Funeral Home Inventory Management: Tracking Caskets, Urns, and Supplies
Poor inventory management ties up cash in slow-moving stock while risking stockouts on popular items. Learn simple systems to optimize inventory and maximize profitability.
A funeral director had $35,000 worth of caskets in the selection room—but half hadn't sold in 2+ years. Meanwhile, they'd run out of the two most popular models three times that year, losing sales. Proper inventory tracking would have prevented both problems.
Why Inventory Management Matters for Funeral Homes
Inventory represents significant capital investment for small funeral homes. Poor tracking creates cash flow problems, stockouts, and wasted money on merchandise that never sells.
Cash Flow Impact
Caskets and urns cost $500-4,000 each. Having 20 caskets in stock represents $15,000- 80,000 of tied-up capital that could be used elsewhere.
Profitability Tracking
You can't calculate true service profitability without knowing inventory costs. What did that casket actually cost you vs. what you charged? Track markup compliance with FTC pricing rules.
Prevents Stockouts
Running out of popular items forces families to wait or choose something else. Lost sales and frustrated families both hurt your business.
What Inventory to Track
Not all funeral home inventory needs the same level of tracking. Focus on high-value and fast-moving items:
Priority 1: Caskets
Highest value inventory. Track every casket with detailed information.
Track for Each Casket:
- • Model name and manufacturer
- • Your cost and retail price
- • Date received and purchase order number
- • Location in selection room or storage
- • Date sold (if sold)
- • Days in inventory (time to sell)
Priority 2: Urns and Cremation Containers
With cremation rates increasing, urn inventory becomes increasingly important.
Common mistake: Ordering too many decorative urns while running out of basic cremation containers. Track both separately.
Priority 3: High-Use Supplies
Items used frequently that need reordering: embalming fluid, cosmetics, clothing, register books, memorial folders.
Simpler tracking: Just track quantity on hand and reorder point. Don't need individual item tracking for consumables.
The Simple Inventory Tracking System
You don't need complex warehouse management software. Here's a system that works for funeral homes serving 50-200 families annually:
Weekly Inventory Routine (15 minutes)
Record New Arrivals
When new caskets/urns arrive, log them into inventory with cost, date received, and location. Assign each item a simple ID (e.g., CK-001, URN-045).
Mark Items Sold
When an item sells, mark the sale date and link to the family/service record. This automatically removes it from available inventory.
Review Slow-Moving Items
Check for items in stock over 12 months. Consider discounting, returning to supplier, or not reordering similar models.
Check Stock Levels
Review fast-moving items. If quantity on hand drops below reorder point, place order to restock before running out.
Understanding Inventory Turn Rate
Inventory turn rate tells you how efficiently you're managing stock. Higher is better.
Calculating Turn Rate
Annual Sales ÷ Average Inventory Value = Turn Rate
Example:
- • Annual casket sales: $150,000
- • Average casket inventory value: $30,000
- • Turn rate: $150,000 ÷ $30,000 = 5 times per year
What this means: On average, each casket sits in inventory 2.4 months (12 months ÷ 5 turns) before selling.
Good: 4-6 turns/year
Efficient inventory management
Warning: 2-3 turns/year
Stock moving slowly, review needed
Problem: <2 turns/year
Too much capital tied up, reduce stock
Optimizing Your Selection Room
Data-driven decisions about which caskets and urns to stock improve both cash flow and sales conversion.
Stock More Of:
- • Items that sell within 60 days of arrival
- • Models families ask for frequently
- • Price points matching your market (usually mid-range)
- • Items with healthy profit margins (50%+)
Stock Less Of:
- • Items sitting over 12 months unsold
- • Very high-end models (order as needed)
- • Duplicate styles/colors that don't differentiate
- • Low-margin items unless high volume
The 80/20 Rule for Funeral Inventory
Typically, 20% of your casket models generate 80% of sales. Identify which models those are and keep 2-3 in stock. The other 80% of models? Stock one or order as needed.
This approach reduces total inventory value by 30-40% while maintaining selection and preventing stockouts on popular items.
Vendor Management and Reordering
Smart Reorder Points by Item Type:
Fast-Moving Caskets
Models selling monthly
Medium-Moving Caskets
Models selling every 2-3 months
Slow-Moving Caskets
Models selling 1-2 times annually
Cremation Urns (Basic)
Standard containers (adjust based on your cremation rate)
Embalming/Daily Supplies
Consumables used regularly
Work with vendors who offer fast shipping for emergency orders. Explain you keep lean inventory and need reliable 2-3 day delivery on popular items. Many vendors will accommodate small funeral homes who communicate clearly.
Sacred Grounds tracks all inventory automatically. When you sell a casket during arrangements, it's automatically marked sold and removed from inventory. Get reports on slow-moving items, reorder alerts, and profitability by item—all without manual spreadsheet work.
Free version for up to 3 users • Complete inventory tracking • No credit card required
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