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The BACAS system has been developed using the latest computer software and programming techniques. The system has also been developed with advice from people who are recognized as being authoritative in the burial and cremation service. In addition, the views and opinions of the people who use the system are highly valued and are used in the ongoing development of the system. BACAS provides all of the facilities which are needed to manage and control any number of crematoria or cemeteries. Years of experience and user feedback lead to an intuitive software solution, which increases efficiency and speed by reducing the amount of keying required and by leading the user through the information that is needed to be entered. BACAS covers all aspects of burial and cremation administration. The main modules of the system are: Address management (Funeral Directors, Applicants, Deceased, Officiants, Medical Referees, Memorial suppliers etc.) Burial Registrations Cremation Registration (incl. service details, medical records, music, disposal etc.) Appointment Diaries (customisable display settings for different diary locations and appointment types) Grave / locations management Memorial management (purchase, renewals, risk assessment) Finance (Fees and charges, invoicing, receipting) Mapping Output (printing, data export, mail merge, email) 2 / 12
From the first telephone call when an appointment has to be booked, to details about a grave or disposal of ashes; the system, where possible, will show the information with a picture so it is clear and easy to comprehend. 3 / 12
As mentioned above, the system reduces the amount of keystrokes required for entering information. This is achieved by having commonly used information selectable from lists. This not only makes the entry of information quicker and therefore less tedious, but also ensures the information is more accurate, because only previously checked information is used. In addition, because this information is linked you can use it to find out for example how often an officiant attends services or send letters to all the Funeral Directors who have used the crematorium and/or Cemetery in the last year. The information can also be used to create a range of management and general reports. Other functions are also made readily available. To move to the diary page for next Tuesday requires a single click with the mouse. Most functions are available from a single screen so it is not necessary to learn a string of menus. BACAS leads the user through the input of information, or by giving the user the ability to only enter details which are pertinent at the time (e.g. the location where ashes are scattered or who collected the ashes). Specific information can be accessed quickly. 4 / 12
The system also allows you to enquire on a deceased. Very often an enquirer will not know the complete details. The system allows you to enter various pieces of information like persons name, and search start and end dates, and then uses this information to locate the details. You can also print a series of documents from cremation certificates to details about the deceased and the funeral service. The deceased details report has a distinctively and sympathetic style which should ensure that friends and family of the deceased will leave thinking the crematorium or cemetery really care, rather than, receiving a cold print out of yet another record on a computer database. BACAS will also generate invoices for a single Funeral Director or a Funeral Director group for any invoice period from 1 day to 10 years. All the information or production of invoices can be generated or viewed from the main screen. 5 / 12
Information is only entered once. If you then need to link a person to something else (e.g. A cremation applicant to a memorial) you can pick the person from a list. This reduces keying but also ensures that the items of information are properly linked which allows you to easily find information. From an applicant name you can find the date of all cremations that that person has applied for, where the ashes have been disposed, including graves where the ashes have been interred, and all the memorials that the applicant has. BACAS allows you to record the details of a memorial. It also includes the history of that memorial. This allows you to identify if a letter has been sent, something unusual has happened, to find when the entry was made in the book of remembrance or plaque placed on a wall. Memorials requiring attention can be highlighted and a report produce to help in managing any work that is required. Letters can also be printed to renew a memorial or to inform the applicant that the memorial is available. As ever in BACAS all information is interlinked, hence you can automatically find any information related to the memorial (e.g. the owner, the deceased, the location etc.). 6 / 12
In addition to the standard memorial facility BACAS provides you with the facility to administer memorial risks. The system allows you to establish a list of questions. Each question is given a series of answers that each have risk values. You can then print risk assessment questionnaires for each grave or for each memorial. The memorials can then be assessed and the risk values added into the system. All the information is recorded allowing you to identify when each memorial or grave was assessed and any action, if any, was instigated. 7 / 12
BACAS is a Windows based system and therefore is able to provide a full range of graphics. The system can record a photograph of a memorial. This allows you to see the memorial on the screen and therefore make a decision regarding how difficult the memorial is to remove without visiting the site. Also a record of damage can be kept which allows you to validate or defend any claims that may be made against the cemetery or crematorium. By using digital camera technology, you can now take photographs as a computer image and store the information in the BACAS system. The system can not only store the picture but can print the picture on documents. What better way to explain to an owner the problem with their memorial, rather than to include a photograph within the text of the letter. All the information that is recorded can be used to produce various reports. Outlined below are a few of the many reports and documents that can be produced. The system can cope with many types of paper (i.e. plain A4 or stickers or envelopes). Reports are selected from a list, their names being defined by you so that everyone understands them. The user just ticks the reports to be produced and presses the print button. A few of the many reports produced by the system are shown in the appendix. 8 / 12
BACAS Mapping Clear Skies Software offers a mapping system that allows the information on the BACAS database to be displayed on a map. This opens up a new Dimensions for Cemetery and Crematorium Day-to-Day Management and Long Term Planning. To use the mapping you will need to digitize your plans. The simplest method is to use your current plans. These plans are read using an electronic pad. The above example shows how new digital plans derived from old record drawings are much clearer and easier to understand. 9 / 12
Clear Skies Software s BACAS Palm product can collect condition information on monument safety. Whilst it is a great advantage to have lists of information on condition on every monument and structure within a cemetery, it can be enhanced if shown on a plan. Monument requires URGENT attention Monument to be Inspected in 6 Months Monument to be Inspected in 12 Months Detailed location plans can be printed at the click of a button. Equally, they can be used for instructions on grave maintenance contracts. Against the plan BACAS will automatically generate information. In this example the following are stated: - Name of Authority, OS co-ordinates, name of deceased, section number, grave number, memorial number, date of issue of the plan and an OS copyright statement 10 / 12
BACAS Palm A range of hand held products are also available. A memorial risk assessment program BACAS Palm allows information to be down loaded from BACAS onto a palm top PC thus allowing the cemetery operator the ability to record straight into a computer in the cemetery. The updated assessment records can then be loaded back into BACAS. The palm system provides the user with considerable details about a grave including the details of people buried. BACAS Palm also allows the operator to search for a deceased to identify the grave they are buried in. This process is likely to be extended to use the emerging technology of WAP phones that will allow cemetery information to be accessed and updated instantly using a mobile phone. BATI The BACAS Automated Telephonic Interface allows Funeral Directors to remotely book services times using their phones. This facility allows diary booking to be offered over the full day including weekends and holidays. BACAS.COM BACAS.COM allows Internet/Intranet enquiries to burials, cremations, memorials and associated services for your staff or the general public. We are currently working on integrating secure online booking facilities as part of Bacas.com. This application is providing the experience for the future development of BACAS into a full Internet system. It has and is the aim of Clear Skies Software Ltd to be the path finder with our customers of new techniques and technologies. BACAS is a modern system that has been developed with the involvement of people who are authoritative in the burial and cremation service. It uses up to date techniques to improve the accuracy and speed of input. BACAS is a true 32 bit application and runs on all Windows Versions from Windows 98 to Windows XP 11 / 12
The following are examples of a wide range of reports that can be generated by the system. Cremation. 1. Chapel List, 2. Floral Tribute, 3. Cremation label, 4. Cremation Log Book, 5. Operators work sheet, 6. Certificate of Cremation, 7. Cremation Register, 8. Annual Federation Report, Burial Both 9. Grave Digging Slip, 10.Burial Register, 11.Grave register, 12.Burials Statistics in a Period, 13.Burial/Cremation details, 14.Book of Remembrance Letter, 15.Invoice, 16.Memorial Renewal Letter, 17.Map of a Cemetery, 18.Monthly Burial/Cremation Statistics, 19.Cremations/Burial Age Analysis. 12 / 12