Carn Software

What Carn Software does

Carn Software Ltd is a privately held, founder-owned UK software company founded in October 1994 and headquartered in Coatbridge, Scotland. The company develops and supports a portfolio of administrative software products targeted at three narrow UK verticals: churches and parishes (Gift Aid processing, parish membership and sacrament registers, parish accounting), hospice and charity lotteries (lottery administration, raffle draw management, player-facing mobile apps), and schools (school funds administration). Its flagship product GiftWise is described as the industry standard for Gift Aid in the Anglican and Catholic Church in the UK, processing approximately 75% of all UK Catholic Gift Aid amounts, totaling £12 million annually. The core technology stack is composed of on-premise desktop applications (GiftWise for Parishes, ParishBase, ParishRegister, ParishPence, FundsMaster, LotteryMaster, DrawMaster) with a growing online/cloud tier (GiftWise Online, ParishPence Online) and a mobile companion app (LotteryLink), integrated with Royal Mail addressing and Caliper Maptitude for geographic data.

The company operates primarily through inside sales and direct engagement, with a single UK office and a small support team covering customers Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm. Revenue is generated through one-time perpetual software licenses (e.g., FundsMaster at £299+VAT, ParishBase at £149+VAT) complemented by annual support and maintenance contracts that include email and telephone support and free upgrades. Hospice lottery customers cite multi-year tenures (6-8 years) and measurable outcomes such as over one million pounds in annual lottery income for individual hospice clients. Carn Software is registered with the UK Information Commissioner's Office for GDPR compliance, employs no headcount data into the public record, and has remained bootstrapped since founding with no external investors, parent company, or acquisition activity disclosed.

Name

Carn Software

Legal name

Carn Software Ltd

Website

https://carnsoftware.online

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Carn Software Ltd is a UK-based, founder-owned software company founded in 1994 that provides administrative and fundraising software — including Gift Aid processing, lottery administration, and parish and school accounting — to churches, hospices, and schools across the United Kingdom.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Coatbridge

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Software Licenses and Subscriptions: Carn Software generates revenue through sale of software licenses with annual support contracts. Products include FundsMaster at £299 + VAT, ParishBase at £149 + VAT, and other parish/lottery management software. First-year support is included with new purchases.
2. Support and Maintenance Services: Ongoing telephone and email support provided as part of annual contracts. Customer support available Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Carn Software develops and licenses vertical software for UK churches, hospices, charities, and schools. Its core offerings include LotteryMaster (lottery administration), GiftWise and GiftWise Online (Gift Aid claim processing for Inland Revenue), DrawMaster (charity raffle draw management), FundsMaster (school funds accounting), and a parish management suite (ParishBase membership database, ParishRegister sacrament records, ParishPence accounting). Software is sold as one-time licences with annual support contracts and direct telephone/email customer support.

Product overview

Carn Software offers a suite of software solutions primarily serving the UK church, charity, and school sectors. The core product portfolio includes LotteryMaster for lottery administration, GiftWise Online for gift aid and donation management, DrawMaster for raffle processing, and FundsMaster for school accounts. Related parish management products include ParishBase (membership database), ParishRegister (sacrament records), and ParishPence (parish accounting), with both desktop and online versions available. LotteryMaster is complemented by the LotteryLink mobile app for iOS and Android. The company was founded in October 1994 and serves approximately 75% of UK Catholic Gift Aid processing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• LotteryMaster: Lottery administration software designed to maximise lottery income for hospices and charitable organisations.
• GiftWise Online
• DrawMaster
• FundsMaster
• GiftWise for Parishes
• ParishBase
• ParishRegister
• ParishPence
• LotteryLink

Products and services

• LotteryMaster

Quantifiable outcome

• 75% market share in UK Catholic Gift Aid processing with £12 million in annual Gift Aid claims managed
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature6 records

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CarnSoftware
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/carn-software-limited

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Carn Software