At-need first call detail
Next of kin, authorizing party, place of death, and service intent, captured on the sheet and ready for the arrangement conference.
A first call sheet that opens the case
The first call is where a case begins and where details get lost. FuneralHQ gives your team one structured first call sheet, however the call arrives: staff fill it on screen, the assistant drafts it from a call it answered, or a website submission carries its details in. The file starts with the intake already in it.
Who it is for
- Firms taking first calls on a notepad and retyping later
- Offices re-keying an answering service sheet every morning
- Teams where each desk keeps a different intake pad
- Anyone keeping a separate intake spreadsheet for state files
What it replaces
- A standalone forms tool that dumps into a spreadsheet
- A first call sheet retyped by hand the next morning
- Paper intake pads with different versions in every desk
- Details that never make it from the call to the case
How intake works
One structured first call sheet, filled whichever way the call arrives, feeding straight into the case.
- 01
Fill the sheet during the call
Staff work through the first call sheet on screen while the caller is on the line, so nothing depends on deciphering a notepad afterward.
- 02
Capture what the case actually needs
Place of death, next of kin and authorizing party, disposition intent, and the transport details the removal team needs, in one pass.
- 03
Review the calls nobody typed
A call the assistant answered arrives as a draft sheet with its recording and transcript. FuneralHQ also takes first calls from an answering service by direct feed or by email intake, and each arrives as a draft first call sheet. Staff confirm either one before it becomes a case. Ask us which services are connected.
- 04
Convert website submissions to cases
A form submitted on your website comes into a queue, and staff convert it to a case with the submitted details carried over instead of retyped.
- 05
Start the case from the intake
The first call sheet opens the case, so arrangements, documents, and billing begin from what was captured on the call rather than from a blank file.
What intake covers
The intake layer today, and the distinction arriving with the current release.
At-need and trade cases
Firms doing trade work for other funeral homes need those cases distinguished from their own families. That distinction is arriving in the current release, so trade cases carry the referring firm rather than being disguised as at-need work.
Website form submissions
Submissions from your website come into a review queue and convert to cases with the details intact, so an online inquiry is not an email someone has to transcribe.
Transport details
Address, facility contact, and the notes the removal team needs, captured at intake so they leave with the right information.
Intake that reaches the whole case
Everything captured on the sheet carries into arrangements, documents, and billing without being entered twice.
Common questions
How does the first call sheet reach the case?
The sheet is the start of the case. What staff capture on the call carries into arrangements, documents, and billing without being entered twice.
What if nobody can answer the phone?
With AI phone answering switched on, the assistant takes the call, pages your on-call director, and leaves a draft first call sheet. It is optional. Without it, the sheet is filled by whoever takes the call.
Can website inquiries become cases?
Yes. Form submissions from your website come into a queue for staff review and convert to cases with the submitted details carried over.
Can we separate trade work from our own families?
The at-need and trade case distinction is arriving in the current release, so trade cases record the referring firm and stay distinct from your own family cases.
Can we export intake records?
Your case data is yours and exports whenever you need it, so the record of what came in and when does not have to be maintained on the side.
See a first call become a case
In 20 minutes we take a sample first call through the sheet, open the case, and show how a website inquiry arrives the same way.