8 Best Scheduling and Booking Apps for Your Pet Business
Between all of the daily tasks you need to do, and things you’ll need to learn along the way, like most small business owners, pet care professionals are definitely a hard working bunch!
If we had to guess we’d say you probably started your business because you’re passionate about animals, not because scheduling, sending appointment reminders and bookkeeping are your thing.
But luckily, with the help of ever-expanding technology, these days automating pesky tasks like booking and scheduling is fast and can forever take that non-stop admin stress off your shoulders. Your job is way too important for you to be bogged down by emails…
Let’s get you get back to doing what you do best!
Scheduling and booking apps now make it easier than ever to manage your clients, your bookings, your team and even your paperwork (and doing it in an app is so much more environmentally-friendly than doing everything on paper!)
Today’s pet business booking apps have everything from invoicing and sending automated reminders (so you never wake up in a cold sweat again worried about the confirmation email you didn’t send!) to complex sales reporting and staff and client management features. Finally an easy and affordable way to take the boring, repetitive, pressure off of the super annoying tasks in your pet business. Hurrah!
To make it easy for you to find your perfect fit, we’ve put together a list of the eight best scheduling and booking apps for your pet business.
But first, let’s take a look at the key features we think any great scheduling app needs to actually make your life and both running and growing your pet business easier.
Key Features for Scheduling App for Pet Business
Client Management
Client management is one of the must-have features in a scheduling and booking app for pet businesses. Apps with this feature let you store client and pet details in a centralized database so you can access the information from any synced device. You can also send real-time updates to clients and track all communications. In some you can even send and store contracts and other important documents like vaccination records.
Scheduling
This should be the core of any pet business app: the ‘book now’ feature that helps clients schedule and helps you track daily, weekly, monthly appointments. Depending on your calendar, you can accept and deny customer requests. If you have employees in your pet business, the feature should let you assign them appointments too
Invoicing
Most invoicing features generate invoices immediately when a client schedules an appointment. Most apps integrate with a range of payment methods and bookkeeping softwares, so customers can make payments online, and you’re tracking it effortlessly as you sell. Most apps will also enable you to send clients reminders for pending payments through emails and even SMS messages.
Staff Management
The various Staff Management features let you track staff on the job as well as total working hours and time off. Most enable staff to login and out when they start and end a session and provide real-time updates during a session. Some apps will even allow you to manage payroll.
A word about technology…
No tech is perfect. Anyone who is in the business of building software knows - there is always more we can do to improve, and sometimes stuff breaks. But since you might be building your whole business on this little bit of technology - be sure to keep an eye on the support and customer service the app of your choice provides - because if you do need them urgently - you want to know they (an actual real live person) will be there to help you!
Best Scheduling and Booking Apps for Pet Business
BEST IN SHOW:
Book Your Pet
Obviously we are biased since this is our very own scheduling and booking app for pet businesses - but there are many reasons this platform is the best choice for many businesses. Not only was Book Your Pet designed by petprenuers, but built by super savvy tech geeks (not just dudes either, half of our engineer team are women). We built it to take the stress out of your pet business by focusing around the key features that
- Making you easy to do business with (so you can grow with ease)
- Making your business easier to run (so you can get more time and freedom back)
>Book Your Pet was built specifically for pet service businesses andis perfect for all sorts of pet businesses, including dog training, pet photography, grooming, pet sitting and dog walking. The needs of groomers and trainers are super different - so each category has its own interface, custom created for the needs of that particular service.
Key Features:
- Set it and forget it text and email reminders such as feedback requests and post-service follow-ups.
- Task batching. You can house all repetitive tasks in one place.
- Easy tracking. Access and track client and pet information, bookings, sales, and deposit with one-click reports.
- Accept payments easily with features like payment reminders, QuickBooks, and Stripe integration, so it's easy for customers to pay you.
- Built-in marketing features. Industry expert marketing advice built-in to help you with copywriting and pricing, helping you take the guesswork out of these important tasks.
What it costs: Start now for free!
What we Love: Since Book Your Pet is cross-category, it makes it possible for you to run your dog training AND dog walking business from the same app. Plus, it has most of the same features
Pet Specific? Yes
Customer Service: We pride ourselves on top-notch customer service - we always promise a human will be waiting for you when you call or live-chat with us. We are 100% here to help and we are committed to constantly improving our software - so some like other companies - we won’t just sell it and step away. We’re always listening to you and making it better in the ways you ask for.
We’re here to make it easy for you to get the help you need without waiting on hold for ages or trying to decipher fancy tech jargon.
Simplybook.me
This is a pretty simple online scheduling system for pet services that offers you the flexibility to customize the look of your appointment booking system. There’s a wide range of regularly-updated templates to choose from to fit your brand. You don’t need any design skills to customize the various templates and you can easily add your logo, staff photos, service descriptions, images, and adjust template colors to match your branding.
Simplybook.me offers various ways for clients to book appointments, whether it’s by time slots, class sessions or staff.
You can customize your booking page to collect as much client and pet information as you want. Once an appointment is booked, the mobile app sends you and the client reminders periodically and clients can make payments online immediately after booking.
The mobile app is available in two versions, the client app (Android only) and the admin app (Android and iOS). You can also access both on the Simplybook.me website.
The client app enables clients to create and edit their profiles to book appointments and make payments. They can also purchase memberships, gift cards, and packages, as well as see company information and contact information. It also sends them push notifications and reminders for appointments and payments.
The admin app is more of the back end that enables petprenuers to manage a business on the go. You receive real-time notifications for booking confirmations, changes, and cancellations. It offers a calendar overview of all the bookings.
What it costs: From free to $37 a month
What we Love: The flexibility to customize the look of your appointment booking system and integrations with social platforms.
Pet Specific? No
Customer Service: The company is based in Cyprus, and doesn’t seem to publish a phone number. There appears to be live chat, but it’s actually just a form.
Picktime
Picktime is an appointment scheduling app designed for all different service businesses such as salons, spas, fitness classes, personal trainers, chiropractors, coaches, photographers, art classes, and so on. It may be suitable for petprenuers like dog trainers and animal massage, and maybe pet photographers, but probably not so good for groomers or dog walkers.
The app is a basic booking and scheduling tool with staff management system. Clients can schedule bookings and make payments 24/7, and you can manage tasks, create an online schedule, add services, and create personalized booking pages for your services.
You can also manage client contacts and data to view customer history to plan for upcoming appointments. The app allows you to automate SMS reminder messages and email reminders for customer bookings and post-service follow-ups.
It integrates with a wide range of software.
What it costs:
What we Love: Good for teams. You can track shift work, depending on the availability of your employees or service providers. It also supports managing staff across multiple locations and time zones. It also has a lot of integrations.
Pet Specific? No
Customer Service: There is live chat but no contact info listed anywhere - just contact forms.
MoeGo
MoeGo is exclusively designed for groomers with specific features to suit the different grooming businesses, including grooming salons, mobile grooming, and hybrid grooming.
The online booking app offers various features for mobile grooming pet services. It is a solid scheduler and has customer and appointment management tools that enable you to set dates for specific areas.
The Nearby feature gives you a map view of clients within a five-mile radius based on your current location. You can chat with clients in-app and send appointment reminders within the arrival window.
For salon grooming services, the MoeGo app offers paperless booking and customer management, so customers can sign their agreements digitally through email, message, or directly on the phone. New customers can also fill out intake forms online, and existing customers can update their information. It also allows for payroll management.
What it costs: $39-$69 and up for ‘custom’
What we Love: Great features for mobile groomers like geo-location
Pet Specific? Yes - grooming only.
Customer Service: They have live chat but it’s a bot, and do not appear to list any contact info anywhere
TimeToPet
TimeToPet is exclusively for pet sitting and dog walking businesses. Its key features include mobile scheduling, in-app messaging, real-time updates, client, and staff management.
Once a client has made an appointment, you'll need to approve it quickly. The app also offers automatic invoicing and instant payment processing. It serves as a database for client and pet information.
It gives your staff members and service providers access to client and pet information such as appointment schedules, message clients in-app, and allows them to send session updates and pictures.
The GPS feature allows staff members to check in and log in to the entire dog walking session. Once the session is over, they can log out and share the event’s details with the client. The app also allocates time stamps throughout a session.
There is a powerful staff management tool. Staff members can submit their time off requests, or you can schedule them manually. If the time conflicts with a customer appointment, another staff member gets the reassigned appointment. Staff members can also set up availability and time off slots to fit their schedule, e.g., if they have another job or go to school.
TimeToPet also makes paying staff easy. Each pet sitting or dog walking service category is allocated a default pay stub or staff rate. The system uses the pay rate, pay stub, or staff invoice to calculate the total amount paid to the staff member according to the completed number of visits.
What it costs: $40- $100 / mo + (depending on number of staff & locations)
What we Love: Powerful staff management tool with comprehensive options for staff payment
Pet Specific? Yes - pet sitting and walking only.
Customer Service: They have live chat but it’s a form (says they usually respond in a few hours) and do not appear to list any contact info anywhere.
PetSitter Plus
This app is for pet sitting, dog walking and daycare only. It offers all the essential features of the scheduling and appointment booking app for small businesses, including client management, staff management, scheduling, and invoicing, plus reporting.
Clients with complex schedules can schedule repeat services and the pet business owners can configure and customize their scheduling to allow for 24-hour services, 12-hour services, or specific time blocks.
The staff management portal allows you to leverage GPS check-in and out, compensation and payroll management, visit reports, and secure messaging.
One of the most useful features of this app is the Required Keys List which lists the whereabouts of various house keys they need for each day’s work. You can register multiple keys under each client profile with a reference number. The system tracks the whereabouts and can be set to allow sitters to assign keys and exchange them among themselves in the field. Or, key handouts can be centralized through the main office.
The staff portal also allows for customizable staff access permissions so that different staff members have access to the parts of the portal that are only appropriate for their roles.
It offers flexible Per Service compensation, whereby staff members are paid different rates depending on the type of service they offered, days of the weeks, whether they worked on public holidays, and the length of the service, among other factors. The system generates a compensation report with detailed information on the service rendered and the amount owed to each employee or contractor.
What it costs: >$30- $240 / mo + (depending on number of staff)
What we Love: Required Keys List, which lists the whereabouts of various house keys needed for each day’s work.
Pet Specific? Yes - pet sitting / walking and day care only
Customer Service: They actually have a phone number for the US, UK and Canada and they publish a website in addition to a contact form.
Pro Pet
Pro Pet is suitable for pet businesses with physical locations, e.g., boarding facilities, daycare facilities etc. You can customize it to suit your management and branding needs and it has integration with other software such as Quickbooks, Mailchimp, and Stripe.
The system provides top-notch data protection. It is GDPR compliant, and all data is geo-redundant. It offers extensive business reporting. If you encounter any challenges with the setup, ProPet has a team of specialists to help you and train your team on using the platform.
Some of the most noteworthy features on the app include:
- Vaccination Manager. The system issues warnings for expired vaccines and reminders for expiring vaccines.
- Smart Pricing Engine. It offers over 50,000 pricing options and structures. For example, late fees, discounts, extended stay fees, etc. You can also set bulk packages and enable the use of vouchers for reservations. To configure a given pricing structure, set automatic rules and triggers. The pricing engine also allows you to create admin rates only, archive old rates, and manage taxes.
- Pet Photography. Upload photos in the client’s profile gallery and organize them in albums, and they can view them anytime they like through their customer portal.
What it costs: $49.99 / mo + (plus setup and migration fees, min $75)
What we Love: We love the powerful pricing support - with complex ways to discount, bundle and manage tax.
Pet Specific? Yes - day care and kennels care only
Customer Service: They are based in Ontario and have an 800 number and email address.
Pet Pocket Book
The Pet Pocket Book is for dog walking businesses. It enables the automation of scheduling, billing, client, and staff management. It features integrated in-app messaging and calendars for all services and staff.
Once a client books an appointment, an invoice is generated automatically and sent. Pet Pocket Book allows clients to pay via credit card or bank transfers.
You can set up family profiles and adjust their pricing per discussion with the client. This appointment scheduling app also has a report card feature that enables service providers to update pet parents on how the pets did under their care. Client messaging is centralized through the in-app messaging feature.
It also tracks employee activity and calculates how much they've earned based on the services rendered and tips received.
What it costs: $25 / mo
What we Love: We love the ‘mobile first’ clean design
Pet Specific? Yes - dog walking only
Customer Service: They are based in Boston and have a contact form.
Conclusion
In the modern world where we don’t ever want to get on the phone to book a service, or might be trying to get Fido in for grooming at 2am (because, let’s face it, life is busy) scheduling apps are becoming absolutely essential tools for pet service businesses. The best scheduling apps for pet businesses make it easy for clients to make appointments, pay and get updates, and they also make it easy for business owners to manage staff management, allocation of service providers, get sales reports and manage their business on the go.
With a wide range of options available, there’s a scheduling app that meets the automation needs and budget for every small business. With additional features such as cross-category service combinations, GPS tracking, and shift scheduling among others, you‘ll be able to automate more tasks in your business with ease.
Remember, the goal is to have a business that is both ‘easy to do business with’ for your clients AND easy for you to run.
Interested in learning more about how you can achieve this with Book Your Pet? We’d love to share with you a demo or chat with you on the phone. Click here to gain a sneak peek while you speak with one of our team.