FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What are the system requirements?
A: The Church Musician and Service Designer products require an IBM-compatible PC running Windows 98SE or higher with at least 128MB of RAM (256+MB recommended). Pentium II-class or higher processor is required. A CD-ROM drive is required for installation. Your display must support at least 800 x 600 resolution with at least a 256-color depth (SVGA). Optional accessories required for some functions in Church Musician and Service Designer include a properly configured internet browser, a soundcard with speakers, and an e-mail program such as Microsoft Outlook or Thunderbird.

Similar system requirements pertain to Finale and Sibelius, with the exception that each requires at least 256MB RAM and will also run on the Macintosh operating system (Mac OSX+).

Q: Are your products networkable?
A: Yes. Our products are able to be housed either on a client/server system, or on a peer-to-peer network.

Q: Can you tell me about your licensing agreements?
A: Church Musician, Church Musician Lite and Service Designer are all available for standalone computers or multiple workstations. There are no extra costs or hidden fees for installing these products on either a network, or individual work environment, such as your home computer, secretary's computer, etc. Finale and Sibelius allow 2 installs per copy for non-simultaneous use, such as on a desktop computer and a laptop. MediaShout is limited to 2 installs per copy, with one installation serving as the "design" station, and the other as the "projection" station. Please email for further explanation on multiple seat licenses on any of these software titles.

Q: How often do you come out with new upgrades? How much do your upgrades cost?
A: We develop and release upgrades for Church Musician and Service Designer every 18 - 24 months. We only charge a nominal fee for our x.0 versions. Incremental upgrades are usually free if downloaded from our website. Finale generally upgrades every calendar year. Sibelius generally upgrades every other year. Finale and Sibelius upgrades are currently available only from their respective manufacturers.

Q: How do Church Musician and Service Designer compare with ShoutMusicManager / Music Ministry Manager / RapidPlanner / etc.?
A: Church Musician is a music administration database that has been on the market since 1986, the longest of any software of its type. It has pioneered features such as e-mail, storing pictures, barcode scanning, etc. It has always been written with simplicity in mind for volunteers to be able to do input, while maintaining the power for the director to do complex multi-criteria searches.

Similarly, the worship planning product Service Designer (through its predecessor, HymnSearch) has been on the market since 1989. Some companies offer the data for their worship planners on a "module" basis, charging you for each additional songbook. Tempo provides all of the data in Service Designer for one price. The data included in Service Designer is the most comprehensive since it references multiple publishers, not just emphasizing the copyrights of one or two.

Many other software companies roll together the music administration and worship planning components into one piece of software. Tempo has chosen to produce task-specific software that can still communicate with each other, so that you can run Service Designer from within Church Musician if you choose, but they are still fully independent products.

Finally, Church Musician and Service Designer do not require any additional software (beyond Windows) to run and will not conflict with software currently installed on your system, such as Microsoft Office. There are no unintuitive "runtime applications" hiding in the background. And the licensing policy for these products does not require you to buy additional "per seat" licenses, as noted above.

Q: How many titles/MIDI files/notation files are there in Service Designer?
A: Service Designer 5.0's database contains over 8,500 songs and hymns from 48 songbooks and 28 hymnals. There are MIDI files for over 3,000 titles and notation files for over 1,000 titles, including projectable music.

Q: Do you offer any demos of your programs?
A: Yes, we provide downloadable demos of our most popular programs. On most of the product pages, there is also a link to order a demo for that product on CD-ROM.

Q: I am currently using a different program. Can I import my current data into Church Musician?
A: No, unless it is in Excel format, your data will need to be converted first. We provide the data conversion process FREE of charge to our customers, but we do it on OUR schedule. Click here to send us an email to tell us what your current software is. We will reply as to whether we are currently able to convert from that format. Read more about our data conversion service on our Upgrades page.

Q: Do you offer Technical Support?
A: Yes. We provide tech support on all of our programs for each version's lifetime. You may call or e-mail your questions. All it costs is the price of a phone call or internet access.

Q: Do you have classes on how to learn your programs?
A: Yes. We lead software seminars across the United States on our software. Send us an email and tell us where you are and we'll update you on seminars in your region. If you are unable to attend, your User Manual and onscreen video tutorials are excellent resources for learning the programs.

Q: How do I register my program(s)?
A: You may send in your registration cards that come with your product. Or, you may send your registration information via e-mail. Each product comes with specific directions on the registration process.

Q: Do you sell barcode scanners for scanning data into Church Musician?
A: No. However, we do recommend the WASP CCD scanner. You may find it at www.waspbarcode.com You may also wish to review our online tutorial on the subject, as it has links to several scanner manufacturers.