An estimate, then five phone calls
After the arrangement meeting, the family receive a written estimate. Over the next week, the son rings to add a second limousine. The daughter asks for a larger floral tribute. The celebrant's fee turns out to be different from the one used on the estimate. The wake venue changes, and you agree to pay the caterer and recharge it. Each change is noted on the file and agreed on the phone.
Three weeks after the funeral, the final invoice arrives with the family. It is higher than the estimate. Every item on it was agreed, but the estimate they kept in the kitchen drawer shows something else, and nobody sent them an updated version.
Two documents that drift apart
The estimate and the invoice are often produced at different times, sometimes by different people, from a file that has been changed by hand in between.
- The estimate is built after the meeting, from the arrangement form.
- Changes are agreed on the phone and written on the file or in an email.
- No updated estimate is sent after each change.
- Disbursements are estimated at first and invoiced at the actual amount later.
- The final invoice is prepared from the file, weeks after the funeral.
Why the difference hurts
Families are paying for something they did not choose to need, at a time when they are grieving. A final invoice that is higher than the estimate feels like a surprise even when every change was their own. It leads to phone calls, explanations and sometimes a request to reduce the bill, all of which are uncomfortable for everyone.
Clear, consistent pricing is also something families, and the organisations that oversee funeral pricing, increasingly expect. What you must provide is for you and your adviser. Making sure the estimate stays in step with the arrangements is something a system can help with.
One priced record that updates the estimate
What we build keeps the arrangements and the prices on a single record, so the estimate and the invoice are always two views of the same thing.
- The arrangement choices are priced from your price list as they are made, producing the first estimate.
- Any change after the meeting is made on the same record, with who asked for it and when.
- Each change produces a short confirmation to the family, with the updated estimate total, by email or post as they prefer. Staff can choose to batch small changes into one update.
- Disbursements are shown as estimated until the actual amount is known, then updated, with the change visible.
- The final invoice is produced from the record, with a clear list of changes since the original estimate.
- Invoices go to Xero, Sage or your accounts package, matched to the funeral.
| Change after the meeting | What the family receives |
|---|---|
| Second limousine added | Confirmation with updated estimate |
| Larger floral tribute | Confirmation with updated estimate |
| Celebrant fee confirmed at a different amount | Updated estimate, disbursement noted |
| Final invoice | Invoice with a list of changes since the first estimate |
Your prices, your terms and the information you publish stay yours. We make sure every change reaches the family in writing before the invoice does.
An invoice with no surprises
The son's call about the limousine is entered on the record. That evening the family get a short email: the second limousine has been added, and the estimate is now this amount. When the celebrant's fee is confirmed, the estimate updates again. The final invoice matches the last estimate they received, with a short list of changes they recognise.
Does your final invoice surprise families?
- Changes after the arrangement meeting are agreed by phone.
- Families do not receive an updated estimate after each change.
- Final invoices often differ from the original estimate.
- Families have queried or disputed a final invoice.
- Invoices are prepared from the file weeks after the funeral.