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Recommended
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Computer Software, 1-10 employees
Used daily for less than 6 months
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We are using Kennel Connection to deliver the Highest Quality of Pet Care. The features for online booking are making our customer experience amazing and the simplicity for our staff is allowing us to drive profitability.
I love that Kennel Connection has a new interface that is easy to use, easy to train staff on and has a ton of awesome features. Text to pay makes it super fast and easy for clients to check-out and prompts them to tip 10%, 20% or 25%. The dashboard tells me everything i need to know about my day and who is arriving, who is going home and any alerts I need to be aware of. And I love that it works on mobile devices.
I'm using the Live Access version, but heard that Full Cloud is only a few months away. That's exciting because then we don't have to have any local back-ups.
Melanie P.
Consumer Services, 1-10 employees
Used daily for 2+ years
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I have been with kennel connection since we opened in 2018. All of the support from kennel connection has been wonderful. [SENSITIVE CONTENT] has always been my go to girl. She has always made me feel welcome as a kennel connection client and makes me feel like my thoughts and concerns are important. I have never had to wait for something to be addressed. Everyone involved has always acted quickly to get any issuew resolved. All of the people I have contact with such as [SENSITIVE CONTENT] have been amazing the whole time I have had kennel connection. It has been a wonderful software program.
I enjoyed that it had all the required modules for my type of business and that it had a very hands on support system.
The pay portion of the software. Not being able to send invoices and have clients pay through live access. It would be nice for owners to see what they owe and for us to see who have open balances on our end.
Ginger L.
Used daily for 2+ years
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it is an electronic client card I could have used a free program to do the same
The best service I received from this company was when I purchase it. After that I had to make a months in advance appointment to be taught the system. As a groomer who takes appointments by the week I do not know my schedule that far in advance and they want to do business with you in the middle of the work day. run far away and to make things worse I paid too much money thinking I got a complete system. Because I was not trained I use barely any of it plus to make things worse ti has glitches that has errors that just shut the whole thing off. I was promised a lot and did not get it after paying a ridiculous price and to get more I had to pay another more money as a groomer it is not like I have that much money to waste on a company with such poor customer service
over priced horrid customer service constant emails to pay them more money I am on here to find a better service for when I move and open my boarding kennel and it will not be kennel connection .
Hello Ginger, I'm sorry to hear you had some issues. I'm not sure who you spoke with, but we do not require a training session to be booked months in advance. We do ask customers to make an appointment with the training department so they have a time blocked off for each person they will spend time with, but that can often be booked the next day or within a few days, depending on our schedule...
Delaney B.
Facilities Services, 1-10 employees
Used daily for 2+ years
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It keeps track of the vaccines that you require, your able to customize most of the aspects of it. The price is good for what you get.
I like having the availability calendar. Overall it is a very simple and easy software to use.
I only wish I was able to get on it on an iPad or tablet
Patricia B.
Leisure, Travel & Tourism, 11-50 employees
Used daily for 2+ years
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Outstanding.
We actually paid a software expert to review several kennel management products about a decade ago when we were planning our business. He recommended Kennel Connection for the quality of its design, its thoroughness, it’s user friendliness, and it’s reliability. We took our selection a step further and installed some demo programs to test. Then we began calling support lines for the various companies we were considering. Without fail, the folks at Kennel Connection were by far the easiest to connect with. Their customer service, availability, and knowledgeable staff have never let us down.
Sometimes a necessary order of operations will trip up a staff trainee. For instance, a pup in our DayPlay program who has package days must be checked out of daycare in order to use a package day before he can be checked out of, say, a groom appointment so that an invoice for that service can be created. But such minor issues are a matter of training. Additionally, gift cards can be glitchy.
Drea H.
Computer Software, self-employed
Used daily for 2+ years
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I am very happy with the Kennel Connection Software. I’ve been a happy customer since 2013, even when I was only utilizing the desktop version. But the real game-changer for my business is the Live Access/Online Reservations System. It has saved me a lot of time that I used to devote to scheduling and bookkeeping, which as a single-person operator is huge. But most of all, I am extremely happy with their Customer Service. Knowing that I can call and have brainstorming ideas and questions answered regarding how I’m using their software to the best of its abilities and my own needs really makes it so much better.
The number one feature that I like the most is the Customer Service. But I also like the Live Access because it makes working remotely so mush easier. And then I realized how much time the Online Reservation System saved me. Wow.
I wish that the Live Access system would add more modules, such as Training; and add more functionality to the invoicing/credit card aspects of the software.
Amber M.
Farming, 11-50 employees
Used daily for 2+ years
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Been using KC for over 19 years! Support is ALWAYS QUICK to help & super easy to work with. We would like it to be a bit more online friendly, but overall this IS the best Kennel Software out there. We have tried them ALL, & KC by far suits our HUGE facility the best!
Very easy to use interface. Easy to train employees to use quickly. Customer Service & support is EXCELLENT & makes us love KC even more
The online portal needs improvement, which I know is in the works, but clients NEED online interaction Please make is SQUARE compatible!! PLEASE!
Cathi D.
Consumer Services, 11-50 employees
Used daily for 2+ years
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Kennel Connection support has been the best. They respond quickly and get the job done. I don't need support that often but when I do I need it done with no hassles.
The scheduling and client/pet information are easy to find, easy to enter, easy to update, easy to understand. The day care or boarding calendar is easy to read. The ability to seperate day care from boarding or add it to a boarding booking is the best system I have found. I have demo'd all the other systems and this is the only one that works for my business.
The billing section could be a bit simpler to use and understand. There are a couple of ways to do the same thing and that is confusing for new employees when training.
Catherine S.
Hospitality, 11-50 employees
Used daily for 1-2 years
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Tough to navigate - unfriendly interface - outdated design and functionality. We used it just over a year and tried to get over these issues but after staff changes and facing re-train we gave up and changed - also didn't want to have to pay the hi annual support fees and no way can run this without support. It does everything you ever imagine and lots of things I'm sure most would never use - just discovering all it can do is a daunting task in itself. You need to be a detail techy type to love this product.
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Hi Catherine, All the features in Kennel Connection were added by customer request. Since the industry is run differently from shop to shop, we have added in many things that you may never use, but someone else needs. We have KC7 coming out soon with over 200 new customer requested features. I'm not sure if you are aware, but we do have training videos available to help train staff, but the basics can be taught in a half hour training session which we offer free upon purchase. Our support fees are the same as, or in some cases, lower than other desktop software companies. Have a great day!
Erica B.
Marketing and Advertising, 11-50 employees
Used daily for less than 6 months
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excellent customer service for providers and customer base
Not sure just yet hopefully nothing it is still new to us. We have had nothing but great customer service provided to us 24/7
Mike C.
Hospitality, 1-10 employees
Used daily for 2+ years
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More than anything customer support.
I like that they are continually making improvements and updates. I believe this is based on user input. I like the desktop version as we have intermittent and long term (over a day) Internet outrages and we can continue to work. Customer support, knowledge base, and training videos seem to be current. We don't need to tweak our processes to meet the software process. It goes with our flow. I look at other software about once a year and Kennel Connection seems to be the best so far.
There are 2 items that I wished the software would allow. One item would is one that I would leave over. The first is the amount of warning windows that pop up. I know it isn't this way, but it feels like every time we navigate through a booking there is a window that asks if we are sure we want to do that function. I can see where it would be helpful, but the ability to turn it off like vaccination warnings would be great. The one item I would leave over if another company provided it is custom reports. I would LOVE to run a report that tells me which category of pets (we charge by weight) provides the most revenue. As an example if I changed the weight category instead of raising prices how would that look? I may make more money by changing weight class than upping the charges.
Hello Mike, thank you for the review! There are some pop-ups that you can turn off but many of them are to help the customer avoid making a mistake. If you have suggestions for ones you'd like to be able to turn off, feel free to suggest them. We also offer customizations and custom reports. If you're interested, please call the office or e-mail me at jenn@bluecrystalsoftware.com Thank you again, we appreciate your business!
A T.
Hospitality, 11-50 employees
Used daily for 2+ years
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I've been using Kennel Connection for 7 years now, and I second most of what has already been said in the 1 and 2 star reviews. It is beyond irritating for a program to have the appearance of Windows/MS Office without the functionality of those programs. When a list contains multiple columns, why not make it possible to sort by those columns? There is a drop down menu that allows limited sorting...
The windows that pop up with vaccination warnings or other notes when you book a dog into a service.
See my entire review above.
Hello, Not knowing which company you are from as I can't find your name in our database, I would first suggest you update to the latest version. I see some things in your note that have changed. You might also want to check out our training videos, they may be of some help to you. We have a library of videos on YouTube. If we can help you, please let us know by calling or e-mailing. We're here to help. We have a feature request forum so you can request features, a trainer on staff, a full Knowledgebase of articles and much more to assist our customers. Again, please give us a call or send an e-mail if we can be of assistance. Thank you!
Debra W.
Consumer Services, 1-10 employees
Used daily for 2+ years
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The ability to grow customer base
Customer service is outstanding. Fast, knowledgeable & always willing to help Ability to keep track of clients, dogs, & their information I had previously reviewed this software as Excellent after being asked to by KC when I bragged on customer service but after continued use have become very frustrated with it.
Very user unfriendly Too many steps to book dogs Run occupancy is wrong a LOT Days on invoice are often wrong & overcharge clients We have to go over every detail of invoice before charging client Frustrating to move dogs because of steps Training program very indadequate Expensive to buy outright which I did because of internet instability Despite buying it, it won't transfer to new owner when we sell kennel without paying hundreds all over again Employees constantly complaining n about it You constantly have to go back & add additional information or click another button. Overall very cumbersome & hard to use/learn Despite Customer Service always being Excellent, I've had to contact them or research questions often.
Hello Debra, I'm sorry to hear you have had issues with steps. The software does work based on how you have your settings, it sounds like you may want to check those settings out to make sure it's set up to match how you run the business. I understand that you have sold the business, so please have the new owners contact us so we can assist with that. The licenses agreement is non-transferrable and that's something in the terms of service which is agreed upon when you install the software and requires a license transfer. We appreciate having you as a customers for the past few years and we wish you well.
John M.
Consumer Services, 11-50 employees
Used daily for 2+ years
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We have been using Kennel Connection for 10 years. Started with KC6 with one location to now using KC7 with multi-facilty module with 2 locations. [SENSITIVE CONTENT HIDDEN] and his team are a pleasure to work with and always seem to resolve issues we encounter very quickly. The online service portal allows easy upload of data files for analysis and repair and allows us to maintain minimal interruptions to our business when an issue is discovered. The software itself has seen many changes and features added over the past few years and confirms their commitment to ensure it meets our needs
Overall the software works well for Daycare, Boarding, Grooming, Training and other services. The software is quite flexible once you complete the training period. While the core software is not easy to learn and navigate, the addition of the Live Access module has significantly overcome this. The integration between all the modules listed above is seamless and works amazingly well with multi-locations. The ability to sync clients and packages/accounts between the locations allows customers to attend any of our locations knowing their information and credits are avaliable.
As a multi location facility the one shortfall in the software is the lack of thriv Live Access module for multi-location facilities. However we have Been advised this is in development. The other shortfall is the inability to create custom reports.
Becky K.
Consumer Services, 11-50 employees
Used daily for 2+ years
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great organization
We have been using KC since 2002!- could not be happier with customer service and easy of use- I have never been computer savy and have never had a problem or complaint that customer service is not quick to explain or help with. We have a good size staff and all are quick to learn on this user friendly, easy to navigate system.We use the online version and have been very impressed with it, despite...
not much to say as far as cons go- we use the online version and the cost seems a bit high, but not sure how I would function without it !
Thank you for your review and your business, Becky! We appreciate it.
Lisa B.
Consumer Services, 1-10 employees
Used daily for 2+ years
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My experience with KC has been a good one. I'm old school, I like that I can keep it simple and personal or add on modules if needed. CSR in customer service has helped me tremendously over the years. Thanks !
I find this program very easy to use. Although, I'm only using a small fraction of what this software is capable of, I like the simplicity of it. I have been with KC since the 90's and have had no major issues. The price seems very reasonable. I don't have all of the extra modules that are offered at an additional price, however. I like that I only pay for the ones I want to use.
I was told back in 1994 or 1995 when this program was first purchased that I would have lifetime support. I'm finding that support harder to get lately. Perhaps because I am using 2017's model. I am someone that uses maybe 5% of what this program has to offer so updating every year-two years doesn't make sense. I don't use the benefits of updated systems and I don't think they change all that much to warrant an upgrade.
Christina W.
Veterinary, 1-10 employees
Used daily for 2+ years
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Love it They are always available to help. They always fix any problems that may arise in the software.
Kennel Connection is easy to use (very user friendly). I also like the fact that the software is always updating and making additions to better serve our customers.
Since I have been using kennel connection for 20 years, integration was not an issue for me. However, the thing I dislike the most would be the lack of customization a lot of areas.
Dorien A.
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I've been using KC since 2007 or 8 ... When the light bulbs went off as to how it work , my thought was wow!, that's so easy... Of course we've had minor issue , But the KC support team has always been there to help, sometimes beyond their responsibility. They are always updating and open to suggestions, I have few, they are as follows 1: a 2nd Text tab (and an auto removal of the () and - for...
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Thank you for your review, Dorien! Please be sure to enter your feature requests in the support center so we have them on the list for the next version. We have kept our support renewal costs as low as possible and in line with competition. It allows us to continue to offer new features in the software and provide upgrades as well as have plenty of staff on hand to assist with support and training needs. Thank you again for your kind words, we appreciate your long term loyalty!
Crystal J.
1-10 employees
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This was the first software that I ever used in my grooming career at a boarding facility. When I went out on my own and opened a grooming salon I bought this software. Loved it, but decided to try something different a few years later. While I know longer use KC, I often find myself wanting to go back to it. Their client and pet screens set up is superb! Only problem with it is the layout of the...
Pet and client screens.
Not enough reports, expensive, no payroll, and layout of appointment screen
Hi Crystal, We are revamping the program for the next release, Kennel Connection 7.0, and some of the schedules will be changing. We currently have hundreds of reports available in the system now, but if a customer feels a report is missing, we have customer feature request that allows customers to request features and reports. We are adding in over 200 requests to 7.0 for the initial release. Thank you for your review and have a great day!
Suzan L.
Farming, 1-10 employees
Used daily for 2+ years
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I have been using KC for 22 years and always been impressed with any contact made with customer service! Which has honestly been very little! The program does much more that we have even taken the time to learn - but we are excited to use Access Live and not even having launched it yet to the public I have saved time today!! I am confident that this is a game changer - will save me money and time !
I am very happy with the ability of the client to request their reservation - choose their services, upload their vaccinations. They can now log in and confirm their appointments - saving me from phone calls.
so far I have not found one thing that I dislike or like least - we are pumped about it all!
Keith M.
Hospitality, 11-50 employees
Used daily for 2+ years
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Overall, KC and the entire team has been a pleasure to work with. We recommend Kennel Connection to any Pet Boarding, Daycare, and Grooming business.
We have been using Kennel Connection for about 9 years. Over time the product has continued to develop and has become the single most important piece of software for our business. The leadership is incredibly easy to work with, and they have quickly become trusted partners rather than just a software vendor.
As with any software development is a continuous process. There are features that we would love to see rolled out into the future, and Kennel Connection does a great job with keeping their roadmap up to date, and listens to the users on functionality the product lacks.
Nina R.
Veterinary, 51-200 employees
Used daily for 2+ years
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My experience has been good overall. The support is very personable and helpful. They have helped me out of a few pickles and that is greatly appreciated. [SENSITIVE CONTENT] have been absolutely wonderful to us.
The software is easy to use and navigate. There are 2-3 different ways to do almost every function which can make it a bit confusing to train on with a new employee. We do like the ease of navigating the software though.
The reports can be a bit confusing and take time to understand. I wish that the import to Quickbooks worked. This would save us about 25 hours per week in manually doing our accounting. The sync doesn't work if your company takes deposits to hold reservations.
David B.
Veterinary, 1-10 employees
Used daily for 2+ years
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I will be honest in this review as well. My overall experience is been absolutely amazing. The one person that makes me say this is employee named [sensitive content hidden] with a company for a long time he worked diligently and long hours. She is very customer oriented.
I’m gonna be honest in this review, I have been with his company long before Kennel Connections took over and Kennel Connection has brought the pet wear salt industry further than I could ever imagine. This company is always working hard and diligently, improving and adding new and better features to me all of our needs.
I haven’t found anything that I don’t like
Catherine S.
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It does everything you could ever imagine or need and then some. Figuring it out can be tricky - trying to train part-time staff to use it very difficult. Incredibly detailed and good run speed and functionality but big learning curve to get good at it and navigate from place to place quickly. Overall look not real user friendly and can feel chunky and awkward to get around but to support the great...
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Hello Catherine, Thank you for your review. I hope you have taken advantage of the free training upon purchase and also the training videos. There is a drag and drop element that people tend to miss without watching our training videos or doing some training. I hope you were able to learn the easiest way to get around in the software. There are a lot of options in the software because we have...
Joyce K.
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We purchased Kennel Connection at a tradeshow before researching all the other amazing ones on Capterra. We found that our manual system of Microsoft Excel and Outlook Calendar is way more functional than this program. It took us days to input all our current clients and the ease of use of system (including dates) was inconsistent. There is way too many tabs for options - which becomes overwhelming....
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Hello Joyce, I'm sorry you are having difficulties with Kennel Connection. I looked at your file and see you haven't installed any of the updates we've posted. I'll send you a link so you can do that, as it may rectify some of your issues. If you had a client list in another file, we could have imported that for you. I'm not sure if you were aware of that? We have many tabs and options because...