Three branches, three versions
You changed the price of your standard hearse and limousine package last month. Head office updated the funeral management system. The main branch printed a new price list for its folder. The branch in the next town is still handing families the old leaflet. The website shows a third version that someone updated in a hurry and got one figure wrong.
A family who picked up the leaflet at one branch and looked at the website that evening ring to ask which is right. It is an awkward call to take.
Prices kept in too many places
Price lists grew up as documents, and every branch and channel ended up with its own copy.
- The funeral management system holds prices for estimates.
- Printed price lists and leaflets are produced from Word or a design file.
- The website has its own pricing page, updated by someone else.
- Branches sometimes have local variations that are not documented.
- Old versions are not kept, so it is hard to say what applied on a given date.
Why this matters
Families comparing funeral directors look at prices, and inconsistency between what you publish and what you quote damages trust quickly. Families increasingly expect clear, comparable pricing, and there may be rules about what funeral directors publish and how; those are matters for you and your adviser.
For your team, an out-of-date list means estimates that have to be corrected, apologies, and time spent checking which version is current.
It also makes change slow. Because updating every copy is a chore, price reviews get put off, and when they do happen, somebody spends a day hunting down every leaflet, folder and web page that mentions the old figure, and usually misses one.
One price source for everything
What we build holds your prices in one place and publishes them everywhere they are needed.
- Your packages, individual items and disbursement estimates are set up in one price source, with any branch-specific variations clearly marked.
- Price changes are made there, with an effective date, and approved by a named person.
- Estimates in your funeral management system are updated through its API where it has one, or the price source is used directly by the arrangement form we build.
- The published price list on your website is generated from the same source, so it cannot differ.
- Printed branch copies are produced as a PDF on each change, with the effective date on them, and branches are told to replace their copies.
- Every version is kept, so you can see what price applied on any date if a question comes up.
| Place prices appear | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Estimates | Updated in the system by hand | Fed from the price source |
| Website | Separate page, edited by hand | Generated from the price source |
| Branch leaflets | Printed whenever someone remembers | New PDF on each change, dated |
| History | Old versions lost | Every version kept with dates |
What you publish, and how, is your decision with your adviser. We make sure what you decide appears the same everywhere.
A price change, done once
Next time you change a package price, it is changed once in the price source with a date. On that date, estimates use the new price, the website updates and each branch receives the new PDF to print, with the date on the page. When a family asks which price is right, there is only one.
Are your branch prices in step?
- Price lists exist in several documents and places.
- Branches have been found using an old price list.
- The website and estimates have shown different prices.
- Nobody can easily say what price applied on a past date.
- Price changes take days to reach every branch.