On 17th February, The FBCA, (Federation of Burial and Cremation Authorities) and OpusXenta held the first webinar in our environmental series highlighting the environmental impact of the bereavement services sector. We opened the conversation and looked at what changes that funeral directors, crematoria and cemeteries alike can all make to protect ...

As the need for cremations is rising, it's more important than ever to optimize your crematory to improve your support for the community. According to the National Funeral Directors Association 2020 Cremation and Burial Report, it's expected that COVID-19 will be responsible for another 200,000 deaths throughout 2021, but crematories have limited a...

Papers getting lost on desks. Updates being overlooked. Mistakes made due to poor handwriting. All are unacceptable in the cemetery business. And yet, unfortunately, they can happen. Reducing those errors, however, is possible by using technology. Implementing digital transformation tools for your grounds and service management (GSM) team could be ...

Safety, convenience, and affordability: almost a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, these timeless values have translated into crucial necessities. Throughout the last year, we have seen fundamental shifts in consumer behavior that have changed the way customers and businesses interact. Many of these changes will likely continue to be with us long af...

Change. Like death and taxes, it's a constant. There are variety junkies (like myself) who crave change and those who will move mountains to avoid it. How many times have you heard someone say something like… "but I've always done it this way – it works fine as it is!"? ("Argue for your limitations and, sure enough, they're yours." – Richard Bach.)...

Many business owners approach the Internet and its options with a touch of uncertainty. We've all heard of "the cloud," but what exactly is it, and why should you trust your important business data to a place that you can't see or touch? If you are in need of a safe, secure, and highly accessible location for your cemetery or funeral home's data, t...

Essential. Vital. Connected.  While those words have always held true for the funeral industry, clearly, they were all a bit more challenging to realize in 2020. But the new year presents new opportunities to remain essential, vital, and connected and, in the process, energize your business. The pandemic has made us react to what happened. But...

Michelle Imam Bakhsh  Regional Sales Associate, North West, USA Tell us about your death care profession journey and what led you to join OpusXenta?  My journey in the profession started right after High School – I wasn't certain which direction I wanted to go with my studies. A local funeral director allowed me to job shadow him, and aft...

We recently held a webinar with Samuel Holleran and Fraser Allison, who are both involved in multiple research projects focusing on Death Care and community relationships with death at the University of Melbourne. This webinar, along with several other webinars OpusXenta have recently hosted, can be found here if you are interested in listening to ...

Tony Lorge OpusXenta CEO 1. How did you start providing solutions for the death care industry?  It all really came about by chance. I have been involved in providing business software solutions for many years across many sectors across the globe, and out of the blue, we got a call from a cemetery in Melbourne, Australia, seeking help with thei...

What is Aftercare and why is it a powerful business building tool?  The Death Care industry as a whole has three key components:  Pre-need prepares for at-need, which facilitates aftercare, which feeds pre-need. To break the flow with a weak or absent plan for aftercare can cost valuable sales. It disconnects the relationship you have alr...

Have you attended any of our "In Conversation With…" webinars? If you haven't yet had the chance, we encourage you to keep an eye on our website's "Events" page as we have some intriguing topics and guests scheduled for the year ahead. Over the course of 2020, John Haley from OpusXenta had some fascinating conversations with a range of guests invol...

It is impossible to put a price on the comfort which services like burials and cremations have brought to the bereaved in the last few hundred years. However, recently, we have become increasingly aware of the unintended consequences of some of these actions and the negative impacts that they are having on our environment. We will be discussing thi...

The Death Care sector is one of intrigue to those outside of its bubble. There are multiple skills required to 'make good' the experience of death for the bereaved. From bookkeeping to bereavement support, the community looks to Funeral Directors, Celebrants, Cemeteries, and Crematoriums, not to mention the florists and caterers, and video streamin...

Aftercare...it's important, but just how important is it really?  When I was a funeral director, I saw how varying the aftercare programs in the profession are! Some funeral homes follow up regularly; others follow up only to let the families know when the death certificates arrive. Some put their preneed team in charge of follow up; others ta...

Claire Shelvey Global Head of Services and intracare How long have you worked in your role (in the software industry), and what do you enjoy most?  I moved into business systems consulting in 2007. I really enjoy the variety of the role and the opportunity to work with so many different people and businesses. It challenges me intellectually – ...

Most cemeteries, even small ones, have someone of interest buried on site. Maybe it's a local poet. Maybe it's a war hero. Maybe it's a famous celebrity. However, if no one knows that individual is buried in your cemetery, then you're less likely to receive visitors such as cemetery tourists, historians, or distant relatives. Cemetery mapping can c...

The only thing good about 2020 is it's coming to an end. Right? Actually, taken in perspective, it could also be considered the year of opportunities. This year, the death care industry was completely consumed with navigating the new normal brought on by the pandemic. In addition to dealing with caring for the dead, there were new protocols to lear...

"People will forget what you said. They will forget what you did. But they will never forget how you made them feel." Those words from the late great American poet Maya Angelou were likely not made in the context of customer service, but they hold true nonetheless. It's especially true in the funeral profession, where funeral directors have the opp...

When we think of tourism, we think of crowded beaches, bustling cities, and stunning vistas; we do not always think of cemeteries. The concept of tourism centers on the element of fun. Cemeteries hold the complete opposite sentiment, and yet, cemetery tourism is on the rise. Because of this fact, cemeteries are seeking new ways to support their ope...