Paxton Church & Charity Accounting Software is accounting software built for churches and charities, with tools for fund accounting, budgets, expenses, and financial reporting. Its Standard plan includes multi-fund accounting, a purchase ledger, budgets, donations and Gift Aid, document attachments, Charity Commission reports, transaction imports, VAT processing through Making Tax Digital, user access levels, and telephone and email support. It supports Charity Commission SORP-compliant reporting and can produce a SOFA in Charity Commission format. It also manages donations and Gift Aid and can produce a Gift Aid schedule in HMRC format. Transactions can be imported from bank statements, though there is no automatic bank feed. VAT returns can be submitted via Making Tax Digital. Advanced adds a sales ledger, invoicing, sales analysis, foreign-currency processing, project analysis, and project budgets. The online version is cloud-hosted and available on internet-connected devices; a Windows desktop version is also offered. Paxton says its online service uses UK hosting, three layers of login and database protection, endpoint protection, and 14 days of backups. Plans are £50.00 per month for Standard and £75.00 per month for Advanced, before VAT, with a no-cost 30-day trial using demonstration data.
Who it is for
It suits churches and charities that need fund-based accounting, Gift Aid and donation records, budgets, and charity reporting. Organizations needing sales-ledger functions, invoicing, foreign-currency processing, or project analysis should consider Advanced.
What is good
- Supports multi-fund accounting and budget tracking.
- Produces SORP-compliant reports and a Charity Commission-format SOFA.
- Manages donations and Gift Aid, including an HMRC-format schedule.
- Imports bank-statement transactions and submits VAT returns via MTD.
- Offers cloud access and a Windows desktop version.
What to know first
- There is no free plan; paid plans start at £50.00 per month.
- No automatic bank feed is available.
- Receipts and payments accounting is only available in Standard.
- Invoicing and foreign currency processing are only available in Advanced.
Verdict
Choose Paxton if your church or charity needs fund accounting, Gift Aid management, and charity-specific reporting, with web or Windows access. Look elsewhere if you require an automatic bank feed or need Advanced-only functions while using Standard.
Get started with Paxton Church & Charity Accounting Software
- Visit https://paxtonsoftware.co.uk/.
- Choose the online or Windows desktop version.
- Start the no-cost 30-day trial, which connects to demonstration data.
- Select Standard or Advanced; subscriptions are billed monthly in advance by direct debit.
Limits to know first
Standard costs £50.00 per month before VAT and supports receipts and payments or accruals accounting. Advanced costs £75.00 per month before VAT and is for accruals accounting only; invoicing and foreign-currency processing are limited to Advanced.
Questions about Paxton Church & Charity Accounting Software
How much does Paxton cost?
Standard is £50.00 per month and Advanced is £75.00 per month, billed monthly in advance by direct debit. Prices exclude VAT at 20%.
Is there a free plan or trial?
There is no free plan. Paxton offers a no-cost 30-day trial connected to demonstration data.
Which platforms does it support?
The online version is cloud-hosted and works on internet-connected devices. A separate desktop version runs on Windows computers.
Can it handle Gift Aid and Charity Commission reporting?
It manages donations and Gift Aid and produces an HMRC-format Gift Aid schedule. It supports SORP-compliant reporting and can produce a SOFA in Charity Commission format.
Does Paxton connect automatically to banks?
There is no automatic bank feed, but transactions can be imported from bank statements.
Who can use the online service?
The online service terms make it available to subscribers in the United Kingdom unless Paxton approves otherwise.
Paxton Church & Charity Accounting Software plans and pricing
All plansCompared on church accounting software
- Free plan
- No
- Fund accounting
- Yes
- Budget tracking
- Yes
- Expense management
- Yes
- Financial reporting
- Yes
