About Us
Our Story
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The Beginning
1985Two budding software programmers are approached by a local vicar with a need for a software package that will help him administer his 25,000 plot Churchyard. Rollcall and Churchyard are released for the Amstrad PCW.
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Financial Accounting
1986Our first Accounting package called Cashcall is released and we attended our first Christian Resources Exhibition.
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Membership Management
1987Rollcall is released for the PC and for DOS to help faith based and charity organisations manage their members easily and with less admin work
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Donations & Giving
1988Cashcall and two new programs Donate and Covenants (the precursor to Gift Aid) is released for DOS
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DOS to Windows
1992Rollcall, Donate and Covenant are released for the Windows Operating Systems. Our now managing director Stephen Hendy joins Data Developments.
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DOS to Windows Cashcall
1993Cashcall is made available on the Windows Operating Systems joining our other software solutions.
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The Move
1996We published our first book “Church computing, taking the next step” and moved into the newly built Wolverhampton Science Park Stephen Ibbs joins Data Developments
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The World Wide Web
1997We create our first website and host our first on-site training courses. Following legislation changes Donate and Covenants are combined into one package and upgraded to enable large multi-organisations to claim.
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Gift Aid comes into play
2000We hosted a Gift Aid conference to coincide with the introduction of new legislation – Gift Aid replacing covenants. Gift 2000 is launched to replace Covenants and produce claims in the new format required by the HMRC
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Staff Training
2002Our programming team head to America for training in a new programming language to revolutionise our software and make life easier for our customers
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A new member joins the team
2003Shelagh Ibbs joins the team bringing her own personal touch to Data Developments customer service
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Membership Coordinator
2004The training in America pays off and Membership Co-ordinator is released to replace Rollcall
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Donations Coordinator
2006Donations Co-ordinator follows the release of Membership Coordinator to replace Gift 2000
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Finance Coordinator
2008And finally our accounts package Finance Co-ordinator is released to replace Cashcall
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We'll do it for you
2010With the increasing need for treasurers and/or assistants to help with the accounts we launch our Bookkeeping service
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Keeping up with the law
2012Following changes to legislation we release the Gift Aid booklet explaining the amendments that the government made to keep our customer informed
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Gift Aid claims sent directly to HMRC
2013Donations Co-ordinator is upgraded to submit claims online (one of the first companies to be authorised by the HMRC) following changes to the claiming procedures from the HMRC
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New staff new office
2014Following the introduction of new staff we move to new larger offices at the Creative Industries Centre at Wolverhampton Science Park
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30 Years in Business
2015To commemorate 30 years we hosted a conference to talk about what we have to offer and what's to come
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Our Office Pet
2016Colin, our office pet, joins Data Developments
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Donations to the Cloud
2017We move with the times and release our first cloud based donations system called MyGiving.Online with features designed to increase productivity and income from donations.
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Contactless Giving
2018We are one of the first companies to launch a contactless giving device linked to our MyGiving.Online donations software to enable Gift Aid or GASDS to be claimed on contactless donations
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Accounts to the Cloud & We'll do it for you
2019Our cloud based accounting package, MyFundAccounting.Online, is released opening it up to the same possibilities as MyGiving.Online Our Independent Examination service is launched
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Storage & Training
2020All office software and servers move fully into the cloud, just in time for remote working due to Covid We commit to becoming a carbon negative company, replacing old equipment with new more efficient equipment and reducing the resources we use. We release all of our training as on-demand online training modules
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Membership Management to the Cloud
2021Released our first fully cloud based membership system called MyMembershipManager.Online We join Ecologi, to offset the carbon we do use, and a business forum sharing ideas to go green faster
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Bigger and Better
2022Following our ever-expanding team we outgrow the office at Wolverhampton Science Park and move into the iconic Chubb Buildings in Wolverhampton Our new office is located next to the bus and train station, the cycling network and together with our car sharing scheme our aim is to further reduce the miles that we drive
Our Wolverhampton Team
At Data Developments we have been writing and developing software for Churches and Charities for over 35 years. Our software has been specially created by experts and people who have worked in those roles to help people with little or no accounting, Gift Aid or administrative expertise to become compliant with minimal effort.
The software enables you to easily manage and increase the organisation’s money, look after its members, prepare useful reports to help the trustees and other interested people understand the work of the organisation, to plan for the future and to ensure that more time and resources are spent on its core activities.
It does this by simply making the organisation’s administration a lot easier, making handing over to new people a breeze and removing the dependence on bespoke spreadsheets. The software is easy to use in real situations whilst also meeting the legal requirements of being a charity and representing wonderful value for money
A family company with over 35 Years of Experience
Stephen Ibbs helped set up Data Developments in 1985 and in 1992 Stephen’s son (also called Stephen) joined the company. Having two Stephen Ibbs’ in the company created too much of a headache and so Stephen (the son) used an old family name and thus became Stephen Hendy. In 2002 Shelagh Ibbs (wife of Stephen and mother to Stephen Hendy) also joined Data Developments and since then we have welcomed more staff to the family of Data Developments and will continue to do so. In 2016 Stephen and Shelagh Ibbs retired leaving Data Developments in the safe and capable hands of Stephen Hendy and his plans for the future.
The first software developed by Data Developments was produced in 1985 in response to a vicar with a need for a membership package. This first program, Rollcall, was a great success and was quickly followed by three financial packages: Cashcall, Covenant and Donate.
Interest in these four programs quickly grew and other staff joined the company and when Windows was launched, and the programs were completely re-written for this new operating system.
Work expanded as a wide range of customers, including Goodyear Tyre Company, Wolverhampton Race Course, and Refuges for abused women and homeless men in the midlands commissioned work. In 1996 following much discussion it was decided that Data Developments would focus on working exclusively with Churches and Charities.
In 2000 new Gift Aid legislation provided a need to produce a new package, one that combined the strengths of both Covenant and Donate with new ideas and compliance to the new regulations – this software package was called Gift. With the advent of online claiming in April 2013 Data Developments were one of the first companies to be approved by the HMRC to submit claims online.
As legislation has changed we have continued to work with statutory organisations to ensure that all of our software complies with new regulations and provides approved forms such as the Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA)
Contactless donations, online banking and Online software
Data Developments have always been at the forefront of developments in the charity sector and this is even more so with our new online versions of our donations and finance systems called MyGiving.Online and MyFundAccounting.Online. These enable donations to be received and processed in many new and innovative ways whilst automating the work as much as possible enabling churches and charities to focus on their core work.
With the decline in the use of cash this had the potential to cause real issues for churches and charities, many of which rely on spontaneous donations. Therefore in 2017 we started working with a contactless terminal manufacturer to enable our users to not only benefit from contactless donations but also enable Gift Aid or GASDS to be claimed on them automatically. The resulting terminal can now either be used standalone or can be partnered with MyGiving.Online which then enables Gift Aid or GASDS to be claimed on a donation made by a donor (who simply tapped their donation).
With the pandemic in 2020 a lot more churches and charities switched to online banking but were then faced with the issue of having payments made by a single authorised person, whereas their financial procedures required dual authorisation, or pay for banking services. Data Developments therefore developed a system where the software would manage the dual authorisation and make the dual authorised payment through the bank using the same online banking services.
Used by over 9500 Churches and Charities across the UK and recommended by:
- Dioceses in the Church of England
- Dioceses in the Church in Wales
- Church of Scotland
- Church of Ireland
- Dioceses in the Roman Catholic Church
- Presbyterian Church in Ireland
- New Testament Church of God
- Free Church of Scotland
- Scottish Baptists
What’s different with Data Developments software?
Because of the unique nature of church and charity work and the way in which our programs will be used we don’t follow ‘normal’ software company limitations for example with our licensing.
Our Licensing
Once you have purchased our desktop software the license allows you to install it on as many computers as you wish so long as it is only being used for that individual church or charity. So you can keep a ‘backup’ copy on another computer or if you are sharing the input of data with another person (through transfer of data) that’s no problem and there’s no extra charge!!
With our online software you can have as many users as you wish, can control their permissions and so share the work with no extra cost.
Specific Versions
Our accounting package Finance Co-ordinator and MyFundAccounting.Online includes specific sets of accounts and reports that have been designed in close contact with church/central organisations so their churches can set up quickly and use a consistent set of accounts when producing any of their standard reports.
Open Days
We hold free Open Days and online presentations at various times across the country. This provides both new and existing users with the opportunity to see demonstrations of our software, play with the individual programs, ask questions and meet some of our Sales and Support teams.
Training
Training Our training courses aim to help you get the most out of your time by getting the most out of our software. Each of our courses has been developed over a number of years by listening to our customers and evaluating each course individually. Courses are delivered by qualified and experienced trainers and attendees receive a training booklet containing details of everything covered during the course.
Our ‘on demand’ online training are modules that you can purchase or to watch and re-watch at your own convenience and as many times as you wish within 30 days.
Our Listening Shows
We like to hear how good our software is and how much it has helped users but we also value those comments that help us improve our software further. As the world changes so to do our customers’ needs. Therefore our philosophy, over the last 35 years, has been to write software for real people in everyday situations. We constantly strive to improve the products and services we offer.
At Data Developments we don’t just produce software; we also take an active part in the roles that require our software. Amongst our directors and staff we have had a minister, a treasurer (for one of the largest churches in our area), a Gift Aid secretary, a DCC secretary, a youth worker plus others that take active roles in other areas of church and charity life.
We believe this enables us to offer a unique level of service together with the best products specifically designed for church and charity use. We continually develop our programs to ensure they always comply with current legislation and are easy to use.
Communication
We provide a monthly email newsletter to our customers to ensure that they remain up-to-date with all the latest software developments, training courses and open days from Data Developments. As well as other news from the church and charity market.
You can subscribe to our monthly online newsletter by clicking here
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And Finally…
Over the last couple of years staff at Data Developments have taken part in a variety of Sponsored Events, including Triathlons, Skydives, Cake Sales etc. to help raise money for various Charities across the UK.
So far we have managed to raise over £8000 for Cancer Research, Christians Against Poverty, Help for Heroes, Promise Dreams, World Vision, Send A Cow, Sport Relief amongst others.
If you have any suggestions as to other events in which we should be involved, please let us know so that we can try to increase the total given to charities.