How to Set Up Bella Booking for an Allied Health Practice
Step-by-step guide to configuring services, intake forms, online booking, reminders, and packages for physio, chiro, osteo, and wellness practices
In this guide
This guide walks you through setting up Bella Booking for an allied health practice — physiotherapy, chiropractic, osteopathy, acupuncture, or similar appointment-based health services. By the end, you'll have a working system with different appointment types for initial assessments and follow-ups, automated intake forms, online booking, reminders, and session packages.
Before diving in, a clear statement: Bella Booking is a scheduling, payments, and client management platform. It is NOT clinical practice management software. If you need SOAP notes, Medicare/HICAPS billing, treatment plan tracking, or clinical outcome measures, you'll need a dedicated clinical system (Cliniko, Nookal, Jane App). This guide is for practitioners who want a simple, effective scheduling layer — either standalone or alongside clinical software.
Before you start: what Bella covers and what it doesn't
Understanding what Bella does and doesn't do will save you time during setup. Here's the honest breakdown:
Bella covers
- •Appointment scheduling with service variants (initial vs follow-up, with automatic client eligibility)
- •Digital intake forms with 8 field types, e-signatures, and automatic delivery
- •Online booking page with deposit collection and minimum notice periods
- •Automated SMS and email reminders
- •Prepaid session packages with expiry and automatic redemption tracking
- •Client CRM with free-text notes, document storage, and booking history
- •Stripe payment processing (deposits, full prepayment, post-session payment)
- •Cancellation policies with no-show fee enforcement
- •Processing time and buffer time between appointments
Bella does NOT cover
- •SOAP notes or structured clinical documentation
- •Medicare, DVA, or HICAPS billing / health fund claiming
- •Treatment plan entities with goal tracking
- •Clinical outcome measures or functional assessments
- •Exercise prescription or home programme builders
- •Referral letter management or GP correspondence
- •Group class booking (Pilates classes, group exercise)
- •Body diagrams or pain location markup
- •Native mobile app (uses mobile-optimised PWA)
Many practitioners use Bella alongside clinical software — Bella handles the client-facing scheduling and payments while the clinical system handles documentation and health fund billing. This works well if your current clinical software has poor online booking or limited payment options.
Step 1: Configure services with initial vs follow-up variants
Most allied health practices need at least two appointment types per discipline: an initial assessment (longer, higher-priced) and follow-up sessions (shorter, lower-priced). Bella's service variants handle this automatically.
Create your primary service
- 1Go to Services and create a new service (e.g., "Physiotherapy" or "Chiropractic")
- 2Enable service variants for this service
- 3Create the "Initial Assessment" variant — set duration (typically 45-60 min), price, and eligibility to "First-time clients"
- 4Create the "Follow-up Session" variant — set duration (typically 20-30 min), price, and eligibility to "Returning clients"
- 5Add a clear description for each variant that clients will see on the booking page
- 6Set processing time if you need a gap within the appointment (e.g., 5 min for client to change)
Consider buffer time
Buffer time adds protected time before or after appointments for note-writing, room turnover, or simply to avoid running behind. This time is blocked on your calendar but not visible to clients.
Typical physio setup
Initial Assessment: 60 min duration + 10 min buffer after (for notes and room reset) = 70 min total blocked time. Follow-up: 30 min duration + 5 min buffer after = 35 min total blocked time. Clients see and pay for 60/30 min respectively.
Additional services
If you offer multiple modalities (e.g., physiotherapy + clinical Pilates, or chiropractic + remedial massage), create separate services for each. Each can have its own variants, durations, and pricing. Client eligibility is checked per service — a client can be "first-time" for massage even if they're "returning" for chiropractic.
Step 2: Build and attach intake forms
Digital forms replace paper intake questionnaires and consent declarations. Build them once, attach them to the relevant services, and they're sent automatically before appointments.
Common forms for allied health
- •**Patient intake questionnaire** — personal details, medical history, current complaint, medications, previous treatments. Frequency: once (first visit only).
- •**Informed consent form** — treatment description, risks, client acknowledgement, e-signature. Frequency: once per service type.
- •**Health update form** — brief "anything changed since last visit?" for returning clients after long gaps. Frequency: manual or periodic.
Building your intake form
- 1Go to Forms and create a new form
- 2Add sections: "Personal Details", "Medical History", "Current Complaint", "Consent"
- 3Add fields to each section using appropriate types — text for names, textarea for history, checkboxes for conditions, radio buttons for yes/no questions
- 4Add an e-signature field at the end of your consent section
- 5Mark critical fields as required
- 6Attach the form to your "Initial Assessment" service variant
- 7Set frequency to "once" for intake forms or "every time" for per-session consent
Keep intake forms focused. A 50-field form that takes 20 minutes discourages completion. Capture what you genuinely need before the first session and gather additional detail in person. You can always create a shorter follow-up form for periodic health updates.
Step 3: Enable online booking
Once your services and forms are configured, enabling online booking lets clients self-schedule without phone calls or messages.
- 1Set your team members' available hours — days, start/end times, and lunch breaks
- 2Configure minimum notice periods per service (e.g., 24 hours for initial assessments, 2 hours for follow-ups)
- 3Set maximum advance booking window (e.g., clients can book up to 4 weeks ahead)
- 4Add your logo, brand colours, and practice description to the booking page
- 5Write service descriptions that clients will see — explain what each appointment type involves
- 6Enable or disable specific services for online booking (some practitioners keep certain services phone-only)
- 7Test the full booking flow yourself as a new client
Where to share your booking link
- •Your practice website — embed the booking widget or link to your booking page
- •Google Business Profile — add the booking link to your listing
- •Social media profiles — Instagram bio, Facebook page action button
- •Email signature — make it easy for existing clients to book their next session
- •Referral partners — share the link with GPs or other practitioners who refer to you
Step 4: Configure reminders and communications
Automated reminders are one of the most impactful features for reducing no-shows in health practices. Configure both channels (SMS and email) for maximum coverage.
Recommended reminder schedule
| Timing | Channel | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Immediately on booking | Confirmation with appointment details and intake form link | |
| 48 hours before | SMS | Reminder with date, time, and cancellation policy |
| 2 hours before | SMS | Final reminder — reduces same-day no-shows |
SMS reminders have significantly higher open rates than email alone. The 48-hour reminder gives clients enough notice to reschedule if needed, while the 2-hour reminder catches those who simply forgot.
Customise your reminder messages to include practical information: "Please wear comfortable clothing" for physio, "Please arrive 5 minutes early" for new clients, or "Please complete your intake form before arriving" with the form link.
Step 5: Set up packages for treatment courses
Prepaid session packages work particularly well for allied health because treatment courses are common — a physio might recommend 6 sessions, a chiro might plan 8 visits over 4 weeks. Packages formalise this commitment and improve adherence.
Designing your packages
- •**5-session bundle** — entry-level commitment for new clients or shorter treatment courses. 10-15% discount. 3-month expiry.
- •**10-session bundle** — standard treatment course for most conditions. 15-20% discount. 6-month expiry.
- •**Maintenance package** — for clients in long-term care (e.g., monthly chiropractic adjustments). Consider a smaller monthly package or a membership instead.
Configuration steps
- 1Create a package with a clear name and the number of sessions included
- 2Set the total price (discounted from individual session rates)
- 3Choose which services can be redeemed against this package
- 4Set an expiry period that's realistic for the session frequency you recommend
- 5Optionally enable online purchase so clients can buy from your booking page
- 6Add a description that emphasises the per-session saving
When a client books a session and has an active package, the system recognises it at checkout and offers to redeem a session from the package. No manual counting needed.
For ongoing care, consider Bella's Memberships feature (Professional plan) instead of packages. Memberships provide recurring automatic billing — ideal for clients who attend regularly on an ongoing basis rather than completing a defined treatment course.
Step 6: Payments, deposits, and cancellation policies
Allied health practices benefit from deposit collection, particularly for initial assessments where no-show rates are typically highest (the client has no existing relationship with you).
Deposit strategy
- •**Initial assessments** — require a deposit ($30-50 or 25-50% of the session fee). This significantly reduces first-visit no-shows.
- •**Follow-up sessions** — optional. Many practitioners don't require deposits for returning clients with good history.
- •**Packages** — full prepayment. The entire package is paid upfront via Stripe.
Cancellation policy
Set a clear cancellation policy and communicate it at booking. A common structure for health practices:
- •More than 24 hours notice: full refund of deposit or no charge
- •Less than 24 hours notice: deposit retained (or late cancellation fee charged)
- •No-show: deposit retained plus potential no-show fee for the balance
Bella Booking enforces these policies automatically. When a client cancels within the policy window, the deposit is retained. When they no-show, the configured fee is charged to their card on file.
Check your professional body's guidelines on cancellation fees. Some health profession codes of conduct have specific requirements about fee transparency and reasonable notice periods.
What you'll still need from clinical software
After setting up Bella for scheduling, payments, and client management, here are the functions you'll still need a separate clinical system for (if applicable to your practice):
| Function | Why Bella doesn't cover it | Alternatives |
|---|---|---|
| SOAP notes / clinical documentation | Requires structured clinical templates, not free-text notes | Cliniko, Nookal, Jane App, or simple Word/Google Docs templates |
| Medicare / HICAPS billing | Requires health fund integration and claiming workflows | Cliniko, Nookal, Halaxy |
| Treatment plan tracking | Requires clinical goal-setting and outcome measure tools | Cliniko, Nookal, or custom spreadsheets |
| Exercise prescription | Requires exercise libraries with video demos | Physitrack, PhysiApp, or printed handouts |
| Referral management | Requires GP letter templates and referral tracking | Practice management software or manual systems |
Many successful practices run Bella for the client-facing layer (booking, payments, reminders, intake forms) and a clinical system for documentation and billing. This avoids paying for enterprise clinical software when your primary need is better scheduling and payment collection.
If you don't bulk-bill (Medicare/HICAPS) and your documentation needs are simple, you may not need clinical software at all. Many wellness-adjacent practitioners (myotherapy, remedial massage, acupuncture) use Bella plus simple note templates and operate effectively.
Key takeaways
- ✓Service variants with client eligibility automate the initial vs follow-up distinction — no manual checking needed
- ✓Digital intake forms with e-signatures replace paper and are sent automatically before first appointments
- ✓Online booking with minimum notice periods and deposits reduces admin and protects against no-shows
- ✓Prepaid packages improve treatment plan adherence and smooth cash flow for course-based care
- ✓Bella handles scheduling, payments, and client management — clinical documentation and health fund billing require separate tools
- ✓Buffer time after appointments protects space for notes and room turnover without clients seeing it
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Last updated: 2026-05-17