A program designed by Catholics for use in Catholic Parishes.
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Paritek Software Sales Questions

So, you might be interested in purchasing Paritek. Of course, you have a few questions first. These are some of the common questions that are asked by prospective clients. If you have any additional questions, .

How much does Paritek cost?

Paritek is currently available for $395 (Canadian) plus applicable taxes.

If you have a current list of families, they can be converted to Paritek format as part of the sales price. Since other programs store different information than Paritek, not all information that you have entered in your program may be able to be stored in Paritek. We will work together to import your most important information.

Optional upgrades are made available periodically. Upgrades that mainly consist of bug fixes are often free (or included as part of other paid services). Upgrades that introduce new features to the program have ranged in price from $30 to $185 (depending on the time spent on development). While we encourage everyone to upgrade to the latest version of the program, you can reduce your costs by not purchasing every upgrade.

Telephone support is free (long distance charges in excess of $5 per year are billed to the client) at the present time. You may also ask questions via e-mail (also free). On-site support or training will be billed, depending on the service provided. There are no annual service contracts to purchase.

At times, products related to Paritek are offered for sale, usually at cost. For example, perforated paper for income tax receipts is purchased in bulk and sold in smaller packages. Every effort (short of working exclusively as a volunteer) is made to keep the price of owning Paritek low.

For each copy of Paritek sold, $50 is donated to an existing Paritek user (as a way of thanking existing users for their continued support).

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How much does Paritek really cost?

If you are concerned about "hidden" costs, let's take a look at some real numbers. These are actual amounts (original purchase, upgrades, support, tax, etc.) that have been billed to these typical Paritek clients (updated to June, 2006).

Client Purchased Months Invoiced Cost/Month Cost/Year
St. Michael's Parish, Burnaby Dec.1989 200 $1,610.10 $8.05 $96.61
Our Lady of Fatima Parish, Coquitlam March 1992 172 $1,225.14 $7.12 $85.47
St. Joseph's Parish, Salmon Arm April 1993 159 $1,127.74 $7.09 $85.11
St. Patrick's Parish, Vancouver Feb.1995 137 $1,208.20 $8.82 $105.83
St. Clare of Assisi Parish, Coquitlam Nov.1999 80 $626.25 $7.83 $93.94
St. Alphonsus Parish, Chapeau Dec.2002 43 $395.00 $9.19 $110.23

Overall, it costs less than $10 per month to run Paritek in the long term. Obviously some clients pay more and others pay less, but if you budget $10 per month -- including the original purchase price -- then you will have a good idea of the actual cost of the program.

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What kinds of computers will Paritek run on?
Version 3.1 of Paritek should run on any computer capable of running Windows 98 or better. Some clients use the program on older computers (running Windows 95), but find the performance poor. Paritek is formatted to run on a screen resolution of 800x600 or higher. Again, it will run on monitors displaying 640x480, but not as well.

Paritek is network ready and has run successfully on various networks. Paritek can print on any ink jet or laser printer that allows printing from Windows based programs. While Paritek can print to a dot matrix printer, the printer will probably lack the ability to display information properly.

Paritek makes use of whatever power is available on your system. Obviously, Paritek will run faster on a faster machine, but it can still be run reasonably well on an old computer.

If you have a computer that cannot handle Paritek version 3.1, you may inquire about Paritek version 2.5 (a DOS based program).

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Will Paritek work for non-Catholic churches?
While Paritek is primarily designed for Catholic Parishes, many of its features apply to any church or charitable organization. All current users are entitled to submit requests for additional features and those features are often included in future upgrades. If other denominations purchase the program, it will no-doubt evolve to meet the needs of those users.

However, you should not purchase Paritek (or any software) based on features it may have in the future. If Paritek meets your present needs, consider it. If not, you may want to keep looking.

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Will Paritek work with American parishes?
At this point, Paritek is only used by Canadian churches. We are actively looking for test sites in the United States and abroad to purchase the program and submit requests for features which would make Paritek work in your country. Paritek will allow entry of American Zip Codes in family records, but needs more complete information on American donation receipts.
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Is Paritek a Windows based program?
Yes. Version 3.1 of Paritek is designed to use the standard Windows Graphical User Interface. Paritek looks and feels like other Windows program, so if you are used to them, you will be able to learn and use Paritek quickly.

Version 2.5 of Paritek is a DOS based program. Then again, so is Windows. However, Paritek 2.5 runs under Windows 3.1, 95, 98, ME, and XP with a few parameters set to handle its unique needs.

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Can I get a trial version?
Absolutely. Simply e-mail your request to and I will send you a version of the program which is fully functional, but will run for a limited time (about six months). The trial version is sent via e-mail in a 2 Megabyte Zip file. You will need an e-mail account which allows for this size file transfer and a program to extract the Zip file. If you have any questions about installing the trial version, contact me.

If, after evaluating Paritek, you do not decide to purchase the program, I would appreciate receiving your opinions. With your help, we can create a program which meets the needs of every user.

If you are a software developer trying to find out what my program does so you can include some of my features in your program, you may also request a trial version. If my program can inspire you to create a better product, then I will be pleased that your customers could benefit from my talents. I will assume that since you are looking for church software, you will not be inclined to pirate my program.

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Can I talk to a real person by phone?
Despite all our best efforts, sometimes you just need to speak to someone to get your questions answered. While I do not include my phone number on this site for security reasons, I will send it to you if you . If you do not have access to e-mail, go to the Submit a Question page, enter your name and phone number and I will be happy to call you.
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Content copyright © 2001-2006 David Marchak
This page last updated June 11, 2006