What kennel software does when a vaccine expires
A dog's rabies shot lapsed last month, and the owner just booked a stay. What does your software do about it? Kennel software usually does one of three things. It refuses the reservation request, it asks for the record before an online booking goes through, or it flags the pet and lets your staff decide. Gingr says it refuses. MoeGo asks for the record before online booking. DaySmart Pet shows an alert on the appointment. Time To Pet lets an admin switch on a block for online requests. Kennel Connection warns, and its pages don't say whether it blocks. Kennel Booker's pages disagree with each other. Petsoft shows a warning and leaves the call to you.
We checked the other vendors' own pages on October 26 and 27, 2026. Plans and settings change, so confirm anything that matters to you with them. Gingr, MoeGo, DaySmart Pet, Time To Pet, Kennel Connection and Kennel Booker are trademarks of their owners, and Petsoft isn't affiliated with them.
Block, require or warn
A block stops a reservation request when a required vaccine is expired or missing. Fewer lapsed records reach your schedule, but a vet's note or any other exception needs someone to override it by hand.
A requirement at online booking works the same way for pet parents, but only online. They can't finish booking until the record is on file, and reservations your staff enter from the office are handled separately.
A warning flags the pet for your staff and tells the pet parent. You keep control of the decision, and somebody has to act on the flag.
What each vendor says
| Vendor | At online booking | Staff side | Where it says so |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gingr | Says it blocks a reservation request if required vaccinations are expired or missing. | Not published on the pages we checked. Lists a VetVerifi integration for checking records. | Gingr kennel software page |
| MoeGo | A required vaccine means clients must submit it before scheduling. | A missing-vaccine indicator appears on boarding and daycare appointments. Whether staff can override it isn't stated. | MoeGo help article on vaccines |
| DaySmart Pet | Its help articles list boarding and daycare as not available for online booking. | An alert appears on the appointment when a required vaccine is missing or expired, and an expiry notice appears three months ahead. The article describes alerts and doesn't mention blocking. | DaySmart vaccination help article |
| Time To Pet | Blocking is optional. An admin can switch on a portal setting that stops a pet parent from requesting services when vaccinations are past due. | Staff see alerts. Each online request arrives as pending, and staff decide whether to approve it. | Time To Pet vaccinations help article |
| Kennel Connection | The page we checked doesn't say whether it blocks a booking. Online booking lets pet parents upload vaccine records. | You can set required vaccinations and have it warn when a pet's are missing or expired. An Expired Vaccination Report lists them. | Kennel Connection setup article |
| Kennel Booker | Its own pages disagree. Its comparison pages say expired vaccinations block the booking before it reaches the diary. | Its boarding page lists automatic vaccination alerts at check-in, and its daycare page lists an alert in real time. | Kennel Booker boarding page |
| Petsoft | Warns the pet parent on the My Pets page and when a new reservation starts. The reservation can still be made. | Shows a vaccine warning next to the pet on the reservation dashboard, in customer search and on the reservation edit page, labeled required, expiring or expired. Your staff decide whether the pet can stay or attend. | Petsoft vaccination tracking |
What Petsoft does about an expired vaccine
You decide which vaccines count as required. New accounts start with Bordetella, DHLPP and Rabies marked required, and you can change the list. Pet parents upload a photo or PDF of a record from the portal, and your staff review it and type in the expiration dates, since parents can't enter them. When a required vaccine is expiring or expired, a warning shows up next to the pet.
Ahead of that, a daily job emails pet parents who have a completed stay on file, up to twice per vaccine. If they opted in to texts and your plan includes SMS, they get a text too.
Petsoft won't refuse a reservation over a vaccine, online or at the front desk. The vaccine rules apply to your whole organization, not to a single service. You can hold a new pet for staff review before it can be reserved online. That review is where your staff look at uploaded records, but approving a pet doesn't check vaccine dates.
Questions to ask any vendor
- Does an expired or missing vaccine stop an online request, or only flag it?
- Can staff override a block or a flag, and does the override require a note?
- Is the requirement set per service, per location, or for the whole account?
- Who enters the expiration date: the pet parent, or staff reading the document?
- Does a pet with no vaccine record at all trigger the alert, or only a pet whose record has expired?
- How far ahead are reminders sent, to whom, and by email or text? Does text cost extra?
- When you import records from your old system, which vaccinations come across?
Frequently asked questions
Some can. Gingr says it blocks a reservation request when required vaccinations are expired or missing, and Time To Pet has an optional setting that stops online requests when vaccinations are past due. Kennel Booker's own pages disagree on whether it blocks or only alerts. Other products flag the pet instead. Petsoft shows a warning and leaves the decision to staff.
No. Petsoft warns your staff and the pet parent, online and at the front desk, and your staff decide whether the pet can stay or attend.
A daily job emails pet parents who have a completed stay on file when a required vaccine is close to expiring, up to twice per vaccine. Pet parents who opted in to texts also get an SMS on plans that include SMS.
Your staff do. Pet parents upload a photo or PDF of the record through the portal, and staff review it and enter the expiration dates.
Yes. You define your own vaccine types and mark each one required or optional. The requirement applies to your whole organization, not to a single service.
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