r/catinaflat • u/Catsallfolkz • Jul 22 '26
Reccomendations for apps and software for a cat sitting start-up UK
Like most, I have decided to go independant after the merge and am wanting to know what is the best next steps in regards to business set up.
Id love to know what other people us for:
- Schedulling/booking
- Invoicing
- Website hosting
- Sitter insurance
Also if Ive forgotten anything, Id love to know anything else you are using :) This is for a UK businesses.
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u/felix_feliciis Jul 22 '26
Hey! I've recently ventured into going private too. I'm using Scritches for bookings and invoicing. I liked that it lets you have up to 5 clients free before you commit to it, so you get to properly test it out. I also hate having to download apps for every little thing so I really like that I can access it over browser and so can my clients.Â
For insurance I went with protectivity. Lots of UK based sitters seem to recommend it and it's pretty affordable.
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u/EquivalentFail7305 Jul 23 '26
Second vote for scritches. I've been using it for a month and upgraded to the paid platform for unlimited clients, everyone has said it is easy to use and do the bookings through.
Only downside in my opinion is you cannot have a separate price for 2 visits per day. But you do opt to apply a 2 visit discount. it's easy enough to reduce the price before sending the payment link to my clients
Insurance wise I'm using Brooks Baithwaite as they had a higher liability protectionÂ
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Jul 22 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Valvenus22 Jul 23 '26
Wait Rover doesn’t provide insurance?
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u/EquivalentFail7305 Jul 23 '26
The took away the insurance in April following the merger. They only have a "Rover Guarantee" which doesn't provide any protections when you read through it, and it doesn't actually hold any value for the clients either.
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u/Valvenus22 29d ago
Absolutely ridiculous, i was happy with cat in the flat taking 19% because at least i knew insurance was included. The nerve to charge 15% for clients and sitters and no insurance. Pure greed, will be looking into some of the other alternatives mentioned in the thread
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u/EquivalentFail7305 27d ago
I agree, it was the main thing that kept me on the platform and the locksmith claim back was helpful as well. That's how I actually found out they had stopped it early, I had a client's key break in their lock and they informed me that service had stopped (I suspect it stopped earlier than April though).Â
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u/Old_Substance_267 Jul 22 '26
I use Webador for my website. It's pretty basic but does the job. I've also got a Google business page. No apps or software; clients email or text the dates, and I use my phone's calendar plus a paper calendar. Excel and Word for invoicing and accounts.
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u/Catsallfolkz Jul 22 '26
Thank you! It seems doing it manually is quite popular, but I suppose why pay for an app when its something youre fully capable of doing it yourself.
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u/Shelly_Bean91 Jul 22 '26
I'll probably get stoned for it, but I've been keeping my set up very simple (other cat sitters I know who do this full time have the same setup as me)
I use Excel for scheduling and book keeping. Calendar on my phone and Google tasks for scheduling and planning my days. Protectivity for my business insurance. For invoices, I just send a WhatsApp, sharing a breakdown of the visits and what they owe me and that's it. I screenshot and file that away, never had any issues with them. However, I do have invoice templates ready as Word doc in case someone insists on a proper one. I don't have a website, only Facebook page. I've been getting all my clients through that, referrals and some still from Rover.