Collected before arrival, not at the door
A dog arrives for its first day at daycare and the owner has no vaccination card. The kennel cough booster was "definitely done, I think last year". The consent form is a clipboard at reception while a queue builds behind. Either the business turns the dog away, and loses the client, or takes it in and carries the risk.
The fix is to collect everything at the first online booking, in the platform's pet profile, with the website explaining what is needed and why. Here is the setup.
What to collect, by business
Grooming: core vaccinations (or a stated policy if you do not require them), grooming consent, matted-coat and shave-down policy acknowledged, medical conditions and medication, behaviour notes, photo permission, cancellation and no-show policy.
Daycare and boarding: core vaccinations with dates, kennel cough where you require it, flea and worm treatment dates, neutering status, assessment day acknowledged, feeding and medication instructions, vet details and permission to seek treatment, emergency contact, boarding terms, photo permission.
Catteries: vaccination certificate with dates, flea and worm treatment, medication, vet details and treatment consent, what is being brought in, collection arrangements.
Walkers and sitters: key handover and access notes, alarm codes, vet details and treatment consent, off-lead permission, group walk consent, medication, emergency contact.
Vets: registration details, previous practice for records transfer, insurance, consent for treatment at the consult.
Write the list for your business before configuring anything. Every item you do not require is a field you should not ask for.
Where it is captured: the platform's pet profile
Pet-specific platforms are built for this. Gingr, PetExec, Revelation Pets and Kennel Connection carry vaccination records with expiry dates, digitally signed agreements and medication notes on the pet's profile for daycare and boarding. MoeGo, Savvy Pet Spa and Gingr do the same for grooming, with intake and consent forms at first booking. Time To Pet and Pet Sitter Plus hold access notes, vet details and visit consents for walkers and sitters. Vetstoria, ezyVet and Provet Cloud register the client and pet for vets.
Configure the profile fields in the platform, mark the ones required for a first booking, enable certificate upload, and set the agreements to be signed in the flow. The owner completes them on their phone, once. The website never handles a health document itself.
Expiry reminders
The reason to store dates rather than a tick box. Set the platform to flag a record as it approaches expiry and to message the owner asking for the updated certificate before their next booking. Gingr, PetExec and MoeGo all support this. At the desk, staff see a green or amber profile rather than a stack of paper. The reminder message links to the owner's account, where the upload takes a minute.
What the website says
The platform collects; the website explains. On the Your first visit page and beside the Book button:
- What you require, in plain words: which vaccinations, how recent, whether kennel cough or flea and worm treatment is needed, whether a titre test is accepted, when a puppy can start.
- How to show it: upload a photo of the card or the vet's certificate during booking, or ask your vet to email it.
- What consent covers: what you will do if the coat is matted, if the dog is unwell, if a dog needs to be separated, if a vet is needed and you cannot reach the owner.
- What happens if records are missing on the day, stated kindly and firmly.
- How long it takes to complete the first booking, so nobody abandons it halfway.
The confirmation message repeats the requirements with a link to upload.
Handling the documents properly
A vaccination certificate is personal data about the owner as well as the animal. Keep it in the platform, not in email or a shared drive. State in the privacy notice what you collect and why, and how long you keep it. Give access only to staff who need it. Where a platform lets you delete records for lapsed clients after a stated period, do so.
The site's own forms stay minimal
If the website has a contact or enquiry form, it asks for name, phone, the pet's name and what you are looking for. It does not ask for vaccination dates or consent, because those belong in the pet's profile on the platform where staff will find them on the day. Two places for the same record is how records go missing.
Testing it
From your own phone, as a new client: book a first groom or an assessment day, upload a vaccination photo, sign the consent. Check the record lands on the pet profile and the reminder date is set. Check the confirmation says what to bring. Repeat quarterly, because platforms change their intake flows.
Where this sits
Vaccination and consent collected in the booking platform at first booking, with expiry reminders, and explained plainly on the website, is one of the six must-haves in every pet business website we build, for daycare and boarding, groomers, catteries and walkers alike. Nobody should be turned away at the door for paperwork the website could have collected a week earlier.