Every pet business has a clipboard moment. That moment where you hand a new client a printed form, watch them fill it out with a pen that barely works, then spend 10 minutes typing their answers into your system afterwards.
Or worse: you email them a PDF, they try to fill it on their phone, it does not work properly, they email it back, and you copy-paste into a spreadsheet.
Or the Google Forms approach: disconnected from everything. Data sitting in a spreadsheet. No link to the booking. No link to the pet. Manually re-entered every single time.
There is a better way.
What Makes Pet Business Forms Different
Pet businesses are not dental practices or consultancies. Your forms need to work per pet, not per client. A family with 3 dogs needs 3 separate behavioural assessments, not one generic form. Grooming preferences are per-dog, not per-household. Vaccination waivers need to reference specific animals.
Generic form tools (Google Forms, Typeform, JotForm) cannot handle this because they do not know what a pet is. They collect data into a spreadsheet with no connection to your booking system, your calendar, or your client records. You end up maintaining two systems: one where the data is collected and one where the data is actually used. That gap is where things get lost.
The right solution has to understand what a pet is, what a booking is, and how the two connect. That is what we built.
Introducing Fields & Forms
Fields & Forms is two features that work together.
Custom Fields: Your Data, Your Profiles
Custom fields let you add business-specific data to every pet and owner profile in Petboost. Six field types cover the range:
- Text - short answers like allergies, referral source, or preferred name
- Textarea - longer notes like medical history or grooming instructions
- Number - numeric values like weight goals or session counts
- Dropdown - single choice from a list you define (coat type, temperament rating)
- Yes/No - toggle questions like "reactive on lead" or "OK with nail Dremel"
- Date - date values like next vaccination due or last vet visit
Each field has one of three visibility levels: Staff Only (your team sees it, clients do not), Client Visible (clients see it in their portal but cannot change it), or Client Editable (clients can update the value themselves).
Fields appear on every pet or owner profile the moment you create them. Your team sees the information right where they need it, every appointment, without opening a separate system.
Intake Forms: Questionnaires That Connect
The form builder lets you create structured questionnaires with sections, instructions, and e-signatures. Nine field types:
- The same 6 as custom fields (text, textarea, number, dropdown, yes/no, date)
- Signature - finger-swipe e-signature on mobile, mouse on desktop
- Info Block - display-only text for instructions or legal disclaimers
- Multi Select - choose multiple options from a list
The key difference from standalone form tools: form fields can link directly to custom field definitions. When a client answers a linked question, the response writes to their pet or owner profile automatically. No re-entry. No copy-paste. The data lives where your team needs it.
How Auto-Send Works
This is where the clipboard disappears.
- Link a form to a service. Open your form settings and assign it to one or more services (e.g. Full Groom, Daycare Assessment, Boarding Stay)
- Set the frequency. Choose whether the form sends every time someone books that service or only once per client
- Enable auto-send. Toggle it on. Done
When a booking is created for that service, Petboost sends the form to the client automatically via SMS and email. The client opens it on their phone, fills it out, signs if required, and submits. Their answers appear in your responses grid and populate any linked profile fields.
No printing. No emailing PDFs. No chasing. No re-entering data.
Forms can also appear inline during the self-service booking checkout flow. When a form is linked to the service being booked, the client completes it before confirming their appointment. Zero follow-up required.
Five Ways Businesses Are Using This
1. Groomer: Sensitive Areas and Product Preferences
A grooming salon creates a "New Client Intake" form with questions about sensitive areas (face, paws, tail), product allergies, blade preferences, and a section on behavioural flags. The form links to the Full Groom service with auto-send on first booking. When the client submits, their answers populate the pet's custom fields. Every groomer who touches that dog sees the information on the profile without asking the same questions twice.
2. Daycare: Behavioural Assessment with E-Signature Waiver
A daycare builds a two-section form: behavioural assessment (reactivity, play style, recall, resource guarding) and a liability waiver with an e-signature field. It auto-sends on the first daycare booking. The signed waiver is stored permanently. The behavioural answers populate staff-only custom fields so the daycare team can group dogs appropriately from day one.
3. Boarding: Emergency Contact and Feeding Schedule
A boarding facility collects emergency contact details, vet information, feeding schedule, medication instructions, and any anxiety triggers. The form is assigned to all boarding services and sends once per client. Answers populate the pet profile so overnight staff have everything they need without calling the owner at 10pm.
4. Trainer: Training History with Session Goals
A dog trainer sends an intake form before the first session: previous training history, current behavioural concerns, what the owner wants to achieve, and whether the dog has any fear triggers. Linked custom fields capture the answers on the pet profile so the trainer can reference them in every future session.
5. Puppy School: Vaccination Waiver with Age Verification
A puppy school requires proof of age-appropriate vaccinations and a signed waiver before enrolment. The form includes a date field for the puppy's birthdate, a yes/no field for vaccination status, an info block with the school's vaccination policy, and an e-signature field. Auto-send triggers when the owner books any puppy course.
What Changes for Your Team
- No more printing. Forms are digital, mobile-first, and always accessible
- No more manual data entry. Linked fields write answers directly to profiles
- No more chasing clients for paperwork. Auto-send handles distribution. You can filter responses by status to see who has not completed theirs
- Responses visible on customer profiles. Staff see completed forms and individual answers right on the pet or owner profile
- Form status on every appointment. See at a glance whether the client has submitted their form before they arrive
The pattern is the same whether you run a solo grooming salon or a multi-location daycare: forms go out automatically, answers come back structured, and your team sees the data where they already work.
What This Does Not Do
We believe in being honest about what a feature can and cannot do.
- No conditional logic yet. All fields show to all respondents. You cannot show or hide questions based on previous answers. This is on the roadmap
- No file upload fields. Clients cannot attach photos or documents to form submissions
- No multi-page wizard flows. Forms are single-page with sections for organisation
For businesses that need conditional branching or file uploads, Google Forms still works well alongside Petboost. You can link to an external form from an info block or send it separately.
Get Started
Ready to ditch the clipboard? Fields & Forms is available on all paid Petboost plans.
Start a 14-day free trial to build your first form, or book a demo to see it in action.
Learn more about the feature on the Fields & Forms page.