one-time setup fee of $125. (Note: this is NOT $125 each. You can sign up for one part and pay your setup fee, then sign up for the other part later and there is no additional setup fee.)
    
    

    Initial Setup fee	$125.00
    Monthly Acct Fee	$30.00
    Transaction Fee	$0.20

    
    

    Then, there is a monthly fee of $30 which will be added to your monthly invoice. The monthly fees do not start until you have entered your merchant account information and we have validated it. This is because you cannot actually do any online payment processing until you have a good merchant account in our systems. (Note: this is NOT $30 each. It is $30 no matter if you have Event Registration, Online Giving, or both.)

    Then there are transaction fees of $0.20 per transaction. These will also be on your monthly invoices. So, if you are using Event Registration and want to accept payments, or if you are using Online Giving, you will pay these transaction fees. If you do not want to accept online payments, this fee does not apply.

    Please note that you will also have fees that you pay your merchant account. These fees were not discussed here. Our fees cover the processing of the payments through the gateways, but your merchant account fees will be taken out of the monies that are accepted and deposited into your merchant account.

22. Q. My church wants to use the Event Registration functionality to allow people to sign up for events, but not pay for them. Can we do that and what does it cost?
    A. Yes, you can just use the Event Registration without accepting payments if you wish. There is no charge for this service.



23. Q. Can my church use the Event Registration part and accept payments, but not use the Online Giving functionality? What does it cost?
    A. Yes, you can do this. You can always sign up later for the Online Giving part if you want. We will charge you the setup fee and the monthly fee, plus transaction fees. If you sign up later for the Online Giving, there would be no additional setup or monthly fees.



24. Q. Can my church sign up to use the Online Giving without the Event Registration? What does it cost?
    A. Yes, you can do this too. You can always sign up later for the Event Registration part if you want. We will charge the setup fee and the monthly fee, plus transaction fees. If you sign up later for the Event Registration, there would be no additional setup or monthly fees.


Additional Options
25. Q. What are the future plans for Access ACS?
    A. There is a new update to Access ACS every three months. Each new update has at least one large feature. Some of the upcoming features include:


•  Outreach (visitation)
•  Photos
•  Directories
•  Volunteer Management
•  More statistics