For solo home boarders
Home Dog Boarding Software for Solo Boarders: $24/mo, No Marketplace Commission
Updated August 20, 2026
You already know the job: multiple dogs at once, drop-offs and pickups at every hour, a waiver and vet info for each one, owners who want to know their dog is happy, and the month’s money scattered across apps. Most pet-care software is built for walking teams and kennels and makes you scale down to fit. Houndtrust is built the other way, for one person boarding dogs out of their home. I know, because I run that exact business and built this to run it on.
The short version
Home dog boarding software keeps intake, signed waivers, overlapping stays, updates, and payment requests together. Houndtrust does that for a solo home boarder for a flat $24/mo and charges no marketplace booking commission. Flexible is $0 per month and no card is required to start. If you run a multi-sitter walking team, this is not your tool, and I will say so below.
Built in a boarding house
The software came after the paper waivers and split calendars.
I’m Dave, pictured here with Poppy. My wife and I have boarded dogs from our Salt Lake City home for six years. Houndtrust grew out of the parts of that business that kept getting scattered: client details, signed paperwork, booking dates, daily updates, and who still owed us money.
One booking path
One connected client-to-booking workflow
- 1
Owner sends care details and emergency authorization
- 2
You review the client and dog profile
- 3
Owner requests dates in the booking flow
- 4
You confirm the stay and send the care agreement
Trust Link handles the intake. Booking dates and the separately signed care agreement follow in the same workspace. Nothing becomes a confirmed stay behind your back.
How it maps to a home-boarding day
A new client wants to book
You send one Trust Link. The client sends their contact details, care profile, veterinary plan, and emergency-vet authorization. You review those before setting the booking and sending the separate care agreement.
A confirmed stay starts tomorrow
You request a Quick Trust Link. Reported food, medication, health, behavior, and routine changes stay with the booking for you to review.
Three stays overlap this weekend
The calendar shows who’s here, who’s arriving, and who’s going home, so overlapping boarding stays stop living in your head. Drop-off and pickup times are right there instead of scattered across message threads.
An owner is anxious about their first-timer
Pip turns three words about a dog’s day into a warm update you review and send. Choose a clean Simple Update or a collectible Stay Card when you want more personality.
It's the end of the month
The money dashboard shows the month at a glance: what you’ve earned, what’s still outstanding, and who to nudge, without a spreadsheet.
A stay ends and it's time to get paid
You send a payment request and the client pays you directly through your own Venmo, PayPal, Cash App, or Stripe. Flexible includes five manual booking completions each month; Solo includes unlimited manual completions. Connected cards bypass the Flexible allowance and use a 1.5% automation fee on the care amount. Stripe processing fees and normal business expenses are separate.
Who it’s for, and who it isn’t
Built for you if
- You board dogs out of your own home, solo or as a two-person household.
- You want the booking, waiver, calendar, and money handled without a marketplace cut.
- You want clients to pay you directly, to your own accounts, not through the tool.
Look elsewhere if
You run or plan to run a multi-sitter walking team, with staff to schedule and walking routes to assign. Houndtrust doesn’t do staff seats or route optimization, on purpose, and I’d rather point you at a tool that does than sell you half a fit. For that, see how Houndtrust and Scritches compare - Scritches is built for teams and does it well.
Simple pricing, no per-booking cut
Free
$0
Forever. No card.
- Clients & pets, kept forever
- Services & rates
- Price calculator
Solo
$24/mo$49
First 300 pros get Founding Operator status for life at today's $24 founding price. 7-day full-access trial, no card.
- Everything in Free, plus -
- Trust Link intake → booking & care agreement
- Calendar & money dashboard
- Pip AI updates & Stay Cards
- Reminders, portal & your own branding
No per-staff seats and no marketplace booking commission. Manual payment methods have no Houndtrust transaction fee. Connected cards are optional and carry a 1.5% automation fee on the care amount.
Home boarding field guides
Set up the business before you fill the calendar
Free operator guides and editable forms for the work around the software: permission to operate, insurance, startup costs, client screening, and emergency paperwork.
Common questions
What does dog boarding software do?
Dog boarding software keeps client and pet records, intake, signed waivers, requested dates, overlapping stays, updates, payment requests, and monthly revenue in one system. A solo home boarder usually needs a simple client-to-booking flow rather than kennel runs, staff scheduling, or route planning.
What is the best software for a home dog boarding business?
For a solo or two-person home-boarding operation, the best fit is software built for exactly that, not a scaled-down version of team software. Houndtrust Flexible is $0 per month with five manual booking completions, and Solo is $24 per month at the current founding rate with unlimited manual completions. Trust Link gathers the client and dog-care profile plus emergency-vet authorization. Booking details and the e-signed care agreement follow in the same workspace. A calendar tracks overlapping stays, and a dashboard shows the month's money. It takes no marketplace booking commission. If you run a multi-sitter walking team instead, a team tool like Scritches is the better fit.
Do I need special software if I only board a few dogs at home?
You don't need it, but the paperwork adds up faster than most home boarders expect: overlapping drop-offs and pickups, a waiver and vet info for every dog, keeping owners updated, and chasing who has paid. Once you're past a handful of clients, a group text and a paper calendar start dropping things. Software that handles the intake, the calendar, and the money in one place is the difference between spending your evening on admin and spending it with the dogs.
Does Houndtrust work for in-home dog boarding specifically?
Yes, that is the exact business it is built for. The founder runs a home-boarding business himself, so the tool is shaped around a home boarder's day: multiple dogs staying at once, drop-offs and pickups at odd hours, a liability waiver and emergency-vet authorization owners e-sign before the first stay, and warm daily updates the caregiver reviews before sending. It is not a kennel-management system or a walking-team scheduler retrofitted for boarding.
How much does home dog boarding software cost?
Houndtrust Flexible is $0 per month with five manual booking completions each month. Houndtrust card bookings bypass that allowance and carry one $5 Flexible fee when they qualify. Solo is $24 per month at the current founding rate, includes unlimited manual completions, removes the $5 Flexible fee, and adds the money dashboard, Pip, Stay Cards, reminders, branding, and advanced automation. There are no per-staff seats and no marketplace booking commission.
Does Houndtrust take a cut of my bookings or process payments?
Houndtrust is software, not a marketplace, so it charges no marketplace booking commission on clients you bring. Flexible includes five manual booking completions each month; Solo includes unlimited manual completions. Houndtrust card bookings bypass the Flexible allowance and carry a 1.5% caregiver-paid automation fee on the care amount, plus Stripe processing fees. Tips are excluded from the Houndtrust fee.
Is there an app, or is it web-based?
Houndtrust runs in the browser and installs as a PWA, so it works on your phone, tablet, and computer without a separate download, and your clients never install anything either. There is no native iOS or Android app today; the web app is the product. For a solo boarder that means nothing to update and nothing for a client to download before they can book you.
Built for a team of one, priced like it too.
Start free in minutes. No card and no marketplace booking commission.
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Questions? hello@houndtrust.com · (385) 246-2984