Orders before scheduling
In Pawdmin an order comes before an appointment. You build the order with its services, time and price, the client approves the estimate, and only then does a time go on the calendar. Most grooming software does it the other way round.
The difference between an order and an appointment
An order is what the client is getting and what it costs. An appointment is when the dog comes in. Pawdmin keeps the two apart, and its appointment wizard schedules an order that already exists.
Most grooming software starts at the calendar: click a slot, find the client, add services. The time is given away before anyone has agreed on the work. Pawdmin starts with the work.
The steps in Pawdmin
- Create the order. You pick the client and add the services. Pawdmin fills in the price from your hourly rate and the time each service takes. See hourly billing.
- Send the estimate. The client receives an itemized estimate by email and text message. Nothing in it was typed by hand.
- The client approves. The client approves the estimate in the client portal.
- Schedule it. From the order you open the appointment wizard, find open times, and either confirm one or offer several as penciled-in appointments.
You can also send the estimate and the offered times together in one message, and the client approves the estimate and picks a time in one visit.
Each order shows where it stands: created, estimate sent, estimate approved, ready to schedule, or scheduled.
The Queue
Pawdmin's Queue page is the to-do list this workflow produces. It sorts open orders into tabs:
- schedule requests, rebook requests and reschedule requests from clients
- estimates sent and waiting for approval
- orders ready to schedule
- orders ready for payment, and partially paid orders
The Queue puts everything that is waiting on you in one place.
Why the order comes first
- You see the dog and the request before you give up a slot. A client who wants a service that does not suit the dog is caught at the order, not at drop-off.
- The client agrees to the price in writing. An approved estimate means no surprise at pickup, and surprise bills are a common reason clients disappear.
- A client who has approved an estimate and chosen a time has committed twice. That is the core of how Pawdmin reduces no-shows. See how to stop grooming no-shows.
What clients can and cannot do
Clients can request an appointment, ask to rebook and ask to reschedule. Those requests arrive in your Queue. Clients cannot see your calendar. Whether clients can book a time without your approval is a setting, and it is off unless you turn on client self-scheduling.
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