Searching for a KennelBooker Alternative? Here’s What Pet Manager Offers

If you’re in the pet care industry, you know that efficiency is king. Every minute you spend wrestling with administrative tasks is a minute you’re not spending with the animals in your care or growing your business. KennelBooker has earned a reputation as a solid, straightforward solution for managing boarding and daycare facilities. It’s known for getting the job done without too much fuss.

But what happens when your business starts to outgrow “straightforward”? What if you’re looking to add new services like grooming or training, or you need more powerful customisation and deeper financial insights? If you’re starting to search for a KennelBooker alternative, it’s time to take a closer look at what a comprehensive platform like Pet Manager can bring to the table.

Beyond the Booking Calendar

KennelBooker is often praised for its clean interface and ease of use, particularly for kennels and catteries with standard booking requirements. It handles online bookings, customer records, and basic reporting effectively.

The challenge arises when your operational needs become more complex. This is where Pet Manager steps in, not just as an alternative, but as an upgrade to a fully integrated business management system. While a simple booking calendar is good, Pet Manager offers a suite of dedicated, interactive schedulers for every part of your business—boarding, daycare, grooming, training, and even mobile services. This means you’re not trying to fit a square peg (a grooming appointment) into a round hole (a boarding calendar).

Feature Deep Dive: Pet Manager as Your Next Step

Let’s explore some key areas where businesses looking for more than KennelBooker offers will find significant advantages with Pet Manager.

1. Unmatched Pricing Flexibility:

While KennelBooker has pricing options, Pet Manager’s rule-based pricing engine is in a league of its own. Imagine automatically applying peak season rates, offering discounts for long-term stays, charging extra for check-outs after a certain time, or creating special pricing for VIP customers—all without manual calculations. This level of automation not only saves countless hours but also eliminates costly human errors.

• A recent study highlighted that small businesses can lose dozens of hours each month to manual administrative tasks. Automating your pricing is one of the fastest ways to reclaim that time.

2. True All-in-One Service Management:

Are you thinking of adding a grooming salon? Or perhaps puppy training classes? With KennelBooker, managing these distinct service types alongside your boarding schedule can sometimes feel disconnected.

Pet Manager is built from the ground up to be a true multi-service platform. It has specific booking forms and management tools for:

• Grooming: Manage appointment lengths, assign specific services to different groomers, and handle pricing based on breed or size.
• Training: Set up multi-session courses (e.g., a 5-week puppy class) or manage private training rosters.
• Daycare: Handle full-day, half-day sessions, and sell prepaid packages with ease.
• And more: It even has dedicated modules for dog walking, hydrotherapy, and in-home pet care.

3. Deeper Financial Integration:

Good software shouldn’t just take bookings; it should help you manage your money. Pet Manager offers a robust financial toolkit that goes beyond basic invoicing. A key differentiator, especially for businesses in Australia and New Zealand, is the seamless, two-way synchronisation with Xero Online Accounting. This means your invoices, payments, and credit notes are automatically synced, making reconciliation a breeze. Add in integrated online payments via Stripe and in-person payments via Tyro (in Australia), and you have a complete financial ecosystem.

The “Oh, I Forgot About That” Moment

We’ve all been there. A customer asks, “Can you add a nail trim to Fluffy’s stay?” or “What was that special food my cat had last time?” You smile, say “Of course!” and then begins the frantic search through old notes or emails. A truly integrated system solves this. With Pet Manager, you can see a complete customer and pet history—every booking, every note (medical, dietary, general), every transaction, every vaccination record—all in one place. No more digging, no more forgetting. It’s about having the right information at your fingertips, exactly when you need it.

4. The Power of Communication:

While most platforms offer some form of customer email, Pet Manager elevates it. The system features fully customisable templates for both emails and SMS messages. You can set up automated reminders for vaccinations, welcome emails before a stay, and check-in/checkout notifications. The “Pet Postcard” feature, allowing you to send photo updates to clients, is a simple but incredibly powerful tool for building customer loyalty and delight.

If your business is growing, diversifying, or you simply feel you’re hitting the limits of what your current software can do, it’s a great time to explore the possibilities. Moving on from a tool like KennelBooker means you’re ready for more power, more automation, and more integration.

Discover a platform that grows with you. Start your journey with Pet Manager today by signing up for a 100% free 30-day trial. Experience the difference of a truly all-in-one solution.