A few weeks ago, one of my dog walkers, we'll call him Jack, was bit by a small dog. Jack called from urgent care asking about the dog's rabies vaccination. When the doctor asked him about it, he couldn't remember if he had seen the tag, so the doctor asked if there was anyone he could call to verify that the vaccination was current. Being professionals, we require this information when a new pet owner signs up. I use Scout to store documents for Walk it Like A Dog in the cloud. As a result, I was able to log in, copy a link, and forward it to the pet sitter via text. He showed it to the doctor and no one had to get any unnecessary treatment. Shareability is only one of many good reasons to store documents in the cloud. The main benefit is the ability to keep everything you need organized, in one place and accessible from anywhere. When Jack called for the vaccine information, I was actually in my car driving. Because we keep everything in the cloud, I just pulled over and used my phone to log in, copy the link and text it. Millennials probably take this for granted but the fact that I could be on the road, access a document from my phone and send it to someone in under a minute or so is so cool. There are other cloud storage options available such as iCloud and Google Drive, but having everything in my Scout's CRM (Client Relationship Management) system means the files are really easy to find.So what do I keep in Scout's File Vault? Here are the ones I keep for every client and staff.
For Pet Owners
- Service Agreements: Scout had a dedicated Service Agreements feature that allows pet sitters to enter their service agreement into Scout and have pet owners e-sign it. It's not part of Scouts File Vault but it is in the cloud, so it makes the list.
- Vaccination records: I talked about Jack in the example above. I can't imagine what a pain it would have been to have to start searching around for a vaccination record when he called.
- Proof of Insurance: This is something I share freely with my customers. I ask every contractor who works at my home for this information.
For Dog Walkers
- Staff Agreements: I like to have everything in one place. The number of times I've needed this is null but, if I ever need it, I want to know where to find it. If it's work-related, it's in Scout and I can share it.
- Tax Forms: You have to keep these for a long time, but that doesn't mean they need to take up space. I just scan these and upload them into Scout and then I forget about them completely. Pretty great!
I chose these as my top 5 because every single person, dog walker or pet owner, has to provide or sign-off on these documents. The reality is, I put everything in Scout's File Vault. I even have my organizational documents and dba (doing business as) paperwork in there. Next time I need to open a bank account, I can just send the link right to the banker. Yesterday I picked up some dog food as a favor for an ill client. I just took a picture of the receipt and uploaded it, and associated it with the customer's account.
How Scout Helps you Store Documents
A bit earlier I mentioned a few popular cloud services like google docs and Apple iCloud. These are just a few in a wide range of cloud storage options. What makes Scout so special? The Scout File Vault is designed specifically to store documents for the dog walking industry. The way we organize your data makes it super easy to find what you're looking for and share the information with the people who need it.
Organization
One of the big advantages to Scout over a 3rd party cloud storage system is that we already have all your clients and staff in the system. On Google Drive, for example, you would have to create and maintain a separate folder for every client and staff. In Scout, you just upload the document and easily associate it with the profile of your choice. Just open up the profile you need and all the documents are right there. The File Vault also allows you to add and search a file description. This is great for collaborating with other admins and providing an overview of the file contents. Scout also has a really easy to use interface for tagging files, which allows you to add and search file descriptions, not just file names.
File Sharing
Want to share a document with people who don't have access to the portal? In Scout sharing a document is as easy as copy and paste. Just copy the link and send it off! Whether it's a staff member, your accountant or an urgent care doctor, getting people the information they need, when they need it, couldn't be easier.