Pet sitting is a business of trust built at a distance. The client is on vacation; you're in their home with their cat and their alarm code. What closes the gap is proof and communication — a GPS-verified check-in, a photo of the cat mid-stretch, a quick note that the litter's scooped and the plants are watered. Pet sitting software turns that reassurance into a repeatable workflow, alongside the scheduling, invoicing, and staff coordination a sitting business needs. This guide covers the sitting workflow, what to look for, and which real platforms fit a solo sitter or a multi-sitter company.
The operational pain #
Pet sitting is overwhelmingly a small, independent trade — PSI members average about $112,000 in gross revenue, 99% are independently owned, and 51% are solo operators, with a typical sitter serving ~113 households and completing ~4,200 visits a year. That volume of visits is the operational reality: a lot of short, scheduled stops, each needing to be assigned, verified, reported, and billed. The pains that follow are coordinating recurring and one-off visits without gaps or double-bookings, proving each visit (GPS + photo, because the client isn't there to see it), running the business from a phone while doing admin on a laptop, and billing cleanly across many small visits — where rigid invoicing and per-staff pricing that climbs with headcount are the recurring complaints. The flow that software makes smooth: client requests visits → they're assigned to a sitter → the sitter checks in via GPS and sends a photo/journal update → visits batch into an invoice → the card on file is charged.
What to look for in pet sitting software #
- GPS-verified visit check-in / out. Time- and location-stamped proof each visit happened — the trust foundation of remote pet sitting.
- Photo/video journals. Per-visit updates (the "report card" of sitting) that reassure clients their pet is fine.
- Recurring + one-off scheduling with conflict protection. Standing visit routines plus ad-hoc requests, without overbooking a sitter.
- Client portal + self-service requests. Let clients request, view, and pay for visits themselves, cutting back-and-forth.
- Flexible, batch invoicing + card-on-file. Roll many small visits into clean invoices and auto-charge stored cards; watch for rigid invoicing, a top complaint.
- Staff app, permissions, and payroll. For teams: a sitter app with GPS, role-based permissions, and payout reporting.
- Per-staff pricing you can afford at scale. Team plans add a per-active-staff fee — model your real roster.
The pet sitting platforms worth knowing #
Time To Pet — Best all-around for pet sitters #
The category leader for in-home pet care, built for pet sitters and dog walkers. It pairs client service requests and scheduling with a client portal and mobile app, a staff app with GPS tracking, integrated payments (cards, ACH, Apple/Google Pay) with auto-charging and bulk invoicing, a conversation feed, and short videos. Transparent pricing: Lite $25/mo, Solo $50/mo, Team $40/mo base + $16 per active staff, 14-day no-card trial. Reviews are outstanding (Capterra 4.9/279), and it integrates with QuickBooks Online and Zapier. Honest caveats: Team pricing scales with active staff, and a few users report occasional missed new-request notifications and limited payroll/reporting.
Precise Petcare — Best for depth and customization #
A comprehensive, highly configurable platform for pet-sitting and dog-walking companies — scheduling and visit management, native iOS/Android apps with GPS tracking, mileage, offline mode, and live sitter mapping, Pet Care Journals with photo sharing, billing/payments (QuickBooks Online, PayPal), and staff payroll. Per-staff pricing starts at $20/mo (Solo) with a 30-day no-card trial and a sample-data Practice Mode to evaluate risk-free. Reviews are decent on a small base (Capterra 4.2/17). Honest caveats: the interface is described as dated and click-heavy, and client-facing text is English-only.
Pet Sitter Plus — Best for established multi-sitter companies #
A mature platform (operating since 2009) purpose-built for pet-sitting and dog-walking businesses, with client/pet records, drag-and-drop scheduling and recurring automation, staff GPS check-ins and visit reports, bulk invoicing, card/ACH payments, a client portal, and QuickBooks sync — plus region-specific USD/GBP/AUD pricing and a 30-day no-card trial. Tiers run Solo from $30/mo standard up to Team (base + per-active-staff) and Enterprise, with the full feature set on every plan. Reviews are strong (Capterra 4.8/140). Honest caveats: it's web-based with no dedicated native app, some find invoicing rigid, and cost climbs beyond a few users.
Scout — Best for mobile-first sitting teams #
A mobile-first platform covering pet/cat sitting, dog walking, grooming, boarding, and training, widely praised for ease of use and support (Capterra 4.8/88; 4.9 on both ease of use and service). It offers scheduling, staff and admin apps, real-time notifications, GPS tracking and photo check-ins during services, in-service note-taking to the owner, report cards, and unlimited invoices/clients. Per-staff pricing: Solo $33/mo, Team $33/mo + $15 per active staff. Honest caveats: a branded app, website, and ads are expensive add-ons ($300/$42/$1,000 per month), and no third-party integrations are documented.
Comparison #
| Platform | Best for | Starting price | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time To Pet | All-around pet sitters | $25/mo | 4.9 (279) |
| Precise Petcare | Depth & customization | $20/mo | 4.2 (17) |
| Pet Sitter Plus | Established multi-sitter companies | $30/mo | 4.8 (140) |
| Scout | Mobile-first teams | $33/mo | 4.8 (88) |
How to choose #
Because 51% of pet-sitting businesses are solo, start with the entry tier that fits a one-person operation — Precise Petcare ($20/mo), Time To Pet Lite ($25/mo), Pet Sitter Plus Solo ($30/mo), or Scout Solo ($33/mo) — and use the free trials (Time To Pet 14-day, Precise Petcare and Pet Sitter Plus 30-day) to test the daily flow with your own visits. If you're growing a team, model the per-active-staff fee against your busy-season roster and weigh the staff app carefully: Time To Pet and Scout lead on field usability, Precise Petcare and Pet Sitter Plus on configuration depth. In every demo, run a real GPS check-in and a photo journal update from a phone — that's the trust feature clients pay for — and confirm invoicing is flexible enough to batch many small visits cleanly, since rigid billing is the most common sitting-software complaint. Walking-heavy businesses should also read the dog walking software guide, and the pet care apps directory maps the client and staff apps side by side. Browse the full catalog on the vendors hub.