Help Center
Everything you need to know to get the most out of GroomRoute.
Getting Started
1. Add Your Customers
Start by adding your existing clients. You can add them one at a time or import them in bulk from a CSV file.
- Go to Clients in the sidebar
- Click Add Client and choose manual entry or CSV import
- Add their address, phone number, and pets
2. Set Up Your Service Areas
Areas help you group appointments by location so you're not driving all over town. For example, "North Austin" on Mondays and "South Austin" on Tuesdays.
- Go to Settings → Areas
- Click Add Area and name it (e.g., "Downtown", "Westside")
- Optionally assign specific days to each area
- When adding or editing clients, assign them to an area based on their location
3. Schedule Appointments
Once you have clients, schedule their appointments for the day.
- Go to Appointments in the sidebar
- Click New Appointment
- Select the client, pet, service type, and time
4. Optimize Your Route
Let GroomRoute figure out the best order for your appointments to minimize driving time.
- Go to Routes in the sidebar
- Click Optimize Route
- Your appointments will be reordered for the shortest total drive time
5. Start Your Day
When you're ready to hit the road, start your workday to begin navigation.
- Click Start Workday on the Routes page
- Tap on any appointment to navigate with one tap
- Mark appointments as complete as you finish them
Routes & Navigation
How does route optimization work?
GroomRoute uses smart algorithms to calculate the most efficient order for your appointments based on driving distance and time. It considers your starting location (your base address) and finds the route that minimizes total travel time between stops.
What are Area Days?
Area Days help you group appointments by geographic area. For example, you might do North Austin on Mondays and South Austin on Tuesdays. This keeps your driving tight and predictable. You can set up Service Areas in Settings and assign customers to areas.
Can I manually reorder my route?
Yes! After optimizing, you can drag and drop appointments to change the order. This is useful when you know something the algorithm doesn't, like a client who needs to be first because of their schedule.
Which navigation app does it use?
You can choose between Google Maps and Apple Maps. Go to Settings → Profile to set your preference. When you tap "Navigate" on an appointment, it will open your preferred maps app with the destination pre-filled.
Appointments
How do I cancel or reschedule an appointment?
Tap on the appointment to open the details. From there, you can change the status to "Cancelled" or edit the date and time. If you use the Calm Control Center, you can also use "Skip Stop" to remove an appointment from today's route and optionally notify the client.
What do the appointment statuses mean?
Confirmed - Ready to go
In Progress - You're currently at this appointment
Completed - Done!
Cancelled - Appointment was cancelled
No Show - Client wasn't available
What is workload protection?
GroomRoute tracks the physical intensity of each pet you groom. A day of 4 doodles is very different from 4 chihuahuas. Each pet gets an intensity level (Light, Moderate, Demanding, or Intensive), and your daily total is tracked against your personal limit. You'll see warnings when your day is getting too heavy. Set your daily limit in Settings → Profile.
Can I send "On My Way" messages?
Yes! On the Routes page, each appointment has an "On My Way" button. Tap it to quickly send an SMS or message letting the client know you're headed their way. You can customize the message template in Settings.
Clients & Pets
How do I import my existing clients?
Go to Clients → Add Client → Import from CSV. Download our template to see the expected format, or upload your own CSV with columns for client name, phone, email, address, and pet details. We'll automatically detect duplicates.
What are behavior flags?
Behavior flags are notes you can add to a pet's profile to remember special handling needs. Examples: "Bite risk", "Needs muzzle", "Anxious", "Senior". These show up when booking appointments so you don't forget.
What is the high-risk client warning?
GroomRoute tracks cancellations and no-shows per client. If a client has 3+ cancellations or no-shows, you'll see a warning when booking them. This helps you decide if you want to require a deposit or confirm by phone before scheduling.
Online Booking
How do I set up my booking page?
Go to Settings → Online Booking and toggle it on. You'll get a unique booking link (e.g., groomroute.com/book/your-name) that you can share with clients. They can enter their address, pick a date, and book an appointment without any back-and-forth texting.
How does the booking flow work for clients?
Clients go through 4 steps: (1) Enter their address - GroomRoute checks if they're in your service area and suggests the best days, (2) Tell us about their pet - breed and size help estimate appointment duration, (3) Pick a date and time - only shows slots that are actually available, (4) Enter their contact info. The appointment then appears on your dashboard automatically.
Can I customize my booking URL?
Yes! In Settings → Online Booking, you can edit your booking slug to something memorable. This is what appears in your booking URL after /book/.
Calm Center
What is the Calm Center?
The Calm Center is your one-tap toolkit for handling the chaos of a grooming day. Running behind? No-show? Need to lighten your load? Instead of panic-texting clients individually, the Calm Center gives you quick actions that handle everything in one tap.
How does "Running Late" work?
Tap "Running Behind" in the Calm Center, select how late you are, and GroomRoute generates professional messages for all your remaining clients with their updated estimated arrival times. No need to text each person individually.
What other quick actions are available?
Lighten Day - Move non-essential appointments to a lighter day
Protect Evening - Shift late appointments to keep your evening free
No Show - Handle a no-show and mark the client's record
Take a Breather - Schedule a quick break between appointments
Upset Customer - Get a pre-written empathetic response
Reply Help - AI-assisted message drafting for tricky situations
Workload Protection
What are groom intensity levels?
Every pet gets an intensity level based on breed, size, and coat type:
Light (1 point) - Small dogs, short coats (e.g., Chihuahua, French Bulldog)
Moderate (2 points) - Standard grooms (e.g., Shih Tzu, Cocker Spaniel)
Demanding (3 points) - Double coats, large breeds (e.g., Goldendoodle, Husky)
Intensive (4 points) - Giant breeds, matted coats, reactive dogs
GroomRoute suggests an intensity level based on the breed, but you can always override it.
How does the daily intensity limit work?
You set a daily intensity limit in Settings → Profile (default is 12 points). As you book appointments, GroomRoute adds up the intensity points. You'll see warnings when your day is getting heavy, and your dashboard shows your current workload level (light, moderate, busy, heavy, or overloaded).
Google Calendar
How do I connect Google Calendar?
Go to Settings → Integrations and click "Request Access" for Google Calendar. Once approved, you'll be able to connect your Google account and choose which calendar to sync with. Appointments you create in GroomRoute will appear in your Google Calendar, and vice versa.
Can I import existing appointments from Google Calendar?
Yes! After connecting, you can import events from Google Calendar in bulk. GroomRoute will show you a preview of the events before importing so you can choose which ones to bring in. This is a great way to get started if your schedule is already in Google Calendar.
Team Management
How do I add team members?
Team management is available on the Pro plan. Go to Settings → Team and click "Invite Member". Enter their email and select a role (Admin or Groomer). They'll receive an email invitation to create their account and join your team.
What's the difference between Admin and Groomer roles?
Admin - Full access to everything: billing, settings, all groomers' schedules, analytics, and team management.
Groomer - Can view and manage their own schedule, route, and clients. Cannot access billing, team settings, or other groomers' data.
Account & Billing
How do I upgrade my plan?
Go to Settings → Billing. You'll see your current plan and options to upgrade. Upgrades take effect immediately, and you'll be charged a prorated amount for the remainder of your billing cycle.
How do I cancel my subscription?
Go to Settings → Billing and click "Cancel subscription" at the bottom of the page. We'll ask a few quick questions to understand what wasn't working - your feedback helps us improve. Your access continues until the end of your current billing period.
What happens when my trial ends?
If you added a payment method, you'll be charged automatically when your trial ends. If not, you'll be prompted to add one. Your data is never deleted - you can always come back and pick up where you left off.
Still have questions?
We're here to help! Reach out and we'll get back to you as quickly as possible.
Email Supporthello@groomroute.com