In an always-connected world, pet-care businesses need tools that keep pet parents informed and in control, wherever they are. Your customer portal is more than just a convenience—it’s a powerful tool that gives pet parents control over their experience while helping your staff save time and ensure accuracy. Designed with a mobile-first approach, the Gingr customer portal empowers your clients to manage every part of their pet’s experience directly from their phone or desktop.
Whether it’s booking boarding, daycare, grooming, or training appointments, checking report cards, viewing live webcams, or uploading vet records, Gingr makes it easy for pet parents to stay in the loop. They can even pay balances, track past reservations, and receive reminders about upcoming visits—all in one place.
As their trusted pet caregiver, parents will inevitably come to you with questions about navigating their portals. That's why understanding the user experience from their perspective is crucial.
In our latest webinar, we walked through how to make the most of Gingr’s customer portal: from impersonating a customer for testing, to customizing the interface, to setting up required information and workflows. Whether you're just getting started or looking to refine your current setup, this session was packed with actionable guidance.
Here’s a full breakdown of the most important takeaways.
Staff members can "impersonate" a customer to test the portal and see exactly what clients experience.
How to impersonate:
If the login doesn’t happen automatically, refreshing the page typically resolves the issue.
Once logged in, customers can:
The layout also supports both business-wide and location-specific logos, helping reinforce branding for multi-location facilities.
The booking workflow is designed to be straightforward and flexible:
Customers can also book recurring reservations, add services tied to specific staff schedules, and apply promo codes when provided. Integrated credit card processing is required for deposits to be paid through the portal.
After submission, all customer bookings land in the “Requested” tab for staff to review, approve, or reject.
Beyond booking, the portal includes additional tabs that allow customers to manage their account and explore your offerings:
All of these sections are optional—any element that doesn’t apply to your business can be hidden for a cleaner experience.
The beauty of the Gingr customer portal is that your can tailor it to match your brand and your operational needs! Navigate to Admin > Portal Customization to configure:
Each custom link allows you to define the title, description, button color, destination URL, and display order.
For accurate, complete records, Gingr allows you to shift key responsibilities to the customer.
From Admin > Registration Forms, you can define what must be completed:
Add custom questions to reservation forms to gather specific information before a booking is submitted. Example: Add a required “Has your dog been coughing recently?” question to daycare reservations. These forms can be customized per reservation type, and made required only for customers or for internal staff as well.
If you want to require that a pet completes a certain type of reservation—such as a meet-and-greet evaluation—before booking daycare or boarding, you can set that up under:
Admin > Reservation Types and Services Configuration
If the customer hasn’t completed the required reservation, that booking option will be grayed out in the portal. To retroactively mark old customers as having completed an evaluation, use Admin > Create Completed Reservation.
If your service pricing depends on the pet or past sessions, you can display “Pricing Varies” in the portal:
This gives you flexibility to customize pricing per pet, while maintaining clarity for the customer.
The customer portal offers a seamless way to empower pet parents, improve data accuracy, and reduce workload for your staff. With features for booking, shopping, document uploading, and account management, it helps your facility provide an excellent digital experience that matches the quality of your in-person care.
Missed the webinar? Watch the full recording here.