Which software to run a pet boarding business?

Running a pet boarding business — whether a professional boarding kennel, a cattery or a livery yard — involves much more than looking after animals. Booking calendar, communication with owners, managing medical treatments, invoicing, mandatory paperwork for health inspections: the admin load is real. Son Espace Pension is an app designed to digitise and simplify all these tasks.

The specific needs of a pet boarding facility

A boarding facility is not just accommodation. It commits to the welfare of animals entrusted by their owners, sometimes for several weeks. Effective boarding software therefore has to meet three requirements: the animals' safety (access to medical information), communication with owners (reassuring them and keeping them loyal) and regulatory compliance (in France, DDPP obligations).

The key features of Son Espace Pension

1. The booking calendar

A visual calendar lets you manage arrivals and departures, see availability in real time and avoid double bookings. It is especially useful for planning ahead for peak periods — school holidays, long weekends — and maximising occupancy.

2. The health record shared with the owner

This is the feature that sets Son Espace Pension apart. When an owner confirms the boarding period from their Son Espace Santé app, the boarding facility automatically gets access to the animal's health record: current treatments, allergies, medical history, contact details of the usual vet. No paper form to fill in on arrival.

3. The holiday logbook, shared in real time

During the stay, the boarding facility posts photos and daily notes in the animal's logbook. The owner receives them directly in their Son Espace Santé app, with no need for a separate app or access code. This transparent follow-up reassures owners and keeps them coming back: a client who sees their dog smiling in the boarding kennel's garden every day doesn't look elsewhere.

4. Tracking treatments during the stay

Giving medication twice a day to a boarding animal without making a mistake is a serious responsibility. Son Espace Pension clearly displays each animal's current treatments (medicines, doses, times) and lets staff record each administration directly in the record. This builds a reliable history and prevents missed doses.

5. Activities and the stay logbook

Every walk, meal, play session or care task can be noted in the animal's logbook. These entries keep the owner informed in real time and build a complete stay report handed over when the animal goes home.

6. Built-in invoicing

Son Espace Pension includes a full invoicing module: creating quotes, issuing invoices, tracking payments per stay, transaction history. Documents can be customised with your branding and exported. No need for separate invoicing software.

7. E-invoicing

Son Espace Pension has built-in e-invoicing, now mandatory for businesses in France. The invoices generated comply with the structured Factur-X format, ready to be sent via partner approved platforms (PDP) with no third-party tool. This compliance is available in all three professional apps: Son Espace Pension, Son Espace Refuge and Son Espace Éleveur.

8. Regulatory documents for the DDPP

In France, every boarding facility subject to DDPP regulations (the local animal health and consumer protection authority) must keep an up-to-date register of arrivals and departures and a health log. Son Espace Pension generates these documents automatically from the data you enter, and lets you export them in a few clicks to show during official inspections.

Son Espace Pension pricing

• Hobby plan — Free: up to 2 animals boarding at the same time, ideal for beginners
• Passion plan — €14.99/month: up to 5 animals, shared logbook, accounting, e-invoicing
• Pro 10 plan — €29.99/month: up to 10 animals, the most popular plan
• Pro 25 plan — €39.99/month: up to 25 animals, for growing businesses
• Pro Unlimited plan — €79.99/month: unlimited animals, for large professional boarding facilities

All paid plans are available monthly or yearly, with two months free on annual billing, and include the e-invoicing that becomes mandatory in France on 1^st September 2026.

Compatibility

Son Espace Pension is available on iPhone, iPad, Android phones and tablets, and as a web app in any browser. Staff can use the app on their own devices, with no hardware investment.