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How to Navigate ShelterBuddy Using the New Unified Menu

This guide explains how to navigate ShelterBuddy using the new Unified Menu, which launched in April 2026. The new menu replaces the previous vertical side menu with a single horizontal navigation bar at the top of every page — available in both Classic and Modern UI. Whether you are completing an adoption, running a dispatch job, or pulling a report, everything you need is now accessible from the same top menu bar.

New in April 2026

The vertical side menu has been replaced by a horizontal top navigation bar. All the same features are still available — they have just been reorganized into a cleaner structure.

The New Menu Bar

The menu bar runs across the top of every ShelterBuddy page and contains six main sections. Click any heading to see a dropdown with the relevant options.

Screenshot 2026-03-30 at 5.44.22 PM

Menu Item

What you'll find here

Search

All search functions: Online Diary, Agency Search, Animal Transfer Search, Ambulance Pick-up Location Search, Microchip Search, Obedience Handler Search, Pre-Registration / Data Acquisition, and more.

Person

Person Advanced Search, Receipt Search, Registration Owner Search, Add Person. All actions related to finding and managing people records.

Animal

Animal Advanced Search, Animal Tasks, Kennel Cleaning Requests, Planned Treatments. All actions related to finding and managing animal records.

Dispatch

Dispatch job list and all dispatch-related tools. Note: Dispatch no longer opens automatically on login — navigate here to access it.

Reports

All reporting and data export functions.

Modules

Bulk Updating Menu, Useful Links, Sponsorship Overview, Council Search, Ambulance Search, Council Animal Link Search, and the Support link (now goes directly to the ShelterBuddy Knowledge Base).

How Page Routing Works

The Unified Menu is smart — it routes you to the right version of each page based on your shelter's setup:

  • If your shelter has access to the Modern UI and the page exists in the Modern UI, you will be taken to the Modern UI version.
  • If your shelter uses Classic only, all menu links will take you to Classic pages.
  • If a page does not yet exist in the Modern UI, the menu will take you to the Classic version automatically.

Tip

You do not need to switch between Classic and Modern UI manually. The menu handles this for you based on your shelter's configuration.

How to Add a Receipt

With the new menu, you can start a receipt directly from the Person menu:

  1. Click Person in the top menu bar.
  2. Select +Receipt from the dropdown.
  3. Alternatively, receipts are created automatically when completing processes such as adoptions.

Finding Dispatch

Dispatch no longer opens automatically when you log in. To access Dispatch:

  1. Click Dispatch in the top menu bar.
  2. Your dispatch job list and all related tools will appear.

Note

If you relied on the Dispatch screen opening automatically on login, you will need to navigate to it via the top menu. This is intentional — the new behaviour keeps your home screen clean on login.

Getting Help & Accessing the Knowledge Base

The Support link has moved and now takes you directly to the ShelterBuddy Knowledge Base:

  1. Click Modules in the top menu bar.
  2. Select Support from the dropdown.
  3. You will be taken to the ShelterBuddy Knowledge Base where you can search for help articles or put in a support ticket via the Customer Portal.