Meet Oliver
at Arthur C Towner

With nearly 150 years of history behind them, the business is built on care, trust, and doing things properly. But behind the scenes, the systems supporting that service were no longer keeping pace with how the organisation needed to operate.

Oliver needed a modern, secure way to manage complex, highly sensitive processes, without compromising the level of care they provide to families at a difficult time.

We helped Oliver by creating a one-stop shop for managing the day-to-day operations of his business.

What could we do for you?

Before Switchplane...

Oliver was like you.

Running the operation depended on a mix of legacy software, paperwork, and workarounds.

Staff were slowed down by disconnected diaries and paperwork. Planning relied on experience rather than clear capacity data, increasing the risk of overbooking people, vehicles, and facilities.

Financial workflows were fragmented, limiting visibility and auditability at a time when regulatory scrutiny is increasing.

The system worked, but only because people compensated for it.

The challenge

For many years, the company had relied on an ageing system called Osiris, originally built in the early 1990s using Microsoft Access, alongside a number of paper-based processes.

While familiar to staff, the system reflected a very different era of technology. It was slow, prone to freezing, tied to an on-site server, and difficult to use when dealing with families on the phone. Key parts of the funeral arrangement process were split across multiple tools that didn’t communicate with one another.

Operational planning was increasingly difficult. Diaries didn’t link properly to resources, making it hard to see the full picture when scheduling services, staff, vehicles, and care capacity. Forward planning relied heavily on manual knowledge and workarounds rather than system intelligence.

At the same time, growing regulatory and compliance requirements, including the need for clear auditability around financial processes, approvals, and invoicing, meant the business needed a system that could support modern governance expectations.

They were looking for a secure, web-based platform that would:

• Reduce risk by replacing fragmented legacy and paper-based processes
• Bring operational, care, scheduling, fleet, and finance into one system
• Support highly sensitive personal data securely
• Prevent overbooking of staff, vehicles, and site capacity
• Provide clear auditability for financial and operational activity
• Set the business up for future generations, not short-term fixes

Working with us

We built what Oliver wanted.

We kicked off the project by reviewing the existing Osiris system alongside the paper-based workarounds staff had developed over time. By understanding how people actually worked day to day, rather than how systems were originally designed to function, we were able to design something that reflected real operational needs.

Fast, reliable diary management for the front-line teams

Because first impressions matter

The first priority was the diary. This is often the first point of contact with families, and reception staff needed to be able to book and review appointments quickly and confidently, without delays, system freezes, or fragmented information.

Clear visibility of people, places, and resources

Built around real-world service delivery

Operational planning needed to move away from manual knowledge and workarounds towards real capacity awareness, reducing the risk of overbooking staff, vehicles, facilities, and space.

The platform has been expanded into a fully integrated, end-to-end operational system, including:

• Contacts and addresses as a single source of truth
• Enquiries for capturing initial information and tracking status
• Arrivals, managing care capacity, preferences, sensitive medical considerations, and location
• Arrangements, bringing together service details, people involved, resources, and logistics

Right people, right vehicles, right place, right time

The essentials for excellent service

Fleet management ensures coordination of who needs to be where, when, and with what, including special requirements and constraints.

End-to-end financial workflows with built-in auditability

Controlled, auditable, end-to-end

The platform also includes fully integrated finance workflows, supporting governance and compliance through structured processes and clear audit trails:

• Funeral costing
• Price list management
• Approvals and reviews
• Payment recording
• Credit notes
• Full audit trails for financial activity

Delivered incrementally, designed for confidence

Iterative development with plenty of feedback

The system is fully web-based, securely backed up, and built with tiered user access, ensuring the right people see the right information at the right time.

Incremental delivery has allowed internal teams to review, test, and feedback on features as they are developed, building confidence ahead of full rollout and ensuring the platform works in real operational conditions.

The outcome

Less time fighting systems, more time supporting families

While the system is still in development and due to roll out later this year, the benefits are already clear.

Oliver is moving his company away from disconnected legacy tools and manual workarounds towards a single, secure platform that supports care, operations, planning, and finance in one place.

The business will be able to:

• Plan capacity properly across arrivals, services, staff, and resources
• Reduce operational risk and single points of failure
• Support compliance through structured workflows and auditability
• Improve service delivery by removing friction from front-line interactions
• Future-proof the organisation with a scalable digital foundation

Most importantly, the new system allows the team to focus on what matters: supporting families quickly and compassionately, without being slowed down by outdated processes.

Once fully rolled out, the platform will replace the legacy system entirely and become the long-term operational backbone of the business for future generations.

Now, how can we help you?

Are you like Oliver?

If you’re relying on legacy systems, spreadsheets, or disconnected tools to run a complex, regulated operation, it may be time to rethink what’s possible.

We help organisations replace fragile processes with secure, scalable systems that support both day-to-day delivery and long-term growth.