Herdshare Management Software Built for Raw Milk Farms
How Smart FDS Simplifies Herdshare Program Management
Everything herdshare farms need to manage members, automate billing, and run delivery routes. Built into Smart FDS from day one.
What Makes Smart FDS Different for Herdshare Programs
Purpose-built features no other herdshare management software includes out of the box
Agistment Fee Billing
Set once, collected automatically every billing cycle.
Per-Member Bottle Tracking
Every jar tracked, every deposit reconciled per member.
Built-in Delivery Routes
Raw milk routes optimized automatically. No third-party app.
Herdshare Contracts
Members sign, upload, and store agreements in one place.
Private Member Portal
Members manage holds, billing, and schedules themselves.
In many U.S. states, the direct sale of unpasteurized raw milk is restricted by law. Herdshare programs give consumers a lawful path: they purchase a share in the herd and pay a recurring agistment fee covering feed, housing, and animal care. In return, they receive a portion of the milk produced by their animals.
At Smart FDS, we understand how vital herdshares are for small farms and local dairies. The dedicated herdshare module handles the full program cycle: member onboarding, share agreements, agistment fee billing, private member stores, optimized delivery routes, and per-member bottle tracking.
Manage Members, Shares, and Contracts in One Place
Every member record, contract, and share entitlement lives here.
Membership Management
Easily manage all herdshare members in one place without relying on spreadsheets. Track membership validity and expiry dates, monitor entitlements, and maintain accurate records to ensure smooth herdshare operations and full transparency with members.
Herdshare Contracts and Agreements
Publish herdshare contract templates directly on your website so visitors can easily download and sign them. Signed agreements can then be uploaded and stored under each customer’s profile, keeping documents organized, secure, and easy to retrieve when needed.
Membership Product Rules
When a membership is activated, Smart FDS automatically adds the required recurring products to that member's order. Weekly milk is applied at membership creation and cannot be removed, skipped, or paused by the member. You set the rule once and it applies to every new member who joins.
Private Membership Website
Herdshare products are restricted to active subscribed members only. Raw milk and herdshare items stay hidden until a valid member logs in. The public store remains fully accessible for eggs, beef, produce, and other products.
Agistment Fee Billing, Automated
Smart FDS handles every billing cycle automatically. No manual invoicing, no chasing payments.
One-Time Buy-in and Agistment Fees
Collect a one-time buy-in fee for herdshare membership, then manage ongoing agistment fees that cover the feed and care of the herd. These fees can be billed weekly, ensuring members support the herd while receiving their share of milk.
Recurring Billing Schedules
Set billing to run weekly, monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, or annually. Invoices generate automatically, payments process through the gateway, and receipts go to members. Overdue accounts are flagged in your dashboard without manual tracking. Farms that previously spent hours each week on billing admin reduce that to near zero after switching to Smart FDS.
Popular Payment Gateways
Process secure payments with full support for Authorize.net and Stripe. Handle refunds directly to credit cards, use tokenized storage to safely keep cards on file for compliance, and access detailed reconciliation reports to simplify accounting and track all payment activity.
Wholesale & Retail Pricing
Set different pricing rules based on customer type such as wholesale or retail. Define special rates, set minimum order quantity requirements, and apply different delivery fees depending on the customer type for complete flexibility.
Your Members Manage Themselves
Self-service tools reduce inbound messages and manual adjustments on your end. Members handle their own schedule, billing, and holds.
Customer Dashboard
Every member gets a full portal to manage their herdshare experience without contacting the farm. They can track membership status, cancellations, or renewals, view billing history, manage credit cards, adjust recurring items, set vacation holds, check delivery schedules, review past orders, and stay updated through a built-in bulletin board.
Vacation Holds and Delivery Skips
Members set and manage their own delivery pauses from their dashboard when they travel. The hold appears automatically on your route manifest for the correct dates. No phone calls, no emails, no manual edits on your schedule.
SMS and Email Reminders
Automated notifications go out for delivery day, billing due dates, pickup schedule changes, and agreement renewal reminders. Members stay informed without any manual outreach from the farm.
Raw Milk Delivery Routes, Built In
Route optimization is native to Smart FDS, not a third-party add-on. These three features are available on no other dedicated herdshare platform.
Native Route Optimization
Build raw milk delivery routes in minutes. Smart FDS calculates the most efficient stop order, generates a driver manifest, and manages route-specific cut-off times automatically.
- Optimize any number of stops automatically
- Route-specific order cut-off times and delivery scheduling
- Multiple routes and drivers in one account
- Member gets notified when delivery is complete
iOS and Android Driver App
The driver receives the day's manifest on their phone with stops in order, customer notes, and a status button per drop. Delivery statuses update in real time on your farm dashboard.
- Works on iOS and Android
- Customer delivery notes visible per stop
- Real-time status updates to farm dashboard
- Take notes and send delivery notifications
Bottle Tracking per Member
Track every jar or bottle at the individual member level. Smart FDS records containers out and returned on each route, with deposit balances updating automatically per member.
- Per-member container balance tracking
- Automatic deposit reconciliation
- Updates with every route completion
Manual Management vs. Smart FDS
See what changes when herdshare farms switch from spreadsheets and separate tools to Smart FDS.
Spreadsheets and Manual Processes
- Agistment billing tracked manually and invoiced each cycle
- Route planning done on paper or with a separate routing app
- Member records spread across emails and spreadsheet files
- Contracts stored in email threads or physical filing cabinets
- Bottle deposits counted manually on each delivery run
- Members call or email the farm for every change or request
- Driver dispatch managed by phone and printed manifests
Everything in One Herdshare Platform
- Agistment billing set once and collected automatically every cycle
- Built-in route optimization with driver manifest generated automatically
- Every member in one centralized dashboard with full history
- Contracts stored digitally and tied to each member profile
- Per-member bottle tracking with automatic deposit reconciliation
- Members manage holds, schedules, and payments through their own portal
- iOS and Android driver app with real-time delivery status updates
Common Questions About the Herdshare Module
Questions about herdshares in general? Read the complete raw milk herdshare guide.
A herdshare program is a legal arrangement where a consumer purchases a share of ownership in a dairy animal or herd. In return for paying a recurring agistment fee that covers the cost of feed, housing, and animal care, the shareholder receives a portion of the milk the animal produces. This structure gives consumers access to raw milk in states where direct retail sales of unpasteurized milk are restricted.
An agistment fee is a recurring charge paid by a herdshare member to cover the costs of caring for the animal they part-own. This includes feed, bedding, housing, labor, and veterinary care. It is not a payment for milk. The member receives milk as a benefit of their ownership, not as a purchase. This distinction is central to how herdshare programs operate legally in many U.S. states.
Smart FDS works for any size. Farms with 10 members and farms with 100 use the same platform with no configuration changes. Pricing scales by weekly order volume, so smaller programs pay less. The Basic plan starts at $99 per month with no setup fee and no minimum contract. A 30-day free trial gives you full access to test everything with your actual member data before paying anything.
Yes. Both run side by side in the same account. Members on home delivery are assigned to an optimized route with cut-off times, driver app integration, and delivery notifications. Members who collect at the farm manage their own pickup schedule through their member portal. Many farms run both models simultaneously for different groups of members without any issue.
You set the agistment fee amount and billing frequency for each member once. Smart FDS generates invoices on schedule, processes payments through Authorize.net or Stripe, sends member receipts, and flags late or failed payments in your dashboard. The one-time buy-in fee is configured separately and collected at sign-up. No manual invoicing is needed at any point after initial setup.
Yes. Every member gets a self-service portal where they can view their membership status, billing history, delivery schedule, and past orders. They can update their payment card, set vacation holds, and manage delivery pauses without calling or emailing the farm. This reduces the administrative load on the farm significantly, especially as the program grows.
Yes. You can publish your herdshare contract template on your website. Members download, sign, and upload their signed agreement through their member portal. Every signed contract is stored under the member's profile and can be retrieved at any time for compliance or renewal purposes. No email attachments or physical filing required.
Most farms are fully live in under one week. The Smart FDS team handles migration of your member list, share records, delivery routes, and payment processor setup at no cost. No technical skills are required and there is no downtime during the transition. The 30-day free trial includes full access from day one, so onboarding, setup, and your first delivery run can all happen within the same week.
Ready to Simplify Your Herdshare Management?
Book a free personal demo. We will walk through every feature using your farm's actual member count, routes, and billing setup.