Most boarding kennels and daycare centres are sitting on a predictable, preventable admin problem: the pre-arrival paperwork gap. You send a booking confirmation. You ask for vaccination certificates, a signed waiver, emergency contact details. Some clients submit everything within the day. Some submit nothing, arrive, and expect to hand it all over at the desk. And you can't turn them away — the dog is there, the owner has a flight to catch, and it's not the dog's fault their owner procrastinated.
Fixing this isn't a technology problem — it's a process and communication problem. The tools help, but the real lever is how you communicate, when you ask, and how you make compliance feel easy rather than burdensome. Here's what actually works.
Ask at the right time, in the right way
The moment a client is most engaged with your business is immediately after booking. They've just made a decision, they're excited, and their attention is on you. This is exactly when you should ask them to complete their pre-arrival information — not three weeks later, when the holiday feels distant and admin feels like friction.
Your booking confirmation email should contain three elements in this order: a warm acknowledgement of the booking, the details of what you need from them, and a link to complete it immediately. Not buried at the bottom. Not in a separate follow-up email. Right there, in the confirmation.
The language matters too. Compare these two versions:
"Please complete the enclosed registration form and return it to us along with copies of vaccination records and a signed copy of our terms and conditions at least 48 hours before your booking."
vs.
"To help us look after [dog's name] perfectly, please take 5 minutes to complete your PawCheck — it's the fastest way for us to make sure everything's ready for arrival. Click here to start →"
The second version is shorter, warmer, frames it as being for the client's benefit, and contains a single clear call to action. Pet owners want their pet to be well cared for. Framing compliance as enabling that care gets far better response rates than framing it as paperwork you need them to fill in.
Make the form as short as possible
Every field you add to a form reduces completion rates. Veterinary forms that ask for the same information in six different places, waivers that run to four pages of dense legal text, intake questionnaires that duplicate information you already have on file — all of these kill completion.
Audit your intake process and ask, for each field: "What would I do differently if I didn't have this?" If the honest answer is "nothing," cut the field. Information that's genuinely useful — emergency contact, vaccination status, feeding instructions, medication details — should be there. Information that's collected "just in case" or because someone added it to the form five years ago and no one questioned it since should go.
For returning clients, pre-populate everything you already know. A client who boards with you twice a year shouldn't be re-entering their phone number, address, and emergency contact every time. They should be reviewing it, confirming it's still correct, and updating any changes. This is what PawCheck does: it pulls their existing details into the form, so the only effort required is a quick check and any changes.
Set a clear deadline — and communicate the consequence
Clients are more likely to submit information if they know there's a real deadline with a real consequence. "Please complete before arrival" is vague. "Your dog's check-in can't be completed until your PawCheck is done — please complete it at least 48 hours before your booking date" is specific.
The consequence doesn't need to be punitive. The honest consequence of an incomplete intake is that check-in takes longer, potentially causing a wait. That's inconvenient for a client who has a flight at noon. Framing it as a benefit to them ("completing it now means we can check you in in minutes on the day") is more effective than framing it as a rule they must follow.
For clients who genuinely require documentation — vaccinations in particular — be clear that you cannot accept their pet without it. This isn't a threat; it's a policy that protects every animal in your care. State it plainly, without apology, in the booking confirmation and in your pre-arrival reminder.
"We used to chase clients for vaccination records right up until the morning of check-in. Now we say in the booking confirmation that check-in requires completed PawCheck. Our completion rate before arrival went from about 40% to over 85% within a month."
— Cattery owner, Cambridgeshire
Send a reminder at the right interval
One reminder, sent the week before the booking, is typically enough to catch the procrastinators who didn't act on the confirmation email. Two reminders — the confirmation email and one sent 7 days before — captures the vast majority of clients who will complete at all.
A third reminder, sent 48 hours before, is worth sending for anything that's still missing. Keep it brief and specific: "[Dog's name]'s check-in is in two days — we're still waiting for your vaccination certificate. Please upload it here [link] so we're ready for you." This is much more likely to prompt action than a generic "please complete your booking details."
Make sure reminders come from a name, not a no-reply address. "Sarah at Meadowview Kennels" gets opened. "no-reply@meadowviewkennels.com" does not.
Handle the non-compliant client gracefully
Despite your best processes, some clients will still arrive without completing their pre-arrival forms. Have a clear protocol so staff aren't making judgment calls on the spot.
For missing contact and care information: collect it at check-in. It's inconvenient, but it doesn't prevent you caring for the animal. Have a tablet ready with the relevant form and ask the client to complete it then and there — it takes five minutes and creates no real disruption.
For missing vaccination documentation: this is where you need a firm policy. A client arriving without proof of current vaccination is a genuine liability. Your policy should be stated clearly in the booking confirmation ("we cannot board your pet without proof of current vaccination") so the client has no reasonable grounds to be surprised. If they genuinely can't produce documentation on the day, the booking needs to be deferred until they can — a difficult conversation, but one that's made easier by having a written policy you can point to.
Give clients a way to see what's outstanding
One underrated feature of a good client portal is that it lets clients self-serve on compliance. They can log in, see that their vaccination certificate is marked as expiring next month, and upload a new one without waiting for a reminder from you. This turns compliance from a chase into a partnership.
When clients can see their own record and know where they stand, the information gap closes proactively. The kennel spends less time chasing, and the client feels more in control of their pet's welfare information — which is exactly how it should feel.