How to Select a Cemetery and Set Up Logistics

Choose a cemetery, add plot details, and set the installation timeline in Step 2 of the New Quote.

Written By Dennis Rodin

Last updated 7 days ago

The second step when creating a new quote is Cemetery & Logistics. This is where you select the cemetery, enter plot information, and schedule the installation. The entire step is optional. You can leave the cemetery blank, skip the plot details, or skip both, and the order will save without them.

Selecting a cemetery

Click the Cemetery dropdown to see all the cemeteries you've added in your Settings. You can type in the dropdown to search by name, which makes it faster if you have a long list. Select the cemetery for this order.

If the cemetery isn't in your list yet, click the Add New button to the right of the dropdown to create it right from here.

Tip: If the cemetery is assigned to a county or zone with its own tax rate, that rate will be used automatically on this order. If no county is assigned, the order uses the Default tax rate of the office location it belongs to, set per location in Settings → Office Locations, and falls back to your default Sales Tax % from Company Profile if that location has no default either. You can override the rate manually in the Pricing Panel, and a rate you type by hand beats all of them. Hover the tax line on the order and the tooltip names which source the rate came from.

Learn more: How to Add and Configure a Cemetery, How to Set Up Counties or Zones

Pinpoint Location on Map

Under the cemetery dropdown there is a Pinpoint Location on Map switch. Turn it on to mark the exact spot the stone is going. The map opens on the cemetery's saved address. Type in the search box and pick a result, or click straight on the map to drop the pin, then click again to move it. Open in Google Maps hands the same spot to a phone for the crew.

The search box finds towns, cemeteries and landmarks, not just street addresses, so you can type a cemetery name and get it. Results preview on the map as you type, framed the way Google would frame them: a town as a town, a street address zoomed right in.

When you save this step with the pin on, MonuDesk also files a satellite view of the pin on the order as a Reference attachment named Cemetery Location Map - <cemetery name>.png. It appears in Notes & Files and in the image picker when you generate a document, and it prints on the shop ticket and the foundation order in its own Cemetery location section, so the paperwork the setter carries shows where the plot is.

Note: The shop ticket and the foundation order carry the map automatically — you do not have to tick anything. On other documents the map is filed as a Reference attachment and is never ticked for you; only sketch pages and files typed Drawing start ticked. Open Select images and tick the map when you want it on a quote, invoice, receipt or contract. Foundation orders and purchase orders take up to two images.

Moving the pin replaces the saved image, and switching the pin off deletes it, so an out-of-date location can never be pulled onto a document later. Orders created before this only get a map once you touch the pin and save the step again. If the image cannot be fetched you will see a Location map not saved message; the pin itself still saves.

When the order isn't going to a cemetery

You can leave the Cemetery dropdown empty and continue through the wizard. Real cases where this is needed:

  • A wholesale order going to another monument company.

  • A customer pickup where the family installs the stone themselves.

  • A non-cemetery installation site like a golf course, private property, or memorial garden.

When no cemetery is selected:

  • Cemetery fees do not apply. There is nothing to calculate against.

  • Tax falls through to the Default tax rate of the office location the order belongs to (Settings → Office Locations), and then to your default Sales Tax % from Company Profile if that location has no default. You can still override the rate manually in the Pricing Panel.

  • Plot fields like Section, Lot, and Space become inert. You can leave them blank.

  • Order Overview, order cards, and all PDFs render Cemetery not specified wherever the cemetery would normally show.

You can add a cemetery later from Edit Order. When you save, cemetery fees and tax recalculate based on the cemetery you picked.

Note: If you enter a decedent here but leave the cemetery and plot blank, that decedent may not be saved with the order. To make sure a decedent sticks, add it once you have a cemetery and plot, or enter it in the Sketch & Inscription step.

Requesting a cemetery on a partner order

If you place orders with a partner monument company, the Cemetery dropdown lists their cemeteries — your partner keeps the cemetery list, so there is no Add New button on a partner order. When the cemetery you need isn't in the list, click Request cemetery to the right of the dropdown.

The Request a cemetery dialog asks for the Cemetery name and its Location — an address, coordinates, or directions, any format is accepted — plus an optional Note for anything useful, like the sexton's name or a section number. Click Send request and your partner reviews it under Settings → Partners.

You don't have to wait for the answer: you can finish the order without the cemetery. While the request is pending, it shows on this step with an Awaiting approval badge. Once your partner approves it, the cemetery is added to their list, attached to your order, and shows up in the picker. You're notified when they answer, and if they decline they can include a reason. The review on your partner's side is covered in How to Manage Partners.

Client different than Plot Owner

If the person purchasing the monument is not the person who owns the cemetery plot, toggle on Client different than Plot Owner. This opens fields for the plot owner's First Name, Last Name, Phone, Email, and Address.

This is especially useful for cemetery applications where the cemetery needs the actual plot owner's information, not just the purchaser's.

Cemetery Plot Information

Click Cemetery Plot Information to expand it. Here you can enter:

Plot Location: the Section, Lot, and Space where the monument will be installed.

Decedent details (optional): the First Name, Middle Name, and Last Name of the deceased. Whatever you type here will automatically carry over to the Sketch & Inscription step later in the quote. You can leave these fields blank and add the decedent later, or skip them entirely if the order doesn’t require them (for example, a stock monument or a pre-need order where the family hasn’t decided yet).

If there are multiple people to be memorialized, click Add Another Plot to add a second or third decedent with their own plot location.

Note: When you save, MonuDesk tidies the decedent list: empty rows are dropped, and two identical decedents (same name and dates) are merged into one. So if you save an unedited duplicate decedent, the copies collapse back into a single entry rather than creating a second plot.

Note: Plot information is optional by default. However, if you need your team to always enter plot details for a specific cemetery, you can make it required in that cemetery's settings under Settings → Cemeteries.

Installation Notes

Below the plot information, you will see a button called Installation notes. Use this to add placement details for this specific order, like which direction the stone should face, where exactly in the plot the stone goes, or any other installation instructions. These notes are shown in the Order Overview and on the Shop Ticket.

Location card

As you fill in the details, a Location card appears on the right side of the screen. It shows a summary of everything: the cemetery name and address, the plot location, the plot owner (if different), the cemetery contact person, and any notes you added in the cemetery settings.

Scheduling

At the bottom of this step, you set the installation timeline under Scheduling.

  • Specific date range: click this and a calendar opens where you pick a start and end date. Use this when you have a firm timeline.

  • Seasonal preference: click this and a list opens with Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. Use this when the customer doesn't have exact dates but knows which season they want the monument installed.

You can also set a Promise Date on this step. This is the specific date you promised the customer for delivery or installation. Click the Promise Date field and pick the day on the calendar, for example if the family wants the stone set by a birthday or anniversary. Where nothing is set yet you will see a dashed Select promise date card.

The +1mo, +2mo, +3mo and +6mo buttons sit above it, and they belong to the installation date range, not to the promise date. Clicking one sets an installation window running from today. It does not promise the family anything.

A promise date is optional, and MonuDesk no longer fills one in for you when you save. The field carries a small badge telling you where its date came from: LAST DAY OF DATE RANGE means the date on screen is the end of your installation window rather than a day anyone promised, and MANUAL means somebody picked it. To take a promise date off the order for good, click the small x on the right of the field. It stays off, and the next save will not put it back. You can add, change or remove it later from the Order Overview.

Good to know: The completion timeframe is for internal purposes only. Your customers will not see this timeline on any documents or in any customer-facing communication.

When you're done, click Next at the bottom right to continue to Items & Configuration.

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