Launch Your App Archives

Launch Your App With Confidence In 4 Easy Steps

Have you ever seen the movie, Rocky? Even if you have, let’s do a quick recap. The movie Rocky tells the story of Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), a collector for a loan shark who also happens to be a very good boxer in the local circuit of Philadelphia. Heavyweight Champion Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) catches wind of Rocky’s accomplishments and decides to fight him for the heavyweight championship.

Rocky enlists the help of coaches and friends that assist him in preparing for the big fight. Rocky trains harder than he has ever trained before (I mean, iconic level training). And all of a sudden, it’s time for the big day.

Sometimes launching a new app can feel just like this. You’ve accepted the challenge to step up and create new paths of engagement, communication, and generosity through technology. All your hours of training were logged through days researching which app was right for your church. You had your supporters and staff in your corner and even managed to gain some former opponents in your corner. You went through the demo, talked to the sales person, signed on the dotted line and now it’s time for your app to go live. But what now? How do you even begin to set this thing up? Technology isn’t always that easy after all.

Well, we’re here to guide you through this process, step by step. You’ve got this, and we’ve got your back. With these four easy steps, you’ll wonder why all tech setup isn’t this easy.

Step 1: Merchant Account

Following completion of signing with aware3, you’ll want to begin a relationship with our payment gateway partner to power your aware3 giving channels. Haven’t started yet? You may complete the application here and account setup is typically 3-5 business days.

Step 2: Enable Giving & Web Tools

While waiting for final approval of your merchant account, we’ll request a few items we’ll use to get these channels up and running.

Church Logo: This will display on your giving form and we’ll need a 1024×1024 PNG image.
Church Community Builder (CCB) Access: Did you know that aware3 integrates with Church Community Builder church management software? If you’re running CCB as your management system, this step will allow your mobile app to communicate. Click here to view the step-by-step instructions.
501(c)(3) tax-exempt PDF: Please email a copy to support@aware3.com for us to keep on file for giving-related questions.

Step 3: App Customization

You will receive an email detailing the steps to login to our app portal for the first time. In this step, you will upload all of the content that’ll appear in the app stores. To do so, please login, click the “Setup” tab and select “Setup” from the drop-down and complete the remaining fields. After completing, we will begin the process of building your app and submission to Apple and Google.

*If you need to transfer your former app from Apple or Google Play to the new one please use these instructions.

Step 4: Launch Prep Meeting

Once your app has been approved by Apple and Google, we will schedule a 45-minute launch prep meeting with you. This will be a very interactive session where we’ll talk through the features you want, demo the portal in-depth, tweak graphics, etc. The goal of this meeting is to leave it with a mobile app that you’re ready to begin promoting.

At the end of the movie Rocky, it comes down to a split decision on who won the fight between Apollo Creed and Rocky. But it’s not so bad after all because in the end Rocky went the distance and fought against the reigning Heavyweight Champion, something no other amateur boxer had ever done before. Setting up an app and embarking on a new journey with technology can be intimidating, but we’re here to help. Every step of the way we’ll support you as you adventure into something you’ve never done before. In the end, you’ll find that increased member engagement through the mobile space was worth the journey.

How was your experience launching your aware3 app?