Keeping software up to date is important for retaining functionality and improving the user experience. The CIMS team is dedicated to developing cemetery management solutions designed to meet the challenges faced by modern cemeteries, backed by the latest technologies. That’s why we’ve rewritten the entire CIMS code base — over 1.2 million lines of code! This new update addresses several pain points and introduces a few new functions, all while retaining the cemetery management features our customers know and love. In addition, this update will make it easier for us to continue to improve the software in the future. All clients were migrated to the new version on December 12th.

Cemetery sections with incomplete or missing records pose a number of problems for cemetery managers. In the absence of information, questions abound.

Which plots are occupied—and by whom?

Many cemeteries in the United States have been around for centuries. That doesn’t mean their management practices are stuck in the past.

To invest in online cemetery maps, or not to invest in online cemetery maps, that is the question.

That’s the question that many cemetery managers face when thinking about upgrading to cemetery management software, at least.

Too often, inaccurate records and unreliable maps stand in the way of what cemeterians do best: serving families and providing comfort. That’s why cemeteries around the world are implementing cemetery software that streamlines record-keeping and mapping processes.

In this post, we take a closer look at two CIMS cemetery software products: CIMS Light and CIMS Gold. We’ll break down their key features and outline the big differences between the two popular software products.

Using a combination of paper maps, various records, and aging logbooks can make daily cemetery tasks feel more like a never-ending maze than, well, routine operations.

You empty every cabinet, trying to find lost files.

You pour over competing records, hoping to determine which is correct.

Maybe you even curse whomever kept the cemetery’s books 100 years ago.

Every so often, unfortunate cemetery errors make the news. While these mistakes aren’t common, the headlines cause a stir in local communities and across the deathcare industry.

Grieving family shocked to find someone else buried at their gravesite.

Burials exhumed after cemetery mistake.

Cemetery sells same plots to multiple families.

These situations are traumatic for everyone involved. Families are distraught. Communities are outraged. Cemeteries search for answers.

Cemetery managers wear a lot of hats.

One day cemetery maintenance takes priority. The next: comforting grieving families.

Through it all, one task never changes. Cemetery managers are always responsible for keeping valuable cemetery information safe and secure. They protect historical deeds, contracts, and records. They preserve financial and personal documents. And of course, they maintain what is arguably the most important cemetery document: the cemetery map.

Imagine this. You’re leading your cemetery’s Memorial Day efforts.

Every year, you and a group of local volunteers walk your cemetery grounds, placing American flags in front of veterans’ graves. It’s an important tradition. It honors their service and sacrifices. It brings your community together, too.

You could say that Sunset Hills Cemetery in Bozeman, Montana, was founded—at least in part—because of the local community’s kindness to strangers.

Let’s rewind. It’s 1872. Mary Blackmore is supposed to be heading to the newly established Yellowstone National Park. But while riding in a stagecoach from Helena to Bozeman, her plans change.