Shaffer-Nichols Funeral Home Finds True Partnership

Kelly Nichols
Owner & Funeral Director
Shaffer-Nichols Funeral Home
Crane & McCamey, TX
Average Call Volume: 100 calls/year

Throughout your funeral home’s history, you’ve likely faced challenging seasons.

During tough times, you need partners who will support, uplift, and help you reach the light at the end of the tunnel.

Kelly Nichols recently faced a hardship that put his funeral home in a difficult spot. But instead of feeling stressed and pressured, Kelly felt relieved – because he had a partner he could rely on.

“FDL took a lot of load, strain, and stress off of me during a time when I really needed it,” Kelly said. “In 15 years as their customer, I have no doubt that FDL values and cares for us.”

Read more to learn how FDL was there to help Shaffer-Nichols Funeral Home overcome a seemingly insurmountable obstacle.

Why have you continued to be an FDL customer for all these years?

There are many great things about FDL, but the one thing that separates them from any other company is their customer service. It’s phenomenal. Some of the past companies we worked with were horrible. We’d wait on hold forever to talk to someone. Then, they couldn’t get us the answers we needed. With FDL, I can get on the phone and speak to an actual human being in no time. I can also get online, click a button or two, and see what I need.

Plus, FDL’s customer service hours are friendly for busy funeral professionals. When I’m busy, I don’t always have time to call during the day. But I know I can call FDL after typical work hours, and they’ll have someone there to help me. It’s a shame other companies don’t follow FDL’s model for customer service.

You have a unique story about your recent experience with FDL. Do you mind sharing?

I was in the hospital for a few months earlier this year, which put a lot of stress on our funeral home. I did my best to stay on top of our payroll, accounting, and other tasks, but being away was hard. FDL’s accounting team found out what was happening and immediately took action to help us. They managed all our finances and kept things running smoothly while I was gone.

How did you feel knowing FDL was there to help your funeral home through that time?

FDL took a lot of load, strain, and stress off of me during a time when I really needed it. Once I recovered and returned to the funeral home, it felt like I never left. FDL gave me the gift of not having to worry about my business while I was in the hospital. I could focus on getting better because I knew they had everything handled. You don’t expect a company to take care of you the way FDL took care of us.

What would have happened to your business had FDL not been there?

I don’t like to think about what would have happened had FDL not been there for us during that time. It’s a scary thought. I’m pretty sure that another company wouldn’t have supported us like FDL, and our funeral home would have had problems when I got out of the hospital. My payroll would have been a mess, among other things. I can’t describe what FDL did for me, my family, and our business. They’re great people.

How has FDL helped your funeral home’s finances and accounting?

The help FDL provides to our small funeral home’s finances is incredible. When we considered FDL’s accounting service, I was a little nervous about doing it. But FDL’s accounting service is worth every penny and is priced according to what my business can afford, so I don’t have to commit to a crazy expense. FDL makes its accounting affordable to every small funeral home.

What are your thoughts on the reports you receive from FDL’s accounting team?

FDL provides us with great monthly reports. The reports help me track our finances and are much better than what we received from other companies. Before FDL, we would get a report every three months, but they were nothing like we get with FDL. They included traditional profit loss statements and other details but didn’t give us the big picture or show us where the business was headed.

FDL’s reports are detailed, show you last year’s calls versus this year’s calls, and track your average funeral and cremation cost. Each report goes back three years, too, so you get a good sense of how things are trending. It’s a tremendous asset.

Would you ever consider allowing a different provider to manage your funeral home’s finances?

No, I know I can trust FDL with my finances. If you’ve ever worked with an accounting or payroll business before, you know that trust is a big deal. FDL’s accounting team works hand in hand with my CPA, so I don’t have to worry about getting my information from the funeral home to my CPA to do my taxes. FDL does it for me. I know my taxes are being filed with updated information and without problems. It gives me one less thing to stress about!

You also used FDL to acquire your funeral home. How was that process?

FDL’s lending team made it easy to purchase our funeral home. Their team was always ready for my calls and had great advice. They were always honest and upfront throughout the entire process. Sometimes, they would say, “Yeah, this seems fair.” And other times, they would tell me, “That’s probably not the best way to go. Let’s try this.” They led me with expertise and patience.

Have any other FDL services helped your business?

FDL’s preneed has been a positive for us. We love using DIGicon [FDL’s preneed sales software]. It makes filling out preneed contracts fast and easy.

The Arrangement Guide [online planning and funding tool] has also been a great way we build trust with families. We can show families our prices online, which helps us promote transparency and makes families feel like we’re not trying to pull a fast one on them. I think it’s wonderful that families know exactly what they’re getting when they look at us with the Arrangement Guide.

FDL is also one of the few preneed companies that still take care of funeral homes. Not many preneed providers offer great growth rates, at least, not like FDL does. FDL’s growth rates continue to rise. We still have some preneed policies with our previous preneed provider, and it’s sad to see how those have been negatively impacted over time.

FDL takes excellent care of its clients.