Most owners come to Petboost from messy monthly invoicing: a batch of manual invoices at the end of each month, always a bit behind, often inaccurate, and uncomfortable to chase. Automatic payments fix all of that. Your clients pay per visit, on the day, in line with your terms, and you stop spending your evenings reconciling who has and hasn't paid.
The hard part is never the technology. It is the conversation. This guide gives you the words, the reassurances, and the fallbacks so you can move clients across without it ever feeling like you are chasing money.
Overview
With automatic payments, a client saves a card securely on file and Petboost charges it automatically after each appointment, in line with your cancellation policy. A receipt is emailed straight away and every invoice sits in their account as a downloadable PDF.
For you, that means:
Paid before the dog is even dry, not weeks later
No end-of-month batch to build, send, and chase
Accurate every time, because each charge matches the actual appointment
Better cashflow and no awkward "did you get my invoice?" messages
For your client, it means they never have to log into their banking app to pay you again.
Why owners hesitate, and why they shouldn't
The most common worry is that asking a client to save a card feels pushy, like you do not trust them. It is the single biggest reason owners stay on messy monthly invoicing far longer than they should.
The reframe that fixes it: you are not asking for money, you are removing a chore from their life. You are the one doing them the favour. Lead with their convenience, not your collection.
It also helps to know you genuinely cannot lose this conversation. If a client is not ready to store a card, Petboost still has two more ways to get you paid (covered below), and every one of them beats the monthly batch you are doing today.
What to reassure your clients about
When a client hears "automatic payment", they hear "they can charge me anything, anytime". Four plain promises remove that fear. Relay these whenever you introduce it:
They are only ever charged when an appointment actually happens. No visit, no charge. Cancellations follow the policy they already agreed to, nothing more.
A receipt is emailed the moment a payment is taken.
Every invoice is saved in their account as a PDF they can download any time.
No more month-end admin, no working out what they owe, no second-guessing the maths.
The payment ladder
Offer the easiest option first. If a client is not ready for it, move down a rung. There is no losing rung here, so you never have to push.
Rung | Method | Best for | What to say |
1 | Automatic payment (card on file) | The default for everyone | "I'll set you up so you never have to pay me manually again." |
2 | SMS payment link | Clients not ready to store a card | "I'll text you a link after each visit. Tap to pay, done." |
3 | Bank transfer request | Clients who prefer manual transfer | "You'll get a proper branded invoice each time, not a number in a text." |
A few notes that make the ladder work:
SMS payment links are the strong second choice because Petboost watches the link for you. It listens for whether the client has paid online yet, so you are not refreshing your banking app or chasing. The client taps each time; you still do not chase.
Bank transfer requests are still manual on the client's end, but Petboost prepares a clean, branded invoice automatically, so even your most old-school client gets a professional document.
How to set each one up
Card on file (self-service for the client):
The client logs into their Pet Owner account, opens their Digital Wallet, and adds a card. The simplest way to get them there is to send a Quick Login Link from their profile.
A card is also saved automatically when a client books online through self-service, or when they enrol in a membership.
SMS payment link: open the appointment detail page and send a payment link by SMS. This charges that single appointment without saving a card.
Bank transfer request: raise the invoice from the appointment and choose bank transfer, and Petboost generates the branded invoice for the client.
See Card on File and Payment Methods for the full detail on how cards are saved and how to read a client's card status.
Ready-to-send email for your clients
Copy this, swap in the details, and send it to clients who still pay manually. It is deliberately framed around their convenience, with the reassurance up front. You can also send this to your whole list at once from the Marketing Ideas tab under Reporting & Intelligence, where the "Move to Automatic Payments" template targets exactly the clients without a saved card.
Subject: A simpler way to pay for [Pet Name]'s visitsHi [First Name],We've made paying for [Pet Name]'s appointments much easier. You can save a card securely on file and we'll handle payment automatically after each visit, so there's no logging into your banking app and no remembering to pay us.You're only ever charged once an appointment has actually happened, in line with our usual terms, and a receipt lands in your inbox straight away. Every invoice is saved in your account as a PDF you can download any time.If you'd rather not store a card, no worries, we can text you a quick payment link after each visit instead.To get set up, add your card in your account or let us know and we'll sort it at [Pet Name]'s next visit.Kind regards,[Business Name]
Tips
Start with your regulars. The clients who see you most often get the most relief from never having to pay manually again, so they are the easiest yes.
Introduce it as a default, not a request. "We're moving everyone onto automatic payments" lands better than "would you mind saving a card".
Always mention the "only charged when it happens" promise first. It removes the fear before it forms.
If a client says no to a card, offer the SMS link in the same breath. Most people are happy with a link even if they will not store a card.