Every day, more and more people around the world are discovering the fantastic world of professional pet care. Pet parents are searching for reliable, safe pet care services, and entrepreneurs are starting new and innovative businesses to meet the demand. We aren't the only ones to identify this. Morgan Stanley predicts total industry spending will grow to $261 billion by 2030.
With such a heavy demand for pet care services both today and in the near future, how can you be sure that your business is ready? The answer lies in technology. Software can play a huge role in helping pet care professionals get more organized, automate many of the backend functions required to own a business, and help all types of pet entrepreneurs start, grow, and better manage their pet care companies.
The most common software tools pet care businesses use are Pet Sitting Software (if you own a pet sitting or a dog walking business) or Facility-based Pet Care Software (for doggie daycares, pet boarding facilities, and more). Let's take a quick look at a few benefits of using software in your pet care business.
Benefits of Using Software in Pet Care
Streamlining Your Day-to-day Operations
Pet care software can help you automate many routine tasks associated with managing a pet care business. For example, you can fully automate scheduling, invoicing, and payment collection using tools like recurring Templates and Automatic Charging.
This frees you and your team up to do what you do best - provide exceptional care for pets.
Manage Pet and Pet Parent Information
Your pet care software can simplify collecting and accessing important pet parent and pet care details. Your pet parent customers can log in to your software, update their information, create pet profiles, make changes if feeding routines or medications change, and much more.
Enhancing Customer Service and Communication
Communicating with customers can be one of the biggest challenges for pet care businesses. Without dedicated software, this typically happens with handwritten notes that are not read until the customer returns home or quick text message updates.
With software, you can send pictures, videos, and full post-visit reports delivered in real-time to your customer's smartphone. The best part? These messages are stored in your client's Conversation Feed, so even if you have a team sending these updates, you are always aware of what is being said and shared.
Simplifying Scheduling and Bookings
Nobody starts a pet care business because they love managing schedules or invoices. They do so because they love animals, and providing peace of mind to pet parents who know their pets are in good hands when traveling or at work.
Your software will make adding events to your calendar, viewing those events, and completing them as easy as possible while providing your customers full transparency into what services they have booked and are paying for.
Time To Pet helps thousands of pet care businesses generate millions in revenue each month. See how by starting your free trial today!
Key Features to Look for in Pet Care Software
Easy-to-Use Interface
Ensuring that your software is easy to use for your team and your customers is crucial. When evaluating software, spend ample time testing it as your pet parent customers would. You can even invite a few to help in the process!
Mobile Accessibility for On-the-Go Management
Your business (especially if you own a dog walking or pet sitting company) is on the go. Your software should work well on your mobile device, whether that is a dedicated App for when you are in the field completing events or a mobile-friendly website for more admin-type tasks.
Your customers should also have a dedicated Mobile App to view and send messages, update their information, request services, and make payments.
Easy Integration With Payments
While the purpose of your business may be to provide exceptional pet care services, it can only survive by turning a profit. Your software should make it easy for customers to submit payments using their preferred payment method (like Google Pay, Apple Pay, Credit Cards, or ACH) and for you to collect your hard-earned revenue.
Additionally, while being able to accept payments is important for the software you use, a system that makes it seamless for your customers to say "Thank you" by adding a tip to their payment is even better!
Strong Customer Experience and Training Resources
Your software provider should demonstrate a commitment to understanding your business and the software and should do so in a friendly, inviting way. Here at Time To Pet, the customer experience is our top priority. To that end, we hire former pet care business owners and operators who are experts on our software and on what it means to work in pet care.
On top of that, our Onboarding Team will help you learn our software through live screenshare calls and will even import any data you have at no cost.
Success Stories of Pet Sitters and Dog Walkers Using Software
Time To Pet is trusted by thousands of customers around the world who have used software to make starting, growing, and managing their pet care business easier, more enjoyable, and more profitable.
You can check out a few of our most recent case studies here, including one on an awesome business in Minnesota.
How Oh, Fur Pet's Sake Scaled Operations and Enhanced Client Experience with Time To Pet
Lisa and Holly started their unexpected entrepreneurial journey in the pet care industry in April of 2022 in Big Lake, Minnesota, with their company, Oh, Fur Pet's Sake.
Driven by a shared love for animals and a commitment to exceptional service, Lisa and Holly's company encountered opportunities and challenges as it grew.
Challenges
Like most small business owners, Lisa and Holly quickly encountered the inherent complexities of managing a growing clientele after starting their company. It was only a short time before their manual processes, which were once manageable, became increasingly cumbersome. Scheduling conflicts, communication gaps, and administrative tasks threatened the quality of their service and hindered their scalability as a company.
Benefits and Outcomes
The integration of Time To Pet into their operations brought about a profound transformation. Automated scheduling, client notifications, and visit management streamlined processes, freeing up time for what they really love: client-focused pet care. The software's intuitive design and comprehensive features improved efficiency and enhanced the client experience.
Steps to Implement Software in Your Business
Evaluating Your Business Needs and Goals
Before choosing software, it's essential to assess your business needs. You should consider where your business is and where you want it to go. Are you hoping to spend all your time in the field providing pet care? Are you hoping to grow your business to include multiple staff members? Maybe expand to a neighboring city? These can all be great reasons to add software.
Strong software can and should operate as the foundation of your business. You can build something amazing on top of it, but it can be hard to add a foundation after your company has already started growing.
Researching and Choosing the Right Software
Once you know your needs, research different software options. The best way to do this is to ask your industry friends what tools they use and whether they like them.
If you don't know anyone in pet care, you can always research on the internet. Review sites like Capterra can be a great way to read reviews on software products.
Training Staff and Integrating Software into Daily Operations
After picking your software solution, spend plenty of time learning it. Time To Pet, for example, supports many features and functionality, and you should take advantage of the training offered to ensure you are getting the most value out of it.
Ensure that your team (and your pet parent clients) are also familiar with the tools available to them! With a Knowledge Base full of helpful articles and video tutorials, an Academy dedicated to helping fledging pet care businesses, and a Blog that posts on topics relevant to all pet care providers, on top of the dedicated Onboarding and Support teams that work to provide a stellar customer experience, there are tons of ways to get familiar with our product.
Other Software Tools for Pet Care Pros
You may want to explore some other software tools besides business management software (such as pet sitting software). A great example is payroll software or accounting software. For more information, check out our great guide on Accounting Software 101 for pet care professionals.
Conclusion
Adding software can make starting, growing, and managing your pet care company easier, more enjoyable, and more profitable.
There are no surprises here: We are partial to Time To Pet. We've worked hard to build a tool that our customers love and that provides significant value to them. The thousands of pet care businesses that choose Time To Pet are a great testament to our ability to deliver on that promise.
See how Time To Pet can help you start, grow, and better manage your pet care company. Start your free trial today!
Whatever solution you pick, the software will help you grow your business, stay competitive, and provide phenomenal services to your pet parent clients and the pets you care for.
