How to choose pet business software: 12 questions to ask any vendor
The right pet business software is the one that fits your services, your team size and the way you take payment, at a price you can verify. Ask every vendor, including us, the same twelve questions below, get the answers in writing, and compare against your current invoice rather than a headline price. We answer each question for Animal Friends OS so you can check us too.
Price and payments
1. What is the total monthly bill with my staff count?
Some products price per user, per calendar or per location. Ask for the bill with your real headcount and services. Ours: $69, $109 or $169 a month, flat per business, month to month, plus one $49 activation.
2. Which card processor do I have to use, and what do they take?
Ask whether you can use your own processor and whether the vendor adds a platform fee. Ours: your own Stripe account with a 0% platform fee, or optional OS Payments at 0.4% plus 15 cents. Stripe is the only processor connectable today.
3. What is metered or sold as an add-on?
Texting, extra calendars, payroll and websites are often extra. Ours: reminders never count against your message allowance; marketing messages have monthly allowances by plan; the website builder and GPS tracking are paid add-ons.
4. Is there a contract or an auto-renewal?
Ask for the term and cancellation steps in writing. Ours: month to month, cancel from the dashboard, no notice period.
Features and limits
5. Does it cover every service I sell today and next year?
Grooming only, or boarding, daycare and training too? Ours covers all of them plus mobile grooming and walking or sitting, and we list what is not built on /os/facts.
6. What is NOT built yet?
A vendor that cannot answer this is not being straight. Ours: no retail POS or inventory yet, no automatic nightly boarding charge, Stripe only for card processing.
7. How do clients book and pay?
Look for online booking on your own site, deposits and a client portal. Ours has all three on every plan.
8. What do clients see on their phones?
Ours is delivered through the shared Furley app with your branding, not a separate store listing under your name, and we say so.
Your data and your exit
9. Can I export my data whenever I want?
Ours: ten datasets export to CSV on demand by an owner or manager.
10. Does my business phone number stay mine if I leave?
Ours: yes, with no release fee.
11. Who will move my existing clients over?
Ours: we do the migration for you at no additional charge, covered by the activation fee.
12. Can I try the real product before paying?
Not a recorded demo. Ours: a 14-day trial with no credit card, on the full product.
Make the comparison fair.
Put each quote next to your current annual invoice, including texts, extra seats, add-ons and the cut taken from card payments. Then run a trial with five real clients and one real week.
If you want to see how we answer these live, book a demo, or start the trial and judge it yourself.
Questions owners ask
What should a pet groomer look for in software?
A multi-groomer calendar, recurring appointments, breed and coat notes, reminders that cut no-shows, online booking, a card-on-file or deposit option, and a price that does not climb with each groomer.
What should a boarding kennel look for?
A visual kennel or suite grid, feeding and medication logs, vaccine checks at check-in, owner photo updates, deposits and a capacity view.
Should I compare list prices?
Compare your own current invoice instead. List prices exclude texting, extra users, add-on calendars and payment fees, and they change often.
How long does it take to switch software?
It depends on your data and team. Ask the vendor who does the migration and what is included. For us, migration is done for you and covered by the activation fee.
How much is Animal Friends OS?
Animal Friends OS is $69, $109 or $169 a month (month to month), plus a one-time $49 activation fee that covers carrier registration for texting and moving your existing clients and pets across. Every core feature is in every plan, with a 14-day free trial and no card required.
See it with your own clients.
14-day free trial, no credit card, the full product. Or book a demo and we will walk you through it.