Pet Grooming Invoice Template: Groom Prices, Add-Ons, Tips

Quick answer: A pet grooming invoice lists your salon or mobile business details, the owner and each pet by name and breed, a unique invoice number and date, every service such as full groom, bath and brush or nail trim, add-ons like dematting or teeth brushing, any discount or tax, the total, deposits paid and the balance due. Paid at pickup, it doubles as the dog grooming receipt.

Grooming is a high-volume, low-ticket business. A busy groomer can see eight or more dogs a day, and every one of them comes with slightly different needs: a matted doodle, a nervous terrier that needs extra handling, a cat that needs a sanitary trim. When the bill does not explain those differences, owners query it at the counter. A clear pet grooming invoice, built in a free invoice generator, answers the question before it is asked.

This guide covers what to put on a grooming invoice, typical 2026 grooming prices by dog size, how to bill add-ons, matting and no-shows, a worked example with real arithmetic, tax and tips, and the mistakes that cost groomers money. If you also walk or sit pets, see our guides to the dog walking invoice template and the pet sitting invoice template.

What to include on a pet grooming invoice

A grooming bill should be readable in the time it takes an owner to clip on a lead. Keep the layout simple and put each pet and service on its own line. Include:

• Your business details: salon or mobile business name, address, phone, email and logo. Add a business licence number if your city or state requires one.
• Owner details: name, phone number and email, so you can send the PDF and call if there is a problem.
• Pet details: each pet's name, breed or type and approximate weight or size band. Size drives price, so showing it explains the charge.
• Invoice number and date: a sequential number such as GRM-2026-0815. The invoice number generator can suggest a consistent format.
• Services: full groom, bath and brush, puppy intro groom, face, feet and fanny tidy, deshedding treatment.
• Add-ons: nail clip or grind, teeth brushing, ear cleaning, paw balm, blueberry facial, flea shampoo.
• Surcharges: dematting, difficult handling, extra coat length or a late pickup fee, each with a short reason.
• Discounts: multi-pet, rebooking or loyalty discounts, shown as a separate line so the full price stays visible.
• Tax: only where grooming services or products are taxable in your area.
• Payment details: deposit received, amount paid at pickup and balance due.

Add a short notes line for anything the owner should know, such as "Light matting behind ears removed, recommend brushing twice a week". It explains the surcharge and sells the next appointment.

Dog grooming prices in 2026: typical ranges by size

Size, coat and temperament are the three things that move grooming prices. The ranges below come from published 2026 US cost guides for salon grooming. They vary widely by region, so treat them as orientation, not a price list. Guides consistently report that big coastal metros sit above national averages and that mobile grooming adds a premium for the van, fuel and one-to-one service.

Service	Small dog	Medium dog	Large or giant dog
Full groom (bath, haircut, nails, ears)	Roughly $40 to $80	Roughly $60 to $110	Roughly $85 to $180
Bath and brush	About half to two-thirds of a full groom	About half to two-thirds of a full groom	About half to two-thirds of a full groom
Mobile full groom	Higher than salon, often by 20% or more	Higher than salon	Higher than salon
Dematting surcharge	Commonly from about $25 per extra time block, depending on severity
Nail trim only	Usually a low flat fee, often cheaper as an add-on to a groom

For context on labour costs, the BLS profile of animal care and service workers reports a median wage of about $17 an hour as of May 2025, but that figure excludes the self-employed. An owner-operator also pays for shampoo, blades, insurance, rent or a van, booking software and card fees, so your price per groom must cover much more than your time. Our guide on how to set your rates walks through the cost-plus maths.

Cat grooming and other pets

Cats, rabbits and other small animals are usually priced separately. Cat grooms often cost more than a small-dog groom because they take more handling and sometimes a second groomer. List them the same way: pet name, type, service and price.

How to bill add-ons, surcharges and packages

Add-ons are where grooming margins live, and they are also where disputes start. Three rules keep them clean:

1. Publish your add-on menu. Owners should see prices for nail grinding, teeth brushing and deshedding before they book. A printed or online menu turns every add-on into a choice, not a surprise.
2. Confirm surcharges at drop-off. If a coat is matted, say so at check-in and confirm the extra cost or a shave-down. Note it on the booking.
3. Show every extra as its own line. One line that says "Full groom plus extras $165" invites questions. Separate lines for the groom, dematting and nail grind do not.
4. Bill packages clearly. If an owner prepays for six grooms, issue one invoice for the package, then show each visit as "Groom 3 of 6, prepaid" with a zero balance. The deposit invoice guide explains how to treat prepayments.
5. Keep retail separate. Shampoo, brushes, bandanas and treats you sell should be their own lines, because they may be taxed differently from the grooming service.

Worked example: a two-dog grooming invoice

Here is a sample invoice for an owner who brings in two dogs on the same morning. She paid a $30 booking deposit when she reserved the slot. Prices are illustrative, and the 6% tax rate is an example only, used to show how a taxable service is calculated.

Line	Qty	Rate	Amount
Full groom, Bella, Golden Retriever, large	1	$110.00	$110.00
Dematting surcharge, Bella, 30 minutes	1	$25.00	$25.00
Bath and brush, Milo, Shih Tzu, small	1	$45.00	$45.00
Nail grind add-on, both dogs	2	$12.00	$24.00
Teeth brushing, Milo	1	$10.00	$10.00
Subtotal			$214.00
Multi-dog discount, 10%			-$21.40
Taxable amount			$192.60
Tax at 6% (example rate)			$11.56
Total			$204.16
Booking deposit paid			-$30.00
Balance due at pickup			$174.16

The arithmetic: $110 + $25 + $45 + $24 + $10 = $214. A 10% discount is $21.40, leaving $192.60. Tax at 6% is $11.556, rounded to $11.56, giving $204.16. Subtract the $30 deposit and the owner pays $174.16 at pickup. In the generator, enter the five lines, set a 10% discount, set the tax rate, then enter $30 as amount paid. When she pays the balance, update amount paid to $204.16 and the same document becomes her receipt.

If your state does not tax grooming, simply leave the tax rate at zero and the total becomes $192.60. Use the sales tax calculator to check figures if you do charge tax.

Dog grooming receipt vs invoice

Most retail grooming clients pay at pickup, so they want a dog grooming receipt rather than a bill with terms. The difference is simple: an invoice requests payment and a receipt proves it. Our invoice vs receipt explainer covers the detail, but in practice you can use one document for both. Create the invoice, then mark it paid so the balance due reads zero, and email the PDF.

Proper invoices with payment terms matter when you groom for businesses: a boarding kennel that sends you dogs, a rescue charity, a breeder preparing puppies for new homes, or a vet clinic that subcontracts grooming. Those clients usually expect net 15 or net 30 terms and a numbered invoice for their own records. The payment terms guide explains the options.

Deposits, no-shows and cancellation fees

A missed two-hour slot for a large double-coated dog can cost a groomer a big share of the day's income. Many salons protect themselves with:

• Booking deposits for new clients, large breeds or holiday slots, credited against the final bill.
• Late cancellation fees for cancellations inside 24 or 48 hours, often a percentage of the service.
• No-show fees that forfeit the deposit or require prepayment before the next booking.
• Late pickup fees after a grace period, because a dog in a kennel blocks the next client.

State these rules in the booking confirmation, not just on the invoice. When you charge a fee, issue a short invoice with one line, such as "Late cancellation, 2 November appointment, 50% of booked service", so the owner sees exactly what it covers.

Tax, tips and records for groomers

Tax on grooming depends on where you work. Some US states treat pet grooming as a taxable service and others do not, while retail products are commonly taxable as goods. Read our overview of sales tax on invoices in the US and check your state revenue department before you add tax. In the UK and other VAT countries, VAT only applies once you are registered. This is general information, not tax advice.

Tips are common in grooming. Leave them off the invoice and record them separately when they arrive. Self-employed groomers should keep good records of tip income; our explainer on tax on tips for the self-employed covers the current US rules. Keep copies of every invoice and receipt, along with expense receipts for shampoo, blades and equipment, because they support your deductions at tax time.

Salon, mobile and booth-rent groomers

How you work changes who you invoice:

• Salon owner: you invoice pet owners directly and may pay employed or commissioned groomers through payroll.
• Mobile groomer: you invoice the owner at the van. Some mobile groomers add a trip or convenience fee as a separate line; if you do, put it in the price list.
• Booth or table renter: you invoice your own clients and pay the salon rent. The salon invoice template covers booth-rent billing in more detail.
• Contract groomer: if a kennel or vet pays you per dog, send them a numbered invoice listing each groom and date, as you would for any independent contractor invoice.

How to create a pet grooming invoice in five minutes

Whether you groom in a salon or from a van, the routine is the same. Once your details are saved, each invoice takes a couple of minutes:

1. Set up your header once. Add your business name, logo, phone, email and address. If you trade under a brand name, use it consistently so owners recognise the bill.
2. Add the owner. Enter the owner's name and email. For regular clients, keep a simple client list so you are not retyping details every visit.
3. Number the invoice. Use the next number in your sequence. A prefix such as GRM for grooming and MOB for mobile visits makes it easy to report on each side of the business.
4. Enter one line per pet and service. Put the pet's name and breed in the description, then add each add-on and surcharge on its own line.
5. Apply any discount and tax. Use a percentage for multi-pet or loyalty discounts, or a fixed amount for a voucher. Set the tax rate only if grooming or retail is taxable where you work.
6. Record payments. Enter the booking deposit, or the full amount if the owner has paid, so the balance due is correct.
7. Add a note and send. Add a coat-care tip or the recommended rebooking date, download the PDF and email or print it.

Many groomers rebook at the counter. Putting "Next groom recommended: 6 weeks" in the notes, along with the date you agreed, turns the invoice into a reminder that brings the client back on schedule.

Common pet grooming invoice mistakes

• One lump-sum line: owners cannot see what they paid for, so they question the price.
• Surprise surcharges: a dematting fee nobody mentioned at drop-off is the fastest way to lose a client.
• No pet names: multi-pet households cannot match charges to dogs.
• Reused invoice numbers: duplicates make your records unreliable.
• Taxing everything or nothing: grooming and retail can be taxed differently, so check before you set a rate.
• Forgetting the deposit: if the deposit is not shown, the owner may pay it twice and you face a refund.

A tidy layout also builds trust. Pick a clean design from our invoice templates, such as the minimal template, and use it for every client.

Create your pet grooming invoice

A good pet grooming invoice names every pet, lists each service and add-on, explains any surcharge and shows deposits clearly, so owners pay without argument and rebook with confidence. Build yours in the free invoice generator: add your logo, enter each groom, apply your multi-pet discount, record payment and download the PDF as an invoice or a receipt. Planning to expand into sitting? Read our guide to pet sitting rates next.