What software do dog groomers use?

The five kinds of tools dog groomers use

Each kind works up to a point. The last column is where it stops working.

What do solo groomers use?

Solo groomers tend to start with what they already have: a paper book, Google Calendar, Square’s free booking plan, and texts from their own phone. For a quiet week, that works, and it costs close to nothing.

It starts to break in four places:

• Reminders go out by hand, one text at a time, usually at night.
• No deposits, so a no-show costs the whole slot.
• Pet notes live in your head, a notebook, and old text threads.
• Two places to book means a double booking sooner or later.

When those start costing you money or sleep, grooming software starts paying for itself. In June, reminders go out on their own, clients can pay a deposit when they book online, and every pet has its own profile with notes, grooming history, and vaccine records.

What do grooming salons with staff use?

Once there is more than one groomer, the needs change: a calendar for each groomer, pet notes everyone can see, two dogs from one home booked together, a texting allowance that covers a busy month, and card readers at the front desk. General booking apps do not know what a pet is, so salons with staff mostly move to grooming software: June, MoeGo, DaySmart Pet, Groomsoft, Groomer.io, or Gingr when the business is a daycare first.

I built June for this kind of shop. Each groomer gets their own lane on the calendar, two dogs from one home book as one visit, the whole team answers client texts from one shared inbox, and cards go through Square Terminal or Stripe card readers. Staff are unlimited, so adding a groomer never raises your bill.

If you want a ranked comparison with prices, I keep one in the 10 best pet grooming software.

Is Square enough for a dog groomer?

For a solo groomer with a short client list, often yes. Square takes the payment and its free plan takes bookings, and you can keep light notes on each client. What it does not have is a profile for each pet, so coat notes, vaccine dates, and two dogs from one home all get squeezed into one client record. I went through this question in detail in Square for dog grooming.

You do not have to give up Square to fix that. June works with Square Terminal, so you can keep taking cards on it and add the pet profiles and grooming history Square does not have.

Is there free software for dog groomers?

None of the main grooming software companies has a free plan. The free options are general tools: Square Appointments’ free plan, Setmore’s free plan, and Google Calendar. Each has limits that matter for groomers. I compared them in free dog grooming software.

June is not free, but the first 14 days are. That is enough to run two real weeks of bookings on it before you pay anything.

Why groomers pick June

• One price that stays. New shops pay $69 USD a month, and your price stays the same for as long as you stay subscribed. Staff, clients, and bookings are unlimited.
• Texts are included. 1,200 texts a month in the US and Canada, then $0.009 USD per extra text, plus 5,000 emails. Appointment and status texts go out on their own.
• Built for grooming. Pet profiles with grooming history and vaccine records, groom tickets, waivers signed on a phone, online booking with deposits, and automatic pickup texts.
• Moving is free. I move your clients, pets, and future appointments for free. What comes over depends on the data in your export.
• You talk to me. Support comes from me, the person who built June, and your feedback goes straight into what I build next.

The best way to know is to run your own week on it.