Your Booking Page and the Collar App: What Each One Does

Your booking page and the Collar app share the same client accounts and the same live bookings, but they are built for different jobs. The booking page is a quick, simple way to book with nothing to install. The app is where clients see photos and reports, message you and get notifications. This guide explains when to use each one and how to bring new clients on board smoothly.

Prerequisites

Your booking page link, from the Collar platform.
The services you want clients to book set to Available, with a schedule attached.
Optional: established clients with the Collar app, or your own branded app, installed.

Overview

	Booking page	Collar app
Best for	A first booking, with nothing to install	Ongoing bookings, messages and notifications
Signing in	Email and a 4-digit code	The same account, the same way
Service photos	Not shown	Shown on each service, if you’ve added them
Pet reports	Not shown	Shown on the pet’s profile
Retail products	Not sold here	Bought through the cart
Forms during booking	Yes	Yes
Filling in a form on its own	Yes, on your forms page	No
Notifications	Email (text messages only if the client has turned them on)	App notifications, plus email and text messages

The booking page does not show service photos at all. Its list is deliberately simple: name, short description and price, with available times on the next step. The only other pictures are your business logo at the top and the client’s pet photos. In the app, each service shows the photos you’ve added, and your cover photo sits at the top of your page.

How to Bring New Clients On Board

Send your booking page link. Put it on your website, social media and emails. It opens straight to your services with nothing to install, which is the quickest way from interest to a booking.
They choose and book. The client:
1. Picks a service, any options, and a date and time.
2. Enters their email and the 4-digit code we send them. New clients also enter their name.
3. Adds their pet and chooses who the booking is for.
4. Answers any required forms.
5. Adds their card details on the summary and books.
There is no password to create.
Invite them to the app afterwards. Once they are a regular, the app is the better place for them. It gives them reminders and confirmations as notifications, direct messaging with your team, service photos, pet reports and quicker rebooking.

Important Notes, Tips & Warnings

Tip: Keep uploading service photos. They are doing their job in the app, even though the booking page does not show them.
Note: One account, no password. Clients use the same email on both and sign in with a 4-digit code emailed to them each time. The code works once and expires after about an hour. Asking for a new code resends the same one.
Note: Forms linked to a service are asked during booking on both the booking page and the app, and the answers end up in the same place on the pet. In the app, clients see a short introduction and then the questions, with a progress bar, before the booking summary.
Note: Forms that are not linked to a service can only be filled in on your forms page. If your booking page link ends in /brands/your-branch-name/book, swap /book for /forms. The app does not have a forms page.
Note: Retail products are bought in the app only, when the client is signed in. The booking page is for services and memberships and has no cart.
Note: Signing up through your booking page link doesn’t connect a client to your business on its own. The connection is made when they book, order, pay for a membership or submit a form with you, or when your team adds them.
Note: Text messages only go out when SMS is switched on for your account, the client has a UK or US mobile number on their profile, and they have turned SMS on. Clients do this in the app, or your team can do it for them. Email works for everyone.
Note: Daily updates with photos can be shared as pet reports, such as Daycare or Walking reports. Clients see them on their pet’s profile in the app, and you can also share them in chat.
Note: Branded apps use the same accounts as the Collar app, so the same email and code work in both.
Warning: The app is for pet owners only. Staff accounts will not work in it; your team uses the Collar platform in a web browser on a desktop or tablet.
Note: Both are live. A booking made on either appears on your calendar straight away, as a request unless the service confirms bookings automatically.

Troubleshooting

Issue: A new client downloaded the app and cannot find your business.
Resolution: Ask them to tap the magnifying glass on the Book tab and search for you by name. If you have your own branded app, check they installed yours rather than the standard Collar app. They do not need a second account; sending your booking page link works too, with the same sign-in.

Issue: You have your own branded app, but clients keep ending up in the standard Collar app.
Resolution: The Download button (on phones) and the QR code (on computers), shown after someone books on your booking page, always lead to the standard Collar app. Send clients your own store link instead.

Issue: A business owner signed in to the app with their work email and was asked to sign up.
Resolution: The app only recognises pet-owner accounts, so a work email that is not registered as a client is sent to sign-up. Use the Collar platform in a browser instead. Backing out of sign-up leaves the business account untouched. If a client profile was created by mistake, support can remove it.

Issue: A client never got a password, or wants to reset one.
Resolution: There is no password on either. Sign-in is email plus a 4-digit code. Ask them to check their junk folder and confirm the email matches the one you hold.

Issue: A client isn’t getting text messages.
Resolution: Check that SMS is switched on for your account, that the client has a UK or US mobile number on their profile, and that SMS is turned on for them.

Issue: A client says the booking page looks empty compared with the app.
Resolution: That is expected, because the booking page does not show service photos. Check the service is Available and has a schedule attached. If it shows its price and available times, it is working properly.

Issue: A client wants to buy a product on the booking page.
Resolution: Products can only be bought in the app. The booking page has no cart.