Practice Better allows you to book client sessions from multiple areas of the platform, giving you flexibility and convenience. Below are the available booking methods and how to use them.
In this article:
- Booking Prerequisites
- Booking from My Calendar
- Booking from My Services
- Booking from the Client Record
- Using the Fast Action button
- Configuring the Session Booking Details
- Managing Client Booking Requests
Booking Prerequisites
- Set up Services: You must have at least one Service to book a session. Learn more.
- Enable Telehealth: To schedule a virtual session, you must have a compatible plan with Practice Better telehealth or our Zoom integration. Learn more.
- Add a client: To book a session, you must add at least one client record. Learn more.
Booking from My Calendar
You can quickly schedule sessions directly from your Practice Better Calendar.
- Go to My Schedule > My Calendar.
Click on any date to initiate a new booking. (Requires one-click booking.)
OR- Click the Fast Action Button near the bottom-right and select the desired option.
- Complete the options in the pop-up to save your booking. Learn more about Configuring the Session Booking Details.
- After saving your booking, you'll be prompted with suggested next steps. If you need to bill your client for the session booking, create and process an invoice at this stage, or set up a payment plan.
- Learn more about Creating and Managing Client Session Notes →
- Learn more about Creating and Managing Invoices in Practice Better →
Enable One-Click Booking
Go to My Schedule > Booking & Cancellation Settings.
Scroll to the Calendar Options section.
Check Enable one-click bookings from My Calendar.
Save your changes.
Booking from My Services
You can initiate bookings directly from your list of services.
- Go to My Practice > My Services.
- Select Book a client next to the service.
- Complete the options in the pop-up to save your booking. Learn more about Configuring the Session Booking Details.
Booking from the Client Record
- Go to your client record's Bookings & Packages page.
- Click the Fast Action Button near the bottom right.
-
Choose from the following options:
- Book a session: Schedule a one-time session from available Services or active Packages
- Book multiple sessions: Schedule multiple future sessions at once (not the same as Recurring Sessions).
- Invite to book: Send an email invitation with a direct booking link for a selected service.
-
Book a package: Assign a package from your available Packages to the client.
- Complete the options in the pop-up to save your booking. Learn more about Configuring the Session Booking Details.
Using the Fast Action button
The Fast Action Button allows for quick booking access across several parts of the platform.
Where to Use:
- Dashboard
- Recent Activity in a client’s record
- Bookings & Packages tab in a client’s record
- My Schedule > My Calendar
- My Schedule > My Bookings
After clicking the Fast Action Button > Book a Session, you'll be presented with a pop-up to select a client, choose a service, and then display the session booking details modal.
Configuring the Session Booking Details
After accessing the session details booking modal through one of the "booking from" entry points described above, you'll need to select your options in the pop-up.
Service
Select the service you're booking for the client from the Service dropdown. The fields below adjust automatically based on the service's default settings, such as duration and fee.
Time Zone
Confirm the time zone the session will be scheduled in. This defaults to your practice time zone but can be changed if you're booking on behalf of a client in a different time zone.
Session Date, Start Time, and Duration
Enter the Session date, Start time, and Duration (minutes) for the session. The calendar panel on the right updates to reflect your selection, so you can confirm the session doesn't conflict with existing bookings or events.
Learn more about setting up recurring sessions →
Add Buffer Time Before or After Session
Check Add buffer time before or after session to reserve additional time immediately before and/or after the session. Once enabled, set the Before session and After session durations independently from the dropdowns provided.
📍 Note: Buffer time reserved this way blocks that time on your calendar but does not affect the client's booked session duration or fee.
How Would You Like to Conduct This Session?
Select how the session will take place from the dropdown, such as Online/Video chat, In person, or By phone. This determines which additional fields appear below.
If you expect to see a "Start session" button and you don't, then it's likely this setting is set to something other than Online/Video chat. Edit the session details to confirm the session delivery method.
Learn more about Troubleshooting Missing Start Session Button in Telehealth Calls →
Telehealth Application
If you selected Online/Video chat, choose which telehealth application to use for the session. Select Use Practice Better to conduct the session through Practice Better's built-in telehealth tool.
Learn more about Using Telehealth Video Chat on Practice Better →
Fee
Confirm or adjust the session fee. This defaults to the service's configured price but can be edited for this individual session. The currency displayed reflects your practice's payment settings.
Note to Client
Optionally add a note the client will see, such as a reminder to complete intake forms before the session. This field is optional and can be left blank.
Mark Session Confirmed on Behalf of Client
Check Mark session confirmed on behalf of client to confirm your client's attendance at the scheduled date and time without requiring their input. When this is checked, the client will not be asked to confirm attendance in session confirmation and reminder notifications sent from Practice Better.
Send a Confirmation Notification to Client
Check Send a confirmation notification to client to email the client their session details upon booking. Uncheck this box if you'd prefer not to notify the client immediately.
💡Tip: The Session Booked confirmation email to clients contains an .ics file for clients to easily save the session details in their calendar of choice.
Once you've reviewed all fields, click Schedule to finalize the booking, or Cancel to discard your changes.
Managing Client Booking Requests
If you allow clients to schedule themselves through your booking page, there are some considerations to manage those booking requests.
Automatically confirming booking requests
Use Practice Better Automations to automatically confirm 1-1 bookings or Package requests.
Manually responding to booking requests
If you elect not to use Automations, your booking requests must be responded to manually.
You'll receive a notification in your Practice Better dashboard for new booking requests.
Clicking on the notification will open the Review Booking page.
From this page, you can:
- Confirm: Click Confirm near the top-right to accept the booking request and send a confirmation email to the client.
- Decline: Click the Decline request button to reject the booking request and send an email notification to the client.
- Review booking page forms: If your service or package includes a booking page form, you can review the client's responses here.
- Suggest a different time: You can manually update the date and time or service delivery method, add a note to the client, and then click Confirm to accept the booking request with your updated preferences.
💡 For Team Plan members, if you need to assign a booking request to another practitioner, you will need to Confirm the request and then Transfer it to your team member. Transferring Sessions to Team Members →