What you get when you sign up
Signing up for Barclo is free and takes about two minutes. There's no credit card required to start, you get a 14-day free trial with full access to every feature. That's plenty of time to set everything up and take your first real booking before you decide whether to subscribe.
When you create your account, Barclo asks you to pick your business type, dog walker, groomer, boarder, daycare, sitter, trainer, multi-service, or other. This helps Barclo suggest the right features for you, but you can change it any time in Settings.
You'll also receive a verification email. Check your inbox and click the link to confirm your address. Some features (like sending invoices to clients) work best with a verified email.
The dashboard · your home base
Once you're in, you land on the dashboard. Think of it as your daily briefing. At the top you'll see quick stat cards:
Today's bookings, how many appointments are on today's schedule. Dogs walking, if you run group walks, how many dogs are in today's slots. Revenue today and This month, what you've collected so far. Outstanding, money owed on unpaid invoices.
Below the stats, Today's schedule shows your bookings in time order, or a friendly "Nothing on for today" if it's quiet. There's also a Messages preview (recent client replies) and an Outstanding invoices panel showing who owes you money at a glance.
The setup checklist: When your account is new, Barclo shows a setup checklist on the dashboard, a short list of things to do to get ready. Work through it in order and you'll be set up efficiently. Once each item is done, it ticks off automatically.
The left-hand menu · where everything lives
The menu on the left is how you navigate to every part of Barclo. Here's what each item does in one line:
- Dashboard, your daily overview: stats, today's schedule, messages, and outstanding invoices.
- Calendar, a visual day/week/month view of all your bookings and walk slots.
- Bookings, the full list of all bookings: create new ones, filter, and manage their status.
- Messages, in-app messaging with your clients, tied to their records.
- Clients, your customer database: add clients, view their pets, bookings, and balance.
- Pets, all the animals in your care: profiles, notes, and vaccination records.
- Invoices, create, send, and track invoices, and record payments when they arrive.
- Team, add and manage your staff members. Solo? You can ignore this section.
- Services, everything you offer: walks, grooming, boarding, and more, with prices and settings.
- Walk Slots, recurring group-walk time blocks with capacity limits. Dog walkers' best friend.
- Reports, a snapshot of your revenue, outstanding invoices, and booking activity.
- Settings, everything about your business: info, hours, payments, policies, and your booking portal.
Do things in any order, but the checklist is the fast path
Barclo doesn't force you to complete setup steps in a specific order. You can create a service before you've set your working hours, or add a client before you've created any services. Everything is flexible.
That said, the setup checklist on the dashboard recommends a sensible order, and the Quick Start guide walks you through it step by step. Following that order means nothing catches you off guard. For example, you'll have your services ready before you try to create a booking.
Tip: The trial clock starts when you sign up, but there's no pressure. Everything you set up during the trial carries over when you subscribe, you won't lose a thing.