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Replace the diary and the boarding cards with one system that keeps the register your licensing officer wants to see

Run and pen availability, every Schedule 4 field captured once per pet, vaccination warnings at booking and check-in, and a register export for any date range, built around your layout and your prices.

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Free first callWe reply within one working dayA UK company

Sound familiar?

  • Run and pen availability is an A4 diary or a wall chart, and a double booking in the summer peak is only a matter of time.
  • Every animal has a paper boarding card, and vaccination certificates are photographed on a phone.
  • Deposits and invoices are in a spreadsheet.
  • The register is assembled by hand before the inspector arrives, when Schedule 4 wants arrival and departure dates, microchip, owner and emergency contacts, vet, insurance, medical and behavioural history, diet, consent and the last vaccination, worming and flea dates for every animal.

What the system does

  • An availability chart by run and pen

    An availability chart by run, pen or place, with bookings that stop a double booking before it happens.

  • The Schedule 4 register, captured once

    A register that captures every Schedule 4 field once per owner and per pet and reuses it on every stay.

  • Vaccination and treatment warnings

    Vaccination, worming and flea expiry warnings at booking and again at check-in.

  • Consent forms signed on a tablet

    Consent and boarding forms signed on a tablet, or by the owner at home before arrival.

  • Daily care sheets for staff

    A daily feeding, medication and exercise sheet for staff, printed or on a tablet.

  • Deposits, invoices and the register export

    Deposits, invoices and a one-click register export for any date range to hand to the licensing officer.

What a first build looks like

A 30-run boarding kennels with a small cattery

Before
An A4 diary for availability, paper boarding cards per animal, vaccination certificates photographed on a phone and a register assembled by hand before the inspection.
What we build
  • The availability chart
  • Online booking requests from your own website
  • The Schedule 4 register
  • Vaccination expiry checks
  • Tablet-signed consent forms
  • Daily care sheets
  • Deposits and invoices with online payment
  • A register export shaped to your council's inspection checklist
Outcome
Peak-season pricing and multi-pet discounts follow your own rules, and the register for any date range is a click, before the next peak.
How long
The delivery date is in the proposal, not in a sales pitch.

More worked examples

Why not just buy something?

There are kennel booking apps already.

There are, and some suit some businesses. Most are built for day-care chains overseas, priced per location and shaped around their idea of a booking. If one fits you, we will say so on the first call. What they rarely do is mirror your run layout, your pricing rules and your council's register.

We are too small for bespoke software.

The build is small: a calendar, a register, a few forms and invoices. Small is why it can be fixed-price and delivered in weeks.

What happens when the licence conditions change?

Changes to the register or the forms are part of the support arrangement rather than a new project.

We are not technical.

You will not need to be. We build it with you from your current diary and cards, and you will be using it with your own bookings before we finish.

  • Fixed price, agreed in writing before we start.
  • A working version in weeks, not months.
  • Hosted, backed up and supported afterwards.

What an inspector will ask to see

Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018, Schedule 4
A register for every animal: arrival and departure dates, microchip, owner and emergency contacts, vet, insurance, medical and behavioural history, diet, consent and the last vaccination, worming and flea dates (paragraph 4 for catteries, 9 for kennels, 17 for home boarding, 25 for day care).
Council inspection and star-rating scheme
Records the licensing officer can inspect on the day, which feed into your star rating.
Vaccination and veterinary record conditions
Proof of current vaccination and a named vet for every animal.
UK GDPR
Owner details held securely and only for as long as needed.

Correct to the best of our knowledge as at October 2026.

We build the record-keeping; we do not give regulatory advice. Your policies stay yours.

Questions we are often asked

Does it cover the register the council asks for?

Yes. The fields in Schedule 4 of the 2018 regulations are built in, and the export is arranged to match the council's checklist. Meeting your licence conditions remains your responsibility; the system makes the records easy to show.

Can owners book online?

Yes, as requests you approve or as confirmed bookings with a deposit, whichever you prefer.

Does it work for home boarding and day care?

Yes. The register fields differ slightly for each activity, and the system is set up for the ones you are licensed for.

Can it send reminders to owners?

Yes: booking confirmations, vaccination reminders and balance reminders by email.

How long and how much?

A fixed price agreed before we start and a first version in weeks, then a flat monthly fee for hosting and support, with no per-booking charge.

Tell us what is not working

A few lines is plenty. We reply within one working day.

If you would rather we rang you

What you do by hand today, roughly how many staff, and what prompted you to look now.

We use what you send us only to reply to your enquiry. We also record which page you sent it from and your IP address, so we can stop spam. We will not add you to a mailing list. How we look after your details.

or email hello@dowco.co

The form is never the only route. Email hello@dowco.co. We reply within one working day.