Teddy vs DaySmart Pet: Which Fits a Small Salon?
Pricing, daily workflow, texting, checkout and reporting compared, including where DaySmart is the stronger choice
DaySmart Pet has been around, under one name or another, longer than most grooming software. Plenty of salons still run on it and are happy. So Teddy vs DaySmart isn't a question of old and bad against new and good. It's a question of which one matches how a two-to-five person shop works day to day.
We build Teddy. We'll tell you where DaySmart beats us.
Two different ideas of what software should do
DaySmart Pet is a full salon management system in the traditional sense: appointment book, point of sale, inventory, payroll, marketing, reporting. You click through menus to get things done, and there are a lot of menus because there are a lot of features.
Teddy covers the core of that, calendar, clients, texting, booking, payments through Square, forms, payroll and commission tracking, and adds an assistant. You can type or say "book Milo for a full groom next Friday at 10 with Sam" and it does it after you confirm. The idea is fewer screens.
Neither approach is wrong. If you like seeing every setting, DaySmart will feel thorough. If you want to get back to the dog, Teddy will feel lighter.
Side by side
DaySmart's pricing is the hard part to pin down. Review sites show different tier prices, and Capterra's summary of user reviews mentions cost and features locked to higher plans as a common complaint. Get a written quote for your staff count and the features you'd use.
A normal Tuesday in each
Booking a returning client
DaySmart: open the book, find the client, pick the pet, pick the service, pick the groomer, pick the slot, save. Familiar to anyone who's used salon software.
Teddy: same clicks if you want them, or tell the assistant what you need and confirm. Saved pricing and duration for each pet fill in on their own.
Checkout
DaySmart: integrated POS with retail, taxes, tips and its own payment processing. If you sell a lot of shampoo, bandanas and treats off a shelf, this is where DaySmart is stronger.
Teddy: card payments, tips, deposits, card on file and split payments run through Square. If you already have a Square reader on the counter, nothing changes. Details on the payments page.
Texting a client that their dog is ready
DaySmart: supported. Confirm how many messages your plan includes.
Teddy: unlimited. Reminders, ready-for-pickup, photos and replies all sit in one thread per client.
End-of-week numbers
DaySmart: a deep library of reports. If you like spreadsheets, you'll be at home.
Teddy: ask for what you want: "what did each groomer bring in this week" or "who hasn't rebooked in eight weeks." Fewer pre-built reports, quicker answers.
Where DaySmart Pet wins
- Retail-heavy salons. Real inventory management with stock counts and reorder points.
- Grooming plus boarding or daycare. DaySmart can add those modules. Teddy is grooming-only.
- Owners who want every report. Its reporting has had years to grow.
- Teams already trained on it. Retraining has a cost. If it's working, that counts.
Where Teddy wins
- Price clarity. Three plans, listed publicly, no setup fee, no contract. See pricing.
- Texting without a meter.
- Speed. Less clicking for the things you do forty times a day.
- Support. The founders answer, on every plan.
[ADD TEDDY CUSTOMER QUOTE: a salon owner who moved from DaySmart, on what changed in their first month]
What about your data?
This is the part that keeps people on software they've outgrown. Years of client notes, blade lengths, vaccine dates and "bites when you touch back feet" warnings feel impossible to move.
They aren't. Export clients and pets from DaySmart, send us the file, and we import it for free along with upcoming appointments. The walkthrough is in How to Switch from MoeGo or DaySmart to Teddy.
If you're looking at more than two options, start with our list of DaySmart Pet alternatives or the head-to-head page.
A quick way to decide
Answer these three.
- Do you board, run daycare, or sell more than a shelf of retail? If yes, lean DaySmart.
- Is your team five groomers or fewer and grooming-only? If yes, lean Teddy.
- Do you spend more time in the software than you'd like? If yes, try the other one for two weeks. Both have a trial.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Teddy cheaper than DaySmart Pet?
Teddy's plans are $49, $99 and $199 per location. DaySmart's pricing varies by tier and isn't consistently published, so compare a written quote.
Is DaySmart Pet the same as 123Pet?
Yes. DaySmart Pet is the current name for what used to be 123Pet Software.
Can Teddy replace DaySmart's point of sale?
Teddy takes payments through Square, which covers checkout, tips and basic retail. Salons with large retail inventories may prefer DaySmart's built-in POS.
In Teddy vs DaySmart, which is better for a salon with boarding?
DaySmart. Teddy doesn't do boarding or daycare.
How long does switching from DaySmart take?
Most small salons are set up within a few days once the export file is in hand. We handle the import.
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