Question 1

What is Sermfy Church Management System?

Accepted Answer

Sermfy Church Management System (Sermfy CMS) is an all-in-one software that helps churches manage members, attendance, communication, events, finances, and ministry operations from one centralized platform.

Question 2

What is Sermfy about?

Accepted Answer

Sermfy is a software and technology company building digital solutions that help organizations operate, connect, and grow more effectively. We develop modern software products and platforms that simplify complex processes, improve efficiency, and create better digital experiences.

Our focus is on building practical, scalable, and innovative technology that solves real-world problems. Sermfy’s products include solutions for church management, events, communication, and other areas where technology can make a meaningful difference.

Question 3

What problems does Sermfy CMS solve?

Accepted Answer

Sermfy helps churches replace manual records, spreadsheets, disconnected tools, and time-consuming admiSermfy CMS helps churches turn their ministry data and operations into meaningful action. From managing members and communicating with people to tracking attendance, organizing events, managing finances, following up with members, and understanding church growth, Sermfy gives churches the technology and insights they need to lead more effectively.nistrative processes with a centralized digital system for managing church operations and member information.

Question 4

Who is Sermfy CMS designed for?

Accepted Answer

Sermfy CMS is designed for churches of different sizes and structures, including churches with multiple branches, departments, groups, and ministry teams.

Question 5

Is my church's data shared with other churches on Sermfy?

Accepted Answer

No, every church's data is isolated at the database level, not just hidden by the interface, cross-church access isn't possible by design.

Question 6

Where can I see what's new in Sermfy?

Accepted Answer

Check the Changelog in the Help Center, it lists new features and fixes as they ship, most recent first.

Question 7

What do the stat cards on my dashboard show?

Accepted Answer

Your dashboard shows stats like Total Members, Branches, Active Groups, Pending and Completed Follow-Ups, recent Offerings, New Members, First Timers, and Events, along with distribution charts for gender, groups, and branches.

Question 8

Can I choose which stat cards appear on my dashboard?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Open "Manage Widgets" to choose up to 8 of the available stat cards. This choice is saved per browser, so it won't carry over if you log in on a different device.

Question 9

Can I hide entire sections of the dashboard, not just individual cards?

Accepted Answer

Yes, the Member Statistics, Attendance, Finance, and Recent Activity sections can each be toggled on or off from the same Manage Widgets settings.

Question 10

Why does my dashboard look different from another admin's?

Accepted Answer

Dashboard widget choices are stored per browser rather than shared across your whole church account, so two admins can customize their own view independently.

Question 11

Are my Dashboard stat card choices the same on my phone and my computer?

Accepted Answer

No, individual stat card visibility is saved per-device (per browser), you'll set it up separately on each device you use.

Question 12

Can I turn off a whole Dashboard section instead of individual cards?

Accepted Answer

Yes, Manage Widgets has section-level toggles (Member Stats, Attendance, Finance, Recent Activity) separate from individual stat card checkboxes.

Question 13

How do I add a new branch?

Accepted Answer

Go to Church, then Branches, and create a new branch. Sermfy automatically generates its branch code and a unique slug for you.

Question 14

Which branch is treated as my "main" branch?

Accepted Answer

The first branch you create is automatically set as your main branch. Adding a second branch turns on multi-branch features like the branch switcher.

Question 15

Can I delete a branch?

Accepted Answer

You can delete a branch as long as it isn't your main branch and doesn't have any members currently assigned to it.

Question 16

How do I assign an admin to a specific branch?

Accepted Answer

Open the branch's details, go to the Admins tab, and assign a member to a role scoped to that branch only.

Question 17

What happens when I create my second branch?

Accepted Answer

Your account switches into multi-branch mode, this turns on the branch switcher, per-branch Self-Registration links, and branch-scoped Branch Admin roles.

Question 18

Can I delete a branch that still has members?

Accepted Answer

No, reassign or bulk-edit those members to a different branch first, then delete the now-empty branch.

Question 19

How do I add a new member?

Accepted Answer

From the Members page, click Add Member (or the floating action button on mobile) and fill in the required fields.

Question 20

Does Sermfy stop me from creating duplicate members?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Sermfy checks phone number and email for existing matches before saving a new or edited member.

Question 21

Can members register themselves instead of me adding them one by one?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Share your Membership Registration link, or its QR code, and members can complete their own registration.

Question 22

Can I search and filter my member list?

Accepted Answer

Yes, you can search and filter by Member Type, Gender, and Date Range, and sort the results.

Question 23

What's the difference between Members, Visitors, and Families?

Accepted Answer

Members are your registered congregation, Visitors tracks people who haven't joined yet, and Families lets you group related members together.

Question 24

What's the difference between a Visitor and a Member?

Accepted Answer

They're separate record types. A Visitor can have Attendance and Messages history, but can't be added to a Group or linked to a Giving record until they're registered as a full Member.

Question 25

Can a Visitor be linked to a Family?

Accepted Answer

Family linking is only available for registered Members today, a Visitor would need to be registered as a Member first.

Question 26

Do I need to fill in Member Status when someone self-registers?

Accepted Answer

No, the public Self-Registration form doesn't show Member Status at all, it's automatically set to your default active-equivalent status.

Question 27

Can I recover a member I deleted by mistake?

Accepted Answer

Not currently, Members doesn't have a Trash/Restore screen yet. Export your member list before any large bulk delete as a safety step.

Question 28

Is Family linking available on the public self-registration form?

Accepted Answer

No, Family linking is admin-only and deliberately excluded from the public form, it's done separately from the member's profile afterward.

Question 29

What kinds of fields can I add to a form?

Accepted Answer

Sermfy supports text, name, email, phone, date/time, number, dropdown, radio, checkbox, file/image upload, signature, rating, an Address composite field, and a Matrix/Grid field, among others.

Question 30

Can I limit how many people respond to a form?

Accepted Answer

Yes, set a Response Limit or a Close Date/Time in the form's settings, and Sermfy stops accepting new responses once either is reached.

Question 31

Do people need an account to fill out my form?

Accepted Answer

No. Published forms have a public link that anyone can open and submit without logging in.

Question 32

What happens if I accidentally delete a form or a submission?

Accepted Answer

Deleted forms and submissions go to Trash for 30 days, where you can restore them yourself.

Question 33

Where do I see who has responded to my form?

Accepted Answer

Open the form's Submissions page for a full list, or the Submissions overview to see every form that has at least one response.

Question 34

What's the difference between an Event and a Service?

Accepted Answer

An Event can contain multiple Services, and each Service can have its own Sessions, for example one Sunday event with separate first and second service sessions.

Question 35

How do I generate a QR code for check-in or registration?

Accepted Answer

Open the event and use its QR option. Sermfy generates a branded QR code with your church's logo and branch name built in.

Question 36

Can I export an attendance report for a specific service?

Accepted Answer

Yes, from the service's attendee list, choose Export and pick Attendees, Absentees, or Both, in color or black-and-white.

Question 37

Can I limit how many people register for an event?

Accepted Answer

Yes, set a registration cap in the event's settings, once the cap is reached, the public page shows the event as fully booked.

Question 38

Does the event cover image show up when I share the link on WhatsApp?

Accepted Answer

Yes, once you've uploaded a cover image, it automatically becomes the link preview image on WhatsApp, Facebook, and similar platforms.

Question 39

What check-in methods does Sermfy support?

Accepted Answer

A physical QR scanner (QR Device), your phone or laptop's camera (Camera Scan), and an unattended, full-screen station for self check-in (Kiosk Mode).

Question 40

What happens if I forget to end a check-in session?

Accepted Answer

Sermfy detects sessions where check-ins happened but the session was never closed, and surfaces them as Resume Check-In so you can pick up where you left off.

Question 41

Can visitors be checked in, not just registered members?

Accepted Answer

Yes, both first-time and returning visitors can be found and checked in the same way as members.

Question 42

How is Attendance Rate calculated?

Accepted Answer

Total attendance divided by your active members plus guests and first-timers, shown as a percentage.

Question 43

Can I export attendance data?

Accepted Answer

Yes, individual services export as a full PDF report, and selecting multiple services in Attendance History exports a summary CSV.

Question 44

Can I create my own group categories?

Accepted Answer

Yes, group categories are fully customizable per church rather than a fixed list.

Question 45

How do I add several members to a group at once?

Accepted Answer

Use the bulk Add Members option on the group, which adds everyone in a single batched action.

Question 46

Can a group have more than one leader?

Accepted Answer

Yes, you can assign multiple Group Leaders to the same group.

Question 47

How does someone become a Group Leader?

Accepted Answer

Request it from the group's Leaders tab. If you only have Groups permissions it goes to Pending for approval, and if you have full Users permissions it applies immediately.

Question 48

Can a Group Leader check in just their own group's members?

Accepted Answer

Yes, if enabled for that service, Group Leaders see a filtered check-in view limited to their own group.

Question 49

What life events can I record?

Accepted Answer

Birthdays, Weddings, Baptisms, Funerals, and a general Other category.

Question 50

Can I record a baptism for someone who isn't a registered member?

Accepted Answer

Not currently. Only registered members can be recorded for baptism right now.

Question 51

Can I generate a baptism certificate?

Accepted Answer

Not yet. Certificate generation for baptisms is planned but not available yet. Membership card generation is available today, though.

Question 52

Can I record a baptism for someone who isn't a member yet?

Accepted Answer

Not currently, baptism records require an existing registered member, register the person as a member first if they aren't one yet.

Question 53

Do birthdays need to be entered separately in Life Events?

Accepted Answer

No, the Birthdays tab is built directly from each member's date of birth on their profile, there's no separate birthday entry step.

Question 54

What kinds of giving can I track in Sermfy?

Accepted Answer

Tithes, Offerings, Funds, and Online Giving all in one place.

Question 55

Can members give online instead of in person?

Accepted Answer

Yes, Online Giving is processed through Paystack, and Sermfy generates a shareable giving link for your church.

Question 56

Where do I see a history of what has been given?

Accepted Answer

Your Finance section shows a running history of tithes and offerings recorded for your church.

Question 57

Do online gifts automatically get a receipt?

Accepted Answer

Yes, if Giving Receipt automation is enabled, an online gift is receipted the same way a manually recorded gift is, no separate setup needed.

Question 58

Can I close a Fund without losing its history?

Accepted Answer

Yes, closing a Fund only hides it from new-gift selection, every past gift recorded against it remains fully visible in reports.

Question 59

How do I send an SMS broadcast?

Accepted Answer

From Communication, then Broadcast, compose your message, choose a Sender ID, pick your recipients, and send immediately or schedule it.

Question 60

What are merge fields?

Accepted Answer

Typing @@ in your message opens a list of fields like @@first_name or @@church_name that Sermfy automatically fills in per recipient.

Question 61

How do I get a Sender ID for my church?

Accepted Answer

Request one from Communication, then Overview. Sermfy reviews it and registers it with the SMS provider once approved.

Question 62

What happens if I do not have enough SMS credits?

Accepted Answer

The broadcast is stopped before sending and you are notified. Credits are only ever deducted for messages that were actually queued for delivery.

Question 63

Can I schedule a broadcast for later instead of sending immediately?

Accepted Answer

Yes, choose Schedule and pick a date and time when composing your broadcast.

Question 64

How does someone become an absentee?

Accepted Answer

Once a member's consecutive missed services reach your church's configured Absence Threshold, they are automatically flagged.

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently asked questions