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A no brainer. Unmatched volunteer coordination with powerful resource delivery
January 29, 2020

A no brainer. Unmatched volunteer coordination with powerful resource delivery

Walter Aho | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Planning Center

Planning Center is used as the hub for our worship team. We use it to schedule volunteers; allowing them to communicate their availability as well. We also use it as a tool for planning services, preaching schedules/sermon series, and special events. It allows us to coordinate with volunteers, get them the information they need, and make sure we're all on the same page as a staff.
  • Volunteer coordination with blockout dates.
  • Fantastic repository of resources.
  • Adding files to an item on a playlist can be hard to find outside of that set.
  • Previewing songs on import gives very limited info - can be hard to find the correct one.
  • Reliable and consistent scheduling options for volunteers. Keeps them happy and us staffed.
  • Better communication makes for a better planned and executed service.
  • Breeze
I've used worshipteam.com for worship resources, which has a few advantages. It's much easier to transpose music sheets AND audio recordings with a click making for an easier practice session. Planning Center does not provide an easy-to-use function like that (though they do offer a transposing site: transposr.com). That being said, it's the only selling point for another product. Planning Center far outweighs that "con" with so many pros. Advanced, but intuitive scheduling and ability for volunteers to add "blockout dates" is invaluable. Matrix view allows for easy scheduling for months at a time. The ability to integrate with Breeze (or similar church management programs) is a plus. We use ProPresenter which integrates with Planning Center making Sunday setup very easy.
I've not needed to use Planning Center support. In the few instances that I would have thought would "require support," tips and notices popped up on screen letting me know what was happening. There are very VERY few issues that I've found with Planning Center. The interface has been intuitive and powerful, so I've not needed to use their support service.

Do you think Planning Center delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Planning Center's feature set?

Yes

Did Planning Center live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Planning Center go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Planning Center again?

Yes

Planning Center is very scalable for use in both small and large applications. If you're already using ProPresenter, it integrates well, saving time. It really shines with the added Music Stand app for use by team members for practicing on their own time. If you have a very small or limited team without the need for advanced scheduling, another more "basic" option could be more suitable.