Frequently asked questions

Q: What if a buyer pays their deposit in cash?

Record it. On the buyer's profile, Deposits & payments → Record a payment lets you enter the amount, how it was paid (cash, bank transfer, other), the date it changed hands and an optional reference. It then counts exactly like a card deposit: it comes off the balance, moves the sale's financial track, unlocks the buyer's puppy page and appears in the evidence pack. The one difference is honesty about the source. A card payment is labelled confirmed by Stripe; one you enter is labelled recorded by you, including on the buyer's receipt. Because it's your own record, you can also correct, refund or remove it — a Stripe payment can't be touched by hand. See Record a cash or bank-transfer payment.

Q: Can I use my own contract instead of Whelpkeep's?

Yes. Edit any contract to say what you want, then click Save as my default — every new contract starts from your wording, with that pup's details filled in via placeholders like {{buyername}} and {{price}}. You can also write it from scratch under Account & Settings → Contract wording. Whelpkeep still adds the legally required part to the bottom of every contract by itself: your state's identification and compliance details, the Australian Consumer Law note, the NSW 3-day/50% guarantee where it applies, and the signature block. You don't write those, and you can't delete them by accident — which also means they stay right as the rules change. See Use your own contract wording.

Q: Can I email my whole waitlist at once?

Yes — from your own email. On Waitlist & Buyers, click Copy all emails, then paste the addresses into the BCC line of a new email in your usual mail app. BCC keeps your buyers' addresses private from each other. Archived buyers are left out unless you click Show archived first. See Manage your waitlist & buyers. Whelpkeep doesn't send bulk or marketing email on your behalf, on purpose. The emails Whelpkeep does send — contracts for signing, puppy-page updates and sign-in links — have to reach your buyers' inboxes. If mass announcements went out from the same system and some recipients marked them as spam, those contract emails would start landing in junk folders, for you and for every other breeder. Australian spam law also requires every marketing email to carry a working unsubscribe that's honoured. Sending announcements from your own address keeps them separate and keeps your contracts arriving.

Q: How do I get buyers whose pups have gone home off my waitlist?

Archive them. Open the buyer's profile and click Archive. They disappear from Waitlist & Buyers and the dashboard count, but their sale, payments, contract and puppy page keep working. Click Show archived above the list to see them, and Unarchive to bring one back. A buyer with a sale or a paid deposit can't be deleted, because payments and signed contracts are records you keep — archiving is the way to tidy them away.

Q: Can I keep a pup's pet insurance in Whelpkeep and put the policy on the contract?

Yes. Upload the policy or cover note against the pup as an Insurance record. The document reader finds the insurer, policy number and cover dates; confirm them, and the next contract you draft for that pup includes the policy from its most recent Insurance record. Whelpkeep's standard contract adds it automatically; with your own wording, use the {{insurer}} and {{insurancepolicy}} placeholders. See Pet insurance on the contract.

Q: Do I need a Stripe account?

Only to take card payments online. You connect it once under Account & Settings → Payments & deposits. Cash and bank-transfer payments are recorded without it, and everything else — animals, litters, records, compliance, listings — works without it too.

Short answers to the questions we hear most. Use the search box or Ask Whelpkeep for anything not covered here.

Who is Whelpkeep for?

Whelpkeep is for small registered dog and cat breeders in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia who want to run litters properly — tracking animals, buyers, deposits, records and state compliance in one place.

Does Whelpkeep take a cut of my deposits?

No. Buyers pay deposits straight into your own Stripe account. Whelpkeep records the payment and unlocks the buyer's puppy page, but it never holds or takes a share of your money.

What if a buyer pays their deposit in cash?

Record it. On the buyer's profile, Deposits & payments → Record a payment lets you enter the amount, how it was paid (cash, bank transfer, other), the date it changed hands and an optional reference. It then counts exactly like a card deposit: it comes off the balance, moves the sale's financial track, unlocks the buyer's puppy page and appears in the evidence pack.

The one difference is honesty about the source. A card payment is labelled confirmed by Stripe; one you enter is labelled recorded by you, including on the buyer's receipt. Because it's your own record, you can also correct, refund or remove it — a Stripe payment can't be touched by hand. See Record a cash or bank-transfer payment.

Can I use my own contract instead of Whelpkeep's?

Yes. Edit any contract to say what you want, then click Save as my default — every new contract starts from your wording, with that pup's details filled in via placeholders like {{buyer_name}} and {{price}}. You can also write it from scratch under Account & Settings → Contract wording.

Whelpkeep still adds the legally required part to the bottom of every contract by itself: your state's identification and compliance details, the Australian Consumer Law note, the NSW 3-day/50% guarantee where it applies, and the signature block. You don't write those, and you can't delete them by accident — which also means they stay right as the rules change. See Use your own contract wording.

I made a mistake in a signed contract. Can I fix it?

Yes — by replacing it, not editing it. Once a buyer signs, the contract is locked, just like a signed paper contract: nobody, including you, can change it. Agree the correction with your buyer, then have them sign a corrected contract:

Fix the detail where it lives first — for example the pup's microchip number or colour on the pup's page (Edit).
Open the sale and, under Status & admin, click Cancel sale.
Go to Sales & Contracts. Next to Start a sale for an assigned pup, choose the same pup and click Start sale.
In the new sale, enter the purchase price again — and the go-home date and notes, if you'd changed them.
Click Draft contract, check it, then click Send for signature. Your buyer gets the signing email again and signs on their puppy page.

What carries over: every payment (payments belong to the pup, so the balance stays the same) and the buyer's puppy page. The old signed contract stays on the cancelled sale as a permanent record; that sale shows a link to the new one and can't be re-opened.

What you set again: the purchase price, notes, the chip status and the gone-home marker. The go-home date goes back to the default (whelp date + 8 weeks), and the new sale gets a new reference. Any changes you typed into the old contract by hand need making again — your saved default wording is used automatically.

Can I email my whole waitlist at once?

Yes — from your own email. On Waitlist & Buyers, click Copy all emails, then paste the addresses into the BCC line of a new email in your usual mail app. BCC keeps your buyers' addresses private from each other. Archived buyers are left out unless you click Show archived first. See Manage your waitlist & buyers.

Whelpkeep doesn't send bulk or marketing email on your behalf, on purpose. The emails Whelpkeep does send — contracts for signing, puppy-page updates and sign-in links — have to reach your buyers' inboxes. If mass announcements went out from the same system and some recipients marked them as spam, those contract emails would start landing in junk folders, for you and for every other breeder. Australian spam law also requires every marketing email to carry a working unsubscribe that's honoured. Sending announcements from your own address keeps them separate and keeps your contracts arriving.

How do I get buyers whose pups have gone home off my waitlist?

Archive them. Open the buyer's profile and click Archive. They disappear from Waitlist & Buyers and the dashboard count, but their sale, payments, contract and puppy page keep working. Click Show archived above the list to see them, and Unarchive to bring one back. A buyer with a sale or a paid deposit can't be deleted, because payments and signed contracts are records you keep — archiving is the way to tidy them away.

Can I keep a pup's pet insurance in Whelpkeep and put the policy on the contract?

Yes. Upload the policy or cover note against the pup as an Insurance record. The document reader finds the insurer, policy number and cover dates; confirm them, and the next contract you draft for that pup includes the policy from its most recent Insurance record. Whelpkeep's standard contract adds it automatically; with your own wording, use the {{insurer}} and {{insurance_policy}} placeholders. See Pet insurance on the contract.

Do I need a Stripe account?

Only to take card payments online. You connect it once under Account & Settings → Payments & deposits. Cash and bank-transfer payments are recorded without it, and everything else — animals, litters, records, compliance, listings — works without it too.

How do buyers see their puppy?

Each buyer gets a private puppy page reached by a link emailed to them. They sign in with their email address only — there's no password to remember. The page shows weekly photos and weights, any health records you've shared, and their contract and receipt.

Does Whelpkeep text my buyers?

No. Whelpkeep sends email only — there is no SMS. Your buyer gets three emails in total: the contract when you send it for signature, an update when you post a new shared photo or weigh-in, and their single-use sign-in link when they ask for one. Everything else lives on their puppy page.

Does Whelpkeep chase buyers for overdue payments?

No — it reminds you, and you chase. Whelpkeep tracks the outstanding balance on each sale and puts Deposit pending and Balance pending on your dashboard and in your daily reminder email. It never emails or texts the buyer about money. Chasing a late payment is a conversation you have with your buyer; Whelpkeep's job is to make sure you don't forget it's owed. See Record a payment.

Which states does Whelpkeep support?

New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia. Whelpkeep tracks each state's breeder ID, deadlines and required contract wording. Plain-English summaries of each state's rules are on the Rules pages.

Is Whelpkeep legal advice?

No. Whelpkeep helps you stay organised and points you to your state's requirements, but it is general guidance, not legal advice. Always check your state regulator for the final word.

What happens when my free trial ends?

Your six-week trial includes every feature. When it ends you can subscribe annually or activate litters one at a time. If you don't, you move to the free plan and your account stays writable — the paid conveniences switch off, but you keep adding animals, litters and records, uncapped, for as long as you like. (Read-only applies only if you have paid before and that plan lapses or is cancelled: viewing and downloading your data stay open, adding and editing pause.) See Pricing.

Can I import my existing records?

Yes. You can bring in records from spreadsheets, CSV files, PDFs, Word documents and photos. Whelpkeep maps them and shows you everything to review before anything is saved. See Import your data.

Does the document reader change my records automatically?

No. When you upload a document, Whelpkeep reads it and offers the details for you to confirm or edit. Nothing is recorded as fact until you accept it. See How the document reader works.

Where is my data stored, and who can see it?

Your data is stored securely and only you can see your kennel's information — other breeders can't. Buyers only ever see the specific puppy page you share with them. For the full picture, read Security & privacy.

How do I get my data out?

Account & Settings → Download your data gives you the lot as one spreadsheet — animals, litters, pups, buyers, sales, deposits, contracts, records and weights, plus a link to every file you have uploaded. It is not a paid feature and it keeps working if your plan lapses. See Download your data.

How do I get help?

Use Ask Whelpkeep on any page, search these docs, or contact our team. For breeding-rule questions, head to the Rules pages.