From the first conversation to the keys in your hand
Chimes is not a sign-up form. It is installed once, on a server you control, configured around the way your congregation already works, and handed over to you. Here is what happens at each step, and what to have ready.
Four steps, one deployment
Every Chimes deployment follows the same four steps, whether your records live in spreadsheets today or in another system.
At the end, Chimes runs on infrastructure in your name, and nothing about it depends on a subscription.
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01
Consultation
We talk through how your congregation is organised, the words you use for things, where your records live today and where Chimes should run. You get a deployment plan and a straight answer on what it will take.
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02
Deployment
Chimes and its PostgreSQL database are installed on a server you own or rent, with certificates for its four hostnames and your Stripe and Postmark accounts connected. Credentials are stored encrypted, and the key stays on your machines.
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03
Configuration
Your church's name, logo, service times, time zone and financial year; the roles and permissions of your staff; funds, gathering schedules, Sunday school classes and the membership workflow. The existing directory comes in from a spreadsheet.
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04
Handover
Your office team is trained on the staff console, the runbook is written down, and you are handed the keys: the server, the accounts and the encryption key are yours.
What you will need
Four things, each in your institution's name, so Chimes keeps running whoever looks after it.
A server
A Linux server you own or rent to run Chimes and its PostgreSQL database. A $12-a-month DigitalOcean droplet with 1 vCPU and 2 GB of memory is the size Chimes is set up for.
A domain
Four hostnames on a domain you hold: www. for the church website, app. for members, admin. for the office and api. for your other systems.
A Stripe account
Gifts are taken by card or US bank account through your institution's own Stripe account and settle in your bank. Stripe charges its processing fee directly.
A Postmark account
Sign-in links, notifications, statements, volunteer reminders and announcements are sent through Postmark, from an address on your own domain.
One application, four doors
A single application and a single database answer on all four hostnames. Each person sees the door meant for them, and every door opens onto the same records.
app.
Member app
For your congregation
Where members give, download their statements, ask for pastoral care, see their household and answer the volunteer roster.
See its features arrow_forward publicwww.
Church website
For visitors and the wider community
The public site people find first: service times, events, news, giving without an account and an online membership application.
See its features arrow_forward dashboardadmin.
Staff console
For clergy, the office and volunteers
Where the church office runs the directory, the money, the calendar, pastoral care, Sunday school and communication.
See its features arrow_forwardapi.
JSON:API
For your other systems
A token-authenticated JSON:API over the same records, for the display screen in the foyer or a report your treasurer runs. Each token belongs to a membership and can do only what that membership may.
Looking after it is your call
Once Chimes is handed over it belongs to you: whoever looks after your other systems can look after this one, with the runbook in hand. If you would rather not, I can look after the server for you at $30 an hour.
Backups
Three things hold your records: the database, the uploaded images and the private folder of membership application documents. Back up all three — the database alone is not enough. The runbook says where each one lives.
Upgrades
A new version of Chimes is a new release and its database migrations, applied together on your server. Nothing updates itself behind your back.
Ready to plan your deployment?
Tell me how your congregation keeps its records today and where you would like Chimes hosted. I will come back with a deployment plan and a straight answer on what it will take.