I kept 2-3 urns in my office for quick access and so I didn’t have to get one right away when someone died. Don’t let families go buy their own urns – they may not fit. I also had 3-5 niche face plates in my office. When someone died, I took the niche plate to the engraver who had a pretty quick turnaround. When the funeral day came, I removed the blank niche plate and after the service put up the engraved one. If a spouse of someone already in the niche died, then I took the engraved niche plate off, put up a blank plate, got the niche plate engraved with the second name, and returned it in time for the service.
For tracking purposes, I created a spreadsheet in which I color-coded which niches were available, which were sold but not yet occupied, and which niches had urns in them. I did the same for a place where ashes were interred in the ground (by the way, it takes three years for ashes to totally be absorbed so on my spreadsheet I marked those plots as being occupied for a three-year term).
I installed a glass-enclosed bulletin board on which I posted the spreadsheets for the niches and for the interment area. This allows passersby to see what spaces were available and which had been claimed (either occupied or paid for but not yet occupied). There was some marketing material there, too. This bulletin board was right next to the door leading to the columbarium garden.
Lead On!
Steve
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