Best Kennel Management Software (2026)

Boarding is a trust business. People are handing you their family member and leaving for a week. They’re anxious. They want updates. They want to know their dog is eating, sleeping, and having fun — not sitting in a concrete kennel staring at a wall.

The software you use directly impacts how professional and trustworthy your operation feels. A kennel that sends daily photo report cards, offers webcam access, and has a smooth online booking experience wins over the one that asks clients to call to make a reservation and then says “he did fine!” at pickup with no details.

Let’s break down the software that makes this happen.

What Kennel Software Needs to Handle

Boarding operations are more complex than grooming. Here’s what’s different:

1. Multi-day reservations — not just single appointments
2. Kennel/run assignments — which physical space is each dog in?
3. Feeding schedules — every dog has different food, amounts, and timing
4. Medication administration — tracking meds given on schedule
5. Vaccination compliance — verifying records before every stay
6. Daily care routines — walks, play time, potty breaks
7. Report cards — daily updates to anxious pet parents
8. Capacity management — how many dogs can you house?
9. Pricing complexity — different rates for different kennel sizes, holidays, multi-pet discounts
10. Emergency contacts — vet info, secondary contacts for each pet

Standard grooming software doesn’t handle any of this well. You need kennel-specific tools. We break this down further in The ROI of Grooming Software (Do The Math).

Top 5 Kennel Management Platforms

1. Gingr — Best Overall Kennel Software

Price: $115/month (Starter) | $175/month (Professional) | Custom (Enterprise)

Gingr is the gold standard for kennel management. It was purpose-built for boarding, daycare, and grooming facilities, and the boarding features show that focus.

Boarding-specific features:

• Reservation management with visual kennel board — see which runs/kennels are occupied, available, or being cleaned at a glance
• Automated vaccination compliance — the system won’t allow check-in if vaccinations are expired. Period. No manual checking, no exceptions, no liability.
• Feeding management — record each dog’s food (brand, type, amount, frequency, special instructions like “mix with warm water”). Staff access feeding sheets on tablets.
• Medication tracking — log medications with dosage, frequency, and administration times. System alerts staff when a medication is due and records when it’s given.
• Report cards — create daily reports with activity notes, photos, eating/bathroom status. Auto-send to owners.
• Webcam integration — stream live camera feeds through the client portal so pet parents can watch their dogs
• Capacity management — set max capacity per kennel type (small runs, large runs, suites) and prevent overbooking
• Online reservations — clients book boarding stays online with real-time availability
• Multi-pet pricing — automatic discounts for families boarding multiple dogs
• Holiday rate management — set premium pricing for holidays automatically

What kennel owners love:

• The visual kennel board is a game-changer for managing physical spaces
• Vaccination compliance automation eliminates the most tedious (and legally important) part of check-in
• Report cards are a huge differentiator — clients share them on social media
• Medication tracking provides liability protection

What they complain about:

• $115-$175/month is steep for small kennels (under 15 dogs capacity)
• The system is complex — staff training takes 2-4 weeks
• Some features feel over-engineered for simple operations
• Customer support can have delays

2. PetExec — Best for Data-Driven Kennel Operations

Price: $99/month (Basic) | $149/month (Standard) | $199/month (Premium)

PetExec is Gingr’s main competitor in the kennel space. Its strength is analytics and financial reporting — if you want to know your revenue per kennel per night, occupancy rates by day of week, and average length of stay trends, PetExec delivers.

Key boarding features:

• Reservation management with kennel assignments
• Vaccination compliance
• Feeding and medication tracking
• Report cards (less polished than Gingr’s)
• Online booking
• Employee scheduling
• Financial reporting — occupancy rates, revenue per kennel, average stay duration, seasonal trends

Where PetExec beats Gingr:

• Financial analytics are deeper and more customizable
• Revenue reporting helps optimize pricing and capacity
• Slightly more affordable at entry level
• Employee scheduling is built in

Where it falls short:

• Report cards aren’t as visually appealing as Gingr’s
• The interface is more functional than beautiful
• Webcam integration isn’t as seamless
• Client portal is less polished

3. Revelation Pets — Best Modern Alternative

Price: $79/month (Essential) | $129/month (Professional) | $179/month (Enterprise)

Revelation Pets is the newer player that’s gaining ground with its modern interface and competitive pricing.

Standout features:

• Clean, modern UI that staff learn quickly
• Online booking with real-time availability
• Vaccination tracking
• Feeding and medication management
• Report cards with photos
• Automated billing and invoicing
• Multi-location support
• API access for custom integrations

Best for: Kennel owners who want modern UX at a lower price than Gingr. If you’re starting a new kennel and don’t have legacy data to migrate, Revelation Pets is worth serious consideration.

4. ProPet Software — Enterprise Kennel Management

Price: Starting at $150/month | Custom for large facilities

ProPet is built for large kennel operations — 30+ dogs capacity, multiple locations, complex staffing needs.

Enterprise features:

• Multi-location management
• Advanced capacity planning
• Bus/transport route management for pickup/delivery
• Custom pricing rules engine
• Advanced staff permissions and roles
• Business intelligence dashboards
• Custom reporting

For most kennels: Overkill. But for large facilities doing 50+ dogs nightly or multi-location operations, ProPet handles the complexity.

5. KennelBooker — Budget Option for Small Kennels

Price: Starting at $49/month

KennelBooker is a simpler, more affordable option for small boarding operations (under 20 dogs capacity).

Features:

• Basic reservation management
• Online booking
• Vaccination tracking
• Client management
• Invoicing
• Simple reporting

What it’s missing: Report cards, webcam integration, medication tracking, capacity management sophistication. But at $49/month, it covers the essentials for small kennels that don’t need all the bells and whistles.

The Kennel Operations Checklist

Whether you use software or not, these are the processes that keep a boarding kennel running safely: If you’re exploring this area, our Best Pet Boarding Software (2026) guide covers it in detail.

Check-In Process

1. Verify vaccination records (rabies, DHLPP, bordetella, flu — whatever you require)
2. Record current medications with dosage and schedule
3. Record feeding instructions (food type, amount, frequency)
4. Note behavioral information (aggressive with other dogs? Resource guarding? Escape artist?)
5. Collect emergency vet information
6. Assign kennel/run
7. Take intake photo
8. Collect any food, medications, comfort items the owner brought
9. Process payment or deposit

Daily Operations

• Morning feeding per individual feeding instructions
• Medication administration per schedule
• Morning turnout/play time
• Kennel cleaning and sanitizing
• Midday check/water refresh
• Afternoon play time or walks
• Evening feeding
• Evening turnout
• Overnight check
• Daily report card creation and sending

Check-Out Process

1. Final kennel inspection
2. Return all personal items (food, toys, medications, leashes)
3. Process final payment
4. Provide checkout summary (how the dog did, any notes)
5. Book next stay (automated rebooking prompt)
6. Clean and sanitize kennel for next guest

Good kennel software automates or tracks every step of this. Without software, you’re relying on memory, whiteboards, and clipboards — which works until it doesn’t, and when it doesn’t, the consequences can be serious (wrong medication, missed meal, lost personal item).

Report Cards: Your Secret Marketing Weapon

I keep hammering on report cards because they’re disproportionately valuable:

For the client: Peace of mind. They know their dog ate, played, and was cared for.

For your business: Free marketing. Pet parents share report card photos on social media constantly. Every shared report card is an unpaid advertisement to their entire social circle.

What a great report card includes:

• 1-2 photos of the dog playing, napping, or being cute
• Activity summary (played with [other dog names], went on 2 walks, enjoyed belly rubs)
• Eating status (ate all breakfast and dinner, drank well)
• Potty breaks (all normal)
• Staff note (“Buster was the star of play group today! He made friends with Cooper and they played fetch all afternoon.”)

Gingr makes these easy with tablet-based templates that staff can fill out in 2-3 minutes per dog. Multiply that investment by the word-of-mouth value and it’s easily the highest-ROI activity in your business.

My Recommendation

Small kennel (under 15 dogs): KennelBooker ($49/month) or Revelation Pets Essential ($79/month).

Mid-size kennel (15-40 dogs): Gingr Professional ($175/month). The report cards, vaccination compliance, and medication tracking justify the price.

Data-focused operator: PetExec for the analytics. Know your numbers, optimize your pricing.

Large facility or multi-location: ProPet or Gingr Enterprise.

The bottom line: Boarding involves caring for living animals overnight, often with medications and special needs. Proper software isn’t a nice-to-have — it’s a safety requirement. The liability protection alone (documented feeding, medication logs, vaccination compliance) is worth the monthly cost.