Use Case
Allied Health Practice Scheduling
Simple appointment scheduling, online booking, and payments for physio, chiro, osteo, and wellness practices — without clinical software overhead.
Allied health practices need appointment scheduling that handles initial assessments vs follow-ups, intake forms, and treatment course packages. But not every practice needs full clinical practice management software with Medicare billing and SOAP note templates. Bella Booking provides the scheduling, payments, and client management layer for practices that want simplicity — either standalone or alongside a separate clinical system.
Who this is for
- Physiotherapy, chiropractic, osteopathy, and acupuncture practices that primarily collect private payments
- Solo allied health practitioners who want online booking without enterprise software costs
- Wellness-adjacent practices (myotherapy, remedial massage, naturopathy) with lighter documentation needs
- Practices already using clinical software that want a better client-facing booking and payment experience
- Mobile practitioners who need clients to book and pay online regardless of treatment location
Common challenges
Initial vs follow-up appointment confusion
New clients book follow-up slots (wrong duration, wrong price), returning clients accidentally book initial assessments. Staff spend time checking every booking against client history and correcting errors.
Paper intake forms create delays and liability
Clipboard forms at reception eat into appointment time. Paper gets lost, creating compliance risk if a consent dispute arises. No searchable history when clients return months later.
High no-show rates for initial appointments
First-time clients have no existing relationship with the practice. Without a deposit or commitment mechanism, 15-25% of initial assessments are no-shows — lost revenue with no recourse.
Manual package tracking breaks down
Treatment courses (e.g., "6 sessions of physiotherapy") tracked on cards, spreadsheets, or sticky notes. Sessions get miscounted, clients dispute remaining balances, and expired packages create awkward conversations.
Phone-only booking limits accessibility
Clients can only book during business hours when the phone is answered. Solo practitioners miss calls during sessions. Evening and weekend enquiries go unanswered until the next business day — by which time the client may have booked elsewhere.
How Bella Booking helps
Service variants with client eligibility
Create initial assessment and follow-up variants for each service. The system automatically shows the correct option based on whether the client is new or returning — right duration, right price, no human decision required. Works across online booking and manual bookings.
Digital intake forms with e-signatures
Build custom forms with 8 field types (text, textarea, email, phone, checkboxes, radio, dropdown, date) plus e-signatures. Attach to services, send automatically before appointments, and store submissions against client profiles. Set frequency to "once" for intake or "every time" for per-session consent.
Deposit collection at booking
Require deposits for initial assessments via Stripe. Clients pay when they book online — those who've committed financially are far less likely to no-show. Deposits are applied to the session fee at checkout. Clear cancellation terms are displayed at booking.
Prepaid session packages with automatic tracking
Learn moreCreate packages for treatment courses (5, 10, or 20 sessions). Clients purchase upfront at a discounted per-session rate. The system tracks remaining sessions and offers redemption at checkout automatically. Expiry dates prevent indefinite liability.
Online booking with minimum notice periods
Learn moreClients self-schedule 24/7 from your booking page. Set minimum notice periods per service (e.g., 24 hours for initial assessments) to ensure intake forms are completed before arrival. Buffer time protects gaps between appointments for notes and room turnover.
Automated reminders
Learn moreSMS and email reminders at configurable intervals reduce no-shows by 30-50%. Customise message content to include practical instructions (what to wear, where to park, reminder to complete intake form).
Simple pricing
A physiotherapy practice with 3 practitioners pays just
A$47/month
Starter plan · No per-seat fees · No commission
See full pricing detailsGood to know
- *No SOAP notes, clinical documentation templates, or structured treatment records
- *No Medicare, DVA, or HICAPS billing — cannot claim directly from health funds
- *No treatment plan entities with clinical goal tracking or outcome measures
- *No exercise prescription tools, home programme builders, or exercise libraries
- *No body diagrams or pain location markup tools within forms
- *No group class booking (e.g., Pilates classes with multiple attendees)
- *No referral letter management or GP correspondence templates
- *No native mobile app — uses a mobile-optimised progressive web app (PWA)
- *No HIPAA certification (Australian practices should confirm APPs compliance requirements independently)
Frequently asked questions
Can I use Bella alongside my existing clinical software?
Yes. Many practices use Bella for the client-facing layer (online booking, payments, reminders, intake forms) alongside Cliniko or Nookal for clinical documentation and Medicare billing. The systems operate independently — you maintain client records in both.
How does the initial vs follow-up automation work?
You create service variants with eligibility rules. The "Initial Assessment" variant is set to show only to first-time clients; the "Follow-up" variant shows only to returning clients. When someone books online, the system checks their history and displays the correct option automatically. No staff intervention needed.
Can I sell session packages online?
Yes. Create packages with a set number of sessions, total price, and expiry period. Enable online purchase and they appear on your booking page. Clients pay via Stripe, and sessions are redeemed automatically at checkout after each appointment.
What happens if a client needs a longer appointment than their variant allows?
When booking manually from the calendar (not online booking), you can select any variant regardless of eligibility. This lets you override the automatic rules for exceptions — e.g., booking a returning client into an extended session for a new complaint.
Is Bella suitable for practices that bulk-bill through Medicare?
No. Bella does not integrate with Medicare, DVA, or HICAPS claiming systems. If you bulk-bill a significant portion of your clients, you need clinical practice management software with health fund integration (Cliniko, Nookal, Halaxy). Bella works for practices that primarily collect private payments.
Can I handle group classes (e.g., clinical Pilates)?
No. Bella schedules individual appointments only — it does not support group classes with attendee limits and waitlists. If group classes are part of your practice, you'll need a platform that supports both individual and group scheduling.
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