Tips, Best Practices & Workflows

First Week Setup Checklist

Use this checklist when getting started with Goodstay:

• Complete the Setup Wizard (Facility → Space → Pet Owner)
• Add all your spaces (runs, suites, daycare areas) with correct capacity and rates
• Configure vaccine requirements for dogs and cats
• Set up your default tax rate in Settings → Payments & Tax
• Configure holiday pricing for upcoming holidays
• Set up deposit and cancellation policies
• Create your boarding agreement contract template
• Set up grooming services with your actual menu and prices
• Configure promo codes and discount rules if desired
• Set up daycare package pricing (if offering daycare)
• Invite your staff members
• Customize your public landing page (hero image, about, amenities, hours)
• Connect Stripe or Square if you want to accept online payments
• Import existing data if migrating from another system
• Enable daycare reminders (if offering daycare)
• Upload your invoice logo in Facility Settings so invoices carry your branding
• Enable SMS notifications if you want to send text messages to clients (requires Twilio)

Daily Opening Workflow

1. Check the Dashboard for today's check-ins and check-outs.
2. Print or review the Boarding Roster to see who's staying, arriving, and departing today.
3. Check the Schedule for expected drop-off and pickup times.
4. Review the Daily Tasks checklist and confirm all overnight tasks are complete.
5. Review any unread Messages.
6. Check the Vaccination Alerts for any upcoming expirations.
7. Open the Daycare Roster (or its Board view) if daycare is offered today.

Check-In Workflow

When a pet owner arrives at drop-off:

1. Look up the reservation (search by owner name or pet name).
2. Open the reservation detail page.
3. Review the Pre-Check form (if submitted) for emergency contacts, drop-off time preference, and what they've brought.
4. Verify the pet's vaccination status — a green badge means the record is current.
5. Review feeding and medication schedules for the stay.
6. Click Check In to mark the pet as present.
7. Note which space/run the pet is in.

Check-Out Workflow

When an owner arrives to pick up:

1. Open the reservation.
2. Click Check Out & Invoice to review the summary and total.
3. Process any outstanding invoice payments.
4. Confirm on the checkout page to complete the stay. (If the stay is already billed, the reservation page shows a plain Check Out button instead.)
5. Send any unsent Report Card from the card's own page.

End-of-Day Daycare Workflow

1. On the Daycare Roster, click Ready for each dog that is done for the day.
2. As owners arrive, click Pick Up on each dog's roster card.
3. Still on the roster, click Send All (N) to dispatch every unsent daycare report card at once.
4. Any staff member closing should complete a Shift Report.

Handling a Cancellation with Waitlist

1. Open the cancelled reservation.
2. Click Cancel Reservation.
3. Navigate to Waitlist and filter by the space type of the cancelled reservation (switch between Active / Resolved / All as needed).
4. Find matching waitlist entries.
5. Open the relevant entry and click Notify Owner.
6. When the client confirms interest, click Create Reservation.

Sending a Contract to a New Client

1. Go to Contracts and open your boarding agreement.
2. Scroll to the Send Contract for Signing panel.
3. Select the new pet owner from the search.
4. Click Send for Signing. The owner gets an email with a signing link.
5. Monitor signature status from the contract template's page.

Managing a Recurring Daycare Client

1. Create a Recurring Daycare Schedule for the pet with their days of the week.
2. Goodstay auto-generates reservations 4 weeks out.
3. If the client needs a week off, go to the schedule and click Cancel this date on each date they'll miss.
4. If the client is taking an extended break, click Pause Schedule.
5. When they return, click Resume Schedule. (Cancel Schedule ends the series for good.)

Running an End-of-Month Revenue Review

1. Go to Analytics → Revenue in the sidebar.
2. Click the Custom period pill and pick the previous-month preset from Quick ranges.
3. Review total revenue, broken down by service type.
4. Check the Daycare Revenue section to see package vs. drop-in breakdown.
5. Cross-reference with Occupancy Report to understand capacity utilization.
6. Review Customer Insights for no-show rates and the daycare churn alert.
7. Use the Seasonal Trends report to compare month-over-month booking patterns.

Keyboard Shortcuts & Tips

• Quick-search for an owner from the New Reservation form — just start typing their name.
• The Availability grid is your fastest way to see what's open at a glance.
• Filters, report periods, and look-ahead windows live in the URL, so your browser's back button returns you to the previous view. Don't rely on it to preserve a half-filled form.
• Press Cmd+K (Mac) or Ctrl+K (Windows/Linux) to open the quick documentation search from any page.
• Use the Print button on reports and the Boarding Roster to generate paper-friendly versions for posting or filing.