Time To Pet has carved out a great niche in the pet care industry. If you're a pet sitter or dog walker, it's arguably the best software available — the scheduling, GPS tracking, visit reports, and client communication are all top-notch for that specific use case.
But here's the thing: pet sitting software and facility management software are fundamentally different products solving different problems. If you run a grooming salon, boarding kennel, or daycare center, Time To Pet's strengths don't align with your daily needs — and its gaps will slow you down.
Where Time To Pet Excels
Credit where it's due — Time To Pet is excellent at:
- Pet sitting visit scheduling with GPS check-in/check-out
- Dog walking route management
- Photo and video reports sent to clients after each visit
- Client communication portal
- Staff scheduling for field-based teams (sitters and walkers)
- Mobile app for on-the-go sitters
- Invoicing tied to completed visits
Where Time To Pet Falls Short for Facilities
If you operate a physical location — grooming salon, boarding facility, or daycare center — here's what you'll find missing or inadequate:
- No grooming calendar: Time To Pet doesn't have a grooming-specific scheduling view. Grooming appointments have unique requirements — breed-based timing, groomer assignment, service combinations (bath vs. full groom vs. de-shed) — that generic scheduling can't handle well.
- No kennel grid: Boarding requires a visual room/kennel management system. Which kennels are occupied? Which are being cleaned? Which are reserved for today's arrivals? Time To Pet doesn't have this.
- No daycare headcount tracking: Daycare needs real-time check-in/check-out with capacity limits. How many dogs are on the floor right now? Are we at capacity for large dogs? Time To Pet tracks visits, not facility occupancy.
- No vaccination expiry management: Pet sitting software assumes the client handles vaccinations. Facility software needs to actively track, flag, and block bookings for pets with expired vaccines — because you're liable when 20 dogs are in the same room.
- No grooming notes or detailed pet profiles: "Cockapoo, teddy bear cut, sensitive paws, prefers Jane" — these per-pet grooming preferences are critical for consistent service. Time To Pet's profiles are built for sitting notes, not grooming specifications.
- No multi-service dashboard: If you offer grooming AND boarding AND daycare, you need to see all three on one screen. Time To Pet doesn't combine these views because it wasn't designed for multi-service facilities.
Animal Friends OS: Built for Facilities
Animal Friends OS was built by someone who runs a full-service pet care facility — grooming, boarding, daycare, training, and transport all under one roof. Every feature was designed for facility-based operations:
- Grooming calendar with drag-and-drop scheduling, groomer assignment, and breed-based time blocks
- Boarding kennel grid with room assignment, availability view, and check-in/check-out workflow
- Daycare management with real-time headcount, capacity limits, and daily check-in/check-out
- Training session scheduler
- Full pet profiles with grooming notes, temperament flags, preferred groomer, vaccination tracking with auto-expiry alerts
- Automated SMS reminders — reduces no-shows by 40-60%
- Online client booking portal
- Staff scheduling with timeclock and role-based permissions
- Multi-service dashboard — see grooming, boarding, and daycare all in one view
- $45/month flat — all features included, no tiers, no contracts
Can You Use Both?
If you run a facility AND offer pet sitting or dog walking services, you could use Time To Pet for the field-based work and Animal Friends OS for the facility operations. They serve different purposes and don't overlap much. Time To Pet for your sitters and walkers; Animal Friends OS for your groomers, kennel staff, and daycare attendants.
But if your business is primarily facility-based — a grooming salon, a boarding kennel, a daycare center, or any combination — Animal Friends OS is the right tool. $45/month, no contracts, 14-day free trial. Built for the business you actually run.