Mission Control Attention System

Attention Required puts the bookings, pets and payments that need action and the pets that need extra care in one card, with every tile the same weight. Work through it first thing, so a payment problem or a medical need is known before the pet arrives rather than at pick-up. Items clear themselves once the problem behind them is fixed.

Open the attention list

1. Open Mission Control and set the date you want to check.
2. If Attention Required is not showing, select Expand in the header.
3. Select a tile to open its list.
4. Choose Start Date or Pet Name at the top of the list to sort it.

A tile shows only when its count is above zero, and a tile's label changes to the singular for a count of one. Each tile opens its own dialog, named for the tile, with a count of items and the entries in collapsible groups. All Clear means nothing needs you. On a phone, the card is on the Overview tab under Daily Activity.

The row of pet photos in the card's header opens Pets needing attention, every pet on the card in one list with the reason or the amount owing. Select a pet there to open its booking's Quick Actions.

Most tiles count the bookings on the date at the top. Payment issues and Ready to check out cover bookings that ended in the last 180 days, Pending appts. covers the next 180 days, and Vaccinations to review and Abandoned bookings cover everything waiting, whatever the date.

What each tile shows

The colours group the tiles at a glance and carry no priority. A booking that has ended counts under Payment issues when money is owing, or Ready to check out when there is nothing to pay, rather than under Status actions. A booking covered in full by package credits stays under Status actions. A package credit counts as used once its visit is under way or finished, so credits reserved for future visits still count as left. Feeding needs have no tile of their own: record them as a pet attribute, and one marked special care or extra special care counts under Behavioural matters.

Collect outstanding payments

Clear Payment issues at the end of the day, or whenever several bookings are waiting to be paid.

1. Open Mission Control and select Payment issues or Collect revenue in Attention Required.
2. To take one payment, select the booking, then choose how to collect it in Quick Actions, such as Quick Charge Card, or send the payment link.
3. For a cancellation fee, select the booking and choose Collect fee.

Outstanding Payments holds up to three groups. Outstanding Payments lists the bookings, split into Card on File and No Card on File, with the total to collect in a green badge. Sales & Packages Awaiting Payment lists quick sales and package purchases paid by link or bank transfer and not yet paid. Cancellation Fees Outstanding lists cancelled bookings with a fee still owing. A booking lands here when it ended without being paid, whether its status was left at Confirmed or In Progress, or it reached Ready to Pay, Completed or Payment Declined.

A customer with no card on file cannot be charged automatically after the visit, so ask for card details before the next one.

Charge several cards at once

1. Open Mission Control and select Payment issues in Attention Required.
2. Switch on Bulk Payment Mode.
3. Tick the bookings to charge, or select Select All. The total for the ones you ticked shows beside the count.
4. Select Charge, which reads with the number of cards, such as Charge 3 Cards.

Petboost charges each card in turn and shows Processing Payments as it goes. Bulk Charge Complete then lists Successful Charges, where the customer was emailed a receipt, and Failed Charges, where the customer received an SMS that the payment failed. A card can fail for reasons such as insufficient funds, an expired card or a bank decline, so contact those customers, ask for another way to pay, and try again once it is sorted. To mark the ticked bookings paid another way, select Use a different payment method and choose Send Payment Link by SMS, Send Bank Transfer Request, Mark as Paid via Bank Transfer, Mark as Paid via Cash or Mark as Paid via Other EFTPOS. Back to Charge Card on File returns to charging cards. If your plan does not include payments, the bulk controls show Unlock Payments instead.

Take payment for bookings with no card

1. Open Mission Control and select Payment issues in Attention Required.
2. Under No Card on File, switch on Bulk Action Mode.
3. Tick the bookings, or select Select All.
4. Choose Send Payment Link by SMS, Send Bank Transfer Request, Mark as Paid via Bank Transfer, Mark as Paid via Cash or Mark as Paid via Other EFTPOS.
5. Select Process, which reads with the number of bookings, such as Process 2 Appointments.

Chase a sale or a package awaiting payment

1. Open Mission Control and select Payment issues in Attention Required.
2. Under Sales & Packages Awaiting Payment, select Actions on the sale or package.
3. For a payment link, choose Resend SMS, Copy link, View payment link or Cancel request. Resend SMS needs a mobile number on the customer.
4. For a package paid by bank transfer, choose Resend request, Mark as paid or Cancel request.

Confirm pending bookings in bulk

Accept a batch of online bookings at once rather than one at a time.

1. Open Mission Control and select Pending appts. in Attention Required.
2. Switch on Bulk Confirm Mode.
3. Tick the bookings to confirm, or select Select All.
4. Select Confirm, which reads with the number of bookings, such as Confirm 4 Appointments.

Bulk Confirm Complete lists each booking under Successfully Confirmed, where the booking was confirmed and the customer notified. To accept a single booking, select it and choose Accept Appointment in Quick Actions. Switching Bulk Confirm Mode off without confirming leaves every booking as it was.

Follow up abandoned bookings

Reach out to someone who started booking online and stopped before the end.

1. Open Mission Control and select Abandoned bookings in Attention Required.
2. Select a booking to open the pet's profile on Action Required.
3. Choose Create Appointment to finish the booking for them, Send Recovery Message to text them, or Dismiss.

If the booking has no pet yet, Petboost searches Customers & Pets for the phone number instead. Abandoned Bookings groups the entries into Abandoned Bookings (New), Abandoned Bookings (Existing) for existing customers, and Unfinished Profiles for sign-ups that never finished. To act on several at once, tick them or select Select All, then choose Delete (Dismiss for existing customers), or, on the two abandoned booking groups, Send Recovery, which opens each recovery message in turn.

Review uploaded vaccination certificates

Check a certificate the owner uploaded before it counts as proof. This applies when your business requires certificates to be reviewed and approved.

1. Open Mission Control and select Vaccinations to review in Attention Required.
2. Select Review certificate on one, or Review all to work through the queue.
3. Check the file against what the owner typed, and correct the vaccine and dates if needed.
4. Select Approve vaccination, or select Reject, give a Reason for rejection, then select Reject & notify owner.

A rejected certificate goes back to the owner with a request to upload a new one.

Chase missing vaccinations and unsigned terms

Ask owners by text for what is missing before the booking.

1. Open Mission Control and select No vaccinations or Terms not agreed in Attention Required.
2. On a card, select Send SMS upload request for a vaccination, or Send SMS request for terms.
3. Optional: to send several, switch on Bulk SMS Mode, tick the cards, then select Send SMS to and the number of clients.

The buttons need a mobile number on the customer. A No Vaccination card carries a Critical badge and names the fields missing from an incomplete certificate. A Terms Not Agreed card shows Terms Required and the booking's date, one card per upcoming booking. The terms SMS includes a sign-in link that opens the appointment terms dialog, and a successful send writes Terms & conditions request SMS sent on the customer's Timeline & Notes tab. Customers also see your terms first thing when they log in, and a customer at the desk can agree on Kiosk Mode. Full steps: Policies & Paperwork.

Vaccination Expiries marks each certificate Expiring soon with how many days are left. Remind the owner to renew the vaccination or arrange a titer test.

Top up a package

1. Open Mission Control and select Packages depleted or Packages low in Attention Required.
2. Select Top Up Package on the customer's card.
3. Sell the package in Purchase Package.

Each card shows the package, whether the customer has a card on file and the visits the credits paid for. Contact customers on Packages low before they run out. See Customer Package Balances.

Special care tiles

Medical, Behavioural matters, Health risks and Birthdays list the pets that need extra care or a word with the owner. Select a pet to see its Quick Actions, or use View Next Appointment and View Profile on its card.

• Medical counts attributes in a medical or health category, such as allergies, chronic conditions, medications, or recent surgery. Brief your team and prepare any equipment or medication before the pet arrives.
• Behavioural matters counts attributes marked special care or extra special care, such as separation anxiety, reactivity or a need for solo play. Plan the handling and give the pet to experienced team members.
• Health risks marks pets over six months old recorded as not desexed, with a health or veterinary recommendation. It is information only: mention it if appropriate, and update the pet's profile if it has been desexed.
• Birthdays covers birthdays from 7 days ago to 14 days ahead, marked as today, upcoming or recent. Quick Actions can offer Birthday post to draft a post for social media, with the owner's permission.

Work through attention each day

A short routine keeps the card clear.

1. Open Mission Control in the morning and select Expand if Attention Required is not showing.
2. Collect the payments you can, and note the customers with no card on file to ask at drop-off.
3. Open Medical, Behavioural matters and Birthdays, and brief your team, for example: "Kiwi has separation anxiety and needs gentle handling" or "Miso's birthday is today".
4. Before you close, collect the day's outstanding payments with Bulk Payment Mode and contact the customers whose charges failed.
5. Move the date to tomorrow and check the special care tiles, so staffing, equipment and food are ready.

Through the day, check the card after check-outs to see payments clear, and before departures so no pet leaves unpaid. Anyone on the team can use the special care tiles before a pet arrives; bulk charging needs payments set up, and roles that do not see financial data do not see Collect revenue.

Keep the attention list accurate

The card has no settings to choose which tiles show, but what you keep up to date decides what it counts.

• Keep pet attributes current: add or remove medical attributes, and mark the special care ones, as things change.
• Record dates of birth, and whether each pet is desexed.
• Take cards on file and switch on automatic charging so fewer payments are left outstanding.
• Move bookings to the right status promptly, and check them out when they finish.

Troubleshooting

Why am I seeing so many outstanding payments?

Payments are not being taken when pets leave. Take payment at pick-up, switch on automatic charging, capture a card when customers book, and use Bulk Payment Mode more often.

A pet appears under Medical but shouldn't

Check the pet's attributes. Remove or change the attribute in a medical or health category if it is out of date or wrong.

A pet with a birthday isn't showing

Check the pet's date of birth on its profile. Birthdays needs an accurate date, and only covers birthdays from 7 days ago to 14 days ahead.

Can I dismiss attention items?

Most items clear on their own once the problem is fixed, such as the payment taken, the terms agreed or the package topped up. Abandoned bookings are the exception: Delete or Dismiss removes them.

The counts don't match what I see in the list

Refresh the page. Counts update as you work, but can need a refresh after a bulk action. Pending appts. counts bookings, while its list heading counts pets.

Can I export the attention list?

No. Print the list or take a screenshot for reference.

Where attention shows elsewhere

• Booking cards show the pet's attribute badges, and Colour Major & Special Care Event Cards? under Options colours the cards of pets that need special care.
• Filter narrows the bookings to No Card on File under Payment Method, or to Pets with Special Needs by severity.
• The Spotlight view has swimlanes for Extra Special Care, Special Care, No Card on File, Package Depleted, Low Package Balance and Birthday.
• On a phone, the card and its lists work the same on the Overview tab, including Bulk Payment Mode.

What's next?

• Filtering & Organisation: filters, grouping and sorting
• Mission Control FAQ: common questions and troubleshooting
• View Modes: choose the right view for your work

Related documentation

• Getting Started: Mission Control basics
• Customers & Pets: managing pet attributes
• Payment Processing: taking payments
• Packages: package balances