‘Our company was established in the year 2000, but there was no IT in place, except a very old second hand computer formerly owned by Noah to check his animals onto the Ark’, jokes Adrian Pink of A & D Pink Funeral Directors in Croydon…

‘We used a few templates, but the administration was like wading through treacle’, Adrian and his wife Diane continue. ‘With no proper accounting or funeral management software, the business was disorganised chaos. We struggled to create a minimum of documents, working with what we had, but our old system required lots of extra work for everybody’

‘After a change in direction of the business in 2004, the decision was made to install new computers with internet access, a full accountancy package and a funeral management software programme.’

‘But as complete novices when it comes to the world of IT, we soon got lost in all the available technology and began to wonder how all this was going to help our business!’

‘Then we received an invitation by Eulogica Ltd to the Norwegian Ambassador’s residence in London for a presentation of their Eulogica Funeral Management software.’

Originally the Eulogica funeral software system was developed in Scandinavia and has been in use there for more than 10 years, but it is now available in several countries. The UK version was launched in 2005, in cooperation with several well known UK Funeral Directors.

Eulogica’s David Wright with Adrian Pink and his assistant Funeral Director Jenny Gibbs at their offices in Hamsey Green.

‘Having sat through the presentation by the Eulogica team, we were surprised by how easy it all seemed. Barry Albin spoke about the system and their use of it at his own company F.A. Albin & Sons in south London. He commented on how his staff think it is easy to use and how it had been tailored for his own company’s particular requirements…this all sounded interesting. Our next step was to arrange a demonstration at our own premises with David Wright from Eulogica,’ says Adrian.

‘As a former Funeral Director, we were confident that David would understand our needs’, says Adrian. ‘After an enjoyable few hours learning about the system, we then saw that this could be of major help within our business. We decided that we had found our Funeral Management software!’

But it was not just a matter of having the system delivered on the door. The next step was to arrange a suitable date for David to return to the Pinks premises and spend a day with the company analysing their needs in detail. ‘We are very adamant that the software should be adapted for each Funeral Director’s particular requirements’, remarks David, ‘not the other way round! Eulogica funeral software can totally be tailored to suit the needs of any funeral business.’

So the funeral software was configured according to the traditions at Pinks. ‘Our own logos, pricing structure, design and layout of confirmation letters, estimates and invoices etc were implemented onto the funeral software system’, comments Adrian. ‘In daily use, after all the funeral information is entered, it is simply a matter for the arranger to print off documents with a few mouse clicks.’

‘Finally we had two days of training for our staff, which was very easy to follow and understand. The training even allowed time for the non-computer aware people such as myself to catch up’, comments Adrian.

Assistant Funeral Director Jenny Gibbs spends much of her time in the office and uses the new funeral system all the time. She says Eulogica funeral software is proving to be a wonderful tool, especially as she finds it really easy to use. She does point out, however, that currently the software doesn’t make the tea!

‘We have had the funeral software system up and running for some time now, and it is proving to be an indispensable tool for our daily work. The telephone support from Eulogica Ltd has been first class. Feedback from clients, clergy and other agencies in response to our new detailed and accurate documentation has also been very encouraging!’

Adrian finally adds, ‘We had a few functions created for our particular needs. One of these was a simple chapel door name sign with the deceased’s name, date of death and age – designed specifically to fit our chapel door sign. Although this may only be a simple item, it is of great help for us. There is even a dotted line to cut the sign to the correct size..! Many small things like this come together to make the administration much easier, leaving us with more time to spend with the bereaved.’