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8 Must-Have Features to Look for When Purchasing Funeral Home Software

Trying to find the right software fit for your business can be a complex process. It can feel like an overwhelming venture with so many options and so little time. 

To make things simpler, we’ve put together a list of 8 features funeral home owners can’t live without when it comes to funeral home software.

1. Customer care

Each funeral home business is unique, and as you implement new software, you’ll likely think of customizations and requests to effectively streamline your unique processes. Choose a software company that puts their customer’s wants and needs first and puts maximum effort to try and meet the needs of each customer. Not all platforms are as customizable as others, but customer care should always be a priority.

We operate with your best interests in mind. See 100+ Google Reviews here.

2. Implementation services

More and more people are using technology inside and outside their businesses. But no matter how tech-savvy you or your staff are, you’re going to have questions when you get started with a new platform. When looking for software, make sure you look into the company’s implementation services and support plans - these will be a crucial part of getting the absolute most out of your software purchase.

Our Launch Team will create an onboarding plan that fits your goals so you can be successful with Passare from the start. See more here.

3. Barcode tracking

So many items enter your funeral home each week: jewelry, clothing, belongings, and other personal items. Barcode tracking has helped funeral directors everywhere maintain better accuracy when keeping up with all the items that enter their prep room - and that includes keeping up with the bodies of loved ones.

As you search for the right software, make sure to inquire about the platform's barcode tracking features and capabilities - trust us, this feature will save you time and decrease the likelihood for errors.

Passare’s barcode tracking app is unlike any other app in the profession because it allows you to track any disposition type and see tracking information anytime, anywhere, on any device.

If you’re not already doing some sort of barcode tracking, check out this article: 3 reasons to use barcode tracking in your funeral home.

4. A forms library with autofill capabilities

One of the main goals of funeral home software is to cut down the number of times funeral directors have to retype and reenter information. Look for software that can take information entered once and autofill it everywhere it needs to go, so you decrease time spent reentering information.

Many companies offer a library of standard forms, so make sure to have an idea of your most-used forms so you can make sure that the platform has them available in their library. Better yet, find a company that will cater to your unique processes by creating a few custom forms to fit your business.

With Passare, forms auto-populate to save you time when entering information. Customers choose from 300+ standard forms and added custom forms that come with our Launch services. Whatever you might need, we probably have it - we even have a forms specialist on staff who makes sure your custom forms are set up to autofill correctly in Passare.

5. Integrations with other services

While shopping for software, think about the current providers you use for your website, memorial printing, accounting services, etc. It’s important to find out how many of your current providers you can bring with you on to new software, and even if you can’t keep using all the same providers, see that the company offers other integrations with companies you’d want to do business with. The more services your software can integrate with, the less time you’ll spend copying forms and updating accounting sheets.

See Passare’s 30+ integrations here.

6. Family collaboration tools

Your software should not only improve your business processes but improve your opportunities to connect with the families you serve. When you find software that has family collaboration tools, make sure you look into how they would best serve your families and staff alike. If the tools are hard to use, both families and funeral directors will struggle to work together on the platform.

Additionally, make sure these tools collect the right type of information from families - if your families submit information you don’t need, your funeral directors will become frustrated and you’ll have to ask families to submit additional information, causing them frustration as well.

See an example of a family collaboration tool by taking a tour of our Planning Center. With Planning Center, you can work together with families to fill out basic information, sign documents, and work together on the obituary in real-time. Plus, all of it syncs directly into Passare. 

7. Web-based system

Purchasing web-based software may seem like a no-brainer, but it’s one of the most important features to look for when shopping. Without web-based features, you’ll be tied to your desk just as if you were still using pen and paper. The ideal software is 100% web-based on the family side and funeral director side of the platform. With these capabilities, families can upload information and submit payments from wherever they are, and your staff will be able to access all the funeral home’s information at any time, and from anywhere - as long as you have internet.

Ever found yourself without the internet? You can use a web-based platform without the internet. Here are three tips we share with our customers when they run into this problem:

  1. Use your Hotspot

  2. Operate using cellular data

  3. Until Wi-Fi is restored, move operations to your mobile app (if your software doesn’t offer mobile features, you’d have to resort to pen and paper at this point)

See our mobile app here.

8. Organized Rolodex

It might seem basic, but an organized, easy-to-use Rolodex is a software essential. You can find the contact information of your vendors, companies you work with, and more.

If your software’s Rolodex is complex when finding contacts, it’s likely your staff will become tired and frustrated with the process and resort to entering a new contact each time. Find software with a Rolodex that makes it easy to upload new contacts and find old ones, so you can build up your contact library and save time when searching for specific contacts.

 

Add these features to your wish list

Knowing the essential features your business needs to operate smoothly and better connect with families is the first step in finding your dream software. Normally, we aren’t huge fans of pen and paper, but we know from experience that the most successful shopping trips start with an organized list of what you’re looking for. Add these features to your software wish list by downloading our Funeral Home Software Live Demo Guide that includes a list of essential features to look for in a software, a checklist template, and a list of questions to ask in your next meeting.

Download the guide

 

Shopping for new software? Check out these other helpful articles:

4 Nice-to-Have Features to Add to Your Software Wishlist 

Essential Questions to Ask in Your Next Live Demo