Training bookings

Every way you teach, in one diary

One-to-one sessions, assessments, group classes and multi-week courses are all different beasts — and KennelBooker handles each as its own kind of booking, with its own places, prices and register.

One-to-one · Evaluations · Group classes · Courses · Credits

Four ways to sell training

One-to-one

Thu 14:00 · 1 hr

Bella · paid with a credit

Evaluation

Fri 11:30 · 30 min

New dog assessment before daycare

Group class

7 / 10 places

Puppy Social · Sat 10:00 · Main hall

Course — 6 classes

Week 2 of 6

Puppy Foundation · every Sat 10:00

Illustration of a training week

Group class or course? The question everyone asks

They sound the same and they aren't, so here it is plainly.

A group class

One session. One date.

A single session that several dogs attend together. It has a name, a place, a date, a start time, a trainer and a maximum number of places. When those places are gone, it's full.

For example

Introduction to Your First Puppy

Saturday 12 April, 10:00 · Main hall · 10 places · £25 per dog

Customers book a place for their dog. You get a register for that one morning, and when it's over it's over.

A course

A series of group classes, sold as one thing.

Several group classes strung together and booked in one go. The customer signs up once and their dog has a place in every session in the series.

For example

Puppy Foundation — 6 weeks

Every Saturday, 10:00, from 12 April · Main hall · 10 places · £120 for the course

You build the six sessions once. Each still has its own register, so you can see who turned up in week three.

The one-line version: a group class is one session; a course is a set of sessions sold together. If a customer can turn up to just that one Saturday, it's a class. If they're signing up for the next six Saturdays, it's a course.

Four kinds of training booking

Turn on the ones you actually run. The others stay out of the way.

1

One-to-one

A single dog and a trainer. Book by the hour, optionally against a time slot so customers can pick from what's actually free. This is what training credits get spent on.

2

Evaluations

Assessment bookings kept separate from paid training — the temperament test before a dog joins daycare, or the first meeting before a course. Their own rates and their own slots.

3

Group classes

One session, several dogs, a fixed number of places. Name it, put it somewhere, give it a date, a time and a trainer, and let customers claim a place.

4

Courses

A run of group classes booked as one. Six weeks of Saturdays, sold once, with every session still holding its own register.

Sell blocks of training up front

Training packages let a customer buy credits in advance — ten sessions, say — and spend them on one-to-one bookings as they go.

  • Set how many credits a block contains and what it costs
  • Add bonus credits — buy ten, get one free
  • Sell packages online, or take the money at the desk
  • Credits come off automatically as sessions are booked
  • The balance is on the customer's record, so anyone can answer "how many have I got left?"

Cash up front for you, a better price for them, and nobody counting sessions on the back of an envelope.

A package on sale

10-session training block

Buy 10, get 1 free · £450

Bought online

11

Used so far

−4

Remaining

7

What comes with it

Set up once in your training settings, then forget about it.

Time slots

Publish the times you're actually free for one-to-ones and evaluations, and let customers request one rather than emailing to ask.

Capacity per class

Every class has a maximum. Once it's full it stops taking bookings, so you never arrive to eleven puppies in a room for ten.

Trainer on the booking

Assign the trainer running each session, and keep staff diaries straight when several of you teach.

Location

Each class carries where it happens — useful when you use a hall on Tuesdays and a field on Saturdays.

Online booking

Let customers book and pay for classes and courses themselves, or keep it desk-only. Auto-confirm or approve each one.

Cancellation fees

Charge if someone cancels inside your notice window, as a set fee or a percentage, applied automatically.

Durations

Define the session lengths you sell — 30 minutes, an hour, a two-hour workshop — and price each.

Multi-day confirming

Confirm a whole series in one click rather than approving six identical bookings.

Call it what you call it

"Training" can be renamed throughout to whatever your business says — Classes, Academy, School.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a group class and a training course?

A group class is a single session on one date — a name, a place, a time, a trainer and a set number of places. A course is a series of those classes sold together, like a six-week puppy foundation running every Saturday at 10:00. If a customer can come to just that one session, it's a class. If they're signing up for the whole run, it's a course.

Can I run one-to-one training as well as classes?

Yes. One-to-one sessions are their own booking type, charged by the hour and optionally tied to time slots so customers pick from times you're genuinely free. You can run one-to-ones, evaluations, classes and courses side by side, or only the ones you offer.

What are evaluations for?

Assessment bookings, kept separate from paid training — the temperament test before a dog joins daycare, or a first meeting before someone commits to a course. They have their own rates and slots so they don't get muddled with billable sessions.

How do training credits work?

You create a package — say ten sessions for a set price, with the option of bonus credits like buy ten get one free. The customer buys it online or at the desk, and credits come off automatically as one-to-one sessions are booked. The remaining balance sits on their record.

Can customers book classes online?

Yes. Classes and courses can be published to your online booking portal with their remaining places, and customers book and pay themselves. You can auto-confirm bookings or hold them as pending until you approve them.

What happens when a class is full?

Each class carries a maximum number of places and stops accepting bookings once they're gone, so you can't be over-subscribed by an online booking you didn't see.

Fill your classes without the spreadsheet

Try KennelBooker free for 14 days — no credit card, no contracts — and put every session, series and one-to-one in the same diary.