PetGroomBossPro Blog — Online Booking & Quotes

Online Estimate Approval: How an Approved Grooming Estimate Becomes the Job

An estimate is only half done when you send it. The other half is getting a clear yes from the customer and turning that yes into a booked visit without retyping anything. In PetGroomBossPro, the customer approves the estimate online, and the approved estimate becomes the job.

From Estimate to Approval

How to build an estimate is covered in Building Grooming Estimates From Your Service List. Once it is built, with the services, the pets, the add-ons and a short description, you send it to the customer.

The customer opens the estimate and approves it online. They do not need to print anything, sign a paper or call you back to say yes. They can approve it from their phone in the evening, which is when a lot of pet owners deal with this kind of thing.

Why Online Approval Matters for Mobile Groomers

When you are in the van all day, chasing a verbal yes is a chore. “Sounds good, let's do it” in a voicemail is easy to miss and hard to find later. A clear online approval gives you:

• A written yes. The customer approved this estimate, with these pets, at this price.
• No retyping. The approved estimate becomes the job.
• Fewer surprises. If the price changes, the customer has already seen the reason in the estimate's description.

The Approved Estimate Becomes the Job

This is the part that saves the most time. When the customer approves, the estimate becomes the job. The pet details on the estimate carry onto the job: each pet's name, Dog or Cat, breed, size, coat, rabies due date if you entered it, and the notes line for the cut and behavior. The add-ons come along too.

All that is left is to put it on the schedule. Pick the day, time and van. If it is a repeat arrangement, set it up with Add Recurring Grooming on the same weekday, time and van every 4, 6 or 8 weeks, monthly or on custom days. Every visit is written up front and waits on Pending Jobs with its planned details until you confirm it.

What the Groomer Sees

Because the details came from the estimate, the groomer app shows the full picture on the appointment card: each pet with breed, size, coat and cut notes, the add-ons, the van notes for the house and the set time. The groomer does not need to know there was an estimate at all. They see a job with everything on it.

When the job is completed, the invoice is created and the card on file can be charged, so the price the customer approved is the price they pay.

When Customers Do Not Approve

Some customers go quiet. They meant to approve and forgot, or they are comparing, or they are waiting for a payday. Estimate follow-up emails remind them so you do not have to chase each one by hand. That is the subject of the next article, Estimate Follow-Up Emails for Groomers: Nudging Customers Who Have Not Answered.

If a customer comes back with questions or wants a change, such as dropping an add-on or adding a second dog, edit the estimate and send it again. They approve the updated version.

It is worth glancing at your open estimates once a week. Anything that has sat for a while without approval is either a lost job or a customer with a question. A quick text often tells you which, and the answer helps you write the next estimate a little better.

Approval and Monthly Accounts

Online approval is especially handy for monthly accounts. A senior living community manager, a doggy daycare owner or an apartment community manager may need to show the price to someone else before agreeing. A clear written estimate they can forward and approve online fits the way those decisions get made.

Once approved, the account can be set to Monthly billing, which sends one statement each month covering every visit, instead of an invoice after each pet day. Quoting those accounts is covered in Quoting Monthly Grooming Accounts: Senior Living, Daycare and Apartment Pet Days.

A Simple Habit

Make online approval the default for anything outside the booking page. If you quote it, send an estimate. If they approve, it becomes the job. It takes a minute longer than saying a price on the phone and saves a lot of “I thought you said” conversations.

For the rest of the booking and quoting tools, visit the pet grooming booking software page.