Instead of guessing why a pet owner is stuck, you see the same screens, services, times and profile steps they do. No real bookings or profile changes are made: Simulation Mode is a read-only tool for troubleshooting and checking your set-up.
When to use it
Situation | Which simulation? |
A customer says "I can't see any services" | Booking Experience |
A customer says "There are no available times" | Booking Experience |
A customer says "I'm stuck completing my profile" | Profile Completion |
You have just changed service settings and want to check them | Booking Experience |
You want to see which profile steps a customer still needs | Profile Completion |
A customer asks "What do I need to do before I can book?" | Profile Completion |
You want to book as a brand-new client, from the first visit | New client |
Simulate a booking
Open it from Customers & Pets. Nothing is booked.
Open the settings menu beside New.
Select Simulate a Booking.
Select New customer, or Existing customer.
If you selected New customer, continue in the new tab. Nothing is saved.
If you selected Existing customer, search for the pet and select it. The booking simulation opens on that pet's profile.
On that simulation, choose services on Pets & Services, then select a date and time on Availability.
Check the booking on Review & Terms.
From a pet you already have open:
On the pet summary card, open Simulate.
Select Booking Experience.
An amber banner reads Simulating Pet Owner Booking View and names the owner and pet. Its buttons, Edit Owner, Edit Pet, Book Appointment and Book Stay, take you back into your own records. The simulation walks through the same three steps the pet owner sees:
Pets & Services: the pet is already selected, and only services the customer can book online are shown, just as they see them. A badge counts the services left out, such as 2 not visible (self-serve filter). Tiles show the price, duration and description
Availability: a calendar of available dates, the Morning, Afternoon and Evening filters, and the times for the selected date. When a day has no times, the simulation says why, and See Full Breakdown opens the full availability breakdown
Review & Terms: the date, time and price, the terms, and whether the customer has a card on file. Complete Booking stays switched off, because no booking is made
What to check:
On Pets & Services, are the services you expect there? A missing service may not be open to online booking, or the pet may not meet its eligibility rules, such as weight, breed or age
On Availability, are there times on days your team works, and do they match your team's hours? Is there a reason shown, or is the booking notice period hiding near-term dates?
On Review & Terms, is the price right, do the terms show properly, and does the customer have a card on file if you need one?
When online booking is switched off for this customer, the simulation shows Self-Service Booking Disabled instead of the booking form, because they cannot open it either. To switch it back on, open Manage Owner on the pet's profile and select Enable Online Booking.
Simulate profile completion
Open Customers & Pets and select Manage on the pet.
On the pet summary card, open Simulate.
Select Profile Completion.
Step through with Next. On a step that is not finished, a message lists what is still needed.
An amber banner reads Simulating Profile Completion View. The steps are the ones the pet owner sees when they finish setting up their profile:
Payment Method, first, when your business needs a card on file and the customer has not added one
A step for each pet, named after it, with the details the customer can fill in. A pet needs a name, breed and gender
Basic Info, the customer's own details. They need a first name, a phone number and a suburb
Terms, where the customer agrees to the Petboost Terms & Conditions
Continue to Book Appointments, at the end, stays switched off, because nothing is saved.
What to check:
How many steps are left for this customer?
Is a missing card on file holding them up?
Are their pet's details incomplete?
The simulation does not show a step for your own business terms. To see who has not agreed to them, use Terms not agreed in Mission Control.
Simulate a new client
Simulate a new client opens your booking page and booking form in a new tab, as a client with no account sees them, through sign-in to the booking confirmation. Nothing is saved or sent, and the visit is not tracked as a booking.
On Customers & Pets, open the settings menu beside New, select Simulate a Booking, then select New customer. On a trial, the same action is Simulate a new client under See what your customers see on Account Setup, and in the banner on the booking form preview.
In the new tab, book as a new client would, with any phone number. A banner reads Simulating a new client.
When the booking form would text a code, the code appears on screen as a text message from Petboost. Enter it to carry on.
At sign-in, Welcome shows the Phone number you entered. Select Continue.
On Verify your identity, enter the 6-digit code shown on screen. Resend code shows a new one.
Optional: select Restart in the banner to start again, or End to finish.
Available times are worked out with one of your own pets standing in for the pet you type, so they come from your real availability. The forms a new client must fill before booking appear as they would for that client.
Fix common problems
"My customer says no services are showing"
Open Customers & Pets and select Manage on the pet.
Open Simulate and select Booking Experience.
On Pets & Services, read the not visible (self-serve filter) badge, which counts the services hidden from the customer.
For a service that should be there, check that it is published, that it is open to online booking, and that the pet meets its weight, breed and age rules.
"My customer can't find any available times"
Open Customers & Pets and select Manage on the pet.
Open Simulate and select Booking Experience.
Select the service the customer is trying to book, then go to Availability.
If no times show, check that team members are assigned to the service, that they have working hours on those dates, and that the booking notice period is not hiding them. See Full Breakdown explains the day in detail, and the Availability Troubleshooter goes further.
"My customer says they need to complete their profile first"
Open Customers & Pets and select Manage on the pet.
Open Simulate and select Profile Completion.
Step through to see which steps remain. The usual blockers are a card on file your business needs, the Petboost Terms & Conditions, and missing pet details such as breed or gender.
"My customer says online booking isn't working"
Open Customers & Pets and select Manage on the pet.
Open Simulate and select Booking Experience.
If you see Self-Service Booking Disabled, online booking is switched off for this customer. Open Manage Owner and select Enable Online Booking to turn it back on.
Simulation Mode and other ways to test
Method | Best for | For one customer? | Creates real data? |
Simulation Mode | Seeing exactly what one customer sees | Yes, with their own profile and data | No |
Magic Availability Check, on the booking form | Testing availability in general | Partly: choose any pet | No |
Availability Troubleshooter | Finding out why particular times are blocked | Yes, when used with a particular pet | No |
Your booking form, directly | Testing the whole customer experience end to end | No: it uses your own test details | Yes, if completed |
Use Simulation Mode first when a customer reports a problem. For a deeper look at availability, follow up with the Availability Troubleshooter.
Tip: Run a quick simulation whenever you change service settings, eligibility rules or booking settings, to check the customer sees what you expect. After a simulation you can tell the customer exactly what is happening, such as "I can see you need to add a card on file before you can book".
The simulation's address follows a pattern, so with a pet's ID from the address bar of its profile you can go straight there:
Booking:
https://business.petboost.com/customers-and-pets/{petId}/simulate/bookingProfile:
https://business.petboost.com/customers-and-pets/{petId}/simulate/profile
Simulation Mode or Booking X-Ray
Simulation Mode shows what a pet owner would see right now, with your settings as they stand. It answers "why can they not book?".
Booking X-Ray shows what one pet owner actually did: their real session, replayed. It answers "where did they give up?". It is a paid power-up, and where you have it, X-Ray this booking appears on an abandoned booking on the pet's profile and on the Health Board.
Reach for Simulation Mode first. It is included and instant, and a settings problem shows up there without a customer having to try.
Related articles
Availability Troubleshooter: why particular times are blocked
Self-Service Readiness Checklist: get your business ready for online booking
Pet & Owner Profiles: the pet profile
Service Configuration: setting up services and eligibility rules
Booking Configuration: business-wide booking rules
Still stuck after running a simulation? Chat with our team from the chat icon, or email [email protected]. Mention the pet's name so we can run the simulation alongside you.