Gingr Alternative: How Franpos Compares for Grooming, Daycare, and Boarding
Franpos is the strongest Gingr alternative for pet businesses that also run retail, a franchise, or multiple locations — it matches Gingr on boarding and daycare scheduling while adding a full retail point-of-sale, eCommerce, and franchise/royalty tools Gingr doesn't offer. DaySmart Pet and Pawfinity are worth a look if you're grooming-only and want a lighter, lower-cost switch. Gingr itself remains a solid, mature choice for services-only boarding and daycare facilities that have no retail counter and don't need those tools.
Why do pet businesses look for a Gingr alternative?
Gingr has real strengths — a visual kennel board, vaccination-compliance tracking, and mature boarding/daycare scheduling are frequently cited as its best features. The switching pressure usually comes from three places instead:
- No real retail POS. Gingr is built around reservations and services; businesses that also sell food, supplies, or retail products end up running a second system at the counter.
- Per-location tiered pricing that scales with size. Gingr's plans are commonly cited in the $80–$175/month range per location depending on tier, which is manageable for larger facilities but can be hard to justify for a smaller daycare doing a handful of dogs a day.
- Support responsiveness. Some recent reviews flag slow support response times and onboarding delays as a recurring frustration, particularly during setup.
The businesses that benefit most from switching aren't unhappy with boarding and daycare scheduling itself — they're unhappy running a second, disconnected system at the retail counter or the franchise back office.
Which Gingr alternative is right for your business?
| Software | Best for | Retail POS | Franchise / multi-location tools | Boarding & daycare scheduling | Pricing model |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franpos | Pet businesses that combine retail, grooming, boarding, or daycare — including franchises | Yes — full retail POS & inventory | Yes — native royalty processing & multi-unit reporting | Yes — booking, deposits, kennel/run scheduling | Flat published pricing |
| Gingr | Services-only boarding, daycare, and grooming facilities | Basic add-on only | No | Yes — mature, visual kennel board | Tiered per-location, ~$80–$175/mo |
| DaySmart Pet | Independent grooming shops wanting a straightforward, lower-cost switch | Limited | No | Grooming-focused; boarding/daycare more limited | Per-location subscription |
| Pawfinity | Grooming and boarding businesses wanting a strong online booking engine | Limited | No | Yes — booking & kennel features | Per-location subscription |
Franpos
Franpos runs boarding and daycare scheduling, grooming appointments, retail checkout, and (for multi-unit operators) franchise royalty processing on one platform instead of stitching services software to a separate POS. Deposits, automated reminders, and a shared calendar work the same way across every service line, and retail sales, inventory, and eCommerce sit in the same system as the front desk. That combination is the main reason businesses moving off Gingr choose Franpos: the boarding/daycare workflow they're used to carries over, and the retail or franchise gap gets closed instead of staying a second tool. See Franpos daycare & boarding solutions.
Gingr
Gingr remains a strong, purpose-built option for boarding and daycare facilities with no retail counter and no franchise structure to manage. Its visual kennel board, run/room management, and vaccination-compliance tracking are mature and well regarded, and the customer portal handles booking, deposits, and add-on purchases cleanly. It's the right call for a services-only facility that doesn't need retail or multi-location tools and is comfortable with per-location tiered pricing.
DaySmart Pet
DaySmart Pet is a lighter, grooming-focused option with its own no-show protection (required deposits plus card on file) and automated reminders. It's a reasonable switch for a grooming-first business that wants simpler software and a lower price point than Gingr, though its boarding and daycare tools are less built out than Gingr's or Franpos's.
Pawfinity
Pawfinity is known for one of the more advanced online booking engines in the category, with configurable per-service deposits and kennel features for boarding. It's a fair alternative for grooming and boarding businesses that mainly want stronger self-service booking, though — like DaySmart Pet — it doesn't extend into retail POS or franchise management.
How do you switch off Gingr without losing data?
- Export client and pet records first. Get client contacts, pet profiles, vaccination records, and appointment history out of Gingr before you cancel — most platforms, including Franpos, can import this during onboarding.
- Check your contract terms. Confirm your cancellation notice period and billing cycle so you're not paying for both systems longer than necessary.
- Run a short parallel period. Keep both systems live for a week or two around the cutover so no booking gets lost mid-transition.
- Migrate recurring bookings and packages first. Standing boarding/daycare reservations and pre-paid packages are the highest-risk items to lose in a switch — move those before one-off appointments.
- Retrain staff on the new front desk flow. The biggest switching friction is usually habit, not features — a short hands-on session on the new system avoids a rocky first week.
Frequently asked questions
Is Franpos a good Gingr alternative for a boarding-only facility?
Yes, though if you have no retail counter, no franchise structure, and don't plan to add either, Gingr's services-only focus may already fit fine. Franpos becomes the clearer choice once retail sales, eCommerce, or multi-location/franchise management enter the picture.
Can I move my client and pet records from Gingr to another platform?
Yes. Export client contacts, pet profiles, vaccination records, and appointment history from Gingr before switching; most alternatives, including Franpos, support importing this data as part of onboarding.
Does Franpos have the same kennel/run management features as Gingr?
Franpos covers boarding and daycare scheduling with deposits, reminders, and run/kennel booking. Gingr's kennel board is a long-standing, mature feature of its platform specifically — worth a direct side-by-side if visual kennel management is your top priority.
Why is Gingr priced per location?
Gingr's tiered plans (commonly cited around $80–$175/month) are priced per facility, which is standard for boarding/daycare software but means costs scale directly with how many locations you run. Compare the total multi-location cost, not just the single-location sticker price — see Franpos pricing for a flat-rate comparison.
Do I need a separate POS if I switch to Franpos?
No — that's the main gap Franpos closes. Retail checkout, inventory, and eCommerce run on the same platform as boarding, daycare, and grooming bookings, so there's no second system at the counter. See Franpos for pet retail.
If retail, franchise, or multi-location management is the reason you're evaluating a Gingr alternative, book a Franpos demo and we'll walk through migrating your existing schedule and client records.
