There’s no denying it. Families today communicate and interact with businesses differently than they used to.  And the funeral profession is no exception.  

Just look at how other industries have adapted. For example, your local grocery store probably offers online shopping and curbside pickup options. Car dealerships are transforming how consumers shop for vehicles, offering online purchasing options and even delivery of a vehicle right to someone’s doorstep.

If this type of innovation and convenience is happening in other industries, why would a family expect anything different from a funeral home?

Some tech companies have tried to remove the funeral home from the conversation altogether, letting families plan and finalize their arrangements without ever having to talk to a funeral director. But after talking to hundreds of families, we’ve learned something important: while people want to do their own research, they still want someone to guide them through the process.

So, while families want a more digital experience, they also want a personal interaction.

How do we bridge that gap?

That’s where Planning Center comes in. It’s a simple way for you to connect with families online while still being the trusted guide they’re looking for. In this guide, we’ll walk you through how Planning Center works and how you can use it to create a better experience for your families.

We'll cover: 

• What is Planning Center?
• What challenges might you face if you don’t adapt?
• How does Planning Center work?
• When should you invite families to start planning?
• How do you send Planning Center invites?
• What are some best practices when using Planning Center?

Now that you’ve seen the big picture, let’s take a closer look at what Planning Center is and some of the benefits.

What is Planning Center?

Planning Center is Passare’s online at-need planning service. The platform helps funeral homes and families work together to plan a funeral, even when they’re miles apart or juggling busy schedules.

Planning Center is a secure, easy-to-use tool where families can share information, make thoughtful decisions, and stay connected throughout the entire planning process.

With Planning Center, families can: 

• Fill out forms
• Choose service details
• Upload photos
• Stay in contact with their funeral director
• And more!

For funeral professionals, Planning Center helps make the arrangement process easier, improves collaboration, and gives families a better experience.

Planning Center is designed to meet families where they are and plan how they want. But to really understand why a tool like this matters, let’s examine some of the challenges funeral homes face and how Planning Center can help solve them.

What are the challenges you face if you don’t adapt?

How your families have changed and how the Planning Center helps you reach them

Every family is different. Some planning experiences go smoothly and remind you why you got into the profession in the first place. Others might have you counting the days to retirement.

Despite the differences, we have noticed some common trends among today’s funeral consumers that can lead to real challenges if your funeral home isn’t ready to handle them.

Problem 1: Families are more spread out

Did you know that the average distance between families and the decedent is 170 miles? When someone dies, it’s common for friends and family to be hundreds of miles away and can’t come in quickly to start planning.

We’ve even heard of funeral directors who refuse to work with families unless they can meet in person. Their reasoning? They can’t offer the personal level of care the family deserves online or over the phone.

But what’s less caring than telling a grieving family you can’t help them?

You might think you’d never do that, but consider this: Are your current processes set up to meet families where they are? If the only way to communicate is by phone or email, are you really offering the flexibility today’s families expect?

Planning Center was built with this challenge in mind. It gives families more ways to connect with you, and it gives you more ways to build trust and offer care, even when they’re far away.

Problem 2: Families don’t always want to come in right away

Today’s families are planning differently than they used to. Instead of dropping everything to make arrangements immediately after a death, many families prefer to schedule services around existing commitments like work, travel, or sporting events.

In the past, the funeral would take place just days after the death occurred. Now, families request to have the funeral 2-3 weeks later on a weekend that works for the family that will be driving or flying in. From our data, the average amount of time between the date of death and the service is 12.7 days.

This shift is likely due to families being more dispersed, allowing time for family members who live further away to travel in for the service. 

When families don’t come in right away, planning often gets put on hold. Or it happens through a string of phone calls and emails that can be hard to manage.

Planning Center helps you keep things moving. Families can start filling out basic information online, and you can follow up from within the platform. It’s flexible, efficient, and built for the way families plan today.

Problem 3: Families want a more personalized experience

You might find it odd that personalization is a problem. However, many funeral homes only have a limited amount of time to make arrangements, and most of their time with a family is usually spent collecting data and the basics of the funeral service and events.

There’s often little time left to listen to stories and brainstorm creative ideas with the family.

When personalization is missing, families may not see the value in what you offer. They might ask for the cheapest option or try to negotiate the price. This isn’t because they don’t care, but because they don’t understand what’s possible.

Planning Center helps solve this by giving you more time to focus on what matters. Families can enter biographical details, write the obituary, and even share personal information about their loved one ahead of time. Then you can spend more of your time with the family, planning some truly unique and memorable ideas.

These are just a few of the big challenges facing the funeral profession. The good news? Tools like Planning Center offer options to help you guide families to have a meaningful funeral experience and meet the needs of your business.

In the next section, we’ll walk through how Planning Center works and how it can enhance your day-to-day processes.

How does Planning Center work?

An overview of Planning Center and its functionality

To get an idea of how Planning Center works, it helps to look at the 3 main ways families can use it: Collect, Plan, and Learn.

Collect

The first step in Planning Center is all about gathering information about the loved one, family, and their wishes for the service. The more information families can provide up front, the more meaningful your conversations and suggestions will be throughout the planning process.

Features to help collect details

To make collecting this information easier for both you and the family, Planning Center includes several features designed to simplify the process and keep everything organized.

Here are a few tools you can use:

• Self-started cases

• Custom materials

• Online arrangements

• Merchandise pinning 

How do these features help you?

One of the biggest benefits of using Planning Center is how much time it saves. When families enter information online, it goes straight into the case in Passare. No need to retype or chase down details. Plus, when families enter their own information, they’re more likely to catch and correct mistakes, which means fewer errors for you to fix later.

You can also add custom materials unique to your funeral home. Input your merchandise and price list, so families can browse ahead of time. This gives you a better sense of what they’re looking for and what they’re comfortable spending.

Collecting details in Planning Center makes it easier to give families a personalized experience, even if they’re planning from out of town or online. You’re still offering the same level of care, just in a way that works better for them.

How do these features help families?

Planning Center helps families get started quickly.

Families can fill out basic information like name, date of birth, social security number, and employment history.

Starting with these steps also allows families to get familiar with Planning Center and see how relaxed and low-pressure the process can be. Families can even do a self-started case and explore options without needing to visit your funeral home right away.

“Families can easily go into Planning Center and upload vitals. And if I have the vitals before the arrangement conference, we can focus on celebrating their loved one.”

Skip Phelps, Vice President of Sales & Licensed Funeral Director

Spring Grove Cemetery | Cincinnati, OH

With features like merchandise pinning, families can browse caskets, urns, keepsakes, and other items, then “pin” their favorites. This helps them feel more confident in their choices and gives you a clearer picture of their preferences before you meet.

Whether they want to plan everything in person, online, or a mix of both, Planning Center gives them the flexibility to choose what works best.

Plan

Once the basic details are collected, it’s time to plan the service. This is often the most stressful part of the process, and Planning Center is designed to make it smoother.

Families can decide how they want to honor their loved one, from selecting merchandise to writing the obituary and signing important documents.

In the platform, there is an “Event” section that helps guide families through these decisions while keeping everything organized and accessible.

Features to help plan the event

Planning Center offers several features that help both funeral directors and families move through the planning process with less stress and more clarity. Here are a few of them:

• eSignatures

• Messages

• AI obituary writer

• Checklists

• Online payments

How do these features help you?

When families fill out service details online, you can see what kind of ceremony they’re picturing, which helps you prepare and personalize the experience. If a family mentions that their dad was a golfer, you can come to the meeting with ideas for personalization and merchandise that reflect his interests.

You’ll also save time on paperwork. Contracts completed in Planning Center show up directly in Passare. With eSignatures, you can collect everything you need without printing, scanning, or waiting for someone to stop by. If you’ve ever spent hours chasing down documents, this feature alone can be a game-changer.

Communication is easier, too, with Planning Center. Instead of juggling phone calls or emails, you can send quick updates through the built-in messaging feature. Families can ask you questions and get answers just a few minutes later.

And when it comes to writing the obituary, our AI obituary writer gives you a solid first draft based on the case info the family has entered. You can polish it up or let the family take the lead. Either way, it saves time and helps create something meaningful.

“Planning Center has been such a useful feature for us to work with families to eSign documents, get cremation authorizations, work on obituaries, and stuff like that.”

Jarrod Styer, Licensed Funeral Director

Geisel-Styer Funeral Home & Cremation Services Inc. | Bedford, PA

Even small touches like checklists make a big difference. You can share a list of what the family needs to bring or complete, which helps set expectations and cuts down on confusion. It’s all about making the planning process smoother, more efficient, and more personal.

How do these features help families?

Planning Center gives families a way to be more involved in planning the service without adding stress. They can fill out preferences, write the obituary, and sign documents online, whenever it works for them.

“Some families have become more involved and eager to use [Planning Center] because they get a more prominent voice in the planning process.”

Andy Stout, Owner and Funeral Director

C.R. Strunk Funeral Home, Inc. | Quakertown, PA

Digital signatures make paperwork easy. Families don’t have to print anything or drive across town. They can sign everything from their phone or computer. And with online payment links, they can prepay for services securely.

The AI obituary writer helps take the pressure off during an emotional time. Families can use the tool to create a first draft based on the details they’ve already entered, making the process feel less overwhelming and more personal.

Checklists give families a clear view of what’s needed, like what to bring to the funeral home or the status of the death certificate, so they don’t have to keep calling for updates. And with messaging built into Planning Center, they can reach out with questions or updates anytime.

Learn

The final section of Planning Center is a place for families to educate themselves with reliable resources on funeral planning, grief, and healing.

The internet is full of information, but most of it is not helpful for grieving families. Many funeral directors tell us their families come in confused or misinformed because of something they read online or saw on TV.

Our resources were designed by the best grief experts in the industry for families in their time of need. All these resources are available to them for free through the Planning Center. You can also add your own personal or local resources, such as counselors, support meetings, and articles, customizing them to meet the needs of your funeral home.

By using Planning Center, you’re giving families a way to collect information, plan a service, and learn how to process grief and heal. Your families will be better informed, and you’ll be better prepared to create a personalized and meaningful service.

When should you invite families to start planning?

Now that you have a better understanding of what Planning Center can do, the next step is inviting families to use it.

In this section, we’ll share when and how to invite a family to Planning Center, how to explain the benefits, and the different ways you can send an invitation.

How to position Planning Center

If you’re the only funeral home in your area using Passare, this may be the first time a family has ever heard of Planning Center. So, it’s important to explain what it is and why it’s helpful.

Here are 3 simple benefits you can share when introducing Planning Center to a family:

1. A family can start planning anytime, anywhere. Family members don’t need to be in the same town to begin. They can log in from any device and start filling out basic information.

2. Planning Center is easy to use. The user-friendly design and simple three-step process make it easy for families to use during one of the most difficult times of their lives.

3. A family has access to reliable and helpful resources. Families planning a funeral for the first time will find tools and tips that help them understand what to expect and how to create a meaningful and healing service.

“My all-time favorite feature is Planning Center. We offer Planning Center to every single family.”

Michael Capehart, General Manager & Funeral Director

New Hope Funeral Home | New Hope, AL

When to invite families to Planning Center

The only way a family can access Planning Center is if you invite them. The most effective ways to invite families are to send them the link or list it on your funeral home’s website.

Every funeral home has its own process, so here are 3 common times you can invite families to collaborate:

1. BEFORE the arrangement conference
2. DURING the arrangement conference
3. AFTER the arrangement conference

Before the arrangement conference

This is often the easiest and most convenient way to invite a family. When you first speak with the family, you can say:

“In a few minutes, I’ll send an email [or text] with a link to our Planning Center that you and your family can access so that you can gather the essential information for the funeral ceremony before we meet. You’ll be asked to create a login, and then you can start thinking about the kind of service you want to have. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to me.”

And that’s it! Once you send the link (we recommend text), you’ll get notifications when the family starts filling out information or reaching out to you. It’s a simple way to get the process started.

One thing we hear from funeral directors is, “What do I do in an arrangement if a family has already answered the questions I was going to ask?”

That is an excellent point, but what if we reword the question to say, “What new opportunities do I have when the family has provided all the information ahead of time?”

Here are a couple of suggestions:

Brainstorm some unique ideas to share with the family when they arrive. One of the challenges funeral directors face is not having enough time to personalize the service. Planning Center gives you more time to discuss options with the family and get creative.

Showcase specific merchandise in the arrangement room before the family arrives. If the family filled out information about their loved one, such as their loved one being a veteran, you could lay out items you think the family would appreciate.

During the arrangement conference

If you’re meeting with the family soon, you might wonder if it’s worth sending the invite. But even if they only fill out a few things, it can still help.

Many funeral directors send the invite during the meeting and use it to explain what’s still needed. Others use Planning Center as a follow-up tool. For example, to collaborate on the obituary or review documents.

Some even pull up Planning Center on a large screen and fill it out with the family in real time. You can say:

Tip #1: Practice your Planning Center presentation

Think back to your first arrangement conference. You probably had a few practice runs before working directly with a family. We highly encourage you to practice your Planning Center presentation ahead of time, too.

One funeral home even devoted an entire day to role-playing Planning Center conversations with its staff. The goal? To ensure everyone felt comfortable explaining the tool and its value to families.

When you present Planning Center, don’t position it as “something they can use if they want to.” Instead, show how it helps them stay organized, review important details, share documents, and stay connected with you.

Just like you explained the value of a funeral, you’ll need to explain the value of Planning Center.

Tip #2: Involve the family any way you can

One funeral director said it best: “Involving the family helps them feel like they have a little bit of control in an uncontrollable situation.”

Here are a few ways to make the planning process more interactive:

• Use Planning Center Messages to keep communication open and easy.

• Encourage families to upload meaningful photos of their loved one. With Passare’s integration with Tukios, you can turn those photos into tribute videos in minutes.

• Walk families through the AI obituary writer and editor, showing how they can collaborate with you or write their own tribute.

• Show them how to sign documents electronically, making the process faster and more convenient.

There are many more ways you could incorporate Planning Center into your processes to connect with families, so don’t be afraid to get creative!

Tip #3: Use Planning Center questions to customize the funeral experience

Under the “Arrange” section of Planning Center, there is a list of questions to help families begin thinking about what they would like to see during their loved one’s service. These questions were created under the teachings of grief therapy expert Dr. Alan Wolfelt to help families recall details and share about their loved ones in meaningful ways. Encourage the family to start there.

After taking some time to process the questions, the family will be more prepared to talk about service preferences during the arrangement conference. The family’s answers to the questions give you the opportunity to personalize and prepare for the arrangement conference ahead of time with merchandise and unique ideas.

What are the best practices when using Planning Center?

We hope you have received some valuable information and a range of ideas to try in your funeral home. Planning Center is a truly powerful tool that allows you to reach and interact with your families in a collaborative way.

Whether you use the ideas mentioned in this guide or come up with a few unique ideas of your own, we would love to hear your success stories! Please let us know how YOU are using Passare and Planning Center!

If you are interested in Planning Center or any other Passare tools, talk to one of our team members today!

Schedule a demo of Passare