We offer the ability to build custom forms to gather info from clients before they come in for their appointment. We'll ask the basics already — first name, last name, phone number, and email (these are key to organizing your client list and knowing where to send appointment notifications). But any other questions are up to you!
Intake forms can only be filled out when an appointment is booked. They cannot be sent to clients independent of an appointment, and they cannot be filled out when a subscription or package is purchased. Instead, the client fills out the form when redeeming the subscription or package for appointments.
In this guide:
How To Use Intake Forms ⚓
- Intake forms must be created within Acuity rather than uploading pre-existing documents. That way, we know what kind of questions to ask and can save them in a client’s history.
- If you'd prefer not to build new forms you do have the option to include a link to your pre-existing forms into your confirmation and reminder emails for clients to access after scheduling.
- You can set forms to be for internal use only. These forms will be attached to client’s appointments, but Acuity won’t show the forms to clients, and clients will not be able to fill them out. Instead, Acuity users can fill these in from the admin end. This is great for things such as SOAP notes or images.
- You can make a form required by checking the box marked Required. When this is checked, the client will not be able to book the appointment and go on to the confirmation page until the field is filled. A warning will appear to the client, letting them know that they need to fill in required fields.
Here's how this field will appear on your Client Scheduling Page if the client doesn't complete the field:
- If you want your intake form to seamlessly fit into your client info page, leave the Form Name from your intake form blank:
- You can ask as many questions as you want in each form, but the question itself is limited to 250 characters. The description of the form is unlimited, though!
-
Client intake forms can be filled out before the client confirms the appointment in the booking process from your Scheduling Page, or by clicking View/Change Appointment in the initial confirmation or reminder email notifications.
-
You will not be sent an extra notification when a client fills out intake forms. The form data will be included in normal confirmation emails, if you have your account configured to send them.
- Intake form information collected will sync over into an external calendar, if calendar syncing is enabled.
The Types of Information You Can Collect:⚓
- Textbox: This option allows clients to enter text. You can choose from Small (one line of text), Medium (about a paragraph), and Large (multiple paragraphs) for the size of the Textbox.
- Drop Down List: Select this option to allow clients to choose from a provided list of responses.
- Checkbox: This is used when only a single check is needed. If it's marked as required, clients must check it to schedule an appointment.
- Checkbox List: This will allow for multiple options to be chosen from a list.
- Yes/No Choice: Use this option for yes or no answers.
- File Upload: This option is available for paid Acuity users, and allows clients to upload pictures, documents, or other file types (up to a 5mb limit).
- Address: With this option, clients can enter an address. You can set Acuity to automatically use the address the client enters as the location of the appointment. The address will then be included when the event syncs to other calendar systems. You can also reference this in your Email Templates by including the tag %location%.
You can review submitted forms in the individual appointment details or in a client's history. Clients can also register for an account to pre-fill their previous form answers for future bookings.
How to Create a New Custom Form⚓
When clients register, Acuity collects their first name, last name and email address by default. If you want additional information, you can use Acuity’s preset options for Terms & Conditions or SOAP notes, or you can create a custom form. Here’s how to make a new custom form:
- Go to Business Settings > Intake Form Questions.
- Click the New Custom Form button. This will create a new, blank form.
- Fill out the form's name and description, if you want. Both are optional. Any text in those fields will separate the form questions from the default questions on the Client’s Scheduling Page. The difference is illustrated in the example below.
- Find the ADD QUESTIONS section on the left side of the screen and click on the type of question that you want to add to the form.
- Fill in the details of the question as prompted, then click Save Question and Form.
- Repeat steps 4 and 5 until you have all the questions you want.
- Drag and drop the questions to put them in the order you want.
- If you want the form to be for internal use only, click the Internal Use Only box on the left.
- Use the section at the bottom left to select which appointment types should include the form.
- Click Save Form.
Note: Forms will appear on the Client’s Scheduling Page in the order they are listed on the Intake Form Questions page. You can reorder them by dragging and dropping them on the Intake Form Questions page.
Forms for Internal Use Only⚓
These forms are attached to client appointments, but aren't shown to clients. Instead, they're filled out by Acuity users from the admin end.
*Clickable links will not function for Intake Forms set to Internal Use Only.
How to create a form for internal use:
Follow the steps laid out in the How to Create New Custom Forms section, being certain to check the box marked INTERNAL USE ONLY.
How to fill out an internal form during booking:
- Begin booking the appointment through the admin end as you normally would.
- Before you finish the process, click on the Forms, Codes and Notes section.
- Fill in the answers to the form questions.
- Click Schedule Appointment.
Note: If you haven’t named your internal form, the questions from the form won’t be separated from the other questions in any way:
How to fill out an internal form for an appointment that has been booked:
- Find the appointment that has the form attached. (There are several ways to do this, including through the Appointment Calendar.)
- Click on the appointment to bring up its details.
- Scroll down to the form you want to fill out. If the form is named, you will see the name of the form. If it is not named, it will be blank. If it is set to internal use only, it will say (for internal use only).
- Click on the name of the intake form (or the Edit button at the top of the appointment details) and fill out the form.
- Click Save.
Terms & Conditions, Waivers, Disclaimers, & Other Agreements ⚓
We recommend creating a new form and entering your terms in the Form Description. Then, add a required Textbox question for clients with a call-to-action like, “Enter your initials to certify that you agree to our terms & conditions” or a single check box indicating that they’ve agreed. Making this field required with only a check box option will ensure that the client cannot book unless they check the box and agree.
You can also put links into your form description, or the question, if you'd like to link to terms and conditions on your own website instead. Pasting a url (including the http://) will turn it into a clickable link either in the form description or question field. You can add HTML in the form description as well.
If you need the client to physically sign the form, our intake forms do not include that feature. Another forms program, such as HelloSign may be a better fit. If you have any questions as to the legality of how our forms work with your clients, you may want to discuss it with your legal team.
SOAP Notes⚓
Acuity has the option to add SOAP notes forms. These forms come pre-populated with questions typically found in SOAP notes, but they can still be customized just like any Acuity form. They also come pre-set to be for internal use only, meaning they aren't displayed to the client.
To add a new SOAP notes form:
- Go to Business Settings > Intake Form Questions.
- Click the New SOAP Notes Form button at the top right.
- Make any customizations you want, such naming the form or editing (using the pencil icon) or deleting (using the trash icon) individual fields.
- At the bottom left, select which appointment types should have the SOAP notes form applied.
- Click Save Form.
Delete Intake Forms ⚓
Deleting forms won't affect any previously booked appointments or client information. It will, however, prevent future clients from filling out the form.
A couple things to note:
- All previously answered form questions will remain within your client profiles.
- Deleted intake forms will not be included in appointment exports.
If you'd like to delete a form, scroll down to the bottom of the form's page and click the red “Delete” option.
Ask Intake Form Questions to New Clients Only ⚓
Each appointment type can have its own set of forms assigned to it, which clients will be asked to fill out each time they book an appointment. If you only want to ask questions to new clients, we’ve got a workaround for you! Create a “New Client” appointment type (or types), and only assign forms to new client appointments.
For example, if you offer Private Yoga sessions, you'd create two separate appointment types: "New Client: Private Yoga Session" and "Returning Client: Private Yoga Session." The intake form would be applied to only the "New Client: Private Yoga Session." When clients book, they'll select the New Client option and complete your intake form.
This way, existing clients can avoid re-answering the same intake questions during booking when they select the "Returning Client" option.
Where To See Intake Form Answers & Uploaded Files ⚓
Go to your Client List, under Appointments > Client List and click on the client's name. Here you will see the answers they gave on your intake forms.
For files you have asked your clients to upload, you'll see these files in the client's information under that form's heading:
Print Intake Forms ⚓
If you'd like a hard copy of your intake forms from that you or your client has filled out, you can print them out.
- Pull up the appointment details from your Appointment Calendar.
- Click on the appointment with the intake form you'd like to print out.
- Click the gear wheel icon in the upper right hand corner of the appointment details, then scroll down to the Print option.
- Clicking Print will open up the appointment with its intake form notes in a new window, and will prompt your printer options.
Note: If you want a hardcopy of a blank intake form, you'll need to create that outside of Acuity.
How Clients Access & Edit Forms ⚓
Clients will see your forms before booking their appointment, but if you book on behalf the client, or if the client chooses to skip the form when booking, they can come back to it via the confirmation or reminder emails.
The client can click the Change/Cancel Appointment button in the appointment notification emails:
This will bring up the appointment confirmation page, where they can click the Edit Forms button to fill out any applicable forms.
You can also edit the Change/Cancel button within your email settings to say something like Edit Forms or Change/Cancel Appointment so that your clients clearly know where to click.
You can also add a %formslink% tag variable to your emails to insert a custom link to that client's form. Here's a quick guide on how to edit buttons in email notifications.
How the Admin can Edit Client's Intake Forms ⚓
If you need to update or add information to a client's Intake Form responses, first pull up their appointment. When the appointment details are open, scroll to the bottom to find the Intake Form questions and the client's current responses. Click on the Edit button to make any necessary changes. Be sure to click Save when you are done.
If you need to update the Intake Form responses on a Canceled or No-Show appointment, first look up the client in your Client List. Locate the canceled appointment and click on it to open the appointment's details. Then you can follow the same steps as above.