Two features do more for a boarding facility’s bottom line than almost anything else: online booking, which fills your calendar by letting clients reserve without a phone call, and deposits, which protect that calendar by giving clients skin in the game. This guide explains why a boarding business wants them working together, and how they change the economics of your busiest weeks. Written by an operator who runs a busy pet care business and has felt the cost of an empty holiday run.
Online booking fills runs without phone tag
Boarding clients increasingly expect to reserve online, the same way they book a hotel. Software that lets them see your availability and request boarding directly — with you confirming and the calendar updating — captures reservations you would otherwise lose to missed calls and voicemail. It also lets clients book at night or on weekends when your phone is not staffed, which is exactly when busy pet owners are planning their trips. More booking surface means a fuller calendar.
Deposits give the reservation weight
A reservation with nothing behind it is just an intention, and boarding is plagued by no-shows and last-minute cancellations — especially around holidays when the calendar is packed and every run is valuable. Requiring a deposit at booking changes the dynamic completely: clients who put money down show up, and the ones who would have flaked self-select out before they block a run you could have sold. The deposit turns a soft hold into a real commitment.
Cash forward when you need it most
There is a second benefit to deposits that owners often miss: cash flow timing. The holiday surge is also when your costs spike — seasonal labor, supplies for a full house. Collecting deposits at booking pulls revenue forward to exactly when you need it to staff and stock for the rush, instead of waiting until checkout to see any money. For a boarding business, that timing can be the difference between a stressful peak and a smooth one.
Both built in, your processor, every plan
In Animal Friends OS, online booking and deposits are core boarding features — clients reserve online, you set a deposit requirement, and the money runs through your own payment processor so you control the costs, with 0% platform fee taken by us. Both are on every plan, starting at $69 a month plus a one-time $49 activation fee, along with run management, vaccination tracking, and texting. For a boarding facility, the two features that fill and protect your calendar should not be premium add-ons — they should just be how the software works.
Every service, on every plan.
Animal Friends OS runs grooming, boarding, daycare, and training on one platform from $69/month, plus a one-time $49 activation fee. Three plans — Starter $69, Professional $109, Premium $169 — none of them charging per staff member, all with your own payment processor and white-glove migration included.
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