Pet Sitting Business Forms

Protect Your Business with a Signed Contract

You have done all the basic necessities to start your pet sitting business, now it is time to get ready for clients. The first step is to get your paperwork in order. This is essential to your organization.

The essential business forms you will need are:

1. Service Contract
2. Pet Care Information Sheets
3. Veterinarian Care Release
4. Report Card

These are what I would consider the bare necessities, but there are many more that will contribute to making your business much easier and much more organized.

Let's talk about what should be in your pet sitting service contract first. Firstly, I don't like (and your clients will not like either) to call the contract a "contract". I like to call it a service agreement. It is essentially the same thing just with different terminology. Contracts have been given a bad name and therefore scare people off. People feel they are signing away their options and are obligated to then stay with your services no matter what. Instead of a pet sitting contract, I like to call it a pet sitting service agreement. It sounds nicer and less binding although it is just as binding.

The pet sitting service agreement should include the name and address of the home you will be working in as well as your name to show it is an agreement between yourself and the homeowner. This allows you to be in the home. It should then lay out what you will be doing there. You should have all your business policies spelt out and a place for your client to agree to them. Some of your business policies should include liability issues such as damage, aggression, illnesses, accidents, etc. You should also list your cancellation policy, payment policy, etc. There is a lot of thought that should go into a service contract and it should not be taken lightly. The contract is there to protect your business and your pocket.

The next item is your pet care information sheets. These sheets will have all the required information to care for the pet such as breed, color, microchip number, shot record, birthday, etc. Then they will ask questions about how the client wants you to take care of the pet. These sheets should be pre-filled with all the questions so you will not forget to ask the client any important questions. You should have a separate sheet for each type of animal because each type of animal requires different sorts of care.

When I first started my business, I did not have a sheet and just came with pencil and paper. I found upon returning to the office, that I was notorious for forgetting something which would result in me making a phone call. I then made an information sheet to help guide me in these questions. You can even give the information sheet to your client to fill out, but I would recommend you doing it with your client so you are both on the same page. You would then save this form for each future visit to refer back to.

The next essential form is the veterinarian release. This is used to allow you to take the pet to the vet without baring the responsibility of the payment. It will list who the pet's normal vet is and give you permission to take to another vet if necessary.

The last essential form is the report card. This is left behind after each visit to document what you did and how the pet(s) did on each of your visits. The client's like to read about their pet's day upon their return. This will also help eliminate the need for follow up phone calls.

There are many other forms which will aid you in simplifying your business such as the medication permission slip which will give you permission to administer meds and give medication admistering instructions. The telephone reservation form will help with those phone inquiries and the satisfaction survey will help you get some feedback on your services.

All of these forms and more are offered in the pet sitting package located on the Home Business Forms website. This complete package includes 25 forms which will all come to you personalized with all of your business information and a logo (if provided) for a low price of $42.99! All you will need to do is print the forms. You will receive a completed product.

To purchase pre-made business forms for your small business, go to Home Business Forms. This company specializes in forms for small business owners and one of their specialties is pet sitting.

Once you have done all the above steps, it is time to start getting some clients. We will discuss marketing tips next.

Pet Sitter Insurance

Pet Sitter Insurance

In this section we will discuss the different types of pet sitting insurance companies available for your pet sitting business.

Pet Sitting insurance is very important for your business. Pet Sitting Insurance will cover you from any damage you may cause to the client's home such as knocking over an expensive vase. It will also cover you if you lose grip of the dog's lead and it attacks another dog or person. Most clients will expect you to have pet sitting liability insurance to protect themselves and their pet while they are in your care.

Below is a list of all the pet sitting insurance companies we could find in select countries. We have provided you with a link to each company website and some pricing information (scroll down the page).

Please visit each pet sitting insurance company in your country to compare deductibles, premiums, coverage amounts, etc. to be sure you are receiving the correct coverage for your business.

US insurance Carriers:
Pet Sitters Associates (PSA, LLC)
Business Insurers of the Carolinas

Mourer Foster (also in Canada)

Canadian Insurance Carriers:
Verge Insurance Group
Horizon Insurance
Binks
Schofield-Aker Insurance

UK Insurance Carriers:
Pet Secure
Pet Business Insurance
Cliverton
National Pet Sitters
Park Insurance
NARDS

Australian Insurance Carriers:
Barker Meier Insurance Brokers

You can also purchase liability insurance through local carriers. It is best to compare all carriers and decide which is best for you.

Below is more detailed information on each provider.

United States Pet Sitting Liability Insurance Providers:

* In the US, you can find PSA, LLC at http://www.petsitllc.com/. This organization is different because their pet sitting insurance fee is included in the annual membership fee. The membership dues are a low fee of $164 per year! This is for membership AND pet sitting insurance. You can also purchase special property coverage for an additional $95 per year. This works similar to bonding (only better) and will cover your business against personal property damage, care, custody and control and theft. Visit http://www.petsitllc.com/ for more information on their membership or to fill out and application. You can also see there pet sitting insurance coverage specifically at http://www.insfac.com/petsitters.php.

* Business Insurers of the Carolinas is contracted with PSI and NAPPS. This means you must be a member of either organization in order to purchase their insurance.

Pet Sitters International (PSI) can be found at http://www.petsit.com/. The cost of their membership only starts at $140.

National Association of Professional Pet Sitters (NAPPS) can be found at http://www.petsitters.org/. The cost of their membership only starts at $160.

Once you pay for membership to either PSI or NAPPS, you can then purchase pet sitting insurance through Business Insurers of the Carolinas. Insurance coverage starts at $274. You can find more information about them specifically by visiting http://www.petsitterinsurance.com/.

* Mourer Foster offers pet sitting liability insurance by visiting http://www.mourerfoster.com/petsitters.shtml. Insurance coverage starts at $350. You can also pay your premiums annually, semi-annually or quarterly which is nice for those on a tight budget.

Canadian Pet Sitting Liability Insurance Providers:

Verge Insurance Group offers pet sitting liability insurance for $625 per year. You do not need to belong to any organizations. You can also make monthly payments. You can find Verge at http://www.vergeinsurance.com/.

Horizon Insurance offers pet sitting liability insurance to members of All Canadian Pet Services Network (ACPSN) located at http://www.acpsn.com/. The cost of membership to ACPSN is $70 CDN. Insurance through this company is $575 per year.

Binks offers insurance to Canadian members of PSI. The cost of the insurance starts at $600 plus membership to PSI (which starts at $140). You can find Binks at http://www.binks.ca/index.cfml?fuseaction=content.view&id=9.

Schofield-Aker Insurance offers insurance coverage to members of the International Association of Canine Professionals. You can find them located at http://www.dogpro.org/. IACP membership dues start at $50 for an associate membership and goes up to $100 for a professional membership. Insurance with this company is $765. You can pay in full or make 2-4 installments per year.

United Kingdom Pet Sitting Liability Insurance Providers:

Pet Secure offers liability insurance for pet sitters on an individual basis. For more information, visit http://www.petsecure.co.uk/Index.aspx or call 0117 9556835.

Pet Business Insurance provides insurance starting at £109.00 for care, custody and control. You can also add on employee coverage, equipment coverage and more. For more information and a free quote, go to http://www.petbusinessinsurance.co.uk/dog_walker_business_insurance.aspx.

Cliverton insurance can be found at http://www.cliverton.co.uk/pages/dog_walking.php. Their premium starts at £136.50.

National Pet Sitters is located at http://www.dogsit.com/. Insurance is included in the membership fee. For new members, membership is £120 plus a one time registration fee of £370.

Park Insurance can be found at http://www.parkinsurance.co.uk/. Their premium starts at £58.01, this does not include coverage for the pet and is based on a £1,000,000 PL for third parties only. To include coverage for the pet, it is an additional premium starting at £98.00.

NARDS - National Association of Registers Dog Sitters - can be found at http://www.nards.co.uk/. Membership is £49.99 per year and includes discounted insurance premiums.

Australian Pet Sitting Insurance Carriers:

Barker Meier Insurance Brokers Pty Ltd can be found at http://www.barkermeier.com.au/page/products__services.html#pets. Insurance from this company is also offered for members of Pet Industry Association of Australia (PIAA) located at http://www.piaa.net.au/index.html. Insurance premiums start at $330 and go up from there depending on where you live.

If you know of any pet sitting insurance company not listed above, please let us know so that we can update our information. Click here to send an email.

Business Structure

What Type of Business Structure Should You Set Up?

There are 5 different business structures in which you can set up your business as.

These are:

1. Sole Proprietor (most common)
2. Partnership
3. Corporation (Inc. or Ltd.)
4. S Corporation
5. Limited Liability Company (LLC)

Let's talk about the Sole Proprietor first: The sole proprietorship is the most common structure to form amongst pet sitters. It is inexpensive to form. It is usually owned by a single person or a married couple. The owner is personally liable for all business debts and may file on their personal income tax.

Next is the Partnership: Partnerships are also inexpensive to form. They usually require an agreement between two or more individuals to jointly own and operate the business. The partners share all aspects of the business (good and bad) in accordance to the agreement. It could be a 50/50 partnership or anything else agreed to in writing. Partnerships do not pay taxes, but must file an informational return. Individual partners would then report their share of profits and losses on their personal return.

Next is a Limited Liability Corporation or LLC: This is very common amongst pet sitters. It is advantageous for small businesses because it reduces the risk of losing all your personal assets should you be faced with a law suit. It separates your business and personal assets. You can also elect to be taxed like a corporation which saves you at tax time.

Next is a C Corporation: This is a complex business structure with more start up costs than many others. This is not a very common structure amongst pet sitters since there are shares of stocks involved. Profits are taxed both at the corporate level and again when distributed to shareholders. Lawyers are usually involved at this level.

And Finally is a S Corporation: This is more common than the C Corporation since it avoids double taxation. It is taxed like a Partnership. A business must be approved to be classified as such, so it is not a very common entity amongst pet sitters.

There are also other structures which are specific to certain states. Some of these include Limited Partnership and Limited Liability Partnership. As always, we recommend getting professional advice from your accountant and lawyer as to which would be more advantageous to your business from a legal and taxable point of view.

In the next installment we will talk about where to purchase insurance and bonding.

Business License

Do I Need a Business License?

Most people are very confused about this. Pet Sitting does not require a trade business license, but most states will require you to register your business with the state. To find out what your state licensing agency requires, visit the Small Business Administration's list of states and click on your state. This will take you straight to your state's business website. Once you are there, browse around to see what sort of licensing they will require of you. It is usually fairly easy to find this online, but if you are having trouble finding it, just find a phone number and give them a call. They will be able to tell you all you need to do to become a legal business entity.

Canada may require you to file Declaration of Trade Name Form. You may also be required to acquire a Master Business License or municipality license in each area you may service. For more information, visit your local city hall or goverment office.

In most of the UK, a pet sitting license is not required however, in some areas you may be required to hold a license if you walk more than 4 dogs. This license is free of charge. Visit http://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/Home/EnvironmentandTransport/Dogs/dogwalking.htm for more information.

When you register for your business license, they will ask you what sort of business entity you will want to register under. There are a few options: Sole Proprietor, Partnership, Limited Liability Company and C or S Corporation.

In the next installment, we will talk about what each of these mean and which is the best for you.

Rates and Services

What to Offer and What to Charge?

Now that you have the knowledge about what a pet sitter does and you have chosen a business name, it is time to write down exactly what you will offer and what you will charge. Get out a piece of paper and start writing.

What do you want to offer?

Do you want to start out with just pet sitting?

Will you offer other services such as:
· Dog Walking
· Pooper Scooper
· Overnight Care
· Taxi Services
· House Sitting

Now that you have written down what you are going to offer, it is time to determine what you will charge.

In my opinion, it is best to charge for your time. Have time slots set up with a rate for each.

For example:
A 15 minute visit is $15; a 30 minute visit is $18 and so on.

This is for as many pets they have in a single household. I don't think it is wise to charge extra fees for more than 1 pet or 3 pets. It turns out being a turnoff for your client when you start to add on more and more fees. If your client has more pets than you feel you can handle in the time slot they request, they would have to purchase a longer time slot. Many pet sitters will charge a small fee for administering meds. This is fine and recommended. A nice up sell is to add on Pooper Scooping. Cleaning up what the dog does while you are there is included if asked, however, you can offer to clean the remaining yard for another small fee. Basically, what is included in your visit is doing all that the pet owner does to keep the pet in its same routine. That is one of the luxuries of hiring a pet sitter. Boarding kennels are very stressful on a pet. They feel much more comfortable in their own home in their own bed. Next we will be discussing getting a business license.

Business Name

How to Pick a Business Name

Your business name will be very important to your business image. You want to have a business name that is easy to remember, stands out and sounds professional but also spells out what you do.

Take a look through the phone book for plumbers and check out the business names. You will find the very small business owner and the large franchised companies. What do you notice when you read through the names? This is what your potential clients will be thinking about when they look for you. They may have a list in front of them of 2 pet sitters or if you live in a very large area such as LA, they may have a list of 100 or more! What is going to make you stand out of the crowd so they will look over all the rest and call you?

There are four important things to think about when picking out a business name:

1. Originality: You want your name to be original. There are tons of Pampered Pets and Pet Sitters R Us. Once you pick out your name, do a Google search to see if anyone else thought of it first.
2. Alphabetize: If you are among a list of 100, you would want your name to be as close to the beginning of the alphabet as possible. This shouldn't be your top priority, just something to think about.
3. Spell out your services: If you are pet sitting, you must let the consumer know. If you just call your business Pet Perfection, your client's may forget who they are calling. Add on your services to the end. For example, you can call it Pet Perfection Pet Care Services. Be sure when you add on your services, you are not limiting yourself. You may want to grow in the future. So, if you think you may add on errand services or home care, you may want to add pet & home care services to the business name.
4. Location: Personally, I believe this is very important when thinking of your business name. People love where they live. They love their state, town, street, etc. Tying that in to your business name will make people remember you. For example, if you live in Florida, you can be the Sunshine State's Best Pet Caretakers. Doing this also increases your chances of having an original name.

Once you have picked out your business name, it is very important to make sure no one else is using it. Some businesses will federally trademark their name. This is to ensure no one else can legally use their name nationwide. To check the trademark database click here and then click on search in the right hand column.

Now that you have checked the federal database, you need to check your state database. There is a separate database available for each state. To find your state database, go to the Secretary of State site and click on your state. Find the area where you can do a business search. Then just type in the name you are thinking of using. If nothing comes up, that means no one is registered in your state with that name.

You may also want to check the newspapers, Internet and the phone book, just in case someone is using it but is not registered with the state. You can not use a name which is in use in your state or nationally. You can't even use a variation of it. So, be sure to check all your resources before putting your business name on paper.

Now that you have your business name ready, you can get your business license. We will discuss how to do that next time. Have a wonderful evening.

Job Description

What Does a Pet Sitter Do?

Pet sitters usually offer an array of services from pet sitting, dog walking, pooper scooper, pet taxi and more. The most advertised is the pet sitting aspect of the business.

Pet sitting consists of taking care of all types of pets in the comfort of their own surroundings. Pet sitting does not mean taking the pets into your home. That would be considered boarding.

The purpose of pet sitting is to limit the stress to the pet while the owners are away for the weekend or a long vacation. Pets seem to do better when they are in their own home with their own bed and blanket, their own toys and their own buds (other pets). Pet sitters provide this luxury by making daily visits to care for the pets.

The following is a list of common pet sitting duties during regular visits:

• Potty Break for dogs (can consist of a walk)
• Feed/Treats
• Refill water dishes
• Play time
• Snuggle time
• Petting time
• Clean any messes/litter box/cages
• Administer Medications

This is what most pet sitters will do on most visits. The purpose is to keep the pet in its regular routine. So, if the dog normally gets a treat when it wakes up, you would give a treat when you arrive in the a.m. If the pet normally takes a walk around the block daily, you would do the same. If the pet likes to get read to (birds like this), you would read to it. This minimizes stress and allows the pet owners to relax more while they are away. If the pet needs a pill everyday at 6pm, you would be sure to arrange your schedule accordingly.

Pet sitters can also offer many other services to supplement their income. Many pet sitters will also offer daily dog walking to help those clients who work long hours, have an elderly dog or have a new puppy. Pet sitters may also offer pet taxi to the vet or pet taxi to the groomer. Pet sitters may also offer pooper scooper. This is picking up what the dog did while you were not there. This is a nice convenience since you are already there. You can use their scooper, plastic bag and throw it in the trash. You can make a nice $15 or so for just 20 minutes of work or less depending on the size of the yard. Basically any service you can think of pet related you can add on to a pet sitting service. You can even add on errand services. The possibilities are endless.

It is recommended to start off with just pet sitting and start building your business based on customer requests. This way you will learn what your area is in need of and start advertising based on that. The bulk of your requests and client bookings will more than likely be derived from pet sitting and dog walking.

Now that you know what a pet sitter does, you can determine if this is the right business for you. Remember you are taking care of pets. You may have some messes to clean up and you should have some basic knowledge of pet care.

Once you have determined if this is the right job for you and you have thought about which service you would like to offer within the pet sitting industry, it will be time to set up your business. The first step in setting up your pet sitting business is picking a business name.

We will discuss how to pick a business name in the next installment.