The invoice chase
You finished the session. You send the invoice. You wait. A week goes by. You send a polite reminder. Another few days. You text. The owner says "oh sorry, I forgot!" and pays. But you spent mental energy — and time — chasing money you already earned.
For most pet professionals, invoicing is the least favorite part of the job. It is not why you got into this work. But it is how you get paid — and if you do not handle it well, it costs you both money and dignity.
The good news: invoicing can be almost entirely automated. Not the payment itself — but the creation, delivery, and follow-up. Here is how.
Invoices generated from sessions
The most common invoicing mistake is creating invoices manually. You open a template, type in the client name, the session date, the amount, the description. Repeat for every session. Every week.
In Oden, invoices are generated from sessions. When you complete a session, you click "Create invoice." The client, dog, date, service type, and amount are pre-filled. You review and send. Total time: 10 seconds.
No typing. No templates. No Excel spreadsheet. The invoice is connected to the session, which is connected to the plan, which is connected to the dog. Full traceability.
Online payments: deposits, sessions, and packages
Paper checks are dead. Cash is inconvenient. The modern pet business accepts online payments — and not just for sessions. You should be able to accept:
- Deposits at booking. New clients pay a deposit when they book their first session. Reduces no-shows to near zero.
- Session fees. Pay-per-session after each appointment.
- Packages. Sell a 6-session package for $600. Owners pay upfront. Sessions deduct from the package automatically.
- Plans. Sell a 6-week behavior modification plan as a package. Billable as a product, not just sessions.
In Oden, you can bring your own Stripe account — no platform markup on payment processing. You pay Stripe's fee (2.9% + 30¢) and nothing on top. No gateway fees.
Automatic follow-ups
This is where the magic happens. When an invoice is sent, Oden can automatically send polite follow-up reminders:
- 3 days after invoice: "Just a friendly reminder — your invoice is due."
- 7 days after invoice: "Your invoice is now overdue. You can pay online here: [link]."
- 14 days after invoice: "We haven't received payment yet. Please reach out if there's an issue."
These follow-ups are polite, professional, and automatic. You do not send them. You do not think about them. The system handles it — and you stop being the debt collector.
Session packages: sell more, chase less
Selling sessions one-at-a-time is the hardest way to run a pet business. Every session is a separate transaction, a separate invoice, a separate payment. And owners can cancel anytime — leaving you with gaps in your calendar.
Packages solve this. You sell a 6-session package for $600. The owner pays upfront. When they book a session, Oden automatically deducts it from their package and shows them how many sessions are left. No invoicing per session. No chasing. The money is already in your account.
Packages also increase average order value. Owners who would never commit to 6 sessions at $100 each will often commit to a $600 package — because it feels like a product, not a series of transactions.
No payment processing markup
Most pet software platforms charge a "gateway fee" — a percentage of your payment volume on top of what Stripe or PayPal charges. If you process $10,000/month, a 2% gateway fee costs you $200/month — every month, forever.
Oden does not charge a gateway fee. Bring your own Stripe account. You pay Stripe's fee (2.9% + 30¢ per transaction) and nothing on top. That is $0 in platform markup — which saves you $200-$600/month compared to platforms that charge gateway fees.