Thinking about moving on from Google Calendar and Sheets?
You've built a system that works using free tools and your own ingenuity. This page is here to help you figure out whether dedicated software is the right next step, or whether what you have is already enough.
You've built something clever.
A Google Calendar colour-coded by service type. A spreadsheet with client details, pet notes, pricing, maybe even formulas that calculate your weekly revenue. Perhaps a Google Form for intake, Gmail filters for booking requests, and WhatsApp groups for client communication. It works because you designed it.
You've spent hours, maybe days, tweaking the system. Adding columns. Creating colour codes. Writing conditional formatting rules. Setting up notification reminders. What started as a simple calendar has become an entire operating system for your business, and you should be proud of that.
You've arrived here because something has started to feel like it is not quite keeping up. Maybe the manual entry is wearing you down. Maybe you've hit the limit of what a spreadsheet can do. Maybe a client asked to book online and you realised your system doesn't allow for that.
Whatever the reason, we want to give you an honest assessment of what changes (and what doesn't) when you move from DIY tools to purpose-built software.
First, let's give credit where it is due.
The benefits add up fast
Medium-term time savings and outcomes that pet business owners tell us matter most.
Time back in your week
One entry updates calendar, client record, and confirmation. No more double-entry. Our customers report 20+ hours saved per week.
Never send an invoice again
Card on file and automatic charge after service. Payments link to bookings so your accountant gets clean data. No more manual reconciliation.
Protection against no-shows
Pre-authorisation holds funds before appointments. If someone does not show, you are not left out of pocket.
Bookings while you sleep
Over 50% of Petboost bookings are self-service. Over 70% happen outside business hours. Your system works 24/7.
Payments that flow
Stop Creating Unnecessary Invoices
A lot of businesses still do this out of habit, but under current ATO guidance it's genuinely more admin than necessary.
The Old Way
5 steps • 10+ min per sale
Create Invoice
Manually in Xero/MYOB
Wait for Payment
Days or weeks...
Receive Payment
Bank transfer or card
Match & Reconcile
Find invoice, match to bank feed
Generate Receipt
If customer needs it
Unnecessary duplication: You end up duplicating the same information across systems for no real compliance benefit under current ATO guidance.
The Petboost Way
2 steps • 0 min admin
Customer Pays
Card on file via Stripe
Done!
Clean data for your accountant
Tax invoice receipt?
Available on-demand from Customer Portal
Official Sources
These guidelines apply to Australian businesses registered for GST. Always consult with your accountant for advice specific to your situation.
You've already built an operating system
What you have is not just a calendar and a spreadsheet. It's a bespoke system, and it has real sophistication. Here's what you've actually created:
A scheduling system
Your Google Calendar is doing far more than tracking meetings. You've got colour codes for service types, all-day events for block-outs, recurring events for regulars, and descriptions loaded with client notes. It is your scheduling engine.
A client database
Your spreadsheet holds client names, phone numbers, pet details, vaccination dates, pricing history, and special notes. You've probably got filters, named ranges, and maybe even VLOOKUP formulas pulling data between tabs.
A manual integration layer
You are the integration. When a booking is made, you update the calendar, then update the spreadsheet, then send a confirmation message, then maybe log the payment separately. It works because you are disciplined enough to do every step, every time.
A notifications system
Google Calendar reminders, SMS or WhatsApp messages to clients, maybe even email templates you copy and paste. You have built a communication workflow, step by step, by hand.
Custom business logic
Conditional formatting that highlights overdue vaccinations. Formulas that calculate package balances. A separate tab for waitlists. Another for cancellations. You've encoded your business rules into spreadsheet logic.
A separate payment system
Square, PayPal, bank transfers, or cash. Your payment data lives somewhere else entirely. Reconciling what was booked with what was paid means checking multiple systems and hoping the numbers match.
This is genuinely impressive. But it relies on one critical assumption: that you will always be the one operating it.
Where the cracks tend to appear
These are not failures. They are the natural limits of a system that was never designed to be business management software. You may recognise some of these moments.
The double-entry problem
Every booking requires you to update the calendar, the spreadsheet, send a confirmation, and maybe log a payment. One missed step and things fall out of sync. It works when you're focused, but it's exhausting on busy days.
Formulas break quietly
Someone inserts a row in the wrong place. A formula reference shifts. Your revenue calculation is suddenly wrong, but you don't notice for weeks. Spreadsheets don't warn you when their logic breaks.
Sharing access is messy
You want a team member to see the schedule but not the financials. You want a contractor to add their availability but not edit yours. Google's sharing permissions were built for documents, not business operations.
Clients cannot self-serve
There's no way for a client to see your availability and book themselves through a Google Calendar. Every booking still goes through you: a message, a check, a reply, an entry. Multiply that by 20 clients a day.
Payment and booking are disconnected
Your calendar says the appointment happened. Your payment system says you got paid. But linking the two? That is a manual exercise. Your accountant sees the gap too.
Scaling feels impossible
Adding a second groomer, a new service type, or a different location means rebuilding parts of your system. More calendars, more spreadsheet tabs, more manual coordination. The system that worked for one person strains under two.
What actually changes with dedicated software
Not a sales pitch. A genuine comparison of what is different when your calendar, client database, payments, and communications live in one system.
One entry, everything updates
When a client books, the calendar updates, the client record updates, the availability updates, and the confirmation goes out. One action instead of four. No more keeping multiple systems in sync by hand.
Clients can book themselves
Over 70% of Petboost bookings happen outside business hours. Your clients can see your real availability and book directly, any time of day. You stop being the bottleneck between a client wanting to book and a booking being made.
Payments are connected to bookings
Every payment is linked to its appointment. When Mrs. Chen pays for Biscuit's groom, you can see exactly which booking it was for. Your accountant stops asking you to match mystery bank deposits to services.
Your business rules are enforced automatically
Those capacity limits and scheduling rules you carry in your head? They become system rules. No more double-bookings because two people edited the calendar at the same time. No more overbooking because you forgot to block a slot.
Reminders and confirmations run on autopilot
No more copying and pasting confirmation messages. No more manually sending reminders the night before. The system handles it, consistently, every time, for every client.
Reporting happens automatically
Revenue, bookings, no-shows, popular services, client retention. It is all calculated from actual data, not spreadsheet formulas that might have a broken reference somewhere.
What you'd give up
Google tools are powerful precisely because they are general-purpose. Here is what changes when you move to something purpose-built.
The ability to customise everything
A spreadsheet can be anything. A column for dog temperament scores, a tab for your own KPI dashboard, a formula that calculates exactly the metric you care about. Purpose-built software gives you a lot, but it won't replicate every custom thing you've built.
It is no longer free
Google Calendar and Sheets cost nothing. Petboost does not. This is a real consideration. You'll need to weigh the time you spend on manual work against the cost of a tool that automates it.
A different way of working
You know your spreadsheets inside out. Learning a new system takes time and patience. The first week will feel slower, not faster. That's the honest truth of any transition.
Some of your workarounds will not translate
That clever VLOOKUP chain, the conditional formatting for overdue vaccinations, the pivot table that shows revenue by service type. Some of this will be replaced by built-in features. Some of it won't have a direct equivalent. We're honest about that.
These are real trade-offs. If any of them feel like dealbreakers right now, that is a perfectly reasonable conclusion.
Change is hard. We know.
Switching from Google Calendar and Sheets to dedicated software is a big adjustment. Buttons are in different places. Naming might be different. The muscle memory you have built over months or years does not transfer overnight. We tell every customer the same thing: the pain period is 4 to 6 weeks. Then, all of a sudden, one day, you realise it is so much better.
Everything feels unfamiliar
You'll keep your Google Calendar and Sheets open alongside Petboost. You'll compare. You'll wonder why the appointment form doesn't look like a spreadsheet row. This is completely normal. We're with you for every question.
It starts to click
You stop double-entering data. Clients begin booking themselves through your new page. Your first month-end takes minutes instead of hours because every payment is already linked to its booking.
The moment it all makes sense
One morning you'll open Petboost, see tomorrow's schedule already full, payments already processed, reminders already sent, and your spreadsheet still sitting open in another tab, untouched. That's when you close the tab.
Same-timezone support
We're in Sydney. When you call, a real human answers who understands pet businesses. No chatbots, no ticket queues, no waiting days for a reply.
Branded print materials
We generate A4, A5, and DL flyers with your branding, services, pricing, and a QR code for online booking. Hand them to your customers to help manage the change with them.
Customer-facing booking page
Every Petboost business gets a branded online page showing your services, pricing, and availability. Your clients can bookmark it and book anytime.
Google Sheets import
Export your client spreadsheet as a CSV and upload it directly. Names, phone numbers, pet details: it all comes across. No retyping.
Run at your own pace
Keep your Google Calendar and Sheets open alongside Petboost for as long as you need. There is no deadline. Most businesses feel ready after 2 to 3 weeks.
Automated client notifications
Petboost sends booking confirmations and reminders automatically. No more copying and pasting confirmation templates.
See a real example
Hound Health Bondi is a real pet business on Petboost, and the original inspiration behind the platform. See what a branded Petboost page looks like for customers.
Change isn't easy. We're here to make change easy.
Design Principle
One click, not three.
We count clicks like a chef counts ingredients. Create an appointment in one click. View a customer in one click. Toggle AI with a keyboard shortcut.
Is now the right time?
There is no wrong answer. This is about being honest about where you are and what you need.
You might be ready if...
- You spend more time on admin (data entry, confirmations, reminders) than you want to
- Clients have asked about online booking and you have had to say no
- You have had a spreadsheet error that cost you time or money
- You want to bring on staff but the idea of sharing your system is daunting
- Reconciling payments with bookings at month-end is painful
- You are spending evenings on admin that could be automated
- You want to take time off but your system can't run without you operating it
- You have outgrown what one calendar and one spreadsheet can manage
It might not be the right time if...
- –Your current system genuinely works well and you are not stressed by the admin
- –You do not want or need clients to book online
- –You work alone, have no plans to grow, and your workload is manageable
- –The cost of software is a concern and you are not sure the time savings would justify it
- –You're mid-season and cannot afford the disruption of learning something new right now
It's genuinely OK if the answer is no
Google Calendar and Sheets are powerful tools. Millions of businesses run on them successfully. If your system works, your clients are happy, and the manual work does not bother you, then what you have might be exactly right.
We are not going to follow up with you. We are not going to send you emails trying to convince you. This page exists because we wanted to give you an honest resource, not a sales funnel.
If you come back in six months with a different answer, we will still be here.
If not now, here are some things that might help in the meantime:
- Back up your spreadsheets regularly. Consider Google Takeout for a full export
- Document your formulas and colour-coding system so someone else could understand it
- Explore Google Calendar appointment schedules, a free feature that allows basic self-service booking
- Try a simple payment tool like Square or Stripe invoicing to reduce manual payment reconciliation
- Talk to another pet business owner who made the switch. Ask what surprised them
If you decide to try it, here is what happens
No contracts. No credit card upfront. You can even import your existing Google Sheets data to speed things up.
Sign up in 2 minutes
Create your account. No credit card needed. You get 14 days to explore at your own pace.
Import your existing data
We have a Google Sheets import tool. Export your client spreadsheet as a CSV and upload it. Names, phone numbers, pet details: it all comes across.
Set up your services and schedule
Tell us what you offer and when you work. We'll configure your services, pricing, duration, and availability. Your colour-coded calendar translates into structured service types.
Run both systems in parallel
Keep your Google Calendar and Sheets open alongside Petboost for as long as you need. Most businesses feel confident enough to switch fully within 2 to 3 weeks.
Get help whenever you need it
We're in Sydney. Same timezone. Real humans who have helped hundreds of businesses make this exact transition. Call, email, or chat.
Google Calendar + Sheets to Software FAQs
Common questions about moving from Google tools to pet business software.
Want to dig deeper?
Explore Petboost at your own pace. No sales calls unless you ask.
Curious? Try it. No commitment.
14-day free trial. No credit card required. If it's not right for you, nothing changes.
Australian-owned and operated • Same-timezone support • Purpose-built for pet businesses