Documentation
Learn how Transforma works
Getting Started
Two simple paths. Pick the one that matches you: Listener or Church.
Create Your Free Account
Sign up with your email — no church required. Your profile lets you follow churches and save resources.
Follow Churches
Open Discover and tap Follow on churches you care about. You'll get a clean feed of upcoming sermons.
Join Live in Your Language
When a church goes live, press Listen. Audio is translated in real time so you can follow along.
Stay Connected
Get notified when your followed churches go live. Never miss a service — join from anywhere, in any language your church supports.
Already signed in?
Church Signup & Verification
Email Domain Verification
To claim ownership of a church on Transforma, you must use an email address that belongs to your church's domain. This verification process ensures that only authorized church representatives can manage church accounts and recordings.
Requirements
- Church Website Required: You must provide your church's official website URL when creating a church account.
- Matching Email Domain: Your email address domain must match your church's website domain. For example, if your church website is "firstchurch.org", your email must be something like "pastor@firstchurch.org".
- No Generic Email Providers: Generic email providers such as Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook, Hotmail, and similar services cannot be used to claim church ownership.
Example
Church Website: https://www.gracechapel.org
✓ Valid Email: admin@gracechapel.org
✗ Invalid Email: gracechapel@gmail.com
Why is this required?
This verification ensures the security and authenticity of church accounts on our platform. It prevents unauthorized individuals from claiming ownership of churches they don't represent.
Understanding Billing
How Recording Time Works
When you purchase recording time on Transforma, the minutes are added to your account and shared across all churches you manage. Your recording time balance is associated with your user account, not individual churches.
Time Allocation
Time is consumed from your oldest purchase first (FIFO - First In, First Out). When you complete a recording, the system automatically allocates the recording duration against your available time from completed purchases.
Viewing Your Balance
You can view your remaining recording time on the recording page before starting a session. The time remaining shown represents your total available minutes across all your purchases.
Purchase Plans
- Church Trial: 1 hour free to get started — 2 AI resources
- Starter: 5 hours for $25 ($5/hour) — 4 AI resources
- Pro: 10 hours for $45 ($4.50/hour) — 6 AI resources
- Premium: 20 hours for $80 ($4/hour) — 8 AI resources
AI Resource Limits
Each plan includes a different number of AI-generated resources that can be selected for automatic generation after each recording. Resources include study guides, devotionals, sermon outlines, discussion questions, and more.
Resource Limits by Plan:
- Trial/Free: Select up to 2 resources
- Starter: Select up to 4 resources
- Pro: Select up to 6 resources
- Premium: Select up to 8 resources
You can change your resource selections at any time from the Resource Management page. Upgrading your plan immediately unlocks additional resource slots.
Multi-Language Time Multiplier
When you select multiple target languages for translation, your recording time is multiplied by the number of languages selected. This accounts for the additional processing required to translate your content into each language simultaneously.
Examples:
- 1 language: 30-minute recording = 30 minutes consumed
- 2 languages: 30-minute recording = 60 minutes consumed (30 × 2)
- 3 languages: 30-minute recording = 90 minutes consumed (30 × 3)
A warning will appear on the recording page when you select more than one target language, showing exactly how your time will be calculated.
AI Voice ClonePremium
What Is Voice Clone?
AI Voice Clone lets your translated audio sound like the original speaker instead of a generic text-to-speech voice. When enabled, listeners hearing the sermon in another language will hear a synthetic version of the pastor's own voice — creating a more personal and authentic experience.
Setup Process
- Navigate to your Church Dashboard — the Voice Clone setup card appears in the Home tab for church owners.
- Enter the pastor's name — this must match exactly what is spoken in the consent recording.
- Record a 60-second reference audio — a natural speech sample used to model the pastor's voice. Recording automatically stops at 60 seconds.
- Record the consent script — the pastor must read a specific statement granting Google permission to create a synthetic voice. The script is displayed on screen with the pastor's name and church name filled in automatically.
- Save & Generate — audio samples are uploaded securely. Click "Generate" to start voice key creation (this may take several minutes). The status updates automatically.
Using Voice Clone in Recordings
Once a voice clone has a "Ready" status, you can enable it when starting a new recording. A toggle on the recording page lets you select which voice clone to use. The cloned voice will be applied to all translated language streams for that session.
Voice Clone Pricing
Enabling AI Voice Clone adds a surcharge of $10 per language per hour on top of your base recording rate. The surcharge scales with the number of target languages selected.
Examples (base rate not included):
- 1 language: +$10/hour
- 2 languages: +$20/hour
- 3 languages: +$30/hour
The surcharge is clearly displayed on the recording page when Voice Clone is toggled on, so there are no surprises. Charges are tracked and itemized in your billing history.
Important Notes
- Only church owners can create and manage voice clones.
- The pastor's spoken name in the consent recording must match the typed name exactly.
- Audio samples are stored in a private, secure bucket — only your church can access them.
- Voice clone generation may take several minutes. The status updates automatically.
- If generation fails, you can retry from the existing clones list.
Speech Recording Service
Content Protection
Our speech service automatically removes profanity from transcriptions to ensure that all listeners and readers have access to clean, appropriate content. Additionally, the system enhances readability by adding proper grammar and punctuation to the transcribed text.
Resource Generation & Review
All resources—including transcripts, summaries, and other content—are automatically created when you stop recording. After you end your recording session, the system processes your content and generates resources that can be reviewed and shared with your followers.
Privacy & Review Workflow: When resources are generated, they are automatically marked as pending review and set to private. This means only church owners and authorized members of your ownership group can view the resources initially. This allows you to review the generated content for accuracy and appropriateness before making it public.
Publishing Resources: Once you've reviewed the resources and are satisfied with the content, you can mark them as public. Only public resources are viewable by your followers and other users outside your church's ownership group. This two-step process ensures you maintain full control over what content is shared with your community.
How to Record
Starting a Recording:
- Navigate to the recording page from your dashboard
- Select the church you want to record for
- Click the "Start Recording" button
- Allow microphone permissions when prompted
- Your live recording will begin immediately
Ending a Recording:
- Click the "Stop Recording" button when your sermon or event concludes
- The system will save your transcript and begin processing resources
- You'll receive an email notification when resources are ready for review
60-Minute Recording Limit
To protect your account balance and ensure recording quality, each continuous recording session is limited to 60 minutes maximum. When you reach this limit, the recording will automatically pause and you'll see a notification.
How It Works:
- Recording automatically pauses at the 60-minute mark
- A yellow notification appears explaining the pause
- Click "Acknowledge & Prepare to Resume" to dismiss the notification
- Then click "Resume Recording" to continue for another 60-minute session
- Your transcript and accumulated time are preserved across sessions
This limit applies to each continuous session. If you pause and resume, the 60-minute timer resets. Your total recording can exceed 60 minutes — you'll just need to confirm you want to continue at each 60-minute interval.
Translation Speed & Latency
How fast Transforma delivers live translations compared to traditional human interpretation.
Typical Transforma Latency
Live translations are typically delivered to listeners within approximately 45 seconds from the moment the speaker says a phrase. This window covers capturing the audio, transcribing it, translating it into the target language, synthesizing the translated voice, and playing it back on the listener's device.
Actual latency can vary based on a few factors that are outside of Transforma's control:
- Listener's local network speed — slower or congested Wi-Fi or cellular connections add delay before audio arrives on the device.
- Listener's device performance — most listeners consume the translation on a phone, and older or lower-powered devices may need a moment longer to decode and play the audio.
- Number of target languages — broadcasting more languages simultaneously can slightly extend processing time.
Compared to Human Interpretation
Traditional in-person human translation can have a latency of up to 3 minutes, since the interpreter typically waits for the speaker to finish a complete thought or paragraph before delivering the translation.
At roughly 45 seconds end-to-end, Transforma is significantly faster than traditional human translation, letting your audience follow along in near real time without waiting for an interpreter to catch up.
Tips to get the lowest latency:
- Use a strong Wi-Fi connection or good cellular signal on the listening device.
- Close unused apps on the phone consuming the translation.
- Keep the listening device's screen on and the Transforma tab in the foreground.
Owner Tools
Church owners have access to a set of powerful administrative tools through the "Admin Tools" dropdown on the dashboard. These tools help you manage recordings, translations, and resources for your church.
Transcript History
View a comprehensive history of all transcripts generated for your church. This external tool provides detailed information about past recordings, including timestamps, durations, and status information. Use this to track recording activity and access historical transcription data.
Live Text Translation
Access the live text translation interface where you can view real-time transcriptions in multiple languages as they are being generated during a recording. This tool is useful for testing translation capabilities and ensuring your live events are properly transcribed for your multilingual audience.
Live Speech Translation
Similar to Live Text Translation, but with audio playback capabilities. This tool provides real-time speech synthesis of transcriptions in different languages, allowing your audience to listen to translated audio during live events. Perfect for testing and monitoring the quality of spoken translations.
Record Event
Start a new recording session for your church. This is the main recording interface where you can capture sermons, services, or other church events. The tool provides controls for starting, pausing, resuming, and stopping recordings, along with real-time transcription and translation previews.
Select Resources
Configure which types of resources should be automatically generated from your recordings. Choose from various resource types such as summaries, study guides, discussion questions, and more. This allows you to customize the content generation based on your church's specific needs and preferences.
Recording Events
View a detailed log of all recording-related events across all your churches. This includes recording start/stop times, resource generation status, errors, and system events. The recording events log is valuable for troubleshooting issues, tracking recording activity, and understanding the lifecycle of your church's recordings.
Note: These administrative tools are only visible to church owners. If you need access to these features, contact your church owner to request ownership or administrative privileges.
Tips & Shortcuts
Keyboard Shortcuts
Navigate the platform quickly using keyboard shortcuts. Press
Shortcuts are disabled while typing in input fields or text areas.
Onboarding Checklist
New church owners will see an onboarding checklist on the Dashboard that guides you through the essential setup steps:
- Create your church — register your ministry on the platform
- Purchase recording credits — buy prepaid minutes for live translation
- Select AI resources — choose which study materials to auto-generate
- Make your first recording — go live and start translating
The checklist tracks your progress and auto-dismisses once all steps are complete. You can also dismiss it manually at any time.
General Tips
- Always stop recording properly — use the "Stop Recording" button rather than closing the tab to ensure your transcript is saved correctly.
- Review before publishing — all generated resources start as private drafts. Review them for accuracy before making them public to your followers.
- Multi-language cost — remember that each additional target language multiplies your time consumption (e.g., 2 languages = 2× the minutes).
- PCO integration — if your church uses Planning Center Online, connect it from Church Settings to auto-sync service schedules and set up automatic recordings.
- Check your balance — visit Usage & Billing anytime to see remaining minutes and purchase history.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a church to use this?
No. Create a free account and follow churches. You can listen live and read resources without adding a church.
How does translation billing work?
Churches purchase prepaid minutes. Minutes are consumed only while you are actively recording a sermon. Time is allocated using FIFO (First In, First Out) from your oldest purchase first.
Where do I find transcripts?
In your church dashboard, use Get Transcript after you stop recording. Transcripts appear instantly.
Can I generate resources automatically?
Yes, we're rolling this out. You'll be able to turn transcripts into study guides and more. For now, you can read, copy, and share transcripts immediately.
What if my live event gets stuck with a "live" status?
If a recording is accidentally left in "live" status (for example, if you closed the recording page instead of properly stopping the recording), the event may appear stuck as a live broadcast even though it has ended.
Solution: Church owners can resolve this issue using the "Clean Stale Events" button on the dashboard.
- Navigate to your church dashboard
- Locate the "Clean Stale Events" button at the top of the Events & Resources section
- Click the button to automatically detect and fix stuck live events
- The system will identify events that have been inactive for more than 10 minutes and automatically change their status from "live" to "pending"
- A recording event will be logged showing the cleanup action for your records
Prevention Tip: Always use the "Stop Recording" button to properly end your recording session instead of closing the browser tab. The system has built-in safeguards that attempt to update the status when the browser closes, but the most reliable method is to explicitly stop the recording.
Need additional help or have questions?
Contact Support