Pet Manager vs. PetAdmin: A Deep Dive into Pet Care Business Software

Choosing the right software for your pet care business is a big decision. It’s the digital backbone of your operations, the command centre for your bookings, and the friendly face your clients interact with online. Get it right, and you’re looking at streamlined operations, happier staff, and delighted customers. Get it wrong, and you’re facing a tangle of administrative headaches.

Today, we’re putting two contenders under the microscope: Pet Manager and PetAdmin. Both are designed to help you run your pet-centric business, but they come at it from different angles. Let’s dive in and explore the nuances to help you decide which might be the better co-pilot for your business journey.

The Core Philosophy: All-in-One vs. Focused Functionality

When you start comparing software, it’s helpful to understand the core philosophy behind its design.

PetAdmin positions itself as a straightforward, easy-to-use system primarily for kennels and catteries. It covers the essential bases of managing bookings, customers, and pets, with a focus on simplicity and getting the job done.

Pet Manager, on the other hand, is built as a comprehensive, all-in-one platform that caters to a wider spectrum of pet service businesses. Whether you’re running a boarding facility, a bustling doggy daycare, a grooming salon, a training school, or even a canine hydrotherapy centre, the goal is to provide a single, powerful tool to manage every facet of your operations.

Feature Face-Off: Bookings, Scheduling, and Client Management

Let’s break down how each platform handles the day-to-day essentials.

Booking and Scheduling:

Both systems offer calendars to manage your bookings. However, the depth of functionality can differ significantly.

Pet Manager provides highly visual, drag-and-drop schedulers that are separated for each area of your business (boarding, daycare, grooming, etc.). This means your grooming appointments don’t clutter your boarding calendar. It boasts a powerful, rules-based pricing calculator that can handle complex scenarios like seasonal pricing, discounts for longer stays, and different rates based on pet size or breed. It also has specific features like setting up fixed or rolling training courses, managing daycare session times (e.g., Half Day AM/PM), and even blocking out specific dates for check-ins or check-outs (perfect for public holidays!).

PetAdmin provides a solid booking system, but the customisation and automation might be less extensive. You can manage your boardings and see availability, but if you have intricate pricing rules or need to manage multiple, distinct service types simultaneously, you might find yourself doing more manual calculations.

Customer and Pet Management (CRM):

Your client and pet database is your goldmine.

Pet Manager offers a comprehensive CRM where you can store everything from emergency contacts and vet details to vaccination records with expiry date tracking and reminders. You can even upload documents, log communications, and set pop-up alerts for staff about specific customers or pets. One feature users love is the ability to create custom questions for pet profiles, ensuring you gather all the specific information you need right from the get-go.

PetAdmin also maintains detailed customer and pet records, including medical and dietary notes. It’s designed to be a solid repository of your essential client information.

A Moment for the Paws: The “Escape Artist” Incident

We once had a Beagle named Houdini who lived up to his name. His owner, a new client, failed to mention his penchant for unlocking gates. On his first day, he managed to jimmy the latch on his kennel (we’ve since upgraded them!) and went for a leisurely tour of the facility. He didn’t cause any trouble; we just found him sitting patiently by the treat cupboard. It was a funny reminder that no two pets are the same! Now, our intake form has a custom question: “Does your pet have any secret superpowers we should know about?” It always gets a laugh, but it also gives us vital information!

The Client Experience: The Online Portal

In 2024, a seamless online experience for your customers isn’t a luxury; it’s an expectation. A recent study showed that over 60% of customers prefer to use a digital self-service tool for scheduling appointments.

Pet Manager provides a fully-featured customer portal that you can embed directly into your own website. Your clients don’t get shipped off to another domain; they stay right there, wrapped in your branding. They can register, request bookings, upload vaccination files, pay invoices online via Stripe, and update their pet’s details. You can even customise the wording and colour scheme to match your brand perfectly. As one user mentioned in a review, “Our clients love the online portal, it has saved us so much time on the phone.”

PetAdmin also offers an online booking facility for customers, allowing them to make booking requests and manage their information. The focus is on providing that core online booking capability efficiently.

Integrations and Growth

As your business grows, your software needs to grow with it.

Pet Manager is built for expansion, offering integrations that streamline your entire business ecosystem. It syncs with Xero for accounting, Mailchimp for newsletters, and Stripe and Tyro for online and in-store payments. This level of integration can save dozens of hours in administrative work each month. It also has a built-in feature request system where users can vote on new features, meaning the platform is constantly evolving based on user needs.

PetAdmin focuses on providing its core services effectively within its own system. While it may offer some integrations, the ecosystem is generally more self-contained.

Making Your Choice

So, which one is for you?

If you run a straightforward kennel or cattery and need a simple, no-fuss system to manage your core bookings and clients, PetAdmin is a solid contender that is well-regarded for its ease of use.

If, however, you run a multi-faceted pet care business (or plan to!), and you’re looking for a powerful, customisable, and integrated system that can automate everything from pricing to client communications, Pet Manager is likely to be the more fitting choice. The ability to manage different service types, the deeply integrated financial tools, and the seamless client portal are designed to not just manage your business, but to help you grow it.

The best way to know for sure is to see it in action. Why not take the next step and see how a modern, all-in-one system can transform your daily operations?

Ready to streamline your business and give your clients a world-class experience? Start your free, no-obligation 30-day trial of Pet Manager today and discover the difference for yourself!