Checklist before you open

Welcome to Petsoft. Setup happens in two phases. First, a short setup wizard guides you automatically right after you sign up. You cannot skip ahead until you finish each step. Second, a set of recommended settings to review before you accept your first customers.

Sign up

Before you start the setup wizard, you fill out the signup form: your name, business email, mobile phone, company name and website, and an optional promo code. You also agree to Petsoft's Terms of Service. Signup does not ask for a card or a subscription tier — every organization starts on the Free tier and picks a paid plan later, if it wants one, from the Subscription Tier page. Petsoft then automatically:

• Creates two Account Owner groups: one with every system permission, and one with access to every report. Petsoft adds you as a member of both.

You then get an email to verify your address and set your password. After you finish this, Petsoft takes you to the setup wizard below.

The setup wizard

Until you complete every step below, Petsoft sends you back to this wizard instead of the normal dashboard. You cannot reorder or skip a step.

1. Dogs, Cats, or Both

• Petsoft asks once, at the start, which pets you take: Dogs, Cats, or Both. This sets your Allow Dogs / Allow Cats rules. You can change this later. See Account Setup.

2. Facility Details

• Enter your facility's name, address, phone number, time zone, and a facility email address. Petsoft uses this address as the "Reply-To" address on customer emails, and copies it on support ticket notifications.
• When you save this step, Petsoft automatically sets default operating hours of 7 AM to 7 PM every day of the week, and marks your facility Active. You can change both later under Facilities > Services > Hours of Operation.

3. Rate Levels

• Create at least one rate level for your runs. You need this before you can set up boarding or daycare pricing in the next two steps.
• Go to: Facilities > Services > Rate Levels

4. Boarding Services

• Add at least one boarding service: a name, price, description, and the rate levels and runs it applies to. You can add more services, or edit these, at any time afterward.

5. Daycare Services

• Add at least one daycare service the same way: name, price, description, and the rate levels and runs it applies to. Petsoft also sets a default daycare booking window of 4 weeks in advance. It allows weekend bookings and turns off holiday bookings. You can change these under Daycare Availability.

6. Account Details

• A final review screen — your organization name, plan, account owner, and facility. Nothing to fill in here except confirming with Finish Setup. No card is collected on this step.

After you finish the review step, Petsoft moves your organization to Trial status and takes you to your normal Dashboard with full access. See Trial status and the Free tier for what Trial status means and what happens if you never add a payment method.

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Recommended before you open

The wizard above is the minimum that Petsoft requires. Before you take your first real booking, review these settings too. None of them block you from reaching the dashboard, but skipping them can cause support tickets later.

Your Brand and Look

• Upload your logo for emails and the login screen, and pick your brand colors for the portal.
• Read more about branding
• Go to: Organization > Settings, then open the Images section (or Colors, and the other Branding sections)

Your Team

• Invite your staff and decide what they can see and do.
• Read about staff roles
• Go to: Employees

Add-on Services

• Add extras like "Exit Bath," "Nail Trim," or "Nature Walk" beyond your core boarding and daycare services.
• Go to: Facilities > Services > Facility Services

Shot Records (Vaccines)

• Review the three vaccine types that Petsoft set up for you automatically (Bordetella, DHLPP, Rabies). Add, remove, or change which shots you require and when parents get reminders.
• Go to: Organization > Settings > Vaccines

Deposits and Cancellations

• Set up rules to protect your revenue when customers cancel at the last minute.
• Read about deposits
• Go to: Services > Facility Services, open each service, and set its Deposit Policy

The Parent Portal

• Review your organization rules and turn on new customer signups so pet parents can register themselves.
• Go to: Organization > Settings > Rules

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tip

Need help? Click the "?" icon in the top-right corner of the Petsoft app to chat with us or send a support ticket.