Choosing the right software for your pet care business can feel like a big challenge, but it’s one of the most important decisions for your long-term success.
The right system impacts everything from daily operations to customer satisfaction and future growth. As someone who’s been in your shoes—running a pet care facility and even building software when the options didn’t fit—I understand what you're facing. And yes, as a co-founder of Goose, I think it’s one of the best solutions out there. But this article (and the series of articles that I’ll be writing soon) isn’t meant to be a sales pitch. Instead, it’s based on the everyday conversations I have with pet care professionals just like you. My goal is to share practical advice to help you make the best choice for your business, whether that’s Goose or another solution.
I’ve spoken with thousands of pet care business owners, from those running single-location facilities to those managing multiple sites across states. What surprises me is how often people feel their software struggles are unique. The truth is, many of the challenges are universal, whether it’s dealing with clunky user interfaces or outdated systems that hold businesses back.
These are the most common reasons why pet care professionals start searching for new software. If you find yourself nodding along, it’s probably a sign that it’s time to consider making a switch.
Let’s be honest—sometimes, when our software doesn’t work the way we need it to, we end up putting the burden on our customers. Whether it’s forcing them to call in to schedule appointments when they’d rather book online or requiring them to navigate a clunky client portal, these pain points can frustrate pet owners and harm your business’s reputation.
In today’s digital world, a modern online presence isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s a money-maker. Software that integrates seamlessly with your website and booking engine can boost revenue by enabling cross-selling and upselling at the point of booking. If your software makes you look like you’re stuck in 1999, it might be time for an upgrade.
If your current software is making daily operations feel like a slog, that’s a red flag. Maybe it’s not that the software can’t do the job—it’s just that it’s so poorly designed it’s slowing your team down. It’s like owning a Ferrari but driving it in first gear everywhere you go. Clunky user interfaces, confusing workflows, and endless manual entries can all lead to inefficiencies that snowball over time.
Some systems treat each of your services (boarding, daycare, grooming, etc.) as separate silos, meaning changes in one area don’t automatically sync with the others. This can result in time-consuming manual updates that are prone to human error. It’s like needing to update five calendars instead of one whenever you change a booking.
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Accurate reporting is non-negotiable, especially if you’re planning for growth or have stakeholders who want regular updates. We’ve seen systems that struggle with something as basic as reporting revenue if a pet’s stay crosses into the next month or that can’t handle accrual-based accounting. If your reporting makes you feel like you need a degree in data science to get answers, it might be time for a switch.
Dynamic pricing and revenue management aren’t just for airlines and hotels anymore. They can be transformative for pet care facilities, too. Yet, many systems either don’t offer these tools or provide a version that is so basic and labor-intensive that operators don’t bother using them. A good software solution will give you lots of different ways to optimize your revenue without leashing you to the computer.
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You don’t know how good (or bad) a company’s customer support is until you really need it. And if your current software provider’s idea of “support” is a 24-hour turnaround on an email request, that’s not going to cut it. Issues don’t happen at convenient times, and when something goes wrong, you need solutions immediately.
Stability issues aren’t just annoying; they can damage your business’s reputation. Something I hear often is described as “general bugginess.” It’s not major crashes but many small issues that tend to add up over time. This often stems from a lack of proper maintenance. When platforms stop investing in their product, they start going downhill, and a growing number of bugs is a dead giveaway this is happening. When customers see these issues, they don’t distinguish between software glitches and your business not having its act together. Ouch.
As your business grows (congrats, by the way!), your software should grow with you. But if you’re managing multiple services across multiple locations and your software can’t keep up, it might be time for an upgrade. Imagine trying to juggle customer membership across different locations without a unified CRM—that’s a lot of balls in the air and a lot of potential for dropped ones.
For those just starting out, the software decision can feel overwhelming. But picking a system that’s too limited in scope can result in costly transitions down the road. Choosing software that’s designed to scale as your business grows will save you a lot of pain (and money) later.
Conclusion
The right software doesn’t just fix your current problems—it helps you achieve your long-term goals. In the next article, we’ll dive into advanced features that are redefining what’s possible for pet care businesses.
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