Funeral balances are often large, which is exactly where card processing fees add up. ACH, a direct bank transfer, usually carries a lower fee than a card for the same amount, so offering it can save meaningful money over a year of cases. The trade-off is that ACH settles a little slower and needs the family’s bank details.
ACH versus card
| Factor | ACH | Card |
|---|---|---|
| Typical fee | Lower, often flat-ish | A percentage that grows with the amount |
| Best for | Large balances | Convenience and smaller amounts |
| Settlement | A few business days | Fast |
| Needs | Bank account details | Card details |
When to offer ACH
- On larger balances where the card fee is significant.
- For families who prefer a bank transfer.
- For scheduled payment-plan installments.
What to track
Whichever method a family uses, the payment should attach to the case with its method, amount, and date, post against the matching invoice, and update the balance. ACH that settles in a few days should still show as pending so staff are not surprised. A receipt for an ACH payment that has not settled should not call it settled; the funeral home receipt template workflow covers that wording. Processing fees are standard from the provider and separate from your subscription.
What to ask software vendors
- Do you support both ACH and card against the case?
- What are the ACH and card processing fees?
- Does an ACH payment show as pending until it settles?
- Do payments sync to QuickBooks against the right invoice?
How FuneralHQ handles this
FuneralHQ is funeral home software that supports both card and ACH payments against the case, so families can choose and you can steer larger balances to the lower-fee method. Every payment posts to the case and syncs to QuickBooks. Processing fees are standard and separate, with no platform markup.
Related resources
Read credit card payments for funeral homes and funeral home online payments.
The FuneralHQ advantage
The family balance and the books should agree
FuneralHQ keeps card and ACH activity, payment plans, case balances, and QuickBooks Online connected so staff can answer the family and accounting can reconcile the same record.
We will work through a real example with you, from the first details to the finished record.
See it on one of your casesAbout the FuneralHQ Editorial Team
This guide was written by the FuneralHQ Editorial Team, the in-house team behind funeral home software used by independent firms to run cases, documents, payments, and QuickBooks sync in one record. Our editorial standards explain how we review product claims, outside sources, automation, updates, and corrections.