PetGroomBossPro Blog — Running a Mobile Grooming Business

Simple Reports Every Mobile Grooming Business Owner Should Check

Reports sound like something for big companies with finance departments. For a mobile groomer, they are much simpler: a few numbers that tell you whether the business is healthy, where money is stuck, and what next month looks like. You do not need charts and spreadsheets. You need a short list of things to look at regularly, and software that keeps the numbers up to date as you work.

Why Bother With Reports

Time away from the business was covered in Taking Time Off From Your Mobile Grooming Business Without Losing Clients. Reports are part of what makes time off possible, because they let you see how things are going without being in the van.

Most groomers have a feeling for how busy they are. Feelings are not always right. A month that felt busy can still be short on income if lots of invoices are unpaid, and a month that felt quiet might have been fine. A few simple numbers settle the question.

What You Invoiced

The first number is how much you invoiced in a week or a month. In PetGroomBossPro, invoices are created when the groomer taps Complete, with line items for each pet's service and add-ons, and sales tax if you charge it. Monthly accounts get one statement each month covering every visit. Looking at your invoices over a period tells you what the business earned.

Compare it with the same period last month, or the same month last year once you have that history. If the number is going down, look at why: fewer regulars, lower prices, more skipped visits, or fewer add-ons.

What Is Still Unpaid

The second number is what you are owed. With a card on file charged on completion, most invoices are paid the moment the groom is done. Some will not be: a customer without a card, a declined card, a monthly account that has not paid its statement.

Look at unpaid and past-due invoices every week. PetGroomBossPro has past-due follow-up, and customers can pay from the customer app. A small unpaid list is normal. A long one is a sign to tighten up how you take payment, which is covered in Getting Paid on Completion in a Mobile Grooming Business.

Tips

Customers can leave a tip on a paid invoice in the customer app: $10, $20, $30 or another amount. The tips report shows what came in. If you have employees, it helps you see what each one should receive under whatever tip policy you choose. If you work alone, it is simply a nice number to watch. The details of how tips are handled for tax are a question for your accountant.

The Health of the Repeat Book

For a mobile grooming business, the repeat book is the most important asset, so keep an eye on it. The Recurring Clients list shows every client on a repeat schedule. Check it monthly:

• How many clients are on a repeat schedule?
• Did anyone stop this month, and why?
• Are new customers being added to repeat schedules after their first groom?
• Are any schedules about to run out and need extending?

A growing repeat book means a steady future. A shrinking one is worth investigating early. Building it is covered in Building a Full Book of Repeat Clients in a Mobile Grooming Business.

What Is Coming Up

Because repeat visits are written up front and wait on Pending Jobs, you can see how full the coming weeks are. Look ahead a few weeks each time you check your numbers. Light days are easier to fill when you see them early. Overfull days may mean it is time to raise prices, hire a bather or think about a second van.

Open Leads and Estimates

The last thing to check is work that has not turned into appointments yet. How many Book Now requests are sitting in Leads without a reply? How many estimates were sent but not approved? Each one is a customer who was interested. A short list is healthy. A long one means some follow-up is overdue.

Keep It Simple

The point of reports is not to spend hours on numbers. It is to catch problems early and make decisions with facts instead of guesses. Pick a regular time, check the same few things, and act on what you see. Your accountant will want more detail at tax time, and they can tell you what records to keep.

To see how invoices, tips, recurring clients and Pending Jobs fit together, visit the mobile grooming business software page.