Seglo vs Square: grooming steps, pet records and payments

Full disclosure: we build Seglo. Everything about Square below is read off their own pricing, help centre and community, August 2026. Where they are ahead of us, it says so.

At a glance

Three hours in the shop. Seventy-five minutes of groomer.

A dog can be in your shop for three hours without needing the groomer for all three. Check whether each person's availability reflects the steps they actually do.

Book the groomer for the parts they do. Allow separately for an assistant and any suitable pause between hands-on steps.

Set the people and equipment needed at each step. Offer other work when a person is free, while keeping the dog's whole visit planned.

Check what the customer needs to select online.

Square has more of the pieces than it gets credit for. Processing time frees the middle of a service, in their words so that “you can book a customer for a blow dry while another customer’s colour treatment is developing.” Rooms and stations are bookable on Premium, and one appointment can carry several services on several people.

Try setting up the bath, processing time and groom as the services your customer would choose. Check how much they need to select and which staff they must name.

Your customer chooses a grooming service. You choose who does each part and how much time to allow for the dog's size or coat.

Square agrees it is missing. A salon owner asked their community in February 2024 for “two distinct parts of the service that can be moved independently” on different staff, and Square still had it marked Open in September 2025.

Use a real service from your shop to compare the booking steps in both products.

Where Square beats us

It starts at nothing. One location runs on Square’s free plan. Seglo also has a Free plan for one person at one location, with a calendar, online bookings and pet records. Compare the paid features when you need payments or a larger team.

They publish a card rate. 1.6% in person, 2.2% online, on every plan. We run payments through your own Stripe account, which is not automatically cheaper. Check Stripe’s Australian rates against 1.6% before you switch for that reason.

They are a shop till. If shampoo, coats and treats over the counter are a real part of your week, Square has stock, terminals and hardware behind it. We take payment for the groom.

Keep separate records for each customer's dogs

Square books a person, and the pet lives in a note or a custom field. That holds until Bella and Coco arrive together and one of them needs the senior groomer.

Keep two dogs in one customer booking, each with its own service, groomer, time and pet notes. Your team can see what each dog needs.

Can your team take calls and reply from one number?

Square Messages is their two-way texting, and their own Australian moderator wrote in June 2025 that it “isn’t available to Australian sellers just yet.” Here you get confirmations and reminders, which is not a conversation.

Seglo answers on the number already painted on your shopfront, with the client, the dog and the standing note on screen while it is still ringing, and texts back from that same number. The finished groom goes home as a photograph rather than a link. Why that is rare in Australia. On the days nobody can pick up, the AI receptionist takes the call and books it.

What each one costs

Square is free for one location, $40 a month per location on Plus, $90 on Premium. The two things a grooming floor needs sit at the top: tubs and dryers as resources is Premium, cancellation fees with a card on file is Plus. Call it $90 a month per location, plus 1.6% in person.

Seglo is $49 a month for up to three people, $99 for six, $199 for fifteen with unlimited locations, $349 for thirty. Australian dollars, excluding GST. Resources, the pay calculator and tap to pay are in from $49; Xero is on the $199 plan. Seglo Phone is $149 once, then $79 a month for two people and $29 for each extra person, up to five. The AI receptionist is $149 a month plus 40 cents a minute.

Compare the setup you actually need: A solo shop may need fewer scheduling and phone tools. Include only the features and payment costs you would use.

Moving off Square

Connect your Square account to import locations, services, products, team, customers and bookings. Records are matched using their Square IDs to avoid relying on names alone.

Then both run at once for as long as you want. Clients keep booking in Square, your staff see the whole day here, and anything that came from Square stays read-only, so Square is still the boss until you say otherwise. Your clients hear nothing from us until you press go-live. There is no weekend where the shop is between systems.

Is Square good for dog groomers?

Yes, for a solo groomer whose day can be represented as one person and one appointment at a time. Square becomes harder to fit when one groom moves between an assistant, a dryer and a groomer, or when the dog and its history need to drive the booking. The deciding line is below.

Read from Square’s own Australian pricing page, help centre and community in August 2026. Products change. If something here is out of date, tell us and we will correct it. Square and Square Appointments are trademarks of their owner; Seglo is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Square.