PetGroomBossPro Blog — Cat Grooming

Choosing Software for Cat Grooming: What to Check Before You Switch

Switching software is a real cost. You move your clients, retrain your groomers and change how the office works. For a mobile groomer who takes cats, it is worth knowing exactly what to look for before committing, so the software fits how cat appointments actually run.

This is the checklist, with an honest note on where PetGroomBossPro stands on each item.

Start With Your Own List

Moving clients over was covered in Moving Your Cat Clients Over With CSV Import. Before that step, it pays to be sure the software is the right one.

Write down how your cat appointments go today: how owners find you, how you price, how you schedule, what you need to know at the door and how you get paid. Then check every candidate against that list rather than against a feature sheet.

1. Does It Record Cats Properly?

The basic test: can each pet be marked as a cat, with breed, coat and notes, and do those details come back on the next visit?

PetGroomBossPro: each pet on a visit is marked Dog or Cat, with name, breed, size, coat, rabies due date and a notes line for the cut and behavior. Up to four pets per visit. The next visit at that home fills in from the last one. The sizes (Toy to Giant) were designed around dogs, so you will want a simple size rule for cats.

2. Do Notes Carry Forward?

Cats seen every 6 or 8 weeks need their notes to come back without retyping. Check whether the cut and behavior notes reappear on the next visit and on every visit in a repeat series.

PetGroomBossPro: yes, on the next visit and on repeat visits booked with Add Recurring Grooming. Estimates carry pet details onto the job when approved. See Lion Cut Notes Carried Forward: The Same Cut Every Visit Without Re-Typing.

3. Can You Price Cat Services Your Way?

Look for your own service list, your own prices and a booking page that shows owners a price.

PetGroomBossPro: one service list for dogs and cats, with base prices, a size add-on, a minimum, frequency discounts and add-on prices. The booking page shows the price instantly. It is a request that lands in Leads, not an instant calendar booking, and it does not ask Dog or Cat, so name your cat services clearly.

4. Set Times and Repeat Visits

Cat owners usually need a set time. Check that appointments have one and that repeat bookings keep it.

PetGroomBossPro: every appointment has a set time on every card. Add Recurring Grooming books the same weekday, time and van every week, 2, 3, 4, 6 or 8 weeks, monthly or custom days, with each visit waiting on Pending Jobs until the office confirms it.

5. Two-Person Appointments

If some cats need two people, check that the software lets two people share a van and keeps those cats on it.

PetGroomBossPro: employees are assigned to vans, and a groomer and a bather can share one. There is no automatic matching of two-person cats to two-person vans; the office does it once and the repeat schedule keeps it.

6. Owner Communication

Check for reminders, on-the-way and arrived texts, and a way to text owners from the office.

PetGroomBossPro: night-before, when-they're-next and arrived alerts chosen by the owner, automatic on-the-way and arrived texts from the groomer app, two-way texting from the office, and a live route map in the customer app. Texts come from a monthly allowance of 500, 1,000 or 2,000 sent and received on Start, Pro and Crew. No marketing blasts.

7. Records of the Visit

PetGroomBossPro: a per-pet grooming checklist with add-ons and a customer note, a Grooming Report the office can print, and before and after photos saved with the job. No customer photo uploads and no photo report cards.

8. Getting Paid

PetGroomBossPro: invoices with line items and sales tax, card on file, auto-charge on completion or on a schedule, online payment and tips in the customer app, past-due follow-up and monthly billing for community accounts.

9. Honest About What Is Not There

A good choice is one where the gaps are clear up front. PetGroomBossPro has no separate cat module and no cat-specific features beyond Dog or Cat on each pet, the notes, the services and the pricing. There is no vaccine-record upload (rabies due dates are typed), no waitlist, no deposits feature, no inventory and no automatic cancellation fill. If any of those are must-haves, factor that in.

Try It With Your Own Cats

The best test is your own appointments. Click around the live demo, then start the 14-day free trial with no credit card. Plans are Start $59, Pro $89 and Crew $199 per month. Set up your cat services, enter a few cats and book a repeat visit. For a summary of everything in this series, go back to the cat grooming software page.