With so many pet businesses reopening this month it’s important to follow and understand your local government’s new Covid-19 business regulations.

However, it can be really tough trying to keep up with the latest version of government regulations. Most cities have their own rules that can change week to week, even day to day. But one thing that most experts can agree on is the need to limit physical contact points when possible. If you’re out and about, there’s almost always going to be some shared points of contact, even when you’re following the rules.

For example, if you’re picking up coffee from a café that offers curbside service, you don’t have to touch door knobs or handle money, but your cup (whether disposable or reusable) becomes a shared point of contact the moment it’s passed from the barista’s hands to yours.

So even when following the rules closely, it’s impossible to eliminate all contact points completely. But that doesn’t mean you can’t seriously limit your contact points and greatly lower your chances of catching the virus or giving it to someone else. Pet business owners reopening their businesses need to find a balance between limiting shared points of contact while still running their businesses properly, and ProPet can help.

No Contact Check In

With ProPet you can successfully complete your check-in process with limited to no contact between you and your customer.

When a customer arrives for their scheduled appointment you simply click the ‘check-in’ button next to their reservation, then click save, and that’s it! The software now recognizes that they have arrived and that their pet is at your business.

Your customers have no need to pass pens back and forth or fill out forms to provide their information. Instead, they can submit all of their personal and pet information online by entering it in their customer portal when they make their online reservation.

Even if you get a spur of the moment walk-in customer, you can ask them for their details, fill out a customer profile for them, and save it to your database for the future without ever needing to stand within six feet of each other or pass anything back and forth.

The only potential contact point during the check-in process would be the pet handoff, when a leash is passed from hand to hand. But if you and your staff have the proper PPE and sanitation supplies you can seriously mitigate the risk of contagion during this step.

Report Cards

If your pet business relies on printed or handwritten report cards to keep your customers up to date or notify them about their dog’s progress you’ll be happy to know that you can do all of this within ProPet. It’s easy to email the report card to your customers instead of handing them a piece of paper that could be contaminated.

By eliminating the need to pass around individual pieces of paper from one person to another, ProPet’s online report cards are a safe and contact-free alternative that will keep your staff and customers safe.

No Contact Payment

Finding a safe way of collecting payment can be one of the more challenging aspects of running a low-contact pet business. Obviously, cash becomes undesirable as there’s no way to accept payment without passing it from hand to hand, which is why many pet business owners have opted to use credit card processing instead.

With ProPet, instead of just swiping their credit card, your customers also have the option to have their credit card information securely stored. This allows you to charge the customer’s card and collect payment for your services without ever requiring your client to touch a payment terminal. This is an excellent way to bypass one of the most high-risk points of contact at any business.

If you’re interested in pursuing this option, make sure you contact your payment processor, some additional charges may apply when charging securely stored credit cards.

Safe Check Out

With ProPet checking-out is a quick and simple process. On the main ProPet dashboard simply click the ‘check-out’ icon next to any pet reservation that is due to be checked out, then review the reservation pop-up window, then click “check-out” at the bottom left side of the pop-up. That’s it! The pet is now checked-out and your client and their pet are on their merry way.

It’s a super easy process with few steps, meaning the risk of contagion is very low. Similar to check-in, the only contact point during check-out would be the pet handoff, but with proper safety equipment you can certainly keep you and your clients safe at this juncture as well.

With ProPet you also have the ability to email your clients their receipts, so any customer who requires proof of payment can still obtain it without ever having to physically receive it.

To email a customer their receipt simply click on the ‘order number’ or view the bookings confirmation page, click ‘Email Invoice,’ select the appropriate recipient or add a new one, enter the message you’d like to appear above the invoice in the email (if desired), and click send.

Your customer will receive their invoice in their email inbox along with whatever personalized message you have attached to it. No papers, no printer, no pens, same result. All while maximizing safety.