Kennel management software buyer’s checklist
Questions to ask before you choose kennel software.
38 questions to ask any kennel management system before you sign. Mark how your current software answers each one, and see how Unified KM answers it next to yours.
Mark your software
For each question, choose yes, partly or no for the system you use today.
See your gaps
Every partly and no is collected into one list at the end, ready to print.
Bring them to a demo
We will show you how Unified KM handles each gap, using your own workflows.
Your website and online sales
Shoppers look at your pets online before they ever call. Your listings should never be out of date.
- 1
Are the pets on your website listed straight from the kennel record, with no second system to update?
Unified KM: yesUnified KM runs inside your own WordPress and WooCommerce website. Each pet is a product on your site, so the listing comes from the kennel record.
- 2
Can shoppers check out online with the payment gateway you choose?
Unified KM: yesPets sell through WooCommerce checkout, with any WooCommerce payment gateway your store uses.
- 3
Can you show pets as Coming Soon before they are available?
Unified KM: yesComing Soon is a pet status, and shoppers can filter for available and Coming Soon pets.
- 4
Do your breed pages show the puppies you have right now?
Unified KM: yesBreed pages list the puppies available now and carry search-engine markup. A breed match quiz turns visitors into leads.
- 5
Can a QR code on the kennel card open a mobile page for that pet, with a lead form?
Unified KM: yesEach QR kennel card opens a mobile page for the pet with a lead form, and every scan is tracked.
- 6
Does your inventory feed your Facebook and Instagram catalog?
Unified KM: yesA catalog feed updates hourly, per location.
Intake and pet records
Every mistake made at intake follows the pet all the way to the sale.
- 7
Can you review each pet from a distributor file before it is imported?
Unified KM: yesPet files from PetXchange and Dog On Web are reviewed pet by pet: edit the price, status, name and photo, then accept or decline.
- 8
Does it warn you about a duplicate microchip while you enter it?
Unified KM: yesMicrochip numbers are checked during entry, and duplicate pets are caught at intake.
- 9
Are breeders matched by USDA number, so you do not end up with duplicate breeder records?
Unified KM: yesBreeders are matched on USDA number, then supplier ID, then name, and each breeder record holds USDA and state license details.
- 10
Can you change status, price and location for many pets at once?
Unified KM: yesA spreadsheet-style grid edits status, price and location in bulk.
- 11
Does it track how many days each pet has been in the store?
Unified KM: yesDays in house is a sortable column, with an inventory aging report at 30, 60 and 90 days.
Health and veterinary records
When a buyer or an inspector asks about a vaccine, the answer should take seconds.
- 12
Is every dose recorded with who gave it, when, and the manufacturer, lot and expiry?
Unified KM: yesEvery dose records who gave it, when, and the manufacturer, lot and expiry, including treatments given to many pets at once.
- 13
Do treatment routines show what is due now, coming up and past due?
Unified KM: yesTreatment routines build a forecast for each pet: Due Now, Coming Up, Past Due and Completed.
- 14
Can your veterinarian complete and sign the health exam digitally?
Unified KM: yesThe veterinarian completes a full body-system exam on a tablet and signs it, and the exam is kept on the pet record.
- 15
Does the rabies certificate fill itself in, with alerts for overdue rabies vaccines?
Unified KM: yesThe rabies certificate is filled in from the record, and overdue rabies vaccines raise alerts.
Daily kennel care
Care that is not written down did not happen, as far as the next shift knows.
- 16
Are feeding, weight, temperature and grooming logged digitally for each pet?
Unified KM: yesFeedings are rated and noted, weights show a trend, and temperatures outside the normal range are flagged.
- 17
Can kennel staff see missed feedings, treatments and activities on one screen?
Unified KM: yesThe kennel staff screen shows missed care for every pet, with bulk actions.
- 18
Are pets checked in and out of the kennel, with a reason?
Unified KM: yesEach check-out records a reason, such as socialization, medical or grooming.
- 19
Can you print kennel cards with a QR code?
Unified KM: yesQR kennel cards, window cards and county cards print from the record.
The sale, contracts and signatures
The sale is where paperwork mistakes cost the most.
- 20
Can your team edit its own contracts, with merge fields and conditional sections?
Unified KM: yesA drag-and-drop contract builder works on PDF, Word or HTML, with merge fields, conditional sections and versions you can restore.
- 21
Can buyers sign in the store on a tablet, or from home through an emailed link?
Unified KM: yesBoth. Buyers sign page by page on a tablet, or through a single-use emailed link. Co-buyers, managers and veterinarians can sign too.
- 22
Does every signature have an audit trail?
Unified KM: yesEach signature records the signer, time and IP address, and contract values freeze at signing.
- 23
Can you require add-on products by pet type, size or coat?
Unified KM: yesAdd-ons can be required or pre-checked, filtered by pet type, size and coat.
- 24
Can staff record financing and capture the buyer’s ID during the sale?
Unified KM: yesStaff record the lender, amount and approval document, and photograph the driver’s license front and back.
- 25
Can a pet insurance quote be offered during the sale?
Unified KM: yesA Kanguro pet insurance quote appears at the sale and in the contract.
- 26
Do microchips register and transfer to the buyer as part of the sale?
Unified KM: yesMicrochips register on sale, and the buyer accepts the transfer by text or email.
Pricing and margins
A pet priced too high for too long costs you more than the markdown would have.
- 27
Do markdowns run on their own schedule, by age and by days in the store?
Unified KM: yesScheduled markdowns run by age and by days in house, filtered by pet type, breed and size, with .99-style rounding.
- 28
Does it suggest a price for new pets from your own sales history?
Unified KM: yesNew pets get a suggested price from your breed sales over the last six months.
- 29
Can you see cost of goods and profit?
Unified KM: yesPet, transport and other costs are recorded, with a cost of goods column and profit in the financial report.
Marketing and reporting
If you spend on ads, you should know which ads sold pets.
- 30
Do in-store sales report back to Google Ads as conversions?
Unified KM: yesOptionally, per location: offline conversions and Customer Match lists.
- 31
Are calls, form leads and ad clicks tied to the sale?
Unified KM: yesCall tracking, form leads and ad clicks are connected to orders, along with the referral source.
- 32
Can you compare ad spend against sales?
Unified KM: yesA profitability report sets ad spend against sales.
- 33
Do reports arrive by email on a schedule?
Unified KM: yesBuilt-in reports can be emailed daily, weekly or monthly, and the financial report compares periods.
Locations, staff and your data
The system should grow with you, and your data should always be yours.
- 34
Can you run several stores and move pets between them?
Unified KM: yesEach location has its own settings, and pets move between stores in tracked transport batches.
- 35
Are user roles built for kennel work, with staff limited to their own locations?
Unified KM: yesRoles include pet counselor, kennel tech, veterinarian, instructor and photographer, and staff can be limited to their own locations.
- 36
Is there a change history for each pet, showing who changed what and when?
Unified KM: yesEvery pet has a change history with the user and time, and every contract event is logged too.
- 37
Can you export all of your pet data, including documents and photos?
Unified KM: yesPet data exports as CSV, JSON or XML, with documents and photos.
- 38
Does it run in any modern browser and on tablets?
Unified KM: yesIt works in any modern browser and on tablets, and documents print without extra software.
Your gaps
Questions you mark partly or no will appear here, with how Unified KM answers them.
Clear boundaries
Where Unified KM works with other tools.
A good checklist is honest about scope. These jobs run outside Unified KM.
- Unified KM is not a retail register. Card payments run through your WooCommerce payment gateway.
- Online deposits use a WooCommerce deposits plugin.
- Unified KM needs WordPress, WooCommerce and ACF Pro on your store’s website.
- Whether a digital signature meets the requirements for a specific document is for you and your advisors to decide.
What should I ask before choosing kennel management software?
Ask how the software handles your website listings, intake, health records, daily care, the sale and its paperwork, pricing, marketing and reporting, and your data. This checklist lists 38 questions across those areas.
How do I use this checklist?
Mark how your current software answers each question: yes, partly or no. Your answers stay in your browser. Print the page or bring your gaps to a demo, and we will show you how Unified KM handles each one.
Does this checklist rate other products?
No. It only states how Unified KM answers each question. You fill in the column for your current software yourself, because you know it best.
Which version of Unified KM do the answers describe?
The answers describe UnifiedKM 2.8.6, released October 30, 2026. Some capabilities, such as Google Ads conversions, are optional and set up per location.
What does Unified KM not do?
Unified KM is not a retail register: card payments run through your WooCommerce payment gateway. It runs on WordPress and WooCommerce, so your store needs a WordPress website.
Unified KM answers describe UnifiedKM 2.8.6, released October 30, 2026. This checklist describes Unified KM only and does not describe or rate any other product.
Next step
See your gaps handled, live.
Bring your checklist to a demo. We will walk through each gap using your own workflows and be clear about anything Unified KM does not do.