September 28, 2023
LAST UPDATED: JUNE 2026
By Natalie Chapman, Content Marketer for Passare
Every funeral home tracks bodies and items. Whether you use a whiteboard, a spreadsheet, or word of mouth, you need a process to keep up with everything that comes into your funeral home.
But even the most diligent teams can make mistakes. A missed update or misplaced item can leave families waiting for answers and create unnecessary stress for your staff.
These small hiccups can quickly cause confusion, or even frustration for your families (and you!).
That’s where barcode tracking technology can help! With it, you and your team can be more organized, accurate, and transparent with families.
In this article, we’ll share four main ways barcode tracking can make a real difference in your funeral home operations.
#1: Improved accuracy
Barcode tracking technology will help you keep track of every item and body that passes through your funeral home. With Passare’s tracking tool, every move is easily recorded with a quick scan of a barcode, instead of having to write down an update.
And when you can scan an update and see it in real time in the software, everyone on your team can see where something is at all times, even across different funeral home locations.
The result?
- Fewer gaps in your records
- Less scrambling for answers
- A more accurate view of your entire operation
And if something is ever questioned, you’ll have a digital trail that shows who handled what, where, and when.
On-the-go updates
You’re not always at your desk, and your tracking organization shouldn’t have to suffer because of that. With Passare Mobile, you can scan barcodes, update locations, add notes, and attach photos right from your cell phone - from wherever you are. These updates appear instantly for everyone else across the platform, so you’re not waiting on someone to “get back to the computer” before you have the latest information.
#2: Better team communication
When your tracking information lives in one place and updates in real time, everyone on your team sees the same up-to-date information.
Care center staff, arrangers, and admin can all see where a body or item is, what’s been done, and what still needs attention without a string of phone calls or hallway check-ins.
As Angie Good, Managing Director at French Funerals & Cremation, put it:
“Since implementing barcode tracking, our communication process as a company has greatly improved. Our communication is much more focused and accurate, which results in less back and forth when clarifying details. We no longer have to call around, ask where people are, or check in to see if someone has been on a first call yet.”
#3: More transparency
Families put a lot of trust in you when they place a loved one in your care. That's why they must feel confident in your ability to keep up with everything.
Here's how you can use barcode tracking to boost your family's confidence in you:
- Show them you are trustworthy.
Give families the confidence of knowing exactly where everything is by providing accurate updates at any time. Providing accurate, transparent updates will eliminate their concerns about items getting misplaced or even lost.
- Strengthen your credibility.
Opening your notebook, reading the page, and telling a family where an item's located is easy. But your trusty pen and paper might not be the most credible if something goes wrong.
Validate the information you provide to each family with real-time, digital tracking updates. Then families can trust that the provided location information is the most accurate.
#4: Easier sign-offs with families
The end of a case should feel clear and reassuring, not confusing. Passare’s Barcode tracking makes it simple to review what came into your care, what was returned, and when. You can walk families through a clean, digital record and have them sign off right on your phone or tablet when they pick up items or remains. Once they’ve signed, you can lock the item record so it can’t be changed later.
This gives families peace of mind that nothing was missed—and gives you and your staff documentation that protects your funeral home if questions come up later.
Joseph Fitzgerald, CEO and CFO at O’Connor Mortuary, explains how Passare’s Barcode tracking tool gives him peace of mind after a case is closed:
“Barcode tracking has been excellent because if we ever get into a situation where we have to provide proof that an item was signed for or who signed for it, it’s all there within the system.”
Ready to transform your operations?
Every funeral home tracks. With Barcode tracking in Passare, you can do it more accurately, efficiently, and transparently, giving your team confidence and your families peace of mind.
Learn more in our Barcode tracking guide, or get a demo of Passare and see exactly how our barcode tracking tool works. 👇
