--- title: Understanding Need Status in Contracts  description: Need Status is now set manually per contract and per line item as Pre-Need, At-Need, or Combination. Learn how it works in webCemeteries. --- [Skip to content](https://support.webcemeteries.com/understanding-need-status-in-contracts-pre-need-at-need-and-combination#main-content) [Submit a Request](https://support.webcemeteries.com/kb-tickets/new?hsLang=en) [![webcemeteries-logo](https://support.webcemeteries.com/hs-fs/hubfs/file-logo.png?width=400&height=67&name=file-logo.png)](https://support.webcemeteries.com/?hsLang=en) Open main navigation Close main navigation - [Submit a Request](https://support.webcemeteries.com/kb-tickets/new) How can we help you? - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. 1. [webCemeteries Knowledge Base](https://support.webcemeteries.com/?hsLang=en) 2. [Management](https://support.webcemeteries.com/management?hsLang=en) 3. [Contracts Module](https://support.webcemeteries.com/management?hsLang=en#contracts-module) # Understanding Need Status in Contracts ### What Is This Feature? Need Status isn't new, every contract has always had one, showing whether a purchase was made **before** a death occurred or **because of** one. What's changing is how it's set, and how detailed it is. **Before this update:** The Need Status of a contract was decided *for you*, automatically, based on whether a deceased person had been added to the contract. There was no way to set it manually, and it only applied to the contract as a whole, not to individual items. **With this update:** - You now **manually select** the Need Status when you first create a contract. - Need Status can now be tracked at the **individual line item level**, not just for the contract overall. There are three Need Status options at the contract level: ![](https://support.webcemeteries.com/hs-fs/hubfs/image-png-Sep-03-2026-06-26-56-4011-PM.png?width=761&height=462&name=image-png-Sep-03-2026-06-26-56-4011-PM.png) - **Pre-Need** – The family is planning ahead, before a death has occurred. All line items will be Pre-Need status. - **At-Need** – The family is purchasing because a death has already occurred. All line items will be At-Need status. - **Combination** – The contract includes a mix of both Pre-Need and At-Need items. This allows you to choose which line items will be Pre-Need or At-Need The new **Combination** option is for the less common cases where one contract includes both. For example: - A family is at your cemetery to bury a loved one (At-Need) and, while they're there, decides to also purchase future plots for themselves (Pre-Need). - A husband purchases a plot for his own future use (Pre-Need) on the same contract where he's also purchasing a headstone for a spouse who has already passed (At-Need). In situations like these, you'll use Combination so each item can be marked correctly, instead of the whole contract being forced into one status. ### A Note on Existing Contracts For every contract created **before** this update, every line item has now been defaulted to match the Need Status that contract already had. For example, if an older contract was already showing as At-Need, every line item on that contract has now also been marked At-Need.  ### Step 1 #### Choose the Contract's Need Status when creating a new contract When you start a new contract (see [How to Create a Contract in Management](https://support.webcemeteries.com/hc/en-us/articles/12088799256603-how-to-create-a-contract-in-management?hsLang=en)), you'll now be required to manually set a **Need Status** before you continue. Choose from: - **Pre-Need** - **At-Need** - **Combination** **![](https://support.webcemeteries.com/hs-fs/hubfs/image-png-Sep-03-2026-06-27-40-2042-PM.png?width=761&height=462&name=image-png-Sep-03-2026-06-27-40-2042-PM.png)** --- #### Step 2: If you chose Pre-Need or At-Need If you selected **Pre-Need** or **At-Need** for the contract, every line item you add (plots, merchandise, services, etc. see [How to Add Merchandise to a Contract](https://support.webcemeteries.com/hc/en-us/articles/5643894859931-how-to-add-merchandise-to-a-contract?hsLang=en)) will automatically be set to that same status by default. You will not be able to change the Need Status on individual items (the dropdown will be locked). ![](https://support.webcemeteries.com/hs-fs/hubfs/image-png-Sep-03-2026-06-29-21-9825-PM.png?width=1285&height=508&name=image-png-Sep-03-2026-06-29-21-9825-PM.png) Use this option when everything on the contract is either all Pre-Need or all At-Need. --- #### Step 3: If you chose Combination If you selected **Combination**, you'll now see a **Need Status dropdown on each individual line item**. This lets you mark each item as either Pre-Need or At-Need, item by item. ![](https://support.webcemeteries.com/hs-fs/hubfs/image-png-Sep-03-2026-06-31-20-3091-PM.png?width=1272&height=661&name=image-png-Sep-03-2026-06-31-20-3091-PM.png) To set an item's status: 1. Locate the line item on the contract. 2. Click the **Need Status** dropdown for that item. 3. Select either **Pre-Need** or **At-Need**. #### Double-check every line item before signing Take a moment to review each line item before moving the contract to [Signed](https://support.webcemeteries.com/hc/en-us/articles/5644107020315-understanding-signed-status?hsLang=en) status. Once a contract is in Signed status, the need status will be locked for each item and cannot be changed. 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