AltarDesk

AltarDesk: comprehensive management for UK churches and charities

AltarDesk is a software platform designed to centralise the administration of churches and charities. Its approach revolves around managing members, donations, volunteer rotas, background checks and regulatory compliance. The tool is recognised by HMRC for managing Gift Aid claims, the UK tax relief system for charitable donations. The product is developed by Rayscent Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales, and is available in both the UK and the US.

Features for day-to-day administration

The platform brings together in a single system functions that are usually spread across several disconnected tools. These include:

• Member directory: a unified record with attendance, ministry, giving and personal details. Members can update their own information through the portal, keeping data up to date without administrative intervention.
• Donor statements: donation tracking, reconciliation of cash amounts and bank statements, and generation of tax-ready statements (IRS in the US) at any time of year.
• Background checks and safeguarding: expiry monitoring, recording of policies and meeting minutes, and board reports generated from up-to-date data.
• Rota planning: automatic assignment of volunteers by ministry and availability, with individual visibility of assigned dates.
• Communications: sending email or SMS messages to the whole church or a specific ministry, with automatic birthday emails and consent tracking.
• Member portal: private access for each member to view their calendar, make donations, download their giving statements and request to join a ministry.

Mobile app and contactless giving

AltarDesk offers a native app for members that allows them to confirm or swap rotas, make donations in two steps, download giving statements and update personal details without going through the office. In addition, the platform enables contactless donations using a mobile phone as a card reader, with no additional hardware required. Every donation is recorded instantly and session totals are integrated into the system for reconciliation with cash.

Gift Aid and regulatory compliance

The tool is recognised by HMRC for Gift Aid management, which makes it easier for UK churches and charities to claim this tax relief. AltarDesk states that it complies with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and is registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) under number ZC117860. Role-based access prevents the use of shared credentials.

Plans and pricing

The service is offered with a 30-day free trial without the need for a card. Churches of up to 15 people can use the platform free of charge indefinitely. Beyond that, the price is determined by the size of the directory, not by the features contracted: all functionality is included in all paid plans. The published tiers are:

• Up to 15 people: free.
• Up to 75 people: £17 per month.
• 76 to 125 people: £25 per month.
• 126 to 200 people: £35 per month.
• 201 to 500 people: £69 per month.
• 501 to 1,000 people: £99 per month.
• More than 1,000 people: from £199 per month.

Origin and development

AltarDesk was created by a parish secretary and church trustee who was looking for a solution for his own congregation in Leeds. The tool was born out of the need to overcome scattered spreadsheets, manual Gift Aid claims and the lack of a centralised data record. The parent company, Rayscent Ltd, is based in London.

Recent updates

The site's release notes show additions such as a general chat for the whole church, the ability to share photos and files in chats (with a 3 MB limit per file) and members' access to their own baptism and anointing records from the portal and mobile app.

Location and contact

71–75 Shelton Street, London WC2H 9JQ