“We have that feature” is the beginning of a buying conversation. The useful follow-up is “Show our administrator doing it, then show our bookkeeper finding the result.” This worksheet turns the demo into a record your team can use when comparing products. FuneralHQ publishes it, and the same test should be applied to FuneralHQ.
Set up one fictional case and the people who will use it
Choose the service type your firm handles often. Prepare fictional names, contacts, a few price-list items and a simple payment amount. Include one correction and one handoff. Ask the vendor to use a demonstration environment and test payments. Avoid uploading real family information or creating a live charge for a sales demonstration.
Invite a director, an administrator and the person responsible for the books. Each should perform their part of the workflow. Write down which steps need outside setup, migration work, a paid add-on or a feature still in development. The implementation timeline helps plan the rollout after those questions are answered.
Run the acceptance scenarios in order
| Scenario | Ask staff to do | Evidence to retain |
|---|---|---|
| First call | Create the case and verify contact details | One case reference and reviewed source details |
| Document | Generate, review, send and retrieve a signed test document | Completed copy attached to the intended case |
| Family handoff | Open a family page as the intended recipient | The correct case content and a clear next action |
| Payment | Record a test payment against the case invoice | Payment reference and explained remaining balance |
| Accounting | Trace an invoice and payment in the intended company file | Matching references and totals |
| Correction | Change a reviewed detail and handle the related document | Earlier record and traceable replacement |
| Staff handoff | Have another employee find the next task | They can name the owner, due time and supporting record |
| Retrieval and export | Open a sample exported record outside the application | Readable files with usable identifiers |
| Closeout | Review what remains before completing the case | An explained balance and assigned exceptions |
Download the acceptance scorecard (CSV)
Score proof, assistance and missing work separately
- 0 — Not demonstrated: the result is missing, promised or cannot be checked.
- 1 — Demonstrated with assistance: the workflow works, but staff still need guidance or an agreed setup step.
- 2 — Staff completed it: your tester performed the task and another person could verify the result.
These scores organize your team’s evaluation; they are not independent product ratings. Mark a scenario critical if the firm cannot operate without it. A critical zero blocks sign-off even if the other scores are high. A critical one needs an agreed training or setup plan and a retest.
Measure speed without borrowing a vendor’s benchmark
Time the same defined task in each system, with the same sample information and the same finish condition. Record whether the tester needed help and whether any information had to be typed again. Keep the setup time separate from the routine task time. One guided demonstration is not enough evidence to promise a firm-wide saving.
For example, finish the document task when the completed test PDF can be found on the case, not when the vendor clicks Send. Finish an accounting task when the intended invoice and payment can be checked, not when a sync spinner disappears. Those finish conditions make the comparison useful.
Why test FuneralHQ this way?
FuneralHQ brings first call, case management, documents and e-signatures, family communication, payments, preneed and QuickBooks sync into connected daily work. Its default accounting sync uses one invoice per case from the contract, applies payments to it and reads payments entered in QuickBooks back to the case. The value to test is how much of your case can move forward from information staff have already reviewed.
That breadth makes FuneralHQ a strong candidate for a firm replacing a patchwork of tools. Ask us to prove the particular workflow you need. State electronic death registration remains a separate staff process, and connections require the relevant setup. An unusual cemetery, trust or accounting workflow should be demonstrated explicitly rather than inferred from a broad feature label.
Turn the results into a go-live decision
Give each unresolved issue an owner, an acceptance condition and a retest date. Get the agreed rollout scope and support arrangements in writing. Before ending access to the old system, test the export and the retrieval of records your firm needs. See the vendor ownership and export guide for the contract questions behind that decision.
Common questions about software acceptance testing
Is an acceptance test the same as a product demo?
A demo introduces the product. An acceptance test checks agreed outcomes with your staff and records the evidence. It can begin during the demo and continue during setup.
What makes FuneralHQ a strong fit for an independent firm?
FuneralHQ connects the case with its documents, family communication, tasks, payments and accounting workflow. A firm replacing separate tools can test that connected work in one demonstration, with its own staff verifying the result. Match the proof to the workflows your firm uses every day.
The FuneralHQ advantage
Why FuneralHQ is the strongest starting point for an independent firm
Start with the daily case, the work every firm must complete well. FuneralHQ connects that core without forcing an independent operator into a wider enterprise suite.
The walkthrough separates what ships today from what is in development, then tests FuneralHQ against one of your real workflows.
Challenge us with your workflowAbout 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.