More rules mean less availability, so only add rules that solve real problems. Petboost's booking engine mirrors your real-world operations, on a spectrum from no rules (maximum availability) to extreme structure (maximum control). The question to ask is "what rules do I need to run my business safely?", not "what rules can I add?".
Examples in this guide use dogs, but Petboost supports cats and other pets with the same concepts.
Get online booking working
This is the minimum setup that takes online bookings. Start here, then read the rest of this guide to refine your setup over time.
Open Team Members and select Manage on your own profile.
On Working Hours, set the hours you work.
On Capacity, set Pets at a Time to 1. You can adjust it later.
Select Publish Changes, tick the box in Before You Publish, then select Publish Changes.
Open Services, select New, then New Service, and create at least one service.
On the service's Booking Settings tab, under Self-Service Booking, switch on Online booking. If online booking is off for your business, Turn on business online booking? opens: select Yes, turn it on.
Publish the service change the same way.
On Business Pro, Business Flex, Business Max or Enterprise, your booking page is then live. Refine the rules only when you hit a problem.
The spectrum at a glance
The rules spectrum runs from minimal to maximal rules:
Level 1: Open door | Level 2: Smart gates | Level 3: Fully managed | |
Suits | Solo operators with repeat clients, simple low-risk services, businesses prioritising maximum bookings | Small to medium teams (2 to 5 staff), mixed services needing some structure, businesses wanting automation with guardrails | High-volume facilities (daycare, boarding), businesses with safety requirements, services that need an assessment before acceptance |
Example | Solo trainer with repeat clients only | Grooming salon with 2 to 3 staff | High-volume daycare with safety protocols |
Online booking | On | On | On or off |
Confirmation | Instant | Instant, or pending for new customers if needed | Pending approval, with manual review |
Eligibility rules | None or minimal | Key constraints only (vaccination, weight ranges) | Multiple layers (age, weight, breeds, vaccination) |
Capacity and scheduling | Any time | Structured capacity per session or resource | Distinct session blocks with capacity, and strict scheduling |
Notice period | Short (2 to 4 hours) | 24 to 48 hours | |
Other rules | Initial services required (temperament tests before regular booking), and suburb limits | ||
Trade-off | Maximum availability, but less control over who books | A good balance of availability and control, with reasonable automation. Most businesses land here | Maximum control and safety, but significantly narrower availability and more admin work |
The availability paradox
Each rule you add filters out potential bookings. This is expected: every rule removes some slots, and the more rules you stack, the tighter availability becomes. As an illustration (the actual impact varies with your setup):
Rule | Impact on availability |
Working hours and schedule | Big: defines when you're available |
Capacity limits | Big: limits simultaneous bookings |
Initial service requirement | Moderate: gates new pets |
Pet eligibility rules | Moderate: filters specific pets |
Geographic restrictions | Moderate: filters by location |
Booking notice period | Small to moderate: filters short-notice bookings |
Ask what rules you need to run your business safely, not what rules you can add. Every rule should prevent a real problem you've experienced or genuinely fear. If you can't say what the problem is, you probably don't need the rule.
Self-assessment questions
Use these questions to find your level on the spectrum.
Question 1: "Can I confidently accept any booking that passes my basic checks?"
Answer | Action |
Yes | Turn on online booking with instant confirmation |
Unsure | Turn on online booking with pending approval |
No | Keep online booking off until you've defined the right rules |
Question 2: "What are my hard constraints?" (non-negotiable)
These are safety and operational limits that cannot be bypassed:
Constraint | Action | Where to configure |
Maximum pets at once | Set capacity | Team Members → [Person] → Capacity → Pets at a Time, or Resources → [Resource] → Capacity → Pets at a Time |
Vaccinations required | Enable vaccination enforcement | Services → [Service] → Policies & Paperwork → Require vaccination certificate, or the default on Settings → Policies & Paperwork |
Age requirements | Set age eligibility | Services → [Service] → Who Can Book → Advanced options → Age Restrictions |
Birthday required | Require a date of birth to book | Settings → Policies & Paperwork → Require pet birthday, with a per-service override |
Weight limits | Set weight eligibility | Services → [Service] → Who Can Book → Pet Eligibility → Weight Restrictions (kg) |
Breed restrictions | Set breed exclusions | Services → [Service] → Who Can Book → Advanced options → Animal Type, Age and Breeds |
Geographic service area | Set suburb restrictions | Services → [Service] → Who Can Book → Advanced options → Service area (mobile services only) |
Minimum notice | Set booking notice period | Services → [Service] → Duration & Timing → Booking Notice Period |
Assess new pets first | Set initial service | Services → [Service] → Who Can Book → Advanced options → Service Prerequisite |
An age rule and a required birthday are two different settings. Age Restrictions on a service sets the range a pet must fall in. Require pet birthday on Settings > Policies & Paperwork makes a date of birth mandatory whether or not any service has an age range.
They interact. Once a service carries an age range, a pet with no date of birth recorded cannot book it until one is added, because Petboost cannot work out whether the pet is inside the range. If you set an age rule, expect the booking form to start asking pet owners for a birthday.
Question 3: "What are my soft constraints?" (preferences)
These are preferences that improve operations but aren't critical:
Preference | Action | Where to configure |
Certain times for certain services | Use sessions | |
Buffer between appointments | Set buffer time | Services → [Service] → Duration & Timing → Advanced options → Buffer Time |
Approve new customers first | Use the initial service pattern | Services → [Service] → Who Can Book → Advanced options → Service Prerequisite |
Customers choose staff | Turn on Customers choose their team member |
Question 4: "What am I lacking that requires further checks?"
For anything the rules do not cover:
Vaccination verification: use Petboost's enforcement, or pending approval
Behavioural assessment: use the initial service pattern, for example a temperament test
Complex medical needs: use pending approval and a pre-booking questionnaire
Anything else: default to pending approval until you are confident
The initial service pattern
The initial service pattern suits the balanced and fully managed levels. A pet completes a prerequisite service, such as an assessment, before it can book your regular services. Each pet is assessed once, then books the regular services online.
It gives you control where it matters, on new and unknown pets, while trusted pets book freely:
Approach | Pros | Cons |
Pending approval always | Full control over every booking | High admin overhead forever |
Initial service pattern | Full control for new pets, then automation takes over | Slightly more setup |
Common initial services:
Scenario | Initial service example |
Daycare safety | "Temperament Assessment" before regular daycare |
Boarding comfort | "Trial Overnight" before multi-night stays |
Group training | "1-on-1 Consultation" before group classes |
Specialty grooming | "Coat Assessment" before complex breed cuts |
Wellness/rehab | "Initial Consultation" before treatment sessions |
Require an assessment before regular bookings
Set this up when new pets must be assessed before they book a service online.
Open Services, select New, then New Service, and create the assessment service, such as "Temperament Test", "Trial Day" or "Initial Consultation".
Select Manage on the regular service, then Manage Service.
Choose Who Can Book, then switch on Advanced options.
Under Service Prerequisite, switch on Require Prerequisite Service.
Choose the assessment service.
Under What counts as met, choose Completed (the assessment must have taken place), Booked (any booking counts, including an upcoming one) or Completed all sessions (for a course).
Select Publish Changes, tick the box in Before You Publish, then select Publish Changes.
New pets must book the assessment first. Once it counts as met, the pet can book the regular service online, and pets that already meet it skip the assessment automatically. If you choose two or more services, How they combine asks whether any one of them is enough or every one is needed.
Let a customer skip the assessment
Bypass the requirement for a customer you already trust, such as an established client.
Open Customers & Pets and choose the customer.
Open the Settings & Overrides tab.
To skip the check for every pet on the account, switch on Skip Service Prerequisites, then select Save Changes.
To unlock one pet only, select Add override on that pet's prerequisite overrides, choose the assessment service and Satisfied, then select Add override.
Satisfied treats the prerequisite as met, so the next service unlocks without appointment history. Not satisfied keeps the next service locked and makes an Initial assessment bookable again, for example when a pet did not pass.
Vertical-specific guidelines
The examples below use dogs, but the same patterns apply to cats, small animals and other pets. Adapt the concepts to your own services.
Training
Scenario | Recommended level | Key settings |
Solo trainer, 1-on-1 sessions | Minimal | Online booking on, instant confirmation, no eligibility |
Puppy school classes | Balanced | Age restriction (8-16 weeks), vaccination required |
Reactive dog specialist | Maximal | Pending approval or online booking off, assessment required |
Group obedience | Balanced | Capacity limits per session, suburb restrictions |
If you do 1-on-1 work with a consultation anyway, turn on online booking and use pending approval if you are unsure. Most trainers need no more than that.
Daycare
Scenario | Recommended level | Key settings |
Small home daycare (3-5 dogs) | Minimal-balanced | Resource capacity 3-5, vaccination required |
Commercial facility (20+ dogs) | Maximal | Multiple resources, temperament test initial service, structured sessions |
Play group specialist | Balanced-maximal | Size/weight restrictions, breed considerations |
The initial service pattern, a temperament test before regular booking, suits daycare: new dogs are assessed once, then book online.
Grooming
Scenario | Recommended level | Key settings |
Solo groomer, one table | Minimal | Resource capacity = 1, simple schedule |
Salon with multiple groomers | Balanced-maximal | Resource per slot, weight-based variants, staggered starts |
Mobile groomer | Balanced | Suburb restrictions, travel buffer time, larger intervals |
Weight-based service variants (XS, S, M, L, XL) with eligibility restrictions let customers choose the right service themselves, with transparent pricing and no surprises.
Walking
Scenario | Recommended level | Key settings |
Solo walker, pack walks | Balanced | Team capacity 4-6, suburb restrictions, age minimums |
Walking company with staff | Balanced-maximal | Team member per walker, suburb assignments per walker |
1-on-1 premium walks | Minimal | Team capacity = 1, online booking on |
Suburb restrictions matter for mobile businesses: they stop bookings from outside your realistic service area.
Boarding and stays
Scenario | Recommended level | Key settings |
Home boarding (1-2 dogs) | Minimal-balanced | Resource = boarding spot, capacity 1-2, vaccination required |
Kennel facility | Maximal | Multiple resources, check-in/out windows, initial service for temperament |
Luxury boarding | Balanced-maximal | Pending approval, pre-stay questionnaire |
Start minimal
We recommend starting with fewer rules and adding them as problems arise:
Start minimal: turn on online booking and use instant confirmation
Observe: watch what bookings come through for 2 to 4 weeks
Identify friction: note when the wrong bookings slip through
Add targeted rules: add only the rules that solve real problems
Monitor: check that availability hasn't dropped too far
This avoids over-engineering while still catching real issues.
Where to configure each rule
Rule type | Where to set it |
Working hours / Schedule | Team Members → Working Hours, or Resources → Working Hours |
Sessions | |
Pets at a time | Team Members → Capacity, Resources → Capacity |
Service eligibility (weight) | Services → [Service] → Who Can Book → Pet Eligibility |
Service eligibility (age, breed) | Services → [Service] → Who Can Book → Advanced options → Animal Type, Age and Breeds |
Pet birthday required | Settings → Policies & Paperwork → Require pet birthday |
Vaccination requirement | Services → [Service] → Policies & Paperwork |
Booking notice period | Services → [Service] → Duration & Timing |
Suburb restrictions | Services → [Service] → Who Can Book → Advanced options (mobile services) |
Instant vs pending confirmation | Services → [Service] → Booking Settings → Instant confirmation |
Service prerequisite | Services → [Service] → Who Can Book → Advanced options → Service Prerequisite |
Customers choose their team member |
Related guides
Topic | Guide |
Schedule, sessions, capacity | |
Eligibility and restrictions | |
Self-service readiness | |
Troubleshooting availability |
Respect your customers' time: every unnecessary rule is a barrier between them and a booking with you. Add rules that solve real problems, not hypothetical ones.