What You Need to Know Before Upgrading EasyWorship

It’s inevitable. With almost any software program, there’s going to be a point where you will have to upgrade to the newest version if you want it to work with the newest operating systems, if you want or need continued support for the software, or if you just want all the new features included in the new version. Whatever the reason, there are some things to think about before you make that jump to the next level, or before you’re forced to make that jump because the version you have will no longer work.

Upgrading EasyWorship is not a difficult process and follows pretty much the same type of path as most other programs. EasyWorship gives you the option to continue using older versions as long as they work for you, but encourages you to upgrade to the newest version so you get full support and have access to all features available to you. But before you run out and just upgrade EasyWorship, let me make you aware of some things that will make the upgrade process as easy as it is to use the software.

What is the cost?

The first question most people will probably have is, “What does the upgrade cost?” This is a great question and with EasyWorship there are a few different pricing options you can choose from.

One-time purchase options:

With the one-time purchase options, you will own a license to the version available when purchased. For example, if EasyWorship 7 is the current version when you purchase, you will own a license to EasyWorship 7.

Single Projector License – $399 USD – With this license, you are allowed to install in and project EasyWorship on a single computer only. It does allow installing EasyWorship at home or another computer for creating and saving schedules, but can only be used to project to a screen from a single computer. If at any point you need to add more computers that will need to project EasyWorship, you will need to purchase a Campus License.

Campus License – $499 USD – This license allows you to install in and project EasyWorship from as many computers simultaneously as you need at your church site or ‘campus’. This also allows you to install EasyWorship on your home and office computers for creating and saving schedules. For example, if you have a main sanctuary computer, youth computer, children’s ministry computer, chapel computer and Spanish ministry computer all at the same site, you can install in and project from all of those computers at any time.

Both one-time purchase options come with 90 days of free phone tech support. There will be a $35 charge for phone tech support after that first 90 days. You can get free email support, free basic phone support and free business hours chat. With the purchase and installation of either of these licenses, there are just a few images and videos included.

The one-time purchases do not get any feature updates, but do get bug fixes. If a new feature is released and you would like to have it available to you, you will have to switch to subscription. When new versions of EasyWorship are released, it is not mandatory that you upgrade, but if you want to be current, you will need to purchase another one-time purchase, or switch to subscription at that time.

Subscription:

Monthly Subscription – Purchasing the monthly subscription allows you to use the EasyWorship license for one month and is set up to automatically renew each month. You will continue to have full access to the license as long as payment is received each month. The cost of the monthly subscription will depend on the church membership, or better stated, the average attendance of your main church services. Here is the breakdown of the cost:

If the congregation size is:

1 – 99 attendees – $18 USD
100 – 199 attendees – $21 USD
200 – 499 attendees – $24 USD
500 – 999 attendees – $27 USD
1000 + attendees – $30 USD

Annual Subscription – Purchasing the annual subscription allows you to use the EasyWorship license for one year and is set up to automatically renew each year. You will continue to have full access to the license as long as payment is received each year. The cost of the annual subscription is determined the same way as the monthly subscription. However, this is a better deal than the monthly subscription because you will get 2 months free by purchasing the annual subscription. Here is the breakdown of the cost:

If the congregation size is:

1 – 99 attendees – $180 USD ($15/month billed annually)
100 – 199 attendees – $210 USD ($17.50/month billed annually)
200 – 499 attendees – $240 USD ($20/month billed annually)
500 – 999 attendees – $270 USD ($22.50/month billed annually)
1000 + attendees – $300 USD ($25/month billed annually)

Both subscription licenses allows you to install in and project EasyWorship from as many computers simultaneously as you need at your church site or ‘campus’. This also allows you to install EasyWorship on your home and office computers for creating and saving schedules. For example, if you have a main sanctuary computer, youth computer, children’s ministry computer, chapel computer and Spanish ministry computer all at the same site, you can install in and project from all of those computers at any time. You also get unlimited free tech support on the phone which also includes the basic phone support, free email support and free chat during business hours. Beyond the standard videos and images that install with the one-time purchases, the subscriptions come with a couple hundred other pieces of media that are available for free download within the software, including images, motion backgrounds, countdowns and sermon videos.

Subscriptions always get new feature and version updates as well as bug fixes as soon as they are released so they are always on the newest version. You can cancel your subscription at any time so it will not renew, but you will still have access to the license up to the end of your payment period. For example, if your monthly subscription renewed on March 3rd and you canceled it on March 18th, you would still have access to use the license until April 2nd, or if your annual subscription renewed on March 3rd and you canceled it on November 20th, you would still have access to use the license until March 2nd.

There are training videos available on the support website, but subscription users will have an option under their account to sign up for a free basic training webinar.

What do I get with the upgrade?

Along with the license for the EasyWorship software, you will get a few other items that install with the program depending on which option you choose to go with. As mentioned before, the one-time purchased will just get a few pieces of media, but the subscriptions will get a couple hundred pieces of media to download.

EasyWorship comes with 223 public domain songs and installs with three Bibles, the ASV, KJV and RVA. There are more free bibles available for download within the Scriptures tab in EasyWorship. Others can also be purchased for $29 each. Visit our website to view all available bibles.

What kind of computer do I need?

Chances are, if you’re still using an older version of EasyWorship, you may also need to upgrade your computer. At the least, you will want to take a look at the specs of your computer and compare them to the minimum and recommended requirements on our System Requirements page. Please note the Unsupported Software and Hardware list at the bottom of that page. If you have or use anything on the Unsupported list, you will need to update to either the minimum or recommended requirements to be fully compatible with EasyWorship. It is important to have the proper hardware to run EasyWorship. Without the proper hardware, you could experience problems and will not get support from the EasyWorship support team unless your hardware meets the requirements.

If you’re looking for a new computer that will work with EasyWorship and the system requirements page makes no sense to you at all, do your best to find a couple of computers within your budget that you think might work and send those specs over to our support team. They can tell you if it will work well or not.

What happens with my existing data?

After cost, one of the most asked questions when upgrading is, “Will I lose all my songs and media when I upgrade?” And the answer is, “No.”

If your computer meets the requirements to run the newer version of EasyWorship and you’re installing on that same computer, you won’t need to do anything with your existing data. EasyWorship will automatically convert it to the newest version. If you’re upgrading from an extremely old version, EasyWorship may ask if you want to convert the data, or it may not convert at all if it’s version 2006 or older. However, if you are upgrading from a version that old, you can contact the support team and they will help you get it converted.

If your computer does not meet the requirements to run the newest version of EasyWorship and you’re installing the upgrade on a new computer, don’t worry! There are instructions for transferring your database from one computer to another. And, if you run into any problems transferring it, contact our support team and they can help you get it transferred properly.