Pet Manager vs. Gingr: A Friendly Face-Off for Your Pet Business Needs

Choosing the right software for your pet business can feel a bit like trying to give a cat a bath – tricky, a little stressful, and you might feel like you’re getting scratched in the process. You’ve worked tirelessly to build your business, and the last thing you need is a system that complicates your life instead of simplifying it. You’re aware that management software is the solution, but now you’re in the thick of it, comparing options.

Two of the heavy-hitters you’ve likely come across are Pet Manager and Gingr. Both promise to streamline your operations, but which one speaks your language? Which one aligns with the unique rhythm of your doggy daycare, boarding facility, or grooming salon? Let’s put them head-to-head in a friendly face-off to see how they compare in the areas that matter most.

The Heart of the Business: Customer & Pet Management

Your business is built on relationships – with both the two-legged and four-legged clients. How a platform handles their information is crucial.

Gingr is well-known for its robust feature set, offering detailed profiles for pets and owners. It allows for tracking vaccinations, feeding schedules, and behaviour notes, which is a standard expectation for top-tier software. You can create customer groups and manage communications, keeping everything in one place.

Pet Manager also offers a comprehensive CRM, but with a focus on intuitive access and deep customisation. You get all the essentials: contact info, emergency contacts, vet details, and of course, detailed pet profiles covering everything from breed and behaviour to their Instagram handle. Where it adds a little extra sparkle is in the details. You can create custom “Customer Types” like ‘VIP’ or ‘Pensioner’ and link special pricing directly to them. Imagine effortlessly applying a discount for your long-standing clients without having to remember every single time. Pet Manager also includes a dedicated journal for time-stamped notes, making it easy to track communication and specific events for both the customer and the pet.

And let’s be honest, who hasn’t had a customer you’d rather not see again? Pet Manager has a straightforward “Not Welcome” flag you can set on a customer’s account, a simple but invaluable tool for staff awareness.

Scheduling: The Daily Jigsaw Puzzle

Scheduling is the operational core of any pet facility. It’s a constant jigsaw puzzle of bookings, staff, and resources. A clunky scheduler can bring a busy day to a grinding halt. Industry reports show that administrative tasks are a major time-sink for small business owners, with scheduling being a prime culprit. Efficiently managing this process can reclaim hours in your week.

Gingr’s calendar is visually driven, allowing users to see availability and make bookings directly from the interface. It handles recurring reservations and appointment management effectively, which is a huge plus for busy daycare and grooming businesses.

Pet Manager approaches scheduling with multiple, dedicated schedulers for every part of your business – boarding, daycare, training, grooming, and more. This separation prevents clutter and allows staff to focus only on what’s relevant to their department. The visual, drag-and-drop interface makes moving a pet from one pen to another a breeze. Need to see the whole month, just a week, or a specific day? You can toggle between views with a click. A standout feature is the ability to handle “Split Bookings” seamlessly. If a dog is moving from the ‘Luxury Suite’ to a standard pen halfway through their stay, the system tracks it automatically, ensuring no one ends up in the wrong spot. For service-based bookings like grooming or training, the staff roster management ensures you never double-book a trainer or groomer again.

One Pet Manager user mentioned in a review that the “visual layout of the scheduler makes it so easy to see where we have gaps,” a sentiment that resonates with anyone who’s ever stared at a confusing booking screen.

The Customer Experience: Your Digital Front Door

In 2025, a smooth online experience is non-negotiable. Your customer portal is your digital front door, and it needs to be welcoming and easy to navigate. A study from the Pet Sustainability Coalition noted the increasing demand for digital convenience from pet owners.

Gingr provides a solid customer portal where clients can request appointments, upload vaccination records, and manage their details. It’s a functional and necessary component for modern pet businesses.

Pet Manager’s customer portal is designed to be embedded directly into your own website, creating a seamless brand experience for your clients. You don’t want to send them to another domain if you don’t have to. It’s fully customisable, right down to the theme colour, to match your branding. But the real power is in the control it gives you. You decide what fields are required, what wordings are used, and even if customers can register at all.

A particularly thoughtful feature is the ability for clients who are already in your database (but have never logged in) to simply reset their password and gain access. This avoids the headache of creating duplicate accounts. Furthermore, you can configure it to force customers to digitally sign your Terms & Conditions before they can complete a booking, storing that signature against their record automatically. It’s a small detail that provides a huge layer of protection for your business.

Money Talks: Invoicing and Payments

Let’s talk about the part that keeps the lights on. Getting paid should be the easiest part of your job, not the most frustrating.

Both platforms offer integrated payment processing and invoicing. Gingr allows you to sell packages and manage deposits, key features for any daycare or boarding facility.

Pet Manager boasts an incredibly powerful and rules-based pricing calculator. You can set up complex pricing structures that your staff don’t even have to think about. Do you charge more for un-desexed males? Is there a surcharge for public holidays? Do VIP customers get 10% off? You can build all these rules into the system, and the price is calculated automatically and accurately, every single time. This system supports billing by the day or by the night and can even add an additional charge if a pet checks out after a specific time.

For daycare centres, the package management is a dream. You can sell prepaid packages that provide tokens, but here’s the clever part: the tokens don’t become available for the customer to use in the portal until the package invoice is fully paid. It’s a simple rule that ensures you get paid upfront. And when it comes to integrations, the seamless connection with Xero means your accountant will be your biggest fan.

So, while both Gingr and Pet Manager offer a premium suite of tools to run your business, the best choice lies in the details. It’s about which system feels less like software and more like a partner – a partner that understands the nuances of your pricing, the complexities of your schedule, and the importance of a happy client (and a happy pet).