Family Suite is a family‑based system, and the way families and members are counted may differ from how they were represented in your previous software. This article explains how those counts translate into Family Suite during conversion.

How Families Are Structured in Family Suite

• Each family has a unique Family Identification Number
• Every family record includes at least one member
• A family typically consists of:
  • A married couple, or
  • A single adult or single parent
  • Children living at the same address, when applicable
• Additional members (such as grandparents or grandchildren) may also be included in the family record

If families in your current software do not align with this structure, ParishSOFT recommends speaking with one of our consultants to discuss how to optimize your data in Family Suite before conversion.

Total Number of Families

When asked to provide the total number of families:

• Include all family records that exist in your current system

In Family Suite, all families—registered or not—are accessible from the Family Directory.

Registered vs. Active Families

Family Suite distinguishes between registration status and family activity using two related data points.

Registration Status

• Families may be Registered or Not Registered
• Registration indicates formal membership at a parish

Family Status (Family Group)

Family Suite uses Family Groups to describe a family’s relationship to the parish, such as:

• Active
• Inactive
• Contributors Only
• Sacraments Only
• School Only

Using these categories, families can be filtered in combinations such as:

• Registered / Active
• Registered / Inactive
• Not Registered / Contributors Only
• Not Registered / Sacraments Only

Active Families and Census Reporting

• Most Family Suite census reports default to Registered / Active families
• Because of this, it is important to:
  • Flag families correctly in your current system, and
  • Provide accurate counts of how many families are Registered and how many are Active

If you have been using custom family status categories, you can provide instructions for mapping them to Family Suite values (e.g. mapping Giver Only to Contributor Only).

How Members Are Counted

Family Suite is structured so that:

• All member records belong to a family record
• Every family has at least one member
• Member counts should reflect the total number of individuals in your current system

When providing your member count, include all individuals, regardless of age or role.

Member Roles

Family Suite requires each member to have a Role in Family, such as:

• Father
• Mother
• Son
• Daughter
• Head

These roles help define family structure and reporting after conversion.