The problem
A dog walker's week is mostly the same regulars on the same days, yet many still rebuild the diary and the invoices by hand. If a solo walker spends 1.5 hours every Sunday planning the week and 10 minutes on each of 18 monthly invoices, that's about 6.5 hours (1.5 x 4.3) plus 3 hours: 9.5 hours a month.
What the AI does
Time To Pet is scheduling and invoicing software for dog walkers and pet sitters. Its pricing page lists templates on every plan, which automate scheduling and invoicing for regular customers based on their billing frequency, weekly or monthly. Set up each regular once with their days, walk length and rate, and the schedule and invoices follow from the template. Frequency discounts can apply automatically when a client books a set number of walks in a period, and clients can ask for extra walks through the client app or portal for you to approve. You only deal with the changes: holidays, vet days and extra walks.
A worked example
A solo dog walker in Harrogate has 18 regular clients, most on fixed weekdays, and bills monthly. They put each client on a Time To Pet template on the Lite plan and check the week each Sunday.
Before
1.5 hours each Sunday on the diary (about 6.5 hours a month) plus 18 invoices at 10 minutes (3 hours): about 9.5 hours a month
After
20 minutes a week on changes (about 1.4 hours a month) plus 30 minutes checking invoices: about 2 hours a month
What it's worth
About $200£150€179A$288C$282 a month saved, at an assumed $27£20€24A$38C$38 an hour for 7.5 hours (9.5 minus 2). Lite is $25 (about $25£19€23A$36C$36) a month and Solo, which adds text messaging, is $50 (about $51£38€45A$73C$71), so the net is about $149£112€133A$215C$211 to $174£131€156A$252C$246. On Lite the pricing table marks Time To Pet Payments, powered by Stripe, as required, and card fees are on top.
How to set it up
- Start the 14-day free trial and choose Lite if you work alone and are happy to message clients by email or the app; Solo adds text messaging.
- Add each regular client and dog, then set up a template with their days, walk length, rate and billing frequency.
- Set up any frequency discount you already give, such as a lower rate for five walks a week.
- Connect Time To Pet Payments so clients can pay invoices in the app or portal.
- For the first month, compare the invoices against your old spreadsheet before they go out, then check each Sunday for holidays and one-off changes.
What goes wrong
- Prices are in US dollars, so the cost in pounds moves with the exchange rate.
- A template keeps scheduling and billing walks that won't happen unless you cancel them. Record holidays and cancellations as they come in.
- Lite has no text messaging, Zapier link or videos; those need Solo at $50 (about $51£38€45A$73C$71) a month.
- Taking on a walker moves you to Team pricing: $40 (about $40£30€36A$58C$56) plus $16 (about $16£12€14A$23C$23) per active staff member, and admins such as you always count as active.