Crowell Brothers Funeral Home: How Passare transformed their business
October 15, 2024
Cody Crowell, Operations Manager, and Lori Holcombe, Office Manager, have worked at Crowell Brothers Funeral Home for over a decade.
In 2022, Cody and Lori recognized several areas of the business that needed to be more efficient. That’s when they started looking for new software. They found Passare.
See why Cody and Lori say implementing Passare has been “life-changing” for their business.
What challenges did you face in your business before getting Passare?
Cody: As Operations Manager, I started actively looking at all the bottlenecks and redundancies in our business. We were typing the same information over and over to the point where we weren’t able to spend as much time with families because we were so focused on documentation. It just wasn’t efficient.
What convinced you that it was time to make a change?
Cody: We knew our processes had flaws and they wouldn't get better without us making changes. That’s when we took the plunge and started looking for different software.
I remember asking other funeral homes what software they used and what they thought of it. One colleague told me that Passare was the best thing they’d ever done, which got my attention.
Lori: When we started meeting with the Passare team, we could tell they truly cared about our success. They encouraged us to take a deeper look at what Passare had to offer and how it could fit into our business.
How did Passare help you address those challenges?
Cody: Passare makes everything more efficient. And as management, we love that because it helps us better use our resources.
Here are a few ways Passare helped us be more efficient:
-
Streamlined documentation: When we worked with paper, our directors and admin staff would often need a case file at the same time. One would have to wait for the other to finish before the other could begin. Now, documentation is not only faster, but both admin and funeral directors can work collaboratively on a case file in Passare when needed.
-
More time with families: Passare helped us expedite our processes and has freed up a lot of our time. Now, we can build deeper relationships with families rather than worrying about documentation.
-
Faster financials: When you’re trying to give a family options and pricing, it can take a while to do it all by hand. With Passare, our line items are pre-programmed into the system, so we can give multiple quotes on different service types within minutes.
What was your experience implementing Passare at your funeral home?
Cody: I was very pleased with the onboarding experience. I’ve implemented new software before, and there was no trial, handbook, or training. I was figuring it out on my own.
Passare was different. Their team created a plan to help us learn at our own pace and get comfortable with the software before going live.
Passare hit it out of the park with implementation.
Lori: Before implementing Passare, I’ll be honest that one of my biggest fears was data migration. I had been managing our data for years, and I thought to myself, “This data goes back to 1970-something. Do I really want to release all of that to a new company?”
However, I can testify that all of our data was processed correctly during implementation. It was flawless.
How has working with Premium Support benefited your team?
Cody: We love Premium Support. Just knowing our desginated team member is there for us at any time is beyond worth it.
All I have to do is send an email, and they will set up a meeting that’s convenient for everyone to get a problem or question resolved. I’ve worked with other software, and it’s not like this anywhere else.
Lori: Premium support has gone above and beyond what we expected. When we reach out to them, they are always very responsive and timely.
And if we ever have a request for something and Passare can’t do it, support sends our requests to the product team to see if it’s something that can be done down the line. Passare listens to what our needs are as funeral professionals, and that’s important.
Knowing that we have their support to help us accomplish what we need to has been life-changing.
What are some of your favorite features and integrations in Passare?
Lori: I love the autofill features in Passare. Entering information once and having it fill everywhere it needs to go has been a huge timesaver.
But my favorite integration is payments for a few reasons. First, I can be at home and see when a family has paid for something.
It’s also easy to use. Our admin staff and funeral directors just send a link to a family through Planning Center when a balance is due.
Lastly, it helps me keep up with our accounts receivables. I don’t have to ask the directors about payments anymore because I can see everything in Passare.
How has the payment integration been helpful for your business?
Cody: When funeral directors meet with a family and have to present the bill, families might pay for the bulk of the service at one time.
However, some other smaller invoice might come due later on. It’s hard for a director to ask for that small $35 invoice after the family has just paid us the bulk of their invoice. But if those small invoices go unchecked, they can add up.
Passare’s payment integration helps us keep up with all outstanding balances for a family, so invoices don’t fall through the cracks.
Plus, families have grown to expect an online payment method. So, having a digital payment option has removed a lot of friction from our process.
Would you recommend Passare to a colleague? If so, why?
Cody: I would, and I have recommended Passare to several colleagues.
Lori: Absolutely, because I have confidence in the integrity of our data with Passare. The support stands out from other companies and meets all of our needs.
Cody: Passare is very innovative, and forward-thinking. They ask their customers what their needs are, and if it makes sense to push out the feature, Passare will implement it. I have to give kudos to everyone at Passare for all they do in that regard.
About the funeral home:
Cody Crowell’s grandfather started Crowell Brothers Funeral Home over 60 years ago. A family business from the start, it has grown over the years from a cemetery to two funeral home locations. In 2023, they served just over 670 families in and around Peachtree Corners and Buford, Georgia.
Increase efficiency with Passare
Want to experience success like Cody and Lori? Get a demo of Passare today: