The KennelBooker Pet Parent app is a free mobile app for your customers (pet parents), on Apple iOS and Android. It opens your online booking portal inside the app, branded with your logo, so your customers can make bookings, update their own and their pets' details, upload documents such as vaccination records, and pay for bookings online if you take online payments. Customers find your business in the app by typing your business code.
Where to set up the Pet Parent app
Go to Settings > Mobile App - IOS & Android. The page is headed Pet Parent App and has three sections: Business Code, Your logo and Download links.
The app uses your online booking portal, so Enable - Online Booking Portal/Mobile App must be switched on at the top of Settings > Online Booking Portal. Everything you set on the Online Booking Portal page (booking steps, cancellation, hidden fields and so on) applies in the app too.
How to set up the Pet Parent app
Set your business code. In Business Code, type your code in Your Code and click Save code. Customers type this the first time they open the app, so keep it short, with no spaces, and easy to read out over the phone. Each code can only be used by one business. If someone else already has it, you'll see "That code is already taken by another business. Try a different one."
Upload your logo. In Your logo, click Choose logo and upload and pick a .png, .jpg, .jpeg, .gif or .heic file. It uploads straight away. The logo shows at the top of the app for your customers. A square image with a plain background works best; a wide logo with lots of white space around it gets shrunk to fit and ends up hard to read. Click Remove logo to take it off.
Share the app with your customers. Download links has the links Pet Parent on the App Store and Pet Parent on Google Play to send to customers. See "How to tell your customers about the app" below.
How to tell your customers about the app
In Marketing, use the built-in list Customers not using the app to email everyone who hasn't installed the app yet.
Use the App Download Email template, which includes the download links and your business code. You can change its wording.
In any email or text template, [app_code] is replaced with your business code. In an email template, [apple_icon_link] and [android_icon_link] put in the App Store and Google Play badges.
What pet parents see in the app
The first time they open the app, they're asked to enter your business code.
Your login screen then shows, with your logo, and they log in with the same email and password they use for your online booking portal.
The app has a tab bar along the bottom: Home, Add Booking, Profile, Bookings and More.
If you switch on Enable Chat Feature (Settings > Online Booking Portal > Optional Features), customers can also read and reply to your messages in the app or the web portal.
What the Pet Parent app doesn't do
The Pet Parent app is for your customers. It isn't a staff app; staff use KennelBooker in a web browser on a phone, tablet or computer.
The app can't do anything your online booking portal can't. If a feature is switched off on Settings > Online Booking Portal, it's off in the app too.
Push notifications only reach customers who have installed the app. Customers without it still get your emails (and texts, if you use SMS) as usual.
Push notifications from the Pet Parent app
Customers who have the Pet Parent app installed can get push notifications on their phone. They're free to send. Go to Settings > Push Notification Settings, switch on Send push notifications to customers, then use When a notification is sent to choose the notifications for each service. Click Save notification settings.
The app sends a push notification:
Booking confirmation: staff send it from the booking screen, or it's sent straight away when the booking is confirmed if Auto-send confirmation is on.
On check-in and On check-out: as the pet arrives and as it leaves.
Price due (boarding): the amount owing for the booking.
Service complete (grooming and universal services): the pet is ready for collection.
Chat: when you send the first message in a new chat (with Enable Chat Feature on).
Messages you choose to send as a push, from Marketing or from a customer's page.
The wording of each notification is in Push templates on the same page. Customers can turn each type off in their own profile in the portal or app.
Pet Parent app: frequently asked questions
Is the Pet Parent app free for my customers?
Yes. The KennelBooker Pet Parent app is free to download from the Apple App Store and Google Play. The download links are on Settings > Mobile App - IOS & Android under Download links.
How do my customers find my business in the app?
In the Pet Parent app, customers type your business code the first time they open it. You set the code on Settings > Mobile App - IOS & Android in Your Code, then click Save code.
Do customers need a new account for the app?
No. Customers log into the Pet Parent app with the same email and password they use for your online booking portal. New customers can create an account in the app the same way as in the portal, unless you've switched off new signups.
Can I change my business code?
Yes. Type a new code in Your Code on Settings > Mobile App - IOS & Android and click Save code. The [app_code] field in your email and text templates uses the new code from then on, so send the new code to customers who haven't installed the app yet.
What size should my app logo be?
For the Pet Parent app, a square image with a plain background works best. A wide logo with lots of empty space around it gets shrunk to fit and is hard to read. Use a .png, .jpg, .jpeg, .gif or .heic file.
Can customers pay in the app?
Yes, if you take online payments. The Pet Parent app uses your online booking portal, so customers can pay for bookings in the app the same way they do in the portal.
How do I see which customers use the app?
In Marketing, the built-in list Customers not using the app shows customers who haven't installed the Pet Parent app yet, so you can email them the App Download Email.
Does the Pet Parent app send push notifications?
Yes, to customers who have the app installed. Switch them on at Settings > Push Notification Settings and choose which ones each service sends, such as booking confirmation, check-in, check-out, price due and service complete. They're free to send.
Can I have my own branded app in the app stores?
No. Every business uses the same KennelBooker Pet Parent app. Your business code and logo make it show your business once the customer has entered your code.
Pet Parent app: common problems
"That code is already taken by another business"
Business codes are unique, and another business already uses the one you typed. Try a different code, for example with your town added, and click Save code again.
My logo upload doesn't work
The Pet Parent app logo must be a .png, .jpg, .jpeg, .gif or .heic file. Other file types are refused with the message "Cannot accept files of this type". Save the logo in one of those formats and try again.
My logo looks tiny in the app
The logo is shrunk to fit the space at the top of the app. If it's a wide image with a lot of white space, crop it to a square with a plain background and upload it again.
A customer can't log into the app
Check the customer typed your current business code, and that they're using their online booking portal email and password. If they've forgotten the password, they can reset it from the login screen. Also check Enable - Online Booking Portal/Mobile App is on at Settings > Online Booking Portal.
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