PetGroomBossPro Blog — Cat Grooming

Estimates for New Cat Clients: Quoting a Lion Cut Before the First Visit

The booking page gives most cat owners a price on the spot. But some new cat clients need more than a quick quote. The owner describes a coat that sounds like it needs de-matting, or wants a lion cut plus a nail trim for two cats, or is simply cautious and wants it in writing. That is when an estimate is the better tool.

When the Booking Page Is Not Enough

Billing for a finished groom was covered in Invoicing Cat Grooms: Card on File and Charging When the Job Is Complete. An estimate comes much earlier, before the first visit is even on the schedule.

Common reasons to send an estimate to a new cat client:

• The coat sounds like it will need add-ons, and you want the owner to see that up front.
• Several pets, mixed services, or a cat and dogs at the same home.
• The owner asked for a written quote before booking.
• The request came by phone or text, not through the booking page.

Building the Estimate

Estimates in PetGroomBossPro are built from your service list. For a new lion cut client, an estimate might have:

• Cat Lion Cut
• De-Matting (add-on)
• Nail Grinding (add-on)

Each line uses the price you set, so the estimate matches what the owner would see on the booking page and what will go on the invoice. You can add the pet details on the estimate too: the cat's name, Dog or Cat, breed, size, coat and notes from your conversation, such as “owner says she is nervous with the dryer.”

Templates help if you send similar estimates often. A “New lion cut client” template with the usual lines saves building it from scratch each time.

Approved Online

The owner gets the estimate and approves it online. There is no printing, signing or scanning. When they approve, the approved estimate becomes the job, and the pet details on the estimate carry onto the job.

That last part matters for cats. The notes you wrote while quoting, such as the coat, the cut the owner wants and anything about behavior, are on the first appointment card without being typed again. And because the next visit at that home fills in from the last one, those notes keep carrying forward. See Lion Cut Notes Carried Forward: The Same Cut Every Visit Without Re-Typing.

Following Up

Some owners do not approve right away. Estimate follow-up emails remind them, so a quote does not quietly go cold. If they reply with a question, the office can answer it by two-way text.

If the owner wants to change something, such as dropping the de-matting or adding a second cat, the office can update the estimate before they approve.

Booking After Approval

Once approved, the job needs a day and time. The office books it at a set time and van, and if the owner wants regular visits, Add Recurring Grooming sets up the series every 6 or 8 weeks or on whatever frequency was agreed. Each visit waits on Pending Jobs until the office confirms it.

This is also a good moment to get a card on file and the cat's rabies due date, if you keep one, before the first visit.

Estimates Versus the Booking Page

Both give a cat owner a price before the visit. The difference is who builds it:

• The booking page lets the owner build the quote themselves, from your services, sizes and add-ons. The request lands in Leads.
• An estimate is built by your office, with any lines and notes you want, and the owner approves it online.

Most groomers use the booking page for straightforward cats and estimates for the ones that need a conversation first. The booking page side is covered in Pricing Cats on the Online Booking Page.

Estimates for Existing Clients Adding a Cat

Estimates are not only for new clients. When a dog client asks about grooming their cat too, an estimate with the cat service and any add-ons gives them the price in writing before the next visit. Once they approve it online, the cat is on the job with its details, alongside the dogs that were already there. From then on, the next visit at that home fills in with every pet, cat included.

A Price in Writing Before the First Groom

An estimate built from your service list, approved online and carried straight onto the job gives a cautious cat owner a clear price and gives your groomer a full set of notes on day one. For the rest of how cats work in PetGroomBossPro, go back to the cat grooming software page.