A month of account orders
Your local funeral directors order flowers on behalf of families who have arranged the funeral with them. They ring, email or drop in with an order and a reference, the flowers go to their chapel, and the cost is added to their account. At the end of the month, you owe them an invoice with every order listed.
Putting that together means going through order tickets, finding the ones on account, matching each to the funeral director's reference and the deceased's name, and typing it all into an invoice. One director wants a separate invoice per funeral. Another wants a single monthly statement. A third needs their own reference on every line or they cannot pay.
Then the queries arrive: a line without a reference, an order they say they did not place, a price different from the one agreed.
Why account invoicing is slow
Account orders are mixed in with everything else and are only picked out at month end. The funeral director's reference, the key to getting paid, is written on a ticket if the person taking the order remembered to ask.
Each funeral director has their own requirements for invoices, and those preferences live in the head of whoever usually does the invoicing.
Agreed prices for regular items, such as a standard coffin spray, may differ from your shop prices, and applying them consistently depends on memory.
What slow invoicing costs
| Problem | Effect |
|---|---|
| Account orders picked out at month end | Hours of work each month |
| References missing | Invoices queried and paid late |
| Different invoice formats | Mistakes and resent invoices |
| Agreed prices applied inconsistently | Disputes about charges |
| No statement of balances | Unclear what each director owes |
Funeral directors are valuable relationships for a florist, often sending steady work for many years. Invoicing that is accurate and easy for them to pay protects that.
There is also the family side. Funeral directors usually pass flower costs on to the family as part of their own account, so a late or unclear invoice from you can hold up their final bill to a grieving family. Neither business wants to be chasing that conversation weeks after the service.
Accounts also drift when prices change. If your standard coffin spray price rises with stem costs, each funeral director's agreed price needs reviewing, and the change has to take effect from a known date. Without the agreed prices held in one place, some orders are billed at the old price and some at the new, and every invoice becomes a conversation.
How we handle funeral director accounts
- Each funeral director is set up as an account customer with their agreed prices, invoicing preference and the references they require.
- When an account order is taken, the form requires the director's reference and the deceased's name before it can be saved.
- Account orders are linked to the funeral service record, so the workroom and driver treat them like any other order for that service.
- At month end, or per funeral if the director prefers, invoices are produced automatically with every order, reference and agreed price.
- Invoices are created in Xero, QuickBooks or Sage and sent from there, so payments are matched in your normal accounts.
- A statement of balances shows what each funeral director owes, and any orders queried are flagged for follow-up.
Funeral directors can also be given a simple ordering page or email address that feeds directly into your order list, which reduces phone orders and missing references.
We set up each funeral director's account with you, using a few of their recent invoices and any queries they have raised, so their preferences are captured once. If a director changes how they want invoices, the change is made in one place and every later invoice follows it.
Month end in minutes
Account orders are recorded with references as they happen. At month end, invoices are ready to check and send, each in the format that director needs. Queries are rare because every line has its reference.
- Every account order recorded with its reference
- Invoices produced in each director's preferred format
- Agreed prices applied automatically
- Balances visible for every account
Is account invoicing a monthly headache?
- You supply funeral directors on account.
- Account invoices are built by hand from order tickets.
- Funeral directors query lines without references.
- Each director wants a different invoice format.
- Agreed prices are not always applied.