By Trey Guadarrama, Product Marketer for Passare

Over the past decade, the number of people comfortable planning a funeral online has increased by 44%.

And in just the last year, 46% more families have accepted invitations to Passare’s online at-need tool, Planning Center.

So, it’s true, families are planning online. And they’re doing it more than ever.

Unfortunately, when it comes to online arrangements, not all tools are created equal. Many offer a one-size-fits-all approach, focusing on the cheapest, most basic options and leaving families with limited choices.

Enter Arrangement Guide! With it, you can offer a service‑first online experience that’s convenient and personalized for families.

In this article, you’ll learn 4 ways Arrangement Guide can help you do exactly that. But first, let’s talk about why online arrangements matter so much for your funeral home.

Why are online arrangements important for your funeral home?

We’ve already mentioned how families' comfort level in making funeral arrangements online has grown. And you may be thinking to yourself, “That may be true in general, but not my families.”

And you may be right.

But think about this: 76% of consumers said they would research a company’s website before visiting in person. So what about the families who are searching for funeral homes online before they ever pick up the phone?

With Arrangement Guide, you’ll be able to reach more families with an online way to plan, all while strengthening your preneed program.

Now that you know why online arrangements matter, here are 4 ways Passare’s Arrangement Guide helps you deliver a more meaningful experience for every family you serve.

#1: Offer a personal, service-first experience online

Online funeral planning has come a long way. As more funeral homes embrace it, a common question often comes up: Are online arrangements impersonal?

Not with Passare’s Arrangement Guide!

Arrangement Guide is created with a service‑first mindset. Instead of pushing a single option like direct cremation, it guides families through carefully curated questions about their preferences, priorities, and budget. Or you can customize the questions to say exactly what you want.

Based on how a family answers, Arrangement Guide recommends service types, events, and merchandise that help create a meaningful, personalized funeral.

Plus, families can plan in the way they want to:

• Start planning online and finish in person.
• Start in person and finish online.
• Or complete the entire planning and payment process online.

This lets you meet families where they are, while still promoting the full range of services your funeral home provides.

#2: Customize the platform to showcase your services (and locations!)

Adding an online arrangement tool at your funeral home can feel like giving up control, especially when you’ve always guided families through every decision in person.

With Passare’s Arrangement Guide, you can fully customize the platform to reflect your funeral home’s:

• Packages and offerings: Configure disposition types, events (visitation, viewing, funeral, memorial, etc.), required items, and add‑ons.
• Branches and branding: Upload per‑location general price lists and branding so each location looks and feels like your funeral home.

And if you have multiple funeral home branches, here’s an example of how Arrangement Guide can help direct families to the right place:

• You can add your general price list and branding for each location.
• Arrangement Guide then uses a family’s responses to recommend services and merchandise that align with their preferences and budget.
• Families are automatically routed to the location that best matches their needs.

So instead of seeing generic options, families see your unique services. And you'll feel confident knowing they will be guided to the funeral home branch that can best serve them.

#3: Build relationships before the first meeting 

When families begin planning online, it’s not always clear who they are, how serious they are, or whether they’ll follow through.

Arrangement Guide changes that.

To get started, each family creates an account. Whether they finish planning or are just “window shopping,” a case is automatically created in Passare, and you’ll be notified.

That means you can:

• Learn more about a family’s wants and needs before the first meeting.
• Walk into arrangement conferences better prepared.
• Follow up with families who don’t finish planning.

If a family stops mid‑process, you still have their information, their preferences, and a clear opportunity to reach out, answer questions, and help them move forward.

#4: Give preneed families a complete online planning option

The same study mentioned at the beginning of this article found that 36% of consumers feel comfortable planning a funeral online, and 20% would actually prefer to make arrangements online rather than in person.

That’s why Arrangement Guide isn’t just for at-need families. With it, you can give preneed families the ability to plan on their own time in the way they feel most comfortable.

And if a family wants to preplan completely online, Arrangement Guide makes that possible. Most online tools still require families to schedule an in‑person meeting to sign paperwork, which is where you risk losing them. Through our partnership with Funeral Directors Life (FDL), Arrangement Guide allows families to create, sign, and pay for a prearrangement entirely online.

Bonus: Save time and money.

With many third‑party online arrangement tools, new cases have to be manually re‑entered into your case management system. On top of that, some tools charge fees for the leads they generate.

Because Arrangement Guide is fully integrated with Passare and Passare’s Planning Center, there’s no retyping details or creating additional cases. Whether a family starts with a preneed policy or begins planning at‑need in Arrangement Guide, information flows directly into Passare, creating a new case. Then, when the time comes, you can easily convert preneed cases to at‑need.

And there are no lead fees or subscription costs - just a one-time setup fee. All the leads that come in are yours, free of charge. 😎

Reach more families with online arrangements

Want to learn more? Explore best practices and tips for using Arrangement Guide here. Or, if you’re ready to reach more families with Arrangement Guide, here’s how to get started:

• Passare customers: Fill out this form to express your interest, and our team will review your request.
• New to Passare? Request a demo to see everything Passare offers, from Arrangement Guide to reporting and tracking. Our sales team is happy to answer your questions and show you how Passare can support your funeral home.

Get a demo. 👇👇👇