business case 11 min read

By TerraCare

The Terramation Partner Checklist: 9 Questions to Ask Before You Sign

If you are reading this, you have probably already narrowed your list to two or three natural organic reduction (NOR) programs and are deciding which one to commit to. This checklist is a practical evaluation tool — nine categories, each with a brief explanation of why it matters and the specific questions you should ask before signing anything. Work through it in order. The first filter — who actually owns this operation — eliminates most programs that will not serve you well over the long term.

What questions should funeral homes ask before signing a terramation partner program agreement?

There are nine critical areas: (1) who owns the equipment and service relationship; (2) how revenue is structured and who captures it; (3) state licensing and regulatory support; (4) training and operational support; (5) whether pricing is disclosed upfront; (6) realistic ROI timeline with documented assumptions; (7) ongoing support after launch; (8) geographic market exclusivity terms; and (9) contract exit and termination terms. The first question — centralized referral vs. decentralized ownership — is the structural filter that determines all downstream economics.

  • The most important filter is Question 1: does the program install equipment at your facility (decentralized ownership) or route families to a third-party facility (centralized referral)?
  • Revenue structure flows from ownership model — decentralized operators capture full service revenue; centralized referral operators receive a fraction via referral fees.
  • Regulatory support is not a nice-to-have: each of the 14 NOR-legal states has its own permitting process, and navigating it alone significantly extends break-even timelines.
  • Programs that cannot answer questions on ownership, revenue, pricing, and exit terms in writing before you sign are signaling a sales process designed to control information.
  • Market exclusivity is worth asking about — some programs offer no geographic protection, meaning a competitor could join the same program within your service area.
  • Exit and termination terms reveal alignment of interests: programs with long lock-ins, equipment buyback restrictions, or high exit fees may not be structured in the operator's favor.

See why funeral homes choose TerraCare Partners

1. Who Owns the Equipment and the Service Relationship?

This is the structural question that determines everything else on this list. NOR programs fall into two broad camps: centralized and decentralized. In a centralized model, the provider owns and operates a facility to which families (or funeral homes) transport the body. The funeral home initiates the arrangement and then hands the family off. In a decentralized model, the equipment is installed at the funeral home’s own premises. The funeral home performs the NOR service, retains the family through the entire process, and owns the service relationship from arrangement through soil delivery.

The distinction is not cosmetic. A funeral home operating under a centralized program is, functionally, a referral source. A funeral home operating a decentralized program is the provider. These are different businesses with different revenue profiles, different client retention rates, and different long-term outcomes.

For a deeper analysis of how these two models compare structurally, read the detailed explainer at centralized vs. decentralized terramation programs.

Questions to ask:

  • Does the program install NOR equipment at my facility, or does my funeral home refer families to a third-party facility?
  • After the NOR process is complete, who delivers the soil to the family, and whose name is on the documentation?

2. How Is Revenue Structured — and Who Captures It?

Revenue structure flows directly from the ownership model, but it deserves its own line item because programs sometimes obscure the difference. In a decentralized model, the funeral home sets its own NOR service pricing and retains the full per-case revenue. In a centralized model, the funeral home typically receives a referral fee or a small portion of the service price — the remainder goes to the centralized facility that performed the service.

The gap between full revenue capture and a referral fee compounds quickly at scale. An operator running ten or twenty NOR cases per year will notice this difference on their income statement within the first year of operation. Over a five-year horizon, the difference is often the difference between a profitable NOR program and a marginally positive one.

Questions to ask:

  • What is my per-case revenue in your program? Do I set the retail price, or is it fixed by the program?
  • Is there a revenue-sharing arrangement, referral fee structure, or any portion of per-case revenue that goes to you after the service is performed?

3. Does the Program Support State Licensing and Regulatory Compliance?

NOR is currently legal in 14 states: Washington, Colorado, Oregon, Vermont, California, New York, Nevada, Arizona, Maryland, Delaware, Minnesota, Maine, Georgia, and New Jersey. Note that California, New York, and New Jersey are legal but not yet operational — regulations in those states are still being finalized. Every other legal state has its own regulatory framework governing how NOR must be performed, documented, and reported.

For a funeral home entering this space, navigating state licensing is not a one-time task. Requirements can include amendments to your funeral establishment license, staff training certifications, facility modifications, and specific permit applications. A strong partner program provides active regulatory guidance through this process — not just a reference document you figure out on your own.

Questions to ask:

  • What specific regulatory support does your program provide when I apply for NOR licensure in my state?
  • Do you have experience helping funeral homes navigate the licensing process in my specific state, and can you walk me through the steps?

4. What Training and Operational Support Does the Program Provide?

Equipment installation is a starting point, not a complete operational handoff. NOR is a new service category for most funeral home staff. Operators who launch with thorough training — on the process, on staff roles, on family communication, on documentation requirements — tend to reach operational confidence faster and avoid costly early errors.

Operational support means different things in different programs. Some provide on-site training at installation. Others offer video resources and a support hotline. A few provide minimal onboarding and expect the operator to self-educate from a manual. Know what you are getting before you sign, because the gap between programs is wider than the marketing materials typically suggest.

Questions to ask:

  • What does onboarding training look like, and who delivers it — your staff or a third-party contractor?
  • After launch, what is the process if a staff member has an operational question or encounters a problem mid-process?

5. Is Program Pricing Disclosed Upfront?

Pricing transparency is a meaningful signal about how a program operates as a partner. Programs that require you to book a sales call before disclosing equipment costs, program fees, or revenue terms are programs designed for a sales process, not for a straightforward business evaluation.

An operator doing serious due diligence should be able to evaluate the financial terms of any program before spending significant time in vendor conversations. If a program’s pricing is not available in published form — on a website, in a downloadable spec sheet, or in an initial overview document — ask why. For a broader look at how programs compare on pricing transparency, see the NOR provider pricing comparison.

Questions to ask:

  • Can you provide a written overview of equipment costs, program fees, and any ongoing charges before our first call?
  • Is there a revenue share, royalty, or per-case fee paid to your program on an ongoing basis?

6. What Is the Realistic ROI Timeline?

Break-even analysis for a new NOR program depends on four variables: equipment cost, program fees, per-case revenue, and case volume. The most common mistake operators make at this stage is modeling best-case case volume rather than realistic case volume for their market. NOR adoption is growing, but it is not yet cremation. In most markets, a new NOR program will start at a handful of cases per year and grow as awareness builds.

A program that projects a 12-month break-even based on 40 cases per year in a mid-sized market is giving you a number that requires scrutiny. A program that provides a break-even model you can run yourself — with your own case-count assumptions — is giving you something you can actually use. For a detailed look at how ROI timelines differ by program structure, see the ROI analysis for funeral home NOR programs and the spoke article on why TerraCare partners reach ROI in under 18 months.

Questions to ask:

  • What is the break-even case volume at my local NOR service price, and can you provide that in a written model I can review?
  • What case volumes are realistic in the first 12 and 24 months for a funeral home of my size and market?

7. What Ongoing Support Does the Program Provide After Launch?

The period after launch — months three through eighteen — is where most new NOR programs either gain traction or stall. Equipment issues, family communication questions, staff turnover, marketing challenges: these are predictable problems. The question is whether your program partner shows up when they arise or leaves you to solve them alone.

Ask specifically about equipment maintenance and repair (who is responsible, what the response time is, what a repair costs), marketing support (does the program provide materials, a consumer-facing directory listing, or co-op advertising?), and account management (is there a dedicated person assigned to your account?).

Questions to ask:

  • If my equipment requires service or repair after launch, what is your response process and who bears the cost?
  • What ongoing marketing or business development support does the program provide to help me build case volume?

8. Does the Program Offer Any Geographic Market Exclusivity?

Market exclusivity is not offered by every program, but it is worth asking about — especially for operators in smaller markets or operators who are considering significant capital investment. Exclusivity terms, if they exist, define the radius within which the program will not install the same equipment or sign a competing funeral home.

Some programs offer no exclusivity at all, which means a competing funeral home two miles away could join the same program with the same equipment at any time. Others offer soft exclusivity (a first-right-of-refusal for a defined area) or hard exclusivity (a binding geographic restriction). Know which category your prospective program falls into before you invest.

For a ranked comparison of how NOR partner programs compare across these dimensions, see terramation partner programs ranked.

Questions to ask:

  • Does your program offer any geographic exclusivity or protected territory, and if so, what are the specific terms and radius?
  • How many other funeral homes are currently in your program within a 25-mile radius of my facility?

9. What Are the Exit and Termination Terms?

No one enters a partnership planning to exit it, but exit terms reveal a great deal about how a program is structured and how the provider thinks about the relationship. Programs that make exit difficult — through long contract terms, equipment buyback restrictions, non-compete clauses, or high termination fees — are programs where the provider’s interests and the operator’s interests may not be fully aligned.

Understand what happens to your equipment if you decide to stop, switch programs, or sell your funeral home. Understand how the contract defines “termination for cause” versus “termination for convenience.” Understand whether there are non-solicitation clauses that affect your staff or your client families.

Questions to ask:

  • What is the contract term, and what are the terms for early termination — both for cause and for convenience?
  • If I decide to exit the program, what happens to the equipment installed at my facility?

Schedule a discovery call to compare TerraCare with other NOR programs

How to Use This Checklist?

Print this checklist and run each prospective program through it before your final call. If a program cannot answer questions 1, 2, 5, and 9 in writing — before you have signed anything — treat that as a data point. Serious program providers know what their terms are and are willing to put them in front of an operator in evaluation.

The most consequential question is the first one. Whether a program puts NOR equipment at your facility or routes your families to someone else’s facility is the structural decision that shapes every other number on your spreadsheet. Make sure that decision is the first filter, not something you discover in the contract review.

For answers to common questions about evaluating NOR programs, see the funeral director FAQ on terramation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

  1. National Funeral Directors Association. “Cremation & Burial Report.” NFDA, 2025. https://nfda.org/news/statistics
  2. Washington State Legislature. “SB 5001 — Concerning human remains.” 2019. https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=5001&Year=2019
  3. Colorado General Assembly. “SB 21-006 — Concerning the disposition of human remains.” 2021. https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb21-006
  4. Oregon Legislative Assembly. “HB 2574 — Relating to disposition of human remains.” 2021. https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2021R1/Measures/Overview/HB2574
  5. California Legislative Information. “AB-351 — Human remains: natural organic reduction.” 2022. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB351
  6. Cremation Association of North America (CANA). “Cremation and Burial Report.” CANA, 2025. https://www.cremationassociation.org/page/IndustryStatistics
  7. National Funeral Directors Association. “Consumer Preferences for Final Disposition.” NFDA, 2024. https://nfda.org/news/statistics
  8. U.S. Small Business Administration. “Evaluating a Business Partnership: Key Terms to Review.” SBA, 2024. https://www.sba.gov/business-guide/manage-your-business/manage-your-finances
  9. Funeral Service Foundation. “Trends in Alternative Disposition Methods.” Funeral Service Foundation, 2024. https://www.funeralservicefoundation.org/resources
  10. New York State Legislature. “A382/S5535 — Relating to the disposition of human remains by natural organic reduction.” 2022. https://nyassembly.gov/leg/?bn=A382&term=2021