Matt Miller, Owner and Funeral Director, built Miller Funeral Home & Crematory from the ground up. Since their early days, they were operating with thousands of paper files, which kept them bound to their funeral home for updates and information.

But once they found Passare, they gained new freedom (and unlimited access to data). His staff put in the hard work and began using the software consistently. Now, they can’t imagine life without it!

Read their full story and Matt’s advice to achieve all of the benefits Passare has to offer.

How has your experience been using Passare?

We started using Passare in 2018 and are all the better for it. To be honest with you, I can’t imagine what I’d be doing without Passare. Everyone comes in, turns on the computer, and brings Passare up. It’s as much of a routine as walking in the building and turning the lights on.

Describe your processes before you started using Passare.

We built this funeral home from the ground up when I was 34 years old. I took my previous corporate experience and tried to make those processes work in the funeral home. Everything I did revolved around QuickBooks and paper files.

We had client file folders saved on the funeral home's desktop computer, but those could only be accessed if you were physically there. The case files weren’t any more accessible than they were in the filing cabinets.

Plus, in the event of a natural disaster, all our files would’ve been ruined or destroyed. We couldn’t imagine those files being gone at the drop of a hat.

How has Passare helped you address those challenges?

The worries about our information being destroyed and the hassle of searching for what we needed led us to change.

Our lives are so much easier with cloud-based software. When I'm on call in the middle of the night, and we get a death call, all I have to do is hop on my laptop. I can see if they have pre-arrangement with us and then go through all the papers, PDFs, and notes. I’m able to talk to the family right there at the moment instead of rushing to the funeral home and calling them back once I have everything in front of me. Everything is at my fingertips.

Tell us what it was like when you first implemented Passare and getting your staff on board using a new process.

It was a little intimidating. At the time, it was just me and one other director. This won’t come as a shock, but typically, funeral directors are known for not wanting to change. They do things the same way forever. However, we learned very quickly that you can’t operate with just paper files anymore. Things need to change to keep your business moving forward.

We learned very quickly that you get out what you put in. If we wanted to reap the benefits that Passare had to offer, we needed to put in some time and effort.

But each person on the team has to be consistent with using it. We keep each other accountable and work through issues together.

What are your favorite features in Passare?

I have many:

Dashboards

Everyone here loves dashboards. We all have dual monitors, and our dashboards are always displayed.

We love how users can customize their view with whatever tabs they like displayed. I crack up when I go to other computers, and everyone's Passare dashboard looks different. It’s cool to see Passare cater to individual preferences and workflows.

Notes

We use notes as our daily communication tool as a staff. It helps us keep everybody on the same page. Our communication is now top-notch.

Notes help us be better funeral directors and serve our families better, especially when it comes to communication. When people call, it doesn’t sound like we’re fumbling around trying to find information. We are all up to speed. Anyone can sit here and pull anything up in Passare.

Reporting

As an owner, I am constantly needing to run reports. One of my favorite reports is an account receivable report for each of my directors. At the end of each quarter, Passare automatically generates that report, and I can see everyone’s sales for the quarter.

With that, I’ve been able to implement an account receivable bonus program for my directors. I see the total sales, what they’ve collected, and what is still outstanding. Each director has to reach a certain percentage for the bonus program. With Passare, I don’t have to sit and go through QuickBooks to figure out which director did this and that. It’s auto-generated for me.

Documents

Families interact with dozens of documents during the process, and we wanted our documents to look professional and polished. All I had to do was show the Passare team which documents I wanted to update, and they put them in our system. Now, we can easily print out the documents we need when meeting with a family.

Signing them is easy, too! I even have a tab that shows me which documents need signatures and an automation that sends those documents directly to my accounting provider, saving me a step.

Would you recommend Passare to a colleague? Why?

Absolutely. Passare is the lifeline of our business. It just truly makes our life so much easier.

The number of details Passare saves from cases years ago is impressive. I can go back in Passare and tell you which staff member picked up the decedent, what time they were picked up, who embalmed the body, and how well the embalming went. Every single detail is there, right at my fingertips.

Do you have anything you'd like to add?

When I talk to my colleagues about Passare, I always try to encourage them. I point out that there is a learning curve at the beginning, but it is so worth it.

I tell them, “You have to be consistent and put in every bit of information correctly. You have to encourage your funeral directors. Don’t let your staff get frustrated because once they learn it, they will love it – guaranteed.”

About the funeral home:

Miller Funeral Home & Crematory is located in Coshocton, Ohio. They handle around 220 calls per year. They also have an off-site crematory and a pet crematory.