The issue of families struggling to pay funeral expenses is ongoing and I believe poses an increasing threat to funeral home financial health. Take a few moments and read an article posted in Forbes last month: 63% Of Americans Don’t Have Enough Savings To Cover A $500 Emergency. Now let that sink in a bit…
Depending on the zip codes your funeral home serves, regularly working with families who struggle paying for your goods and services may not be an issue. However, there is enough negative economic news to support my continued message that we as an industry need to start paying attention. Take a look at the chart below (courtesy of the St. Louis Federal Reserve and found by my fellow funeral professional Raymond Aikens):
One of the solutions for dealing with this problem is to train funeral directors how to address families in an arrangement session regarding payment options. Yes, I know that your firm accepts full payment before services rendered and you have a payment policy. So why do you have accounts receivable? Because your funeral directors sign contracts prior to securing the funds to pay for services rendered, the family walks out the door, the service is over and you have an unpaid bill. It’s your fault, period.
At Need Credit offers training and solutions of how to secure payment before a funeral contract is signed and also programs that will put your funeral home in a $0.00 accounts receivable status. If your firm has past due accounts, our Simple Funeral Payment Plan provides a program to not only collect much needed funds, but also keep your firm in compliance with federal lending regulations.
This year I will be offering CEU’s at conventions and meetings to address cash flow for at need services. Contact me for further details and let’s do something about the ongoing problem with a solution, not just talk about it. From the Command Post, Cheers Y’all! #thefuneralcommander #FNhustle #FNchange