| Read time: 5 mins
You’ve decided to modernize your organization by implementing new deathcare management software.
It’s important to note that not all solutions are proprietary [owned and managed solely by the vendor] - rather, many put a ‘cemetery software’ skin over an existing third-party ERP or other asset management platform.
That’s why you should investigate this with the vendors you're assessing to find out which is being offered.
ERP. Enterprise business management. Operational platforms. Accounting systems. Custom-builds. Purpose-Built. Proprietary.
Putting aside all of the tech jargon lies one important question:
What do I need to actually support how our cemetery works, not just today, but 10, 20, or even 30 years from now?
From here, you need to decide whether it makes more sense to:
On paper, both look viable, but in practice, they can lead to very different outcomes.
That’s because it’s not simply a question of cost or preference - it’s a decision that affects your:
First, the essential difference between the two:
Enterprise platforms - often referred to as ERP, finance, or business management systems, are designed to support a wide variety of industries.
When a cemetery solution is built on top of one of these platforms [likened to a ‘cemetery software skin’ being put over it], in effect, it becomes a specialized ‘use case’ within a general-purpose business system.
A proprietary, purpose-built system - like PlotBox - that’s vendor-owned, is designed from the ground up, specifically for cemeteries, crematories and funeral homes.
Rather than adapting general business concepts, it starts with - and is built to reflect - the realities of those organizations.
Realities including: mapping sections, work orders, plot ownership, deeds, historical records, contracts etc.
Financial workflows still exist, but they’re designed around cemetery operations, not the other way around.
If your organization already uses an enterprise platform elsewhere, extending it into cemetery operations can feel logical - even responsible.
For one thing, enterprise platforms are good at financials. For cemeteries managing things like trust funds, perpetual care accounts, pre-need contracts etc. these capabilities can feel like a good fit - at least on the surface..
For another, initial cost comparisons may sometimes favour enterprise-based approaches, particularly if parts of the platform are already in use elsewhere in the organisation.
And importantly, enterprise platforms are familiar. Boards recognize the names. Finance teams trust them. Auditors are comfortable with them. IT departments know them.
But…
“Familiar” does not automatically mean, “fit for purpose.”
Enterprise platforms are designed to manage money, people, and generic assets across many different industries. Cemeteries, however, aren’t generic businesses.
They manage locations, as well as highly specific records spanning generations, along with products and services that are deeply personal and regulated.
And that’s an important distinction.
Enterprise systems are built around concepts like customers, products, invoices, and assets.
Cemeteries operate around concepts like:
Trying to force this reality into a generic structure can lead to workarounds, and significant customization.
If staff regularly say, “the system doesn’t really handle that,” then the system wasn’t designed for your reality.
You might assume that building onto an existing platform is faster because, “we already have it.”
In reality, that may obscure:
Meanwhile, staff continue using spreadsheets, paper maps, or legacy systems.
Let’s say a cemetery invests heavily in adapting an enterprise system. Two years later, financial reporting works well but:
Speed isn’t about starting sooner - it’s about reaching positive outcomes faster.
Enterprise-based approaches might look reasonable in the short term.
But cemeteries don’t operate on annual horizons.
Over 10, 20 years, costs quietly accumulate:
Costs that aren’t always obvious in initial proposals.
Let's say your cemetery spends modestly upfront by building onto an enterprise platform. Ten years later:
Innovation starts to feel risky rather than progressive.
PLUS - it’s also worth remembering that the most expensive software is often the one that seemed cheapest at the start.
Customer expectations are changing. To meet them, cemeteries need:
It makes sense that a platform designed with these in mind can allow you to adapt to these needs more quickly.
Adding them at a later stage can be slow, costly, or sometimes not feasible at all.
Let’s say you want to allow families to view available plots online. While the enterprise platform might be able to technically support a website, connecting real-time plot availability, rules, and approvals becomes a major project.
If innovation feels “hard,” it’s often because the foundation wasn’t built for it.
Purpose-built cemetery management systems start from a different place.
They’re designed around:
Instead of adapting cemeteries to fit the system, the system adapts to cemeteries.
A purpose-built system knows:
Where a plot is, who owns it, who's interred there, what memorials are permitted and when they’re up for renewal.
That’s not configuration - it’s core design.
User experience: An overlooked success factor
Cemetery software isn’t just for finance teams or managers.
It’s used by:
And it’s also used to communicate with other stakeholders, such as:
Purpose-built systems will often feel more intuitive, reducing reliance on manual processes or workarounds. If they’re unintuitive, staff will spend valuable time trying to find ways around them.
When good people create time-sucking workarounds, the problem isn’t the people.
Ultimately, the decision isn’t about platforms versus products.
It’s about stewardship and future goals and objectives.
Cemeteries are responsible for:
The right system should make that responsibility easier, not harder.
To go back to the beginning, the most important question isn’t just:
“What system fits our organization today?”
It’s:
“What system will still serve our cemetery well long after today’s decisions are forgotten?”
Building on an enterprise platform can feel safe, familiar, and sensible - especially early on.
But safety in the short term can create constraints in the long- term.
Purpose-built cemetery management systems exist for a reason: cemeteries are not generic businesses, and they shouldn’t be managed like them.
For the deathcare and bereavement services professions, where domain specificity (ie. plots, deeds, mapping, interments, sales tours etc.) drives real operational value and excellence- a purpose-built solution will always outperform an ERP overlay.
After all, the most successful cemetery organizations will be those that choose systems that take fullest account of who they are and what they do.
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