KennelSoft Review

KennelSoft is a long-established, Michigan-based vendor selling Windows desktop pet-care software — its Atlantis and Avalon products — to boarding kennels, catteries, grooming salons, doggie daycares and training facilities. It is the rare option in this niche that is not a monthly cloud subscription: you buy a one-time perpetual license and run the program on your own Windows PCs, with only an optional annual support plan as a recurring cost. That model is the whole point of KennelSoft — the vendor pitches locally installed software as the reliable alternative to web apps that go down with your internet — and it is exactly why it fits owners who want to own their software outright, and exactly why it is the wrong tool for anyone who wants cloud-first, mobile-first access.

What Is KennelSoft #

KennelSoft, LLC makes two desktop programs: Atlantis, its full boarding/grooming/daycare/training management system, and Avalon, a grooming-focused package. Both install on Windows PCs and run on-premise — single-user, or multi-user over a local network — with data living on your own machine or file server rather than in the cloud. A web add-on, the Atlantis Web Reservation System (AWR), handles online bookings and feeds owner and pet details back into Atlantis.

The best fit is an independent, single-location or small-multi-location boarding, grooming or daycare business that prefers to buy software once and keep it, on Windows hardware it controls. The vendor lists target markets across boarding kennels, catteries, grooming salons and shops, doggie daycares, training facilities and veterinary clinics with boarding.

Features #

Unified scheduling and Today at a Glance #

Atlantis puts boarding, grooming and day care on the same scheduling tab, with a "Today at a Glance" dashboard showing arrivals, departures, daycare and grooming on one screen. You can assign up to five runs to a pet for one visit and set tiered late-check-out times with partial-day charges.

Client records and vaccination tracking #

Consolidated client tabs hold profiles, vaccination tracking, visit history (1000+ visits) and new-client flags — so at check-in the front desk pulls up the pet's record and shot history rather than a paper file.

Built-in POS and retail #

KennelSoft includes built-in credit card processing plus support for a barcode scanner, electronic cash drawer and retail printers — the point-of-sale hardware a facility with a boutique or retail shelf actually uses, without a separate module fee. (A specific payment processor is not named on the vendor's site.)

Texting, email confirmations and receipts #

Integrated texting (mail-merged templates or real-time messages) and customizable HTML email confirmations and reminders go out to clients, and receipts can be emailed, texted or printed.

Loyalty, collar printing and reporting #

A fully integrated Loyalty Rewards Program calculates and redeems points; IDEXX PetDetect–compatible printers produce pet collars and labels; and detailed reports include a Depart Contact List for marketing to owners after a stay.

Online booking and multi-location access #

The AWR add-on delivers web-based reservations, and multi-location or remote access is handled through VPN, Terminal Services or Remote Desktop rather than a native web app.

Pricing #

KennelSoft is sold as a one-time perpetual license, not a monthly SaaS subscription — an unusual model in a niche now dominated by per-month cloud tools. Single-user prices are published in USD; multi-user/network is quote-only ("Call For Multi-User Pricing"). The only recurring costs are the optional annual support plan and the AWR online-booking subscription.

The entry point is Avalon's single-user license at $299 — a one-time purchase, not a monthly fee. Atlantis, the fuller boarding/daycare system, starts at $695 (LITE) or $1,095 (Full) single-user. First-year updates and support come free with the Full Atlantis license; after that, support renews at $375/year (Atlantis) or $200/year (Avalon), and add-ons like a cash drawer, barcode scanner or the CyberPet visual boarding module are priced separately.

Who It's For (and Who It Isn't) #

KennelSoft fits an independent boarding, grooming or daycare owner who wants to buy software once, run it on their own Windows PCs, and avoid a recurring per-month bill — especially a facility with unreliable internet, where local software that "keeps right on working" during an outage is a real advantage. The built-in POS, loyalty program and unified boarding/grooming/daycare scheduling make it a capable single-location workhorse.

It is the wrong tool if you want cloud-native, mobile-first software. The core is Windows-only (Mac needs emulation), there is no verified first-party iOS/Android app for daily management, and real-time remote access means VPN or Remote Desktop rather than opening a browser. The technology footprint is dated — legacy OS references, tab-and-screen UI — and multi-user pricing is quote-only, so budgeting a multi-workstation setup takes a phone call. A groomer or daycare that wants a modern web app with a client mobile app should look at a cloud platform instead.

Is It Legit and Worth It? #

KennelSoft is a real, long-tenured vendor with a genuinely different value proposition: own the software outright, run it offline, and skip the monthly SaaS treadmill. For an owner who prizes control and dislikes recurring fees, that alone can justify it, and the feature set — unified scheduling, vaccination tracking, built-in POS, loyalty, texting and online booking via AWR — covers the daily work of a boarding-and-grooming facility.

The honest caveats are substantial and mostly structural. It is desktop and Windows-only, not cloud-native, so remote access needs VPN/RDP and there is no verified native mobile app. The technology and UI are dated. Multi-user pricing is opaque, and the "one-time" framing still comes with recurring support ($375/$200 per year) and the AWR subscription ($365/year) if you want online booking and updates. Independent validation is very thin: the third-party review footprint is single-digit and the scores conflict (Capterra shows 4.0 from just 3 reviews, G2 shows 2.7 from 3) — too few, and too contradictory, to lean on, which is why we do not publish an aggregate rating for it here.

Alternatives #

• Kennel Connection — another long-standing boarding platform with desktop roots and a web option.
• ProPet — cloud-native boarding and daycare software if you want a modern web app.
• Revelation Pets — cloud boarding/kennel tool reviewers rate for ease of use.
• Kennel Booker — value-priced, cloud-based boarding and daycare option.

See the full pet boarding software category for the wider comparison.

Login & Support #

There is no web login for the core software — Atlantis and Avalon are installed programs you launch on your own Windows PC, with multi-location access via VPN, Terminal Services or Remote Desktop. Only the AWR online-booking add-on is web-delivered for clients. Support is by direct phone with the vendor at (231) 264-9515 (KennelSoft, LLC, Williamsburg / Elk Rapids, Michigan), including a database-conversion service ($275 for most competing programs) to move your data in.