Petboost Academy
Run the business as well as you do the work
Lessons that show the real screen, decision guides that take a position, and every product guide, written for groomers, boarding, daycare, trainers, walkers and sitters in Australia.
Lessons
52
Recipes
82
Tracks
67
Decision guides
19
Product guides
196
Where most accounts get stuck
Going live, hours, capacity, and why a client cannot see a time.
1. Getting started and going liveWork down the Setup list, test it without a real client seeing anything, then switch over without messaging everybody by accident.Lesson3 min read2. Schedules and Sessions, part 1 - hours, one-off days and public holidaysA schedule is the days someone works. A session is a block inside those hours where appointments can start. A day can be switched on and still offer nothing.Lesson5 min read3. Schedules and Sessions, part 2 - resources and capacityA resource has its own hours and its own capacity, and a service ignores it entirely until you link the two. This is why a daycare set to 3 still shows a fourth spot.Lesson3 min read4. Why can't they book? Diagnosing no availabilitySix settings cause almost every empty calendar. Looking at it as the client narrows it to one in about a minute.Lesson3 min read
Take a track
An ordered run of lessons that answers one whole job, in the order to take them.
Set up right, onceThe configuration that decides whether anyone can book you. Hours and sessions, capacity, the service menu, and the launch itself. Most no-availability calls come back to one of these.Track9 lessonsRunning the dayThe eleven things a front desk does every day, from the morning board to the last checkout. Take it in order once and the rest of the week runs on muscle memory.Track11 lessonsFront Desk in a morningThe twelve things a front desk actually does between opening and lunch, in the order they come up. Take a booking, change one, find a client, check them in, take the money.Track12 lessonsA client says they cannot bookThe six settings that hide your availability, in the order worth checking. Run Simulate as that client first, because it usually names the cause before you have finished reading this.Track6 lessonsGetting paidEvery way money comes in, and where it goes afterwards. Connect the account, take it at the counter or by link, then reconcile what landed in the bank.Track9 lessonsStop the no-showsDeposits, holds, reminders, a cancellation policy clients have actually accepted, and a text back for the call you could not answer. Five settings, and the two things to do when a booking still falls through.Track7 lessons
Start with a decision
The questions that change what you earn, answered with a stance rather than a survey.
Dog grooming courses in Melbourne: which one should you do?Take a subsidised TAFE place at Box Hill or Kangan if you can give the Certificate III 6 to 10 months, or pay for a private academy in Brunswick, Seddon or Berwick if you would rather learn the hands-on part in 4 to 5 full-time weeks in a working salon.Decision guide6 min readDog grooming courses in Sydney: which one should you do?Start with TAFE NSW's one-day-a-week course at Ultimo for the recognised Certificate III at a subsidised fee, or choose Petbarn's 4-week salon course in Chatswood if you can take a month off and would rather do the hands-on part in one block.Decision guide5 min readHow should a boarding cancellation policy work at peak?Run one ladder all year and tighten peak on a separate peak Stay service, because nothing in Petboost reads the date: the notice period, the fee and the deposit come from the business default or the service booked.Decision guide5 min readShould you take a deposit on a two-week boarding stay?Yes, and size it to the stay rather than to a slot, because a fortnight over Christmas is the hardest booking in your year to refill and the deposit is the part you keep.Decision guide5 min readDaycare and a groom on the same day: one booking or two?One booking with both as services on it, because the services field holds two start times, two team members and two resources while the family still gets one arrival, one card and one invoice.Decision guide4 min readDo casual daycare visits need a deposit, or do packages solve it?Packages solve it and deposits do not, because a prepaid credit is already paid before the dog arrives and a casual day is small enough that the deposit costs more goodwill than it protects.Decision guide4 min read
Learn by pillar
Eight parts to running a pet-care business. Each one gathers the lessons, the decisions and the product guides that belong to it.
Get set upMove off the old system, load the book, and get the settings right once.Bookings and the calendarWho can book what, when, and how the day fits together without a clash.Payments, pricing and profitWhat you charge, how you get paid, and what is left after the card fee.Get found and get bookedTurning a search, a referral or a walk-past into a booking that shows up.Client experience and retentionWhat the owner sees between bookings, and why they come back.Team and operationsRosters, pay, capacity, and running the day when you are not the only one working it.Grow and scaleReading your own numbers, adding a service line, and a second site or van.Industry and inspirationWhat is happening in Australian pet care, and what other operators do.
For your kind of business
The same trade looks different from a table, a pen or a van.
Dog groomingTable time, coat condition, and pricing a groom you cannot see yet.Pet boardingRuns, nights, peak windows, and the stay that pays for the quiet week.Dog daycareHeadcount, ratios, assessments, and the day that fills itself.Daycare and groomingTwo service lines sharing one floor, one team and one calendar.Dog trainingOne-to-one work, packages, and getting paid for the plan rather than the hour.Puppy schoolIntakes, cohorts, and a course that starts full.Dog walkingRounds, keys, group sizes, and a route that is not built at 6am.Pet sitting and conciergeVisits, overnights, and proving you were there.Multi-serviceGrooming, boarding, daycare and training under one roof and one book.
Product guides
Every Petboost help-centre article, 20 categories of it, rendered here in full.
AppointmentsEverything about managing appointments, scheduling, and calendar viewsCoursesGroup training and course managementCustomers & PetsManaging customer and pet profilesServicesConfigure your service offeringsPackagesCreate service bundles and packagesMembershipsRecurring plans, included benefits, billing, and managing members