Deposits First for Holiday Sits: Pet Care Business Software
Holiday clients hold your dates, then cancel the day before. In Procured, dates go on the calendar only once the client pays the deposit. Then you bill the balance at homecoming.
Stays, Drop-Ins and Deposits for In-Home Sitters
Six problems sitters name. First up: the long holiday sit, where one cancel hurts most.
Hold the Dates Only When the Deposit Lands
A week-long sit cancels the day before, after you turned away other bookings. Next December, the deposit is part of the quote. Christmas week goes on your calendar only once it's paid.
- Make the deposit part of the sit quote → only serious clients hold dates
- Collect the deposit through the quote link → no Venmo request to chase
- Leave unpaid holds off the calendar → open dates stay bookable
- Add a late-booking fee line → last-minute asks cover the scramble
- Spot a quote that's Viewed but unpaid → follow up before they book elsewhere
- Nudge a family who hasn't answered → dates don't sit in limbo
A Cancellation Policy the Client Accepted
A client says they never saw your policy. This time, the 13-night quote lists the per-night rate, the extra cat and the holiday nights. Your cancellation terms are in it too, and they accept it all at once.
- Write your cancellation terms into the quote → acknowledged, not assumed
- Save your overnight rate → 13 nights add up without a calculator
- Add an extra-pet fee line → the third cat isn't free
- Offer overnights or 2 drop-ins a day as options → the client picks
- Include a fee for timed insulin visits → the 2-hour window gets paid
- Save a holiday house sit template → reuse it every December
Paid on Return Day, Not by Venmo Reminder
Most clients don't refuse to pay; they forget. Send the balance the day the family lands, with the week's best photos attached. Families pay from the link, by card or bank transfer.
- Invoice the balance on return day → paid while they're grateful
- Attach the stay's best photos to the invoice → the family sees the week
- Bill a regular's weekly drop-ins in one invoice → one request, not 5
- Record a Zelle or cash payment → your owed list stays true
- Scan unpaid invoices after New Year's → January starts clean
- Sync payments to your accounting app → tax time is less painful
Meet the Pets Before the First Stay
An extra dog shows up on the first visit that nobody mentioned. New families now ask through your website's request form. They list dates, pets, vet and an emergency contact before you meet them.
- Put a sit request form on your website → dates and pets arrive together
- Ask for the vet and emergency contact up front → no gaps later
- Book the meet-and-greet as its own visit → no sit with unmet pets
- Decline a request outside your area → a polite no, fast
- Point repeat families to the client portal → no phone tag
- Price the Christmas dates from the request → the family hears back tonight
Insulin Times and House Notes for Any Sitter
On day 6 of a 10-day sit, you don't have to remember. Half a cup twice a day, insulin at 7 am and 7 pm, mail on the counter. It's all in the job, with photos from each drop-in.
- Put feeding amounts and meds in the job notes → any sitter follows them
- Note the time you gave meds → a dated line for each visit
- Photo the food bin, meds and litter box → your own cheat sheet
- Snap the shy cat eating → proof it came out to eat
- Note plants, trash day and lights → the house gets cared for too
- Complete each drop-in from your phone → arrived and done times saved
One Job per Stay, Every Visit Inside It
One sitter with 17 years in the business still runs on a calendar and a spreadsheet. Here, each house sit is one job spanning every night of the stay. Cat drop-ins fit around it in week view, where overlaps stand out.
- Book a 13-night sit as a single span → the whole stay shows
- Add twice-daily drop-ins as visits → each gets its own time
- Check week view before you say yes → no double-booked Christmas Eve
- Set a regular's cat on weekly drop-ins → it repeats on its own
- Move the last visit when a flight is late → one drag
- Assign the Rivera overnights to a helper → it shows on their phone
Try It Free for 14 Days
Use pet care business software free for 14 days and start booking jobs and sending invoices from day one.
Made for Sitters Who Work in Clients' Homes
Here's what Procured costs a solo sitter or a small team.
For Sitters Who Go to the Pet, Not Kennels
This fits sitters and mobile pros who go to the pet. Facilities with runs, check-in desks and webcams need a kennel system.
| Procured Is For | Procured Is Not For |
|---|---|
| You do drop-ins, overnights and house sits in clients' homes | Your boarding kennel needs runs and capacity tracked |
| December fills by October, and deposits decide who's in | Your clients expect a saved card charged after each sit |
| Clients have ghosted you after you held their dates | You want families to grab open slots from your website |
| Some of your regulars are diabetic cats and old dogs | You need vaccination records that warn you before they expire |
| You bring on 1 or 2 sitters for the holidays | You pay sitters per visit and want their pay worked out for you |
| You're moving families off the apps to keep the whole fee | You still want an app that sends you new clients |
| You run a mobile grooming van with repeat clients | You need pet profiles that owners fill in and update themselves |
What Is Pet Care Business Software?
Pet care business software books, runs and bills care for other people's pets. Many tools sold under that name are built for kennels, daycares and grooming salons. Procured fits in-home work instead: drop-ins, overnight stays, house sits and mobile grooming.
Common Questions
Can I charge holiday rates on certain dates?
Is this pet care software good for mobile groomers?
Can I run my pet services software from a desktop, not only my phone?
Will pet sitting scheduling software let a client lock in dates without me?
Can I keep pet profiles and vaccination records?
Can I send clients photos while they're away?
Do I have to give up my Google Calendar and spreadsheet?
Does a solo sitter need pet care business software?
Can I add extra sitters for December?
Can I try it before the holidays book up?
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