When it comes to choosing pet care software, there are certain features that every solution in this category must have to meet the basic needs of your business. These core functionalities are what I call “table stakes.” They’re the foundational elements that ensure the software can handle your day-to-day operations efficiently, whether it’s managing reservations, tracking customer data, or processing payments. Without these essential features, you’re left with an incomplete solution that will likely cause more headaches than it solves. So before you get excited about advanced tools, make sure the basics are covered. Let’s take a closer look at these must-have features and why they’re so important.
Primary Services
Let’s start with the basics. Before committing to a software vendor, you need to understand whether they are capable of supporting all of your primary services. Do they clearly state that they cover your specific needs? For instance, if you offer grooming services and the software lacks a grooming module, you’ll find yourself relying on manual processes, workarounds, or even a software solution . All of that ends up bogging you down and stripping you of the efficiency that your pet care operating system should be providing you.
Support for your core services is the minimum requirement. The most common use services include, but are not limited to:
Be mindful when evaluating software, as it’s common for providers to overstate what their systems can actually do. Sometimes a feature might be listed, but only offer limited functionality that falls short in practice. Instead of taking claims at face value, take a closer look at your workflow and see if the software can handle it end-to-end. It’s okay to work around a gap temporarily, but you need a partner who’s committed to filling those gaps and delivering real solutions—quickly.
Occupancy/Inventory Management
Effective occupancy and inventory management are critical for the profitability and efficiency of your facility. Boarding and daycare availability is limited and time-sensitive—once a date passes, the opportunity to book that space is lost forever. Fully utilizing your available space allows you to serve more customers and maximize revenue. Conversely, overbooking can lead to stressed staff, unhappy customers, and potentially an overcrowded facility that compromises the care and safety of the pets.
The right software should do more than just keep a tally of how many pets are in your facility—it should make space management intuitive and adaptable as needs change. Many systems on the market require you to assign rooms at the time of booking to prevent overbooking, which can create rigid workflows and make it difficult to adjust when circumstances change. A more dynamic approach is to allow room assignments closer to check-in. This way, you can optimize your available space without overextending, better accommodate late adjustments, and make sure each pet is placed in the best possible environment. It’s a more flexible way to manage your facility, helping you avoid common pitfalls like running out of rooms or turning away business too soon.
CRM
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is the backbone of your pet care operating system, managing pet owner profiles, reservations, and occupancy. Without a modern and capable CRM, your business will be severely limited. A good CRM is essential for managing credits, memberships, remembering preferences, and viewing past services. Key features to look for include:
- Ease of Updating: Your CRM should allow for easy updates to pet information, without interrupting your workflow. If updating information requires exiting a process, it adds unnecessary steps and inefficiency, increasing the likelihood of errors.
- Searchability: Quickly locating a pet parent or their pet is crucial for efficient front desk operations - your CRM’s search function directly impacts how swiftly your team can process changes, look up care information, and check customers in and out.
- Smart Updates: Your CRM should flag outdated information, such as expired vaccinations or pending follow-ups, helping you stay on top of important records.
- Customization: Your CRM should be adaptable to your needs, allowing you to use tags to identify pets and process them efficiently. This feature can prevent issues with challenging pets (or owners).
- Multi-Location Support: If you have multiple locations, your CRM should work seamlessly across them, enabling you to sell packages or process credits across locations.
One of my favorite features of Goose’s CRM is the ability to maintain separate information for feeding and care, apart from what the pet parent provides. Why? Our team often has a shared understanding and shorthand for certain instructions that pet parents might not share. Separating internal notes from those provided by pet parents ensures smooth operations without confusing the client.
What goes into the CRM record? At a minimum, you should make sure your CRM supports the following:
Reporting
Basic reporting capabilities are vital for accounting and business analytics. At a minimum, you should be able to replicate the reports you rely on in the software you’re evaluating.
A key consideration, that I believe is overlooked all too often, is whether the software can handle both cash-based and accrual-based accounting methods.
The type of accounting you use can significantly affect the financial reports generated.
If you use accrual based accounting and are running month end reports, you should ask whether the software you are considering truly supports that method. For example, one major software provider that we know of (and we won’t name names) doesn’t include money earned from pet boarding until the pet is checked out. Yikes! In my mind, there’s no excuse for financial reports to not recognize revenue down to a 24 hour period.
Sophisticated businesses should quickly be able to answer critical questions about the health of their business. Here’s a few basic ones:
- How many pets do you currently have in your facility?
- How many people check-in or check-out at any period in time?
- What is your revenue, expenses, and profit margin?
- How do you utilize labor? How much revenue do you earn per labor hour? How much labor do you use per pet night?
Communication
No pet operating system is complete without some ability to communicate with pet parents via email and SMS. We know from experience that frequent communications and updates have a strong correlation with positive online reviews. While there are dedicated systems that deal exclusively with generating business reviews, your basic requirements around communication should include the following:
- Ad-hoc customer communications
- Record-keeping of past communications
- Automatic confirmations for new reservations and cancellations
- Reminders for upcoming appointments
- Vaccination reminders
Most software providers, including Goose, charge additional fees for SMS, as it’s often a pass-through cost. If you already have an SMS provider, you shouldn’t have to pay twice.
Payments
One of the most important things you can do to improve profitability is to make it as easy as possible for customers to pay you. You positively need an elegant way for customers to pay - whether that payment is virtual or in-person (card present). In addition to processing payments, you will want a reasonable choice of modern payment terminals that can be used throughout your facility.
Payment solutions that are integrated with your pet care operating system provide additional benefits when it comes to collecting payment for the following:
- Deposits
- Cancellation fees
- Surcharges for early arrival and late departure
- Convenience fees
- Tips (from stored card and on the terminal)
Seamless experiences when it comes to payment makes it easier for customers to do business with you. It reduces the focus on payment while allowing you to maximize collection. These integrated solutions typically cost a little bit more than stand-alone or 3rd party solutions but, in my opinion, are well worth it.Using a third-party provider to avoid these fees can be "penny-wise and pound-foolish." While it might seem cheaper per transaction, you create new problems that could cost you in other ways—like time spent manually keying in cards, looking up transactions for refunds, or reconciling payments from multiple systems.
Customer Access
Self-service capabilities save time for your staff, allowing them to focus on other tasks. You will want your software to provide for the ability to manage reservations, payments, and update pet profiles. This enhances the customer experience while reducing your administrative workload. At a minimum, your customers should be able to:
- Book new reservations
- Modify or cancel upcoming reservations
- View and download past invoices
- Update vaccination records
- Send communications to the front desk
- Be mobile accessible
User Permissions
The software you choose should allow you to control user access, determining which features, reports, and override capabilities are accessible to your employees. For example, you might not want most employees accessing financial reports or exporting customer data.
Conclusion
Having these essential features in place ensures that your pet care business can run smoothly and efficiently. From managing reservations and customer communications to tracking payments and inventory, these are the foundational tools that every pet care software should offer. But if your business is growing or you operate multiple locations, your software needs to do more than just handle the basics. In the next article, we’ll explore key considerations for businesses with multiple locations and how the right software can help you manage growth without adding complexity
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