Animal Transport Software for Pet Couriers and Relocation Drivers
Every trip carries its papers, its stops and its handovers, from the owner's door to the person waiting at the other end.
The paperwork travels with the animal
A pet crossing a border or boarding a flight needs documents that are checked at every stage: microchip number, vaccination record, health certificate, sometimes an import permit. A driver who reaches a checkpoint without the right copy turns a routine trip into a very long day.
Conditions on the road
Owners want to know that their animal had water, air and breaks, and some routes carry legal rules on journey length and rest. Those stops only count if they are written down when they happen.
Handover at each end
An animal changes hands at least twice: owner to driver, driver to recipient. On longer relocations there may also be an airline cargo desk or a partner at the destination. Each change of hands needs a name, a time and a signature.
Vehicles and drivers matched to the load
A cat in a carrier, two large dogs and a horse are three different vehicles and often three different drivers. Planning by date alone puts the wrong van on the wrong trip.
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Read how pet couriers plan papers, road stops and handovers
What animal transport software needs to cover
Animal transport software has to handle a job that is part logistics and part care. Most complaints and most disputes come from the second part, because owners are anxious and animals cannot report on their own trip. The system should make it easy for the driver to record what happened as it happens.
Before the trip
A relocation starts weeks before the drive. Vaccinations must be done within set windows, health certificates have validity dates, crates must meet airline rules if a flight is involved. Keeping those dates on the job, with copies of the documents, lets the office see which trips are ready and which are waiting on a vet appointment.
On the road
During the drive, the driver's phone is the record. Collection photos, stop times, notes on the animal's behaviour and the conditions in the load area all go on the job. Pet transport software is only useful here if entering a stop takes seconds.
At the destination
The trip ends when someone signs. For a domestic move that is the owner at the new address; for an international relocation it may be an airline cargo desk or a partner who drives the final leg. Recording each handover separately shows exactly where the animal was at every stage.
What Shifton Field Service does in animal transport
It plans collections, runs and deliveries on one board, sends each driver the job with the documents, the crate details and a welfare checklist, and brings back stop times, photos, notes and signatures. Hours per driver and per trip appear in reports. A courier of one or two people can stay on the free plan for as many trips and years as it likes. Paying adds invoicing, stock, location control and a portal where owners follow their bookings.
It is not a flight booking tool, it does not submit government forms or customs declarations, and it does not measure temperature itself. It is the plan and the written record of each trip, kept where the office and the driver both see it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can drivers carry an animal's health certificate and passport copy on their phone?
Attach the documents to the job and they open on the driver's phone during the trip. The originals still travel with the animal.
How do we record rest and water stops during a long drive?
The driver adds each stop to the job checklist with the time, a short note and a photo if useful. At the end of the trip the office has a stop-by-stop record to share with the owner.
Can the owner and the recipient both sign for the animal?
Yes. The driver takes a signature at collection and another at delivery, each saved with the time. Where an airline or an agent is involved, that handover can be a separate stage on the same job.
Does pet relocation software like this book flights or handle customs?
No. Flights, customs brokers and government approvals are arranged outside the system. What it does is keep the dates, documents and handovers for each relocation in one place so the team and the driver see the same plan.
What if the driver has no signal on a ferry or a remote road?
The driver carries on with the checklist and photos while offline. The phone holds them and passes them to the office when a network is available again, so the stop log has no gaps.
Is there a cost for an owner-driver with one van?
An owner-driver, or two people sharing the van, get trip planning, the driver's app, digital forms and reporting at no charge, and it is not a limited-time offer. Live location control, invoicing, stock and a customer portal cost extra.
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