NFDA 2026 Convention: Questions to Ask Software and Answering Vendors on the Expo Floor

The NFDA expo hall is open for thirteen hours over three days, and NFDA lists more than 300 exhibitors. That leaves about twenty minutes for each booth that matters to you. Here are the verified times, the questions to ask, and one test that makes every vendor show the same work.

When and where is the NFDA 2026 convention?

It runs from Sunday, October 25 to Wednesday, October 28, 2026, at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. Every detail below was read on NFDA’s convention pages on September 27, 2026. Check them again before you travel.

NFDA lists workshops under full registration, not under Expo Only.

How should you plan your time in the expo hall?

Decide which booths you will visit before you leave home. At twenty minutes a booth, thirteen hours holds 39 conversations with no walking, no lunch and no waiting. Eight to ten is a realistic number.

1. Write down the two or three problems you want solved. "Calls missed after 5 p.m." is a problem. "Better technology" is not.
2. Mark the vendors on the floor plan that address those problems, and group them by aisle.
3. Put your most important booths on Monday afternoon. Keep Wednesday morning for second visits.

Four workshops on NFDA’s agenda cover AI, marketing and the Funeral Rule, and each ends before the hall opens that day. By NFDA’s descriptions, the two AI sessions cover written communication and marketing, not phone answering.

Bring one real case to every booth

A prepared demo shows the software on its best day. Your own case shows it on an ordinary one. Pick a closed case that had some difficulty in it, and put it on one page.

• Choose a case with moving parts. For example: a death at home at night, next of kin in another state, and a balance paid partly by card and partly by insurance.
• Remove every identifier. No names, birth dates, Social Security numbers, addresses or policy numbers. Use "Decedent A" and "Daughter B".
• Ask the vendor to enter it live. Not a demo record, and not a video.
• Count. Note how many details are typed twice, and how long it takes to reach a contract ready to sign.

Then ask to see what comes out: the first call sheet, the Statement of Funeral Goods and Services, the receipt, and an export of the case. At an answering booth, read the first call aloud as the caller and ask to see the message your director would receive. There is more to ask in the software demo questions.

Questions to ask case management software vendors

1. Will you enter my case now? A vendor who shows only a prepared record is showing you a script.
2. Where is a detail typed a second time? Every retyped name is a chance for a misspelling on a document.
3. Does the Statement of Funeral Goods and Services come from my price list? Kept separately, the two can drift apart.
4. Which QuickBooks do you sync with, Online or Desktop? They are different products.
5. Do you file with my state’s electronic death registration system, or prepare the paperwork for me to file? Either can work. A vague answer cannot.
6. What is the full price in writing, and what does leaving cost? Include setup, training, migration, added users, added locations, the contract term and renewal notice.
7. Can you show me an export of this case now? The file shows how much of your record you could take with you. See data ownership questions.

For pricing models, read how much funeral home software costs. For a way to weigh the answers, see how to compare funeral software vendors.

What should you ask answering services and AI phone vendors?

Ask who or what answers, what the caller hears, and how the message reaches your director.

Ask to hear a recorded first call as well. Compare bills in what a funeral home answering service costs, read how an AI receptionist works, and see the answering services compared. This article is general information, not legal advice.

What should you ask payments, website and preneed vendors?

Ask where the money, the obituary and the contract end up, and whether each connects to the case.

What red flags should you listen for?

Listen for answers that avoid the screen, the page or the date. None proves a bad product. Each means you ask again.

• "We can do that." Ask to see it done with your case. If it is not shown, write "not shown".
• A price that expires when the hall closes. NFDA’s agenda itself mentions show-only deals. A discount is fine. Ask for it in writing, with a date that leaves time for a full demo.
• "You can always get your data." Ask for the export file, not the promise.
• "It integrates with everything." Ask for product names, and which way the information moves.
• No answer on what the AI must never say. If the vendor has not decided, it is left to chance.

There is a longer list in funeral software red flags.

A one-page scorecard you can copy

Print one card per vendor. Score each line from 1 to 5 at the booth, before you talk to the next vendor.

The funeral home software buyer’s guide covers what to look for in more depth, and the vendor comparison pages set products side by side.

What should you do in the week after the convention?

Turn the cards into a shortlist within two days, while you still remember the conversations.

1. Day 1. Add up the cards. Drop any vendor that would not run your case.
2. Day 2. Tell your staff what you saw, and ask what they want checked.
3. Day 3. Book full demos with your top two or three, with the people who will use the product in the room.
4. Day 4. Ask for a written quote and the contract. Read the sections on term, renewal and data.
5. Day 5. For an answering vendor, start a trial and place test calls yourself after hours. ASD, for example, offers a free 30-day trial.

If nothing on the shortlist solves your problems, keeping what you have is a sound decision.

How FuneralHQ handles this

Hold FuneralHQ to the same questions. It keeps one case record from first call to final payment, with documents, unlimited e-signatures, card and ACH payments, preneed, and QuickBooks Online sync. QuickBooks Desktop is not supported. The Statement of Funeral Goods and Services is built from the same line items as the General Price List. FuneralHQ does not file with any state electronic death registration system. AI phone answering is optional and off until you switch it on, and it leaves a draft first call sheet that a person reviews and confirms. FuneralHQ is not an ASD FuneralSync partner. There are three packages, Platform, Growth, and Growth Managed, shown under pricing. To run your own case, book a demo.

Common questions about the NFDA 2026 expo

Can I go to the NFDA expo without registering for the full convention?

Yes. NFDA lists an Expo Only registration and an Expo Plus registration. Its registration page sets out what each one includes. The standard Expo Only rate, which applies after August 13, 2026, is $240 for NFDA members and $405 for nonmembers. NFDA says on-site registration is also available.

Is there a floor plan or exhibitor list for NFDA 2026?

NFDA’s expo page links to an interactive floor plan and a tool for planning your visit. Use them to find vendors and where they are in the hall. This article names no exhibitors and no booth numbers, because that list is NFDA’s to publish.

How long should I spend at each booth?

Twenty minutes is enough if you hand over the one-page case in the first minute. Spend five minutes watching it entered, ten on your questions, and five on the scorecard. If a vendor needs an hour, book a full demo for the following week and move on.

What should I bring to the expo hall?

Bring printed copies of your anonymized case, one scorecard per vendor, and a few facts about your firm: cases per year, number of locations, which QuickBooks you use, your answering service and its monthly bill, and your website provider. A vendor cannot quote accurately without them.

Should I sign a contract at the convention?

You do not have to. Ask for the offer in writing, with an expiry date at least two weeks out. That leaves time for a full demo with your staff and a careful read of the contract. If the offer cannot wait two weeks, treat that as information about the vendor.

Do vendors give real prices on the expo floor?

Not always. FuneralCall’s pricing page, for example, offers custom quotes only, and Directors’ Choice publishes no pricing. Either way, ask for a written figure based on your own case count, users and locations, and ask what the figure leaves out.

Is a live answering service or an AI phone assistant the better choice?

ASD says its call specialists receive six months of training, and it lists six kinds of call it says AI would mishandle. If those calls worry you most, a live service is the better choice. If your problem is calls missed while staff are busy, an assistant may be enough.

Can I compare funeral home software without going to the convention?

Yes. The one-case test works in an online demo as well as at a booth. Send the anonymized page in advance, ask the vendor to enter it live on the call, and fill in the same scorecard. You see fewer vendors in a day, and each one gives you more time.