Supernova Dogs Keeps a Fast-Growing Training Facility Running Smoothly With Acuity Scheduling
Behind every great dog training program is someone juggling schedules, clients, and classes with the same precision they bring to teaching a perfect heel. Just ask the team at Supernova Dogs, a professional training facility in Buffalo, NY that offers reinforcement-based programs ranging from behavior support to dog sports.
Led by Certified Professional Dog Trainer Noelle Saladin, the team shares a common goal: helping dogs and their owners build cooperative partnerships and unleash their full potential at any stage of life.
“We bring science-informed training methods, rooted in the principles of positive reinforcement, to our local community of dog owners and rescues,” Noelle explains. “When we opened in January 2023, our mission was to become more than just a training center. We are an inclusive community that aims to enrich the lives of dogs, and their humans, through training, friendship, and support.”
As Supernova Dogs’ mission resonated and their programs grew in popularity, so did the administrative complications. The next step was finding a system that could keep up.
Handling high client demand with a manual process
Before adopting Acuity Scheduling, Supernova Dogs used multiple, fragmented tools to register clients and get paid. The process worked, but it added friction and left room for mistakes.
“Before Acuity, we were using a multi-step process to register clients and collect payments,” Noelle says. “This meant we had to do a lot more manual data entry and tracking, which was time consuming and more prone to errors. We also did not have a single solution for presenting all our service options to our clients, which meant creating custom presentations and forms, and sending multiple links. This approach, while functional, was not as professional or effective.“
As the business expanded into a new facility and brought on more trainers, Noelle knew the team would be better off with a single platform that could keep everything organized and scale with them. She was searching for dog training software that offered more structure, when a team member recommended Acuity.
“When I expanded to a brick-and-mortar location and added trainers to the team, we needed software that would help streamline the registration process,” she explains.
“One of our team members had previous experience working with Acuity and recommended it for its ease of set up and administrative management. As a small business, it is important for us to find solutions that are easy for our administrative team to use while also providing a user-friendly interface for our clients.”
A scheduling solution that came together quicker than a well-timed recall
While Supernova Dogs considered other scheduling software, Acuity stood out as the one that could offer both power and quick setup to open on time.
“We briefly looked at another option for scheduling, but with a tight timeframe for getting things up and running, Acuity seemed like the best way for us to get started,” Noelle recalls. “It provided a simple solution for our team to get set up and integrated with our website for a quick launch. With less than a month from account creation to opening our doors to clients, we were able to get everything quickly set up on the back end and register clients with ease.“
Acuity became the centralized hub they needed—one place for bookings, payments, intake forms, communications, and client records. For a busy dog training facility with a broad mix of services, simplicity mattered.
“We had previously used a combination of solutions to register clients and collect payments, which made the process tedious and increased the potential for errors,” she reiterates. “Acuity has helped us simplify registration and provide consistency to our clients.”
How Supernova Dogs uses Acuity Scheduling to run a smoother day-to-day operation
Acuity now sits at the center of the facility’s operations, supporting everything from standard obedience classes to advanced programs like scent work. The team built a system they can manage efficiently, and clients can navigate intuitively.
Keeping many services easy to navigate
Dog trainers often offer a long list of programs, and Supernova Dogs is no exception. They run group classes, private one-on-one sessions, sports, day school, and ring rentals, with options for both on-site and in-home training. Acuity helps them present it all clearly and save time with repeatable, organized workflows.
“Acuity allows us to organize all our services by custom categories, making it simpler for our administrative team, as well as our clients, to see what options we have available,” Noelle explains. “We can customize registration forms depending on the service, so clients are providing only important and necessary information for the service they are signing up for. They also have the option to create an account which allows them access to view past and upcoming appointments and make any scheduling changes as needed.“
Automating registrations and opening new classes faster
Once a class is set up in Acuity, the system manages registration automatically. And when a class fills? Capacity limits close sessions at the right time, and trainers can duplicate existing appointment types to open new dates quickly. Noelle breaks down the whole process:
“Once we create appointments in our system, we can move on to other tasks, essentially set it up and forget it.”
“The registrations and payments will come through to our email, and registration will automatically close once the class's maximum has been reached; no manual intervention is needed at any point in the process. Once a session fills, we can duplicate the appointment type for another day and time to easily open a new session. The ease with which we can get new registrations open saves us a lot of time and allows for more clients to sign up sooner than later. The calendar is also really helpful for our trainers that have classes with flexible rosters. They can easily view the client roster for that specific day to confirm who will be attending, allowing for accurate record keeping.“
Requiring payments for improved cash flow
Every booking is paid up front, which further reduces administrative work and provides predictable revenue. Packages and gift certificates give clients more flexibility and help support program sales.
“Collecting and tracking payments can be really time consuming but is an important part of running the business,” Noelle says.
“With Acuity, we require payment at the time of registration, which is a real game changer. We receive notifications when the registration and payment are submitted, allowing us to move seamlessly to the next step in our process. Being able to offer packages allows for additional flexibility in our service offerings, and gift certificates are a nice option for clients while creating additional revenue for the business.”
Using tailored intake forms for safer, more personalized sessions
Dog training isn’t one-size-fits-all. Every dog arrives with their own needs, temperament, and training history. Different classes and programs require different details. Customized intake forms ensure instructors have what they need before clients arrive.
“The ability to customize intake forms specifically for the service or event we are offering has been extremely helpful,” Noelle notes. “While basic client information is consistently collected for all registrations, some services require more detailed information for our staff. This allows our instructors to better prepare for each session with clients to ensure they have a safe and positive experience.”
Keeping records centralized and easy to reference
Having a single dog training software keeps information easy to access. Instead of storing and sorting data across tools, the team can go directly to Acuity to find what they need.
“Having access to so much saved data without needing our own server for storage is very helpful,” Noelle says. “We can save previous or inactive services, appointments, forms, and codes, to be referenced or made active again at a later date. With our data consolidated in one central location, it greatly reduces the amount of record keeping we need to do outside of the software.”
More registrations, stronger organization, and time saved every week
Overall, Acuity has proved to be worth the switch. Since choosing the platform, Supernova Dogs has saved valuable administrative time, opened class sessions more quickly, and delivered a smoother experience to clients.
“Acuity definitely helps us stay more organized, providing us with a centralized location for client data and class schedules. The ease with which we can create new appointments or duplicate existing appointments means new class sessions can be opened quickly, saving us time and allowing us to increase the number of registrations. Acuity also allows us to offer a variety of services and programs, providing more options to our clients, ultimately increasing revenue.”
Making space for new dog training programs and new possibilities
Supernova Dogs continues to expand their programs—including Doggie Date Nights and a brand new Agility League—and trusts Acuity to support that growth without adding operational strain.
“As we develop new programs, Acuity will continue to provide us with the flexibility to customize our service offerings,” Noelle says. “This gives us plenty of room for us to continue to grow our business with the software.“
When asked what she’d tell other businesses exploring new scheduling software, she adds:
“Identifying what is most important to you and your business is key. Acuity has a lot to offer, and it just might be the right solution for you.”
From overwhelmed to up-and-running in no time
While she recognizes that getting started with new software can be intimidating, Noelle says the transition to Acuity was surprisingly simple for Supernova Dogs.
“As someone who started using Acuity without any previous experience with scheduling software, I wasn’t even sure what I wanted or needed when I signed up,” she says. “Implementing new software can be a daunting task, and while I consider myself to be pretty savvy with technology and quick to learn new software, it was still a bit overwhelming at first. Acuity made it very simple to do, and when I had questions or issues, customer service was always available to help me figure it out. Not only did we end up with a user-friendly platform for our clients, but it has improved our administrative processes and ultimately our business.“
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