Breed-Specific Pricing - Fair Prices for Every Breed

A Chihuahua bath is not the same job as a Goldendoodle full groom. Everybody in the trade knows this, and yet a surprising number of salons still price with a single "small / medium / large" scale, or worse, with one number for "a groom". The result is entirely predictable: short-haired breeds get a fair deal, long-haired breeds get a silent discount, and the groomer quietly loses money on exactly the dogs that take the most time.

Breed-specific pricing isn't a premium feature; it's how grooming pricing actually works in real salons. The software's job is to make it painless to maintain and automatic to apply.

What is breed-specific pricing in GroomSome?

Breed-specific pricing is a layered price list: a base price per service, tiers per breed group (small, medium, large, doodle-type, hand-stripped, etc.), and optional overrides per specific breed. When an appointment is booked, GroomSome suggests the right price automatically based on the dog's breed, so quotes and invoices match the work involved.

You can import the price list from a CSV, so the initial setup doesn't mean typing hundreds of breeds by hand. Breeds are matched against a structured breed list with autocomplete, which means "Goldendoodle" and "Golden Doodle" don't become two separate rows.

Why breed-specific pricing matters for groomers

The moment your price list tells the truth about which dogs take longer, three things happen in the business: revenue rises, the worst-fit clients self-select, and you stop apologising for your rates.

• No more unpaid time. The difference between 45 minutes and 2 hours of grooming is not a small rounding; it's nearly the whole day's difference for solo groomers.
• Transparent quoting. When a client books online, they see a price that matches their breed. No surprise increases at pickup.
• Consistency across the team. Every groomer on your team quotes the same number for the same breed. No one is accidentally undercutting.
• Fair relative to effort. A Shih Tzu doesn't subsidise a Bichon, and a Jack Russell doesn't overpay compared to a Doodle.
• Evidence for annual reviews. When you raise prices, you can raise them per breed group where the cost actually moved, not across the board.

Key capabilities

• Base price list: the services you offer, with a starting rate.
• Breed group tiers: small, medium, large, doodle-type, hand-stripped, or any categories you like.
• Breed-specific overrides: the handful of breeds that don't fit their group get their own rate.
• Suggested price per appointment: the moment a breed is chosen, the right price appears.
• Price import via CSV: load an existing list without retyping.
• Breed matching and validation: catches duplicates and typos during import.
• Gap analysis: if you book a breed without a price, the system flags it so you can add one.
• Treatment pricing: add-ons (teeth, nails, de-matting) price consistently regardless of breed.
• Integration with invoices: the suggested price flows directly onto the invoice; no re-entering.

How to get started

You don't need a perfect list on day one. Most salons start with their top ten breeds and expand from there.

1. List your most common services: full groom, bath and tidy, hand-strip, puppy intro.
2. Decide your groups. Small / medium / large is fine, but most salons end up with a doodle-type tier and a hand-strip tier too.
3. Enter your regulars first. The ten breeds you see most often; the long tail fills in as new clients come.
4. Import the rest via CSV if you already have a digital price list. Five minutes of setup.
5. Review annually. Not monthly, not never; once a year, with real data behind the changes.

Breed-specific pricing is what turns a price list from a polite suggestion into an accurate reflection of the work. The moment your rates match the reality of which dogs take longer, the dogs that cost you money become the dogs that pay for themselves, and the conversation with clients stops being apologetic.