{"id":32094,"date":"2026-08-19T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/?p=32094"},"modified":"2026-08-18T14:28:36","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T13:28:36","slug":"how-r-banks-and-son-funerals-ltd-supports-its-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/how-r-banks-and-son-funerals-ltd-supports-its-community\/","title":{"rendered":"How R Banks and Son Funerals Ltd supports its community"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"entry-header has-dark-background-color entry-header--standard entry-header--has-illustration entry-header--has-illustration--standard\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__row row align-center\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-lg-7 col-xlg-6 entry-header__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"component component-single-header\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__misc text--subtitle text--uppercase text--small\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/category\/people-leadership\/\" class=\"entry-header__link\">People &amp; Leadership<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-title-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"entry-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tHow R Banks and Son Funerals Ltd supports its community\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"entry-header__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tR Banks and Son Funerals Ltd runs 13 branches and 49 staff across Wigan. Carina Halliwell explains how Sage frees up the time that keeps every funeral personal.\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"single-post-details container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"posted-on \">Published <time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2026-08-19T09:00:00+01:00\">19 August, 2026<\/time><\/span><span class=\"reading-time\"> min read<\/span>\n\t\t<button\n\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\tclass=\"social-share-button button button--icon button--secondary js-social-share-button\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-title=\"How R Banks and Son Funerals Ltd supports its community\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-url=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/how-r-banks-and-son-funerals-ltd-supports-its-community\/\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-text=\"Please read this interesting article\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__share-label\">Share<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-label\" hidden>Copy Link<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-tooltip\" aria-hidden=\"true\" hidden>Copied<\/span>\n\t\t<\/button>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<\/header>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-author has-dark-background-color alignfull\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"co-authors\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-author-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"entry-author\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/author\/keirthomasbryant\/\">\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"40\" height=\"40\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/06\/keir-short-hair-350x350.jpg\" class=\"entry-author__image\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/06\/keir-short-hair-350x350.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/06\/keir-short-hair.jpg 760w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 40px) 100vw, 40px\" \/>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"entry-author__name\">Keir Thomas-Bryant<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Managing 13 branches, 49 staff, and hundreds of services a month is a good challenge to have, as R Banks and Son Funerals Ltd seeks to expand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This article discusses how the business gives its community an unparalleled and highly personal level of service, thanks to financial confidence and a trusted reputation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here&#8217;s what we discuss:<\/p>\n\n\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><div class=\"wp-block-yoast-seo-table-of-contents yoast-table-of-contents\"><ul><li><a href=\"#h-consistent-service-and-a-legacy-mindset\" data-level=\"2\">Consistent service and a legacy mindset<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-a-local-business-like-no-other\" data-level=\"2\">A local business like no other<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-a-partnership-built-on-trust\" data-level=\"2\">A partnership built on trust<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-getting-time-back-with-sage\" data-level=\"2\">Getting time back with Sage<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-final-thoughts\" data-level=\"2\">Final thoughts<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-consistent-service-and-a-legacy-mindset\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Consistent service and a legacy mindset<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"video-container-wrap -mode-full\"><div class=\"video-container\"><video\n\t\t\t\tclass=\"sage-video video-js vjs-default-skin \"\n\t\t\t\twidth=\"640\"\n\t\t\t\theight=\"360\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-setup='{ \"controls\": true, \"aspectRatio\" : \"16:9\", \"poster\": \"https:\/\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/k4iWmyi1V5Y\/maxresdefault.jpg\", \"techOrder\": [\"youtube\"], \"enablejsapi\": 1, \"origin\": \"https:\/\/www.sage.com\", \"sources\": [{ \"type\": \"video\/youtube\", \"src\": \"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=k4iWmyi1V5Y\"}], \"youtube\": { \"ytControls\": 0, \"cc_load_policy\": 3, \"modestbranding\": 1, \"hl\": \"en_GB\", \"playsinline\": 1 } }'\n\t\t\t\tcrossorigin=\"\"><\/video><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">R Banks was bought in the 1960s by the grandfather of Carina Halliwell, current Managing Director and employee of 23 years, who tries to keep the personal touch woven into everything the business does.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Watch the video above to hear from Carina as she explains how Sage helps free up time for the personal touch that will keep R Banks serving the community across generations to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This includes giving her talented staff the freedom to do what they do best, while offering consistency on a reputational and brand level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The staff are well-known in Wigan, both familiar faces at Wigan Athletic &#8220;Lactics&#8221; matches and across other key sports, as part of their community work. Their personal relationships form the bonds that build trust in the business, but this level of reputation building and personalisation demands consistency, speed, and accuracy to be successful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Carina recognises the growth her predecessors made: \u201cIt\u2019s just grown and grown. I think the major growth started in 2000, we had four branches at that point, and then my dad pushed to make it bigger\u2026 That&#8217;s how we&#8217;ve ended up how we are now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\"><blockquote><p>We&#8217;ve got 49 members of staff across all the branches, and everyone works hard, everyone puts their own stamp on things but makes it R Banks.<\/p><cite>Carina Halliwell, Managing Director, R Banks and Son Funerals Ltd<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-a-local-business-like-no-other\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">A local business like no other<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Whether it\u2019s sponsoring shirts for local football teams or arranging Wigan Athletic fans\u2019 funerals with a full drive-by of The Brick Community Stadium, R Banks works in partnership with other local businesses to provide a complete funeral service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The close-knit football community turns out for each other, especially for Wigan Athletic fans, according to Carina: \u201cWe&#8217;ll do the drive past [of the stadium], and generally we&#8217;ll ring the stadium and let the staff know, and sometimes they&#8217;ll bring some of the team out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cEverybody knows everybody in the community who goes to the Latics matches, and I do think it brings people together.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There is a protective element woven in, as Carina explains: \u201cIt&#8217;s not just about the football, it&#8217;s not just about the match days, it&#8217;s about what they put into the local community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-a-partnership-built-on-trust\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">A partnership built on trust<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By bringing other local businesses in, the impact is felt more broadly, keeping everything centred on Wigan and helping to keep the community supported, even when it\u2019s one of their own. This builds a trust you can\u2019t buy with marketing campaigns or national budgets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hill Florists is run by Adam Hill, who took over the family business started by his mum and dad in 1977 and has known Carina most of his life.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He explains: \u201cMy dad first started working with what would be Carina&#8217;s granddad\u2026 probably 45 years ago, and we&#8217;ve worked together ever since.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Adam reflects on what makes R Banks special: \u201cAs a family, for something as important as a funeral is going to be, you go to somebody who you trust.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Adam knows this personally, as R Banks was the only choice to help the family when his parents passed, because of the trust they had built up over decades of working together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On R Banks\u2019 influence in the community, Adam continues: \u201cPeople want to feel that their particular moment is important and is being dealt with individually rather than in some off-the-shelf format.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\"><blockquote><p>[Sage] just really helps with the day to day, so that we can focus on the more important things.<\/p><cite>Carina Halliwell<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-getting-time-back-with-sage\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Getting time back with Sage<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Carina has seen the team\u2019s financial confidence and efficiency grow since using Sage HR. This is only possible when staff are not hampered by manual admin and slow access to financial data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She compares how it used to be: \u201c20 years ago, it took us a full day to get the payroll sorted. Now, we&#8217;ve got Sage HR, so your time sheets are automatically done, everything&#8217;s there for you, ready.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With payroll complete in just a few hours, Carina finds it \u201cjust saves so much time!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Any time and money saved is poured back into the business so that families \u201cfeel like they are the only family that we&#8217;re dealing with,\u201d no matter how many funerals are taking place that day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\"><blockquote><p>You know how much you&#8217;re paying every month&#8230; It works out your hours for you. It does everything. It\u2019s phenomenal!<\/p><cite>Carina Halliwell<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-final-thoughts\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Final thoughts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Asked what she\u2019s proudest of, Carina says it\u2019s the staff who go above and beyond for the community: \u201cI&#8217;m proud of my staff more than anything. I&#8217;m proud of the way that we&#8217;re a whole family together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Choosing the right financial and HR software means that R Banks can continue to provide exceptional and memorable services for generations to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For more inspirational stories, visit our EFL <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/heroes-of-the-efl\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">interactive map<\/a> to reveal more businesses behind the badge. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Learn more about the 7-day-a-month time savings Sage Accounting can give you and gain financial confidence for the important decisions, in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/sage-business-cloud\/sage-accounting\/#pricing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Sage Accounting hub<\/a> and find the plan that\u2019s right for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner on-scroll-highlight__target\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">The businesses behind the badge<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>Want to discover your local heroes of the English Football League? Sage\u2019s interactive map uncovers their stories.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/heroes-of-the-efl\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tid=\"cta-id-25988\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-button-location=\"cta_box\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Take a look now<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/11\/cta-efl.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/11\/cta-efl.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<section class=\"more-topics alignfull has-grey-light-background-color wp-block-sage-post-topics\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-12 col-lg-4\">\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"more-topics__title h2\">Browse more topics from this article<\/h3>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-12 col-lg-8\">\n\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"post-tags__list\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-tags__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/tag\/efl\/\" class=\"post-tags__link button button--secondary\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEFL\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-tags__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/tag\/hr-process\/\" class=\"post-tags__link button button--secondary\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHR processes for small businesses\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-tags__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a 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Carina Halliwell explains how Sage frees up the time that keeps every funeral personal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":280,"featured_media":32095,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sage_video":true,"post_featured_image_hide":false,"sage_hide_published_date":false,"sage_hide_read_time":false,"sage_hide_share_buttons":false,"_pwl_sage_podcast_buzzsprout_src":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[728,41,234,37],"business_type":[4],"lilypad":[],"context":[],"industry":[63],"persona":[73,74,75],"imagine_tag":[],"coauthors":[369],"class_list":["post-32094","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people-leadership","tag-efl","tag-hr-process","tag-hr-payroll-benefits","tag-payroll","business_type-small-business","industry-professional-services"],"sage_meta":{"region":"en-gb","author_name":"Keir Thomas-Bryant","featured_image":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2026\/08\/funeral.jpg","imagine_tags":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Sage Advice UK","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32094","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/280"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32094"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32094\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32097,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32094\/revisions\/32097"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/32095"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32094"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32094"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32094"},{"taxonomy":"business_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/business_type?post=32094"},{"taxonomy":"lilypad","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/lilypad?post=32094"},{"taxonomy":"context","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/context?post=32094"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=32094"},{"taxonomy":"persona","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/persona?post=32094"},{"taxonomy":"imagine_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/imagine_tag?post=32094"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=32094"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}