How to Manage Retail Inventory (What Petboost Doesn't Do)

Customers ask whether Petboost can track retail stock, such as shampoos, treats and toys. Petboost is built around service bookings, such as appointments, packages and courses, not retail inventory. It sells products, but it does not count them.

What you're trying to do

You want to track retail products alongside your services, such as:

• Pet shampoo and grooming products
• Dog treats and chews
• Pet toys and accessories
• Leads, collars and harnesses
• Training tools and equipment
• Pet food and supplements
• Reorder alerts when stock is low
• Cost of goods sold (COGS) tracking

What Petboost does offer

Petboost is service-first, and it covers the selling side of retail:

See Getting Started with Products, Getting Started with Packages, Services: Getting Started and Courses: Getting Started.

Services and products are different

Services are appointments, and they take time: a grooming session, a dog walk, a daycare day, a training class or a boarding night. Products are catalogue items, sold by the unit, such as a bottle of shampoo, a bag of treats, or toys and accessories. Petboost sells products on invoices. It does not track how many you have in stock.

What Petboost doesn't offer

Petboost does not include:

• SKU tracking for products
• Stock level management or quantity tracking
• Reorder point alerts
• Supplier management
• Cost of goods sold (COGS) tracking
• Barcode scanning for retail
• A standalone retail point-of-sale (POS) system
• Product expiry date tracking
• Bundle or kit management for retail

Retail inventory management takes multi-location tracking, purchase orders, supplier catalogues, expiry dates, bundles and seasonal planning. That is a full POS system, a different product from appointment booking. Most pet businesses earn 90 to 98% of their revenue from services, so a separate lightweight POS suits the ones with significant retail stock, and the Petboost product catalogue covers occasional retail sales.

Understanding your retail revenue mix

Before you choose, look at how your revenue splits between services and retail. Typical splits are:

If retail is under 20% of your revenue, simple tracking or a lightweight POS is enough. Between 20% and 50%, invest in a proper POS system. Over 50%, you are a retail business, and Petboost may not be the right fit.

Recommended alternatives

Choose your approach by the share of your revenue that comes from retail.

Scenario 1: Retail under 10% of revenue

This is most pet businesses. Sell your products through Petboost, which records each sale against the customer, and keep the stock count in a spreadsheet. It suits small retail sales, under $500 a month and fewer than 20 products, and the stock count takes about 15 minutes a week.

Add your products to Petboost

1. Open Products and select Add Product (Add Your First Product while the list is empty).
2. On Product Details, enter the Product Name, Price, Short Description and Description. All four are required.
3. Select Next.
4. Optional: on Image, add a Product Image.
5. Select Create Product.

Sell a product with a booking

1. Open Appointments and select the booking.
2. On the Invoice, select Add Item for the pet.
3. Choose the product.
4. Under Notify customer?, choose Send notification or Update silently, then select Save Changes.

The product is charged with the booking, by whichever payment method the customer uses.

Sell a product at the counter

Do this for a customer who buys a product with no booking behind it.

1. Open Mission Control and select Quick Sale, from Actions when the header is compressed.
2. Find the pet, then select Continue to Sale.
3. Select + Add Item, choose the product and set the Qty.
4. Choose the Payment Method, such as Cash, Card Reader or Other EFTPOS, then select the Record Sale button, which names the method.

Quick Sale is also under Quick Actions in the sidebar. A quick sale is recorded on the customer's Sales tab.

Keep the stock count in a spreadsheet

1. Keep your product list, with the stock on hand, in Google Sheets or Excel.
2. Take each product sold in Petboost off the count.
3. Check the stock level in the sheet or on the shelf.
4. Reorder when it runs low.

Scenario 2: Retail 10% to 20% of revenue

Option A: Square POS

Recommended for most businesses in this range. Square POS is a retail POS system with inventory tracking and stock alerts, barcode scanning, a card reader, product catalogue management, and sales reporting and analytics.

Its pricing:

• Software: free
• Card processing: 1.6% per in-person transaction, 2.2% + $0.30 online
• Square Reader: about $59 AUD, a contactless reader
• Square Terminal: about $499 AUD, an all-in-one device

To use it with Petboost:

1. Manage appointment bookings, your core business, in Petboost.
2. Sell retail products in Square POS.
3. Read your service revenue in Petboost and your retail revenue in Square.
4. For accounting, card payments reach Xero through Stripe's bank feed (for Petboost) and Square's own Xero connection, and you reconcile cash by hand.

See squareup.com/au.

Option B: Vend, now Lightspeed Retail

A professional retail POS with advanced inventory management, multi-location support, integrations with Xero and QuickBooks, customer loyalty features and product variants, such as sizes and colours. It suits businesses with substantial retail stock that need a professional-grade POS.

Its pricing:

• Lean: $119 AUD a month
• Standard: $199 AUD a month
• Advanced: $299 AUD a month

To use it with Petboost:

1. Take service bookings in Petboost.
2. Run retail stock and sales in Vend.
3. Keep the two systems separate.
4. Bring the combined revenue together in Xero.

See lightspeedhq.com.au.

Scenario 3: Retail 20% to 50% of revenue

You need a proper POS system. Use Square POS or Vend as your main retail system alongside Petboost:

• Petboost: service scheduling and bookings
• Square or Vend: retail management, with stock, POS and reporting
• Accounting: Stripe (for Petboost card payments) and Square each connect to Xero or QuickBooks
• Time: about an hour a week managing stock and reordering

Scenario 4: Retail over 50% of revenue

You are mainly a retail business, not a service business, and Petboost may not be the right fit. Consider:

• A full retail POS as your main system, such as Lightspeed, Shopify POS or Square for Retail
• Petboost as a second system for a small number of service bookings
• Retail-first software with a booking add-on

Real-world examples

Example 1: Mobile groomer, stock in a spreadsheet

They needed occasional retail sales, such as shampoo bottles and brushes. They use Petboost for grooming appointments and Google Sheets for about 15 products, and restock by hand.

1. They sell the products in Petboost.
2. They take each sale off the spreadsheet.
3. They check stock by eye in the van.
4. They reorder when stock is low, with a bulk order each quarter.

Retail is small, about $200 a month, so a spreadsheet is enough. There is no extra software to pay for, and it takes 15 minutes a week.

Example 2: Grooming salon, Square POS

They needed moderate retail sales, such as shampoo, treats and accessories. They use Petboost for grooming bookings, $12K a month, Square POS for retail, $2K a month, and a Square Reader, $59 once.

1. They set up 40 products in Square POS.
2. The Square Reader sits at reception.
3. Customers check out for retail through Square.
4. Square tracks stock and alerts them when it runs low.
5. Stripe (for Petboost card payments) and Square both feed into Xero.

They get automatic stock alerts and combined revenue reporting in Xero. Square's software is free, and they pay its 1.6% transaction fee. Stock takes 30 minutes a week.

Example 3: Daycare with a retail store, Vend (Lightspeed)

They needed substantial retail stock, over 150 products. They use Petboost for daycare bookings, $18K a month, and Vend for retail, $8K a month, on the Vend Standard plan at $199 AUD a month.

1. They keep 150 products in Vend, such as treats, toys, food and accessories.
2. They scan barcodes at checkout.
3. They get automatic reorder alerts.
4. They sell product variants, such as sizes and flavours.
5. Their combined financials come together in Xero.

They run a professional retail operation alongside daycare for $199 AUD a month for Vend, and spend 2 hours a week on stock.

Frequently asked questions

Will Petboost add retail inventory management?

Not in the near term. Retail inventory is a point-of-sale product, a different category from appointment booking, and Square, Lightspeed and Shopify POS specialise in it. Petboost works alongside them.

Can I record retail sales in Petboost?

Yes. Create your products on Products, then add them to a booking's invoice beside the services, or sell them on their own with Quick Sale. Petboost does not track stock quantities, SKUs or reorder points, and it has no retail inventory reporting.

Which POS system do most Petboost customers use?

Square POS is the most common choice for pet businesses with under 20% of revenue from retail, for its free software and simple set-up. Vend, now Lightspeed, is used by businesses with larger retail operations that need advanced inventory features.

Can Square POS and Petboost share customer data?

Not automatically: they are separate systems. Use Petboost as your main customer database for service bookings, and Square POS for retail transactions. A customer who books a service is in Petboost, and one who only buys retail is in Square. For accounting, Stripe (for Petboost card payments) and Square each connect to Xero.

What if retail is growing and might pass 20% of revenue?

Set up Square POS or Vend while retail is still manageable, before stock gets out of control. Starting on a proper POS early makes growing your retail easier.

Next steps

To keep retail in Petboost (Scenario 1):

1. Add your products on Products.
2. Sell them on booking invoices and with Quick Sale.
3. Keep the stock count in a spreadsheet.
4. Reorder when stock is low.

To go ahead with Square POS (Scenario 2):

1. Sign up at squareup.com/au.
2. Order a Square Reader, about $59.
3. Set up your product catalogue.
4. Turn on inventory tracking.
5. Start scanning and selling products.

To go ahead with Vend or Lightspeed (Scenario 2 or 3):

1. Request a demo at lightspeedhq.com.au.
2. Choose a plan: Lean, Standard or Advanced.
3. Import your product catalogue.
4. Set up barcode scanning.
5. Train your team on the POS system.

Related guides

• Getting Started with Products
• Getting Started with Packages
• Services: Getting Started
• Payments Settings

Tell us whether this guide helped at feedback@petboost.com.au.