Key safe code, side gate, the dog is in the kitchen
Your nine o'clock is a working couple with a cockapoo. They left a message months ago: key safe by the back door, code in the text, dog in the kitchen, lock the back door after. Your ten thirty is similar, but the dog is in the garden and the side gate sticks. Your afternoon client's alarm needs to be turned off within thirty seconds.
All of this is in text messages, scattered across months. On the day, you scroll back through each thread while parked outside, looking for the right code. One of them has changed and nobody told you.
Afterwards, the owner comes home to find the back door unlocked. You are sure you locked it. There is no record either way.
If you ever hire a second groomer or someone covers your round while you are away, all of that knowledge needs handing over, and most of it is on your phone.
Access details live in text threads
Mobile groomers are trusted with homes as well as dogs. The information that trust depends on is kept informally, and what happens at each house is not recorded.
- Key safe codes, alarm codes and gate notes are in message threads.
- Changes to codes are not always passed on.
- Nothing records when the dog was collected and returned.
- There is no confirmation that doors and gates were secured.
- A cover groomer has no reliable way to get the details.
Lost time, awkward questions and a lot of trust at stake
Scrolling through messages outside each house wastes time and causes mistakes. If a door is left open or a dog gets out of a garden, a record of what you did matters. Owners who are at work want reassurance that their dog and home are fine. And informal handling of codes is a security risk in itself if your phone is lost.
How we build secure access notes and handback logs
- Each client's access details (key safe, alarm, gate, where the dog will be, any quirks) are stored in an encrypted field on their record, entered by the owner through a secure link or by you.
- The details are shown on your phone only for that client, only on the day of the booking, and are hidden again afterwards.
- When you arrive, you tap collected, and when you return the dog you tap returned, with a quick photo of the dog back inside and the door or gate closed.
- Your app prompts a short checklist you define before you leave: door locked, key back in safe, gate latched, alarm set.
- The owner gets a message when the dog is collected and another when it is safely home, with the photo.
- Owners can update codes through the same secure link, and the change is flagged to you before the next visit.
| Moment | Today | With access notes and logs |
|---|---|---|
| Finding the key safe code | Scroll through messages | Shown on the day's booking |
| Code changed | Found at the door | Owner updates it, you are alerted |
| Dog returned | No record | Time and photo logged |
| Door left unlocked? | Your word | Checklist and photo |
What access you accept and what your checklist includes are your decisions, perhaps with your insurer's input. We make sure your routine is followed and recorded.
A round of empty houses that owners trust you with
You pull up, the code and notes are on screen, and the dog is where the owner said. When you leave, the checklist and photo take a moment. The owner, at their desk, gets a photo of their freshly groomed dog back in the kitchen and a note that the door is locked. If there is ever a question, the log answers it.
If someone covers your round, they see exactly what you would see, only for the days they are working.
Is this how you manage access?
- Key safe and alarm codes are in text messages.
- You have arrived to find a code had changed.
- Nothing records when dogs were collected and returned.
- Owners at work get no confirmation that all is well.
- A cover groomer could not easily get the details.