How to Set Prices for Pet Services That Actually Make Money

Finally understand what to charge so you can pay yourself more with confidence

If you’ve ever looked at your bank account and wondered, “How am I this busy and still not making enough?” – you’re not alone. Pricing is one of the biggest sources of stress for pet care business owners, especially when revenue feels tight and owner pay is too low.

The good news? Setting profitable prices doesn’t require guesswork, spreadsheets that make your eyes glaze over, or copying what every other pet business in town charges.

When you understand a few simple pricing truths, everything starts to feel much more doable.

Here are three things every pet care business owner needs to know about pricing—and they might surprise you.

1. Stop Setting Prices Based on Your Competition

It’s tempting to check what daycare, boarding, or grooming businesses around you are charging and choose something similar. But here’s the problem: their costs, staffing structure, facility, and service model aren’t the same as yours.

Instead, use a cost-plus-profit pricing method:

• What does it actually cost you to provide the service?
• What level of profit do you want?

That’s your price – simple and clear.

And don’t worry – your customers aren’t choosing you because you’re the cheapest. They choose you for your care, your team, your safety standards, and your relationship with their pet. You deserve to be profitable.

2. Know the True Cost of Your Discounts

This is where owners usually have their biggest “aha moment.”

Discounts feel small in the moment, but when we total them for an entire year, pet businesses are often shocked. Those little deals add up to thousands of dollars missing from your profit—and your paycheck.

Common culprits include:

• Multiple-pet discounts
• Multi-day daycare packages
• First-day or trial promotions
• Week-long boarding stay discounts
• “Buy a package, get a free service” incentives

Discounts aren’t bad—but they must support a legitimate business goal (like loyalty or filling slow days). And ideally, they should stay under 10% of total revenue to protect your margins.

When you know the numbers, you can keep the discounts that help and remove the ones quietly draining your profit.

3. Plan Annual Rate Increases—Yes, Every Year

Your costs increase every year: payroll, supplies, utilities, insurance… everything. If your prices don’t rise, your profit shrinks.

That’s why we recommend making at least one pricing adjustment each year.

What to increase?

• Choose a primary service (like daycare or grooming)
• Then adjust an activity or add-on in a different service line

Keep a simple rate-tracking sheet so you can see what changed and when. No complicated system needed.

Even small increases—$1, $2, $3—can make a big difference in your owner pay and overall financial stability.

Pricing Doesn’t Have to Be Confusing – You Just Need a Clear Process

When you price based on your costs, understand your discounts, and build in regular increases, your business stops feeling unpredictable.

You work just as hard—but finally take home what you deserve.

If pricing leaves you feeling overwhelmed or unsure where to start, you don’t have to figure it out alone.

Book a complimentary Discovery Call, and let’s talk about your pricing strategy.

Together we’ll help you set prices that truly support your business—and your life.