Funeral Home Accounting Software: What Should Your Firm Use?

Funeral home accounting software can be two products working together or one product that does both jobs. In the two-product setup, a general accounting package, such as QuickBooks Online, keeps the ledger, and funeral home management software builds each contract and tracks what each family owes. Some funeral software vendors sell their own ledger and payroll: Continental Computers pairs The Director’s Assistant Web with The Smart Accountant. FuneralHQ, which publishes this guide, is management software that includes a built-in general ledger, payroll, and trust accounting. FuneralHQ also syncs with QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop. It does not connect to Sage or Xero.

What accounting software do funeral homes use?

Funeral homes use general small business accounting software, the accounting module sold by a funeral software vendor, or both. No published count of funeral homes by accounting product was found for this guide, so products are not ranked by popularity here.

The funeral software sites read for this guide name QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Desktop, Sage 50, Peachtree, Federated, Great Plains, and Navision as connections. Your accountant’s preference belongs on the same list.

A firm that already runs QuickBooks should start with what should sync automatically between QuickBooks and funeral software. This guide covers the wider choice: which accounting product, which funeral system, and how to set up the accounts.

What is the difference between funeral home accounting software and funeral home management software?

Funeral home accounting software is a program that keeps the general ledger, reconciles bank accounts, pays bills, runs payroll, and produces financial statements. A general ledger is the complete record of every account and every posting in the business. Funeral home management software is a program that holds the case: the arrangement, the documents, the contract, and the family’s balance. Some management software, FuneralHQ included, has a general ledger built in, so one product can do both jobs.

Trouble begins when two systems can each change the same balance. Decide which system creates the invoice, where a payment is first recorded, and how a correction moves across. The guide to which bookkeeping tasks to automate draws the line between typing and judgment.

What makes funeral home bookkeeping different?

Funeral home bookkeeping differs from ordinary retail bookkeeping in six ways. Each one needs its own account or its own report.

• Cash advance items. A cash advance item is a good or service your firm buys from a third party on the family’s behalf, such as flowers, clergy honoraria, or death certificates. The FTC’s Funeral Rule guide says each one must be listed separately on the Statement with its price, and a markup must be disclosed there.
• Preneed funds. State preneed law decides where money paid before the service is held and when the firm may take it.
• Insurance assignments. An insurance assignment is a signed document that directs a life insurer to pay the funeral home from the policy proceeds. An assignment is a receivable, not cash in the bank. See what a funeral insurance assignment form contains.
• Merchandise cost of goods. Caskets, vaults and urns are bought and resold. IRS Publication 538, revised January 2022, says a business that must account for inventory must use an accrual method for purchases and sales, with an exception for small business taxpayers.
• Sales tax on merchandise. State rules differ. Washington’s rule for funeral establishments, WAC 458-20-153 as read in September 2026, applies retail sales tax to urns and caskets. Minnesota’s Sales Tax Fact Sheet 165, dated January 2023, lists caskets and cremation urns for human remains as not taxable.
• Several payers per case. A family member, an insurer, and a preneed fund can each pay part of one contract. Tracking accounts receivable by case keeps each share visible.

Which accounting software products fit a funeral home?

Three general accounting products publish prices that a funeral home can compare: QuickBooks Online, Xero, and Sage 50. The table shows each regular list price as read on the United States pricing pages on September 28, 2026, without introductory discounts. QuickBooks Online and Xero prices are per month. Sage 50 shows a price billed monthly and a lower price billed annually, both on a one-year minimum commitment.

Intuit lists class and location tracking only on QuickBooks Online Plus and Advanced. A firm that wants a profit and loss report for each chapel should ask its accountant which plan that requires. Payroll is an optional extra with all three vendors. Xero, for example, lists payroll as of September 2026 at $36 a month plus $6 per employee or contractor.

Which funeral software includes accounting or connects to it?

Six funeral software vendors publish an accounting feature or an accounting connection on their own sites, and FuneralHQ makes seven. The table repeats what each site says and adds one limit to check. Six of the seven publish no dollar price on the pages read, so ask for a written quote.

A firm that wants a ledger and payroll from its funeral vendor can look at The Director’s Assistant Web, which pairs with The Smart Accountant, and at FuneralHQ. That choice turns on the price model, how your firm works, and the demo. Osiris, Passare and The Director’s Assistant Web each publish a QuickBooks Desktop connection, and FuneralHQ syncs with QuickBooks Desktop as well.

The SRS Computing and CRaKN web addresses now lead to Tribute Technology’s site, where the CRaKN page says CRaKN is now Tribute Management Software. FuneralHQ comes in three packages, Platform, Growth, and Growth Managed, shown in the pricing section.

What should a funeral home chart of accounts include?

A funeral home chart of accounts should separate income by service category, show cash advances as pass-through items, and track merchandise cost apart from merchandise sales. A chart of accounts is the list of every account in the ledger, grouped as assets, liabilities, equity, income, cost of goods sold, and expenses.

The outline below is a starting outline to hand to your accountant, who should adapt it to your firm and your state. It is not accounting advice. The income lines follow the itemized categories the FTC requires on a General Price List, so each line on the Statement maps to one account.

Clean categories pay off beyond tax season. The same accounts feed the figures used for valuing a funeral home and for deciding what a funeral home owner can pay themselves.

QuickBooks Online or QuickBooks Desktop?

For a first purchase, the choice is QuickBooks Online or QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise. Intuit states that it stopped selling new US subscriptions to QuickBooks Desktop Pro Plus, Premier Plus, Mac Plus, and Enhanced Payroll after September 30, 2024. Intuit adds that existing Desktop subscribers can keep renewing and that Desktop Enterprise is still sold.

A firm already on QuickBooks Desktop does not have to move. That firm should choose funeral software that publishes a Desktop connection. FuneralHQ syncs with both QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop. The comparison of QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop for funeral homes covers access, updates, and what a move involves.

Before changing either system, export your data and ask the old vendor which file formats it provides. The migration guide and the list of what to export before switching funeral software set out the steps.

How should invoices and payments flow from the case to the books?

Invoices and payments should flow in one direction, from the case to the ledger, with each event entered once. The funeral invoice workflow explains the case side. The steps below cover the handoff to accounting.

1. Build and approve the itemized Statement on the case.
2. Record each deposit, payment and assignment against the family balance.
3. Send the invoice and each payment to the ledger through a fixed account mapping.
4. Check the sync status each day and correct any rejected entry.
5. Match card settlements and bank deposits to the recorded payments.
6. Review refunds, discounts, write-offs and old balances before the month closes.
7. Close the period and keep a record of any later correction.

IRS Publication 583, revised December 2024, says supporting documents include invoices, receipts, deposit slips and canceled checks, and that it is generally best to record transactions daily. A sync does that recording as the case moves, which is the argument for reducing manual invoice entry.

Three guides go deeper: how to sync invoices and payments with QuickBooks, common QuickBooks workflow mistakes, and funeral home payment processing.

How do you handle preneed and trust money in the books?

Preneed and trust money is handled by following your state’s preneed law first and your accounting software second. Preneed is an arrangement made and paid for before death. State law regulates preneed trust and insurance funding, and the rules differ by state.

Virginia shows how specific a state rule can be. Virginia Code section 54.1-2822, as read in September 2026, requires the person who receives money under a preneed funeral contract to deposit it in a special trust account at a bank or savings institution within 30 days: all of it when the price is not guaranteed, and 90% when the price is guaranteed. The Virginia section exempts money that funds an insurance policy or an annuity.

• Keep a record for each contract: the buyer, the funding type, the amount paid, and where the money is held.
• Compare your contract list with the trustee or insurer statement on a set schedule.
• Let your accountant decide when preneed money becomes income. Software settings do not decide it.

When is FuneralHQ the wrong fit?

FuneralHQ is the wrong fit when your firm needs a connection to an accounting product other than QuickBooks, or when your current system already serves the firm well.

• Your firm runs Sage 50, Xero, or another ledger and wants a connection to it. FuneralHQ syncs with QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop only.
• Your firm is well served by its current funeral system and its vendor relationship, and the books close on time each month. That firm has no reason to switch.
• Your firm needs its funeral software to file death certificates electronically with the state. FuneralHQ prepares the physician request and tracks filing milestones, and does not file with a state registration system.

A firm with a low case count and a bookkeeper content to enter invoices by hand may not need a sync at all. A monthly check of the case list against the ledger can be enough.

How FuneralHQ handles this

FuneralHQ is funeral home software that keeps one case record from first call to final payment. The General Price List is kept once, and the Statement of Funeral Goods and Services is built from the same line items. Card and ACH payments, deposits and payment plans are recorded against the case, so staff can see the balance.

FuneralHQ includes a built-in general ledger, payroll, and trust accounting. It also syncs with QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop for firms that keep their books there. With either QuickBooks product, FuneralHQ syncs the invoice, each payment, and the family as a customer. Your firm connects its existing QuickBooks company during onboarding and keeps its chart of accounts. The QuickBooks sync page lists what moves across.

What should you ask a vendor and your accountant?

Ask the vendor about the connection and ask your accountant about the accounts. Put the answers in writing before you sign.

1. Vendor: which accounting products and editions do you connect to, by name?
2. Vendor: which records move (invoices, payments, customers, journal entries), and in which direction?
3. Vendor: do invoices arrive itemized or as one total?
4. Vendor: what happens to a synced invoice when the arrangement changes?
5. Vendor: where do I see a failed entry, and who fixes it?
6. Vendor: can I export every record if I leave, and in what format?
7. Accountant: should the firm use the cash or the accrual method, and how should merchandise inventory be treated?
8. Accountant: which accounts should hold cash advances, preneed money, insurance assignments, and sales tax?

Common questions about funeral home accounting software

Can funeral home software replace QuickBooks?

Some funeral software can. Continental Computers pairs The Director’s Assistant Web with The Smart Accountant, which lists general ledger, accounts payable and payroll. FuneralHQ includes a built-in general ledger, payroll, and trust accounting. Other funeral systems connect to a separate accounting package. Have the person who closes your books test a full month in the product before you decide.

Should a funeral home use cash or accrual accounting?

Your accountant should decide. IRS Publication 538, revised January 2022, says that under the cash method you report income when you receive it, and under an accrual method you report income when you earn it. For tax years beginning in 2026, IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32 sets the gross receipts test for the cash method at $32 million in average annual receipts for a corporation or partnership.

What is funeral home billing software?

Funeral home billing software is the part of a funeral system that turns the arrangement into an itemized invoice, records payments, and shows the balance. Billing software feeds the ledger and does not replace it. A payment dashboard and a consistent receipt template are two billing records worth setting up early.

What does cemetery bookkeeping software need to do?

Cemetery bookkeeping software needs to track property sales, contracts, installment payments, and any trust deposits your state requires, then pass approved totals to the ledger. FuneralHQ includes cemetery mapping, plot inventory, and deeds. A combination operator should test one property sale in a demo and read the guide to cemetery software and QuickBooks integration.

Should every case detail sync to accounting?

No. The ledger needs financial entries, not arrangement notes. The FTC’s guide to protecting personal information tells businesses to keep only what they need. Send the invoice lines, payments and customer name your accountant requires, and leave sensitive family details in the case record.

What is the best first test of an accounting connection?

Take one closed case and reproduce its Statement, deposit, final payment, processing fee, bank deposit and ledger posting in the vendor’s product, using your own figures. If your bookkeeper cannot trace every amount from the case to the bank and back, keep evaluating.

Does FuneralHQ work with QuickBooks Desktop, Sage or Xero?

FuneralHQ syncs with QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop, so a firm on QuickBooks Desktop does not have to move to QuickBooks Online first. FuneralHQ does not connect to Sage or Xero. A firm on Sage or Xero should choose funeral software that publishes a connection to that product.

How much does accounting software cost a funeral home each year?

By this guide’s arithmetic, twelve months at list prices as of September 2026 come to $1,680 for QuickBooks Online Plus and $4,080 for QuickBooks Online Advanced, before payroll and before any discount. Xero Established comes to $1,080 at $90 a month, or $1,164 at the $97 Xero lists from October 1, 2026. Funeral software is a separate cost, and six of the seven funeral vendors in this guide publish no dollar price.

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