Scout for Dog Walkers

“Forbidden” error message when trying to check box, “save photos to camera-roll” and “10-minute warning”. Please fix soon. I enjoy the saved photos after the appointments.

I’ve had scout for a few years now. It’s super affordable and the software does what I need. BUT I wish I could manage appointments and approve booking requests through my professional app instead of the web dashboard. Scout has consistently listened to feedback, solicited feedback and has always been amazing in customer service. I personalize my emails, they manage the billing and my calendar syncs to google.

As a former Pet check user I have to say I’m shocked at the lack of features and the overall clunky-ness of the app (as someone else on her mentioned.) The lack of customization and odd choices in formatting both on the app and admin portal leave a lot to be desired. Worst of all, my application for the Braintree payment processor got rejected and I have to use a 3rd party processor. Braintree is probably one of the worst processors out there. I may be switching back to Pet Check. It seems like the developers are way in over their heads and are behind on many fronts. As a business owner in 2020 I need the latest and greatest tech to push my company forward.

I was one of the first to use their branded white-label app feature and while I was super excited at first to have my own ‘app’ so to speak, I was ultimately let down and had to cancel due to there being better options on the App Store for a dog walker/pet sitter. Ultimately, their dog walker app is extremely limited. You can really only start a walk from the app, you have to use the website to schedule or do any sort of admin tasks. Which is super tedious to do from a phone (and asking way too much in 2019). They don’t have a natural boarding or daycare feature, instead they kind of have a ‘recipe’ to hack together a way to do it with their walking system, that just ended up feeling awkward. They don’t have a text message option. Customers that don’t pay with a credit card will not be able to see their invoices in the customer app (which then makes the customer app really only useful in scheduling...and even then I had an issue where a pending appointment never made it in front of me. They said it was an edge case.) I honestly was a little surprised as one of their beta testers that they didn’t ask for any feedback upon me requesting to cancel...but oh well. Guess they got it figured out. I did give it an extra star because they seem to have the reporting features that really large companies might need, such as bank reconciliation, etc. (none that I really need or prioritize) and if you have a lot of different line items you bill for. 🤷 Cole C. Dabbin Dawgs

Warning: the annual cost is $250 add to that the astronomical fee Braintree takes for using Scouts billing. Only a third of my clients use it. The rest prefer old school cash and texting.

I love this app. Very user friendly for both client and service provider. I wish that all the desktop features were accessible through the app though- definitely would be way more convenient

I really enjoy using this app for my clients’ walks. The only thing I would improve is being able to use all the desktop features such as billing as well as being able to upload photos from your camera roll instead of only having the option to take it directly through the app.

I’m absolutely thrilled I found Scout! I am a neat freak and also very organized. Scout has made my business and all that goes with it so much easier! It’s a must for a dog walking/pet sitting biz.

As the owner of a dog walking and sitting business, Scout is basically everything I've been looking for. There are a number of administrative programs out there to help organize walks, billing, and payroll but they all have significant problems. Clients don't want to have to deal with a difficult interface, and as an administrator I need an intuitive system where I can get where I need in two clicks or less. The major issue with other applications is they were built with mobile access as an afterthought. Scout is built from the ground up as a modern solution. The customer service also is second to none. Not only are the developers extremely accessible, but they are genuinely interested in learning exactly why you need what you need and then implementing changes or adding features based on that feedback. The scheduling page is amazing. The way they've set it up, you can easily drag and drop walks from one staff member to another and sort by staff or customer or service status to easily access whatever you need. Both the walker and client apps are set up in a clean and modern way. Can't wait for the admin app to be released!