PetGroomBossPro Blog — Repeat Appointments

Auto-Charging Repeat Grooming Clients With a Card on File

A repeat grooming client should not have to think about paying any more than they think about booking. The slot is fixed, the reminders send themselves, and ideally the payment just happens. In PetGroomBossPro, a repeat client with a card on file can be charged automatically, so the groomer is not chasing a payment at the door and the office is not chasing it later.

Why Auto-Charge Fits Repeat Clients

Reminders and texts are covered in Reminders and Texts for Recurring Grooming Clients. Payment is the other routine part of every visit, and repeat clients are the easiest to automate because you already know them, their price and their slot.

Collecting at the door has real costs for a mobile groomer. The owner is not home, or is on a call, or needs to find a wallet. The groomer stands around while the next appointment's set time gets closer. Payments that do not happen at the door turn into invoices the office has to follow up on. A card on file removes all of that.

How It Works

When the groomer finishes a visit and taps Complete on the groomer app, PetGroomBossPro creates the invoice with its line items and sales tax. If the client has a card on file and is set to be charged on completion, the card is charged right then. The customer can see the invoice in the customer app.

Billing can also run on a schedule instead of at completion, if that suits how you work. Either way, the invoice is created from the visit, so the amount matches the service, add-ons and price on the series.

Getting Cards on File

There are two easy ways a card ends up on file:

• The sign-up form. The website sign-up form captures a card, and one click converts a sign-up into a client.
• The customer app. Customers can add or update their card there whenever they like, and pay invoices online.

The moment you put a client on a repeat slot is a natural time to ask for a card on file. “Want me to just charge your card when we're done each time?” is an easy yes for most busy owners.

Prices Stay Right Automatically

Auto-charge only works if the price is right, and with repeat clients it stays right on its own. Each visit in a series carries the price from the series. When you change prices on the Recurring Clients list for upcoming visits, the next completed visit invoices and charges the new amount. Past invoices stay as they were. Details in Changing Prices on Upcoming Repeat Grooming Visits Without Rebooking Anyone.

If an owner asks for an extra on the day, like nail grinding or a blueberry facial, the groomer ticks the add-on on the job, and it lands on that visit's invoice.

If the groomer has to leave something out on the day — the owner asked to skip the bow this time — untick it on the job before tapping Complete, so the invoice matches what was actually done. The office sees the job and the invoice together, so any question later has a clear answer.

Tips on Paid Invoices

Paying by card on file does not mean losing tips. In the customer app, customers can leave a tip on a paid invoice: $10, $20, $30 or another amount. The tips report shows what came in, so you can pay out groomers and bathers fairly.

That matters to groomers who are used to cash tips at the door. The tip still happens; it just happens on the customer's phone after they have seen the result.

When a Charge Does Not Go Through

Cards expire and get replaced. When a charge fails or an invoice goes unpaid, the past-due follow-up helps you collect. The customer can update their card in the customer app and pay online. A short, friendly text from the office usually sorts it out.

It is worth keeping an eye on repeat clients with past-due invoices before confirming their next visit. Catch it on the day before, and you can sort it out with a text instead of an awkward conversation in the driveway.

Monthly Accounts Are Different

Some repeat clients should not be charged per visit at all. A senior living community, a doggy daycare or an apartment community set to Monthly gets one statement each month covering every visit. That is covered next, in Monthly Accounts on a Repeat Grooming Schedule: Senior Living, Daycare and Apartment Pet Days.

Paid Before the Van Pulls Away

Repeat clients on auto-charge are the simplest customers you will ever have: same slot, same pets, same price, paid when the groom is done. For the full set of repeat tools, go back to the PetGroomBossPro recurring grooming software page.