Frequently Asked Questions

Most businesses are up and running within 30 minutes. You configure your services (boarding, grooming, daycare, training), set your capacity and pricing, add staff members, and you are live. If you have an existing client list, you can import it via CSV. Our onboarding wizard walks you through every step. Enterprise customers receive hands-on setup assistance from a dedicated account manager.

No. PawGenius runs entirely in a web browser on any device — desktop, tablet, or phone. Your staff can take pet photos for owner updates using their own smartphones. There is no app to install, no special hardware to purchase, and no on-premise server to maintain. All you need is an internet connection.

Yes. PawGenius accepts CSV imports for client information, pet profiles, and vaccination records. If you are migrating from another management platform, we can assist with data mapping to ensure nothing is lost in the transition. Enterprise customers receive dedicated migration support.

When a pet owner books a service, PawGenius checks the pet profile for current vaccination records against your facility's requirements. If any vaccinations are missing or expired, the system automatically notifies the pet owner with instructions on how to upload updated records. Owners can upload photos or PDFs of vaccination certificates, or their vet can email records directly. PawGenius extracts the vaccine type, date administered, and expiration date and stores them in the pet profile.

Yes. You can configure unique vaccination requirements per service type. For example, boarding might require rabies, DHPP, and Bordetella, while daycare adds a canine influenza requirement due to the higher exposure risk in group play. Grooming-only visits might have a simpler requirement set. Each requirement can be customized with the acceptable vaccine brands, valid duration periods, and grace periods.

PawGenius monitors vaccination expiration dates continuously. If a vaccination expires after a booking is made but before the service date, the system automatically notifies the pet owner and places a hold on the booking until updated records are provided. This prevents any pet from entering your facility with expired vaccinations. You can configure grace periods if your policy allows a short buffer.

Yes. Pet owners with multiple animals can book all of them in a single transaction. Each pet gets its own profile with individual vaccination records, feeding instructions, medication notes, and behavioral preferences. Multi-pet discounts are applied automatically based on the rules you configure — for example, 10% off the second pet and 15% off the third.

PawGenius lets you flag pets from the same household as co-housing eligible. When a multi-pet booking is made, you can assign them to the same kennel or ensure they are placed in the same daycare play group. The system tracks these preferences in the pet profiles so returning clients do not have to re-specify every time.

During boarding and daycare stays, your staff takes photos of pets during play sessions, feeding, or rest time using their smartphone. Photos are uploaded to PawGenius and automatically matched to the correct pet and owner based on kennel or group assignments. The system delivers photos to owners via SMS or email on a schedule you configure — once in the morning, once in the afternoon, or after each major activity. Owners can also access a secure photo gallery link to view all photos from the stay.

Yes. PawGenius supports short video clips in addition to photos. Staff can record brief clips of tail-wagging greetings, pool time, group play, or training progress. Videos are delivered the same way as photos — via SMS, email, or the secure gallery link. Video is available on Professional and Enterprise plans.

Overwhelmingly, yes. Pet care businesses that send daily photo updates see a 40% increase in five-star review rates compared to businesses that do not. When an owner sees their dog happily playing in the yard, the emotional response directly translates into positive reviews. PawGenius combines photo updates with automated review requests timed for maximum impact — right after pickup when the owner is reunited with a happy, tired pet.

Yes. PawGenius includes digital waiver and consent form functionality. You can create custom waivers for each service type — a boarding agreement, a grooming consent form, a daycare group play release, and a training liability waiver. Pet owners sign digitally during the online booking process or at check-in. Signed waivers are stored in the pet profile and can be retrieved at any time for legal reference.

Pet owners designate authorized pickup persons during booking or check-in, including their name, phone number, and relationship to the pet owner. At checkout, your staff verifies the identity of the person picking up the pet against the authorized list. If someone not on the list attempts pickup, the system flags it and your staff contacts the pet owner for verbal authorization. This protects both the pet and your business.

PawGenius includes incident reporting built into the daily care workflow. Staff can log incidents with details, photos, and timestamps. The system immediately notifies the pet owner and, if configured, the pet's veterinarian. All incident reports are permanently attached to the pet profile for record-keeping. This documentation is essential for liability protection and transparent client communication.

No long-term contracts. PawGenius is billed monthly and you can cancel at any time. When you cancel, your account remains active through the end of the current billing period. Your data is retained for 90 days after cancellation in case you want to reactivate, and you can export all your data at any time.

PawGenius processes payments via Stripe, supporting all major credit and debit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover) as well as ACH bank transfers. You can collect deposits at booking, charge balances at checkout, keep cards on file for repeat clients, and set up recurring billing for daycare memberships and grooming packages.

PawGenius does not add any transaction fees on top of standard Stripe processing rates. You pay Stripe's standard rate (currently 2.9% + 30 cents per card transaction) and that is it. There are no hidden fees, per-booking charges, or revenue sharing arrangements with PawGenius.

Yes. All data is encrypted in transit (TLS 1.3) and at rest (AES-256). PawGenius is hosted on enterprise-grade infrastructure with SOC 2 compliant data centers. Client payment information is handled entirely by Stripe and never touches PawGenius servers. Your data is backed up continuously and you retain full ownership of all your data at all times.

Yes. You can export your complete dataset at any time — client records, pet profiles, vaccination histories, booking records, financial data, and photo archives. Exports are available in CSV and JSON formats. Your data is yours and we will never hold it hostage.