Week 1 · free$0
Switch on what Cliniko already includes: SMS reminders (10¢ each), recall types for every discharge reason, and the online booking page. One afternoon.
Software: Cliniko
Cost note: Included in Cliniko; SMS is 10¢ per message
AI Guides / allied-health
How allied health clinics can use AI
Practical ways to save time, capture more enquiries, and use the tools you already have.
An allied health clinic sells hours off a diary, and the diary leaks in three places: the patient who doesn't rebook at the desk, the one who stops at session three of six, and the DNA that leaves a practitioner staring at an empty slot. Your practice software already contains the recalls, reminders and waitlist to plug all three — mostly switched off, and costing you a fraction of what any new tool would.
Written for an owner who has never set up a single one of these things. Start at step one, which is free and takes an afternoon, and stop whenever you have had enough — nothing further down is needed for anything above it to work.
Prices checked 27 July 2026 · no affiliate links on this page or any other
The whole page, in order
Week 2$0
Make rebook-at-the-desk the rule, and set a recall automatically for anyone who leaves without a next appointment. The recall list becomes your Monday-morning ritual.
Software: Cliniko recalls
Cost note: Included in your Cliniko subscription
Week 3$0
Start the referrer loop: a thank-you on referral, an outcome letter at discharge. Two templates, filled per patient by the clinician.
Software: Cliniko letters and templates
Cost note: Included in your Cliniko subscription
Week 4 · measure$0
Watch three numbers: rebooking rate at checkout, DNA rate, and recalls converted. Only then decide whether anything needs building.
Software: Cliniko reports and a weekly tally
Cost note: No additional software
Step one · start here
3 useful features inside software you may already use.
If you already use Cliniko, Xero, these features are settings inside those products, not another subscription. Your current plan still needs to include the feature. If you use something else, skip that card and search your software’s help centre for the named feature before you buy anything.
Extra software cost
$0*
if included in your plan
Hours back per month
≈14
Task 1
saves ≈6 hrs/moCliniko → Recall types and the recall list
Why it matters
Recalls from 1 day to 100 months, per discharge reason — review in 2 weeks, episode check-in at 3 months, annual follow-up at 12. The machinery for never losing a patient at discharge is in the plan you already pay for, waiting for recall types to be created.
What to do
Open the official guide below. In Cliniko, find “Recall types and the recall list”. Follow the guide once, switch it on for one real job or customer first, and check that it did exactly what you expected before using it everywhere.
Open the official setup guide ↗2 hours · $0 extra if included in your current plan
Task 2
saves ≈5 hrs/moCliniko → SMS reminders and cancellation reporting
Why it matters
Reminder texts at 10¢ a message — no subscription, no add-on tier — plus the cancellations and no-shows report that tells you which day, practitioner and appointment type your DNAs cluster on.
What to do
Open the official guide below. In Cliniko, find “SMS reminders and cancellation reporting”. Follow the guide once, switch it on for one real job or customer first, and check that it did exactly what you expected before using it everywhere.
Check the official pricing and plan details ↗1 hour · $0 extra if included in your current plan
Task 3
saves ≈3 hrs/moXero → Invoice reminders
Why it matters
For the accounts that don't settle at the desk — third-party payers, plans, the occasional slow account. Built in, off by default.
What to do
Open the official guide below. In Xero, find “Invoice reminders”. Follow the guide once, switch it on for one real job or customer first, and check that it did exactly what you expected before using it everywhere.
Check the official pricing and plan details ↗20 minutes · $0 extra if included in your current plan
If your software is not named above, the equivalent switch often still exists. Search its help centre for the exact feature name before you buy another tool.
Step two · first workflow to implement
Cliniko recalls: Rebook at the desk, or a recall fires automatically.
The cheapest appointment you will ever fill is the one booked before the patient reaches the car park. Anyone who leaves without one gets a recall set for their review window — no exceptions, no memory required.
Do this in order
- 1. In Cliniko, open Settings, then Recalls, and create one recall type for each real discharge reason: short review, episode check-in, and annual follow-up.
- 2. At checkout, book the next appointment. If the patient leaves without one, add the matching recall before closing their record.
- 3. Put your online-booking link in the recall message and keep the wording about continuing the patient’s outcome, not filling the diary.
- 4. Use a staff or test patient first. Confirm the recall appears on the right date and the booking link opens the correct appointment page.
Typical size
every discharge
Setup
2 hours
How you know it worked
Count it in week one, then count the same thing again in week four. If the number did not move, stop spending.
Do not want to set it up yourself?
In Speed to Lead. Or take the Diagnostic before hiring anyone.
Step three · keep going without adding complexity
Once step two works, take the next three jobs in this order.
Do not start all three at once. Finish one, test it on real work, then move to the next card.
Make.com + list export≈10 stalled plans/mo
Catch the drop-off at session three
Care plans die quietly in the middle: pain eased, life intervened. A check-in text when a plan stalls — framed around finishing the outcome, not filling the diary — recovers courses that were prescribed for a reason.
1 week · We do it · $1,600
Cliniko waitlist + Make.com≈12 gaps/mo
Fill the DNA gap from the waitlist
A 10am no-show should trigger texts down the waitlist until the slot fills. The waitlist feature exists in your software; the cascade is the missing piece.
1 week · We do it · $1,900
Cliniko letters + templates≈15 referrals/mo
Close the loop with every referrer
GPs keep referring to clinics that write back. A thank-you when the referral lands and an outcome letter at discharge — templated structure, clinician-written content — is the whole system, and almost nobody runs it consistently.
Half a day · We do it · $690
Step four · only once the first three are running
These are useful, but they are not the place to begin.
This is the first point where a real build may be worth paying for. The earlier steps need to be working before you add it.
Cliniko recall types≈300+ closed episodes on file
Reactivate finished episodes on an annual clock
The ankle you rehabilitated last winter belongs to a runner who will need you again. A 12-month recall per closed episode — human-sounding, condition-aware in framing but generic in content — restarts care that lapsed, not ended.
Half a day · In Speed to Lead
What this page is automating
What “AI” actually means here.
Almost everything above is a computer sending a message at a moment when nobody was going to send one. That is it. No robot and no replacement for professional judgement.
If you already use one of the products named in step one, those cards are settings inside that product. If you do not, skip the card. This page is not claiming that you already own it.
It is
A message going out because a call, date or status changed.
It is not
Something that decides what to charge or replaces professional judgement.
It is
A reminder sent from records your business already keeps.
It is not
A replacement for you, your trade, or the people who know the work.
Does this look familiar?
These are the problems the named tools above are meant to remove.
01
Rebook at the desk, or a recall fires automatically
02
Catch the drop-off at session three
03
Fill the DNA gap from the waitlist
04
Close the loop with every referrer
05
Reactivate finished episodes on an annual clock
06
Reminders that cut the DNAs
After thirty days
Four numbers. If they have not moved, stop and do not spend another dollar.
Number one
Rebook at the desk, or a recall fires automatically
Write down the current monthly number before you switch anything on. Compare it with the same number after thirty days.
Number two
Catch the drop-off at session three
Count it the same way in week one and week four. Do not change the definition halfway through.
Number three
Recall types and the recall list
Use the history inside your existing software to count how often the automation actually ran.
Number four
Hours given back
Ask the person doing the work now. They will know before a dashboard does.
Every figure on this page is a typical size, not a measurement of yours. These four are the numbers that are actually about your business.
Reference · come back to this
The full list, once the first four are done.
Nothing here is urgent and nothing here is a starting point. It is the complete set for this business, in rough order of what it returns, with the tool, effort, and done-for-you route on every row.
Wins work
The jobTypical sizeBuy or buildEffortDone for you
01Rebook at the desk, or a recall fires automaticallyThe cheapest appointment you will ever fill is the one booked before the patient reaches the car park. Anyone who leaves without one gets a recall set for their review window — no exceptions, no memory required.every dischargeAlready paid forCliniko recalls2 hoursIn Speed to Lead
02Catch the drop-off at session threeCare plans die quietly in the middle: pain eased, life intervened. A check-in text when a plan stalls — framed around finishing the outcome, not filling the diary — recovers courses that were prescribed for a reason.≈10 stalled plans/moSmall buildMake.com + list export1 weekWe do it · $1,600
03Fill the DNA gap from the waitlistA 10am no-show should trigger texts down the waitlist until the slot fills. The waitlist feature exists in your software; the cascade is the missing piece.≈12 gaps/moSmall buildCliniko waitlist + Make.com1 weekWe do it · $1,900
04Close the loop with every referrerGPs keep referring to clinics that write back. A thank-you when the referral lands and an outcome letter at discharge — templated structure, clinician-written content — is the whole system, and almost nobody runs it consistently.≈15 referrals/moAlready paid forCliniko letters + templatesHalf a dayWe do it · $690
05Reactivate finished episodes on an annual clockThe ankle you rehabilitated last winter belongs to a runner who will need you again. A 12-month recall per closed episode — human-sounding, condition-aware in framing but generic in content — restarts care that lapsed, not ended.≈300+ closed episodes on fileAlready paid forCliniko recall typesHalf a dayIn Speed to Lead
Saves hours
The jobTypical sizeBuy or buildEffortDone for you
06Reminders that cut the DNAsConfirmation at booking, text the day before, at 10¢ a message. The cancellation report then tells you whether it's working and where the remaining no-shows cluster.5 hrs/moAlready paid forCliniko SMS1 hourWe do it · $390
07Let patients book without ringingThe online booking page ends phone tennis for routine appointments and takes bookings at 9pm when your competitors' phones don't. Included; most clinics bury the link.6 hrs/moAlready paid forCliniko online bookings2 hoursWe do it · $390
08Intake forms before the first visitHistory and consents completed at home and filed to the record — the first appointment starts with treatment, not a clipboard.4 hrs/moBuySnapforms (integrates with Cliniko)1 dayWe do it · $690
09Letters from templates, not from scratchReferrer letters, insurer reports and care-plan summaries assembled from templated structure with clinical content written by the clinician — the addressing and formatting automated, the judgement never.4 hrs/moAlready paid forCliniko lettersHalf a dayWe do it · $690
10Chase the slow accounts without touching themReminders at 7, 14 and 30 days for third-party and plan balances, with hardship accounts excluded because those need a phone call.3 hrs/moAlready paid forXero20 minutesWe do it · $390
11Answer the team's questions onceFee schedule, cancellation policy, item numbers, what each fund covers — one place the front desk can ask instead of interrupting a treatment room.4 hrs/moBuyChatGPT Team, $25/user2 daysWe do it · $1,200
The stack · prices checked
The tools named, priced, and judged.
Practice management
Cliniko
Diary, notes, billing, recalls, reminders, waitlist and online bookings for allied health.
Verdict: Every feature included at one flat per-practitioner price, SMS at 10¢ — the honest move is exhausting what's inside it before buying anything else on this page. Its marketing and campaign tools are thin by design; that gap is real but rarely the first problem.
Practice management
Halaxy
The freemium alternative — core platform free, pay for SMS and payments.
Verdict: Genuinely free to start, but the per-use fees add up at volume and the workflow is more opinionated — model your real monthly cost at your appointment volume before assuming free wins.
Digital forms
Snapforms
Intake and consent forms completed by patients and filed against the Cliniko record.
Verdict: AU-hosted, which matters for health data. Skip it if your patient volume is low enough that the clipboard genuinely isn't hurting.
Phone & messaging
OpenPhone
A clinic number with a shared inbox and missed-call text-back.
Verdict: Worth it for clinics where reception doubles as treatment support. Keep clinical content out of texts — booking logistics only.
AI answering
Rosie
Overflow and after-hours answering, capturing booking requests.
Verdict: Name, number and preferred time only — it must never collect symptoms or clinical details. If you can't lock that configuration down, don't deploy it.
Accounting
Xero
The clinic's books and the payment reminders nobody enables.
Verdict: You almost certainly have this already, and it integrates with Cliniko. The reminders are free and off by default.
Automation
Make.com
The DNA-gap cascade and stalled-plan check-ins, built on de-identified list exports.
Verdict: Every scenario in a health practice is a privacy decision: names and numbers for booking, nothing clinical, ever. Keep the scenarios few and auditable.
Assistant
ChatGPT Team
Operational questions from your own documents — policies, fees, item numbers.
Verdict: Load your real policies and it earns its keep. It never sees a patient record or a clinical note — that line is absolute.
Do not bother
Three things not to buy yet.
An AI scribe as your first automation.
Notes tools are the seductive purchase, but they demand access to clinical records and the money is in the diary. Fix rebooking, recalls and DNAs first — the boring data — and revisit scribes once the utilisation problem is solved and the privacy assessment is done properly.
A separate reminder or engagement platform.
Your practice software already sends reminders at 10¢ a message with no subscription. A dedicated platform charges a monthly fee to do the same job with a nicer dashboard.
Marketing automation suites.
A 2–6 practitioner clinic grows on rebooking discipline and referrer relationships, not drip campaigns. The suite money buys a lot of outcome letters and recall follow-through instead.
Sources
Sources used for this playbook.
product docs
Cliniko — patient recalls documentation: recall types, durations from 1 day to 100 months, recall list workflow ↗product docs
Cliniko — pricing: flat per-practitioner price with all features included, SMS credits at 10¢/message; checked 27 Jul 2026 ↗product docs
Cliniko — help centre: reminders, communications log, recall walkthrough episode ↗product docs
Xero AU — pricing plans; invoice reminders included, off by default; checked 27 Jul 2026 ↗industry reporting · directional
Cliniko feature and report inventory including waitlist and cancellations/no-shows reporting ↗industry reporting · directional
Cliniko ecosystem review — integration landscape for recalls, forms and communications ↗independent study
Harvard Business Review — The Short Life of Online Sales Leads (response timing, applied to enquiry handling) ↗
Cliniko — patient recalls documentation: recall types, durations from 1 day to 100 months, recall list workflow ↗product docs
Cliniko — pricing: flat per-practitioner price with all features included, SMS credits at 10¢/message; checked 27 Jul 2026 ↗product docs
Cliniko — help centre: reminders, communications log, recall walkthrough episode ↗product docs
Xero AU — pricing plans; invoice reminders included, off by default; checked 27 Jul 2026 ↗industry reporting · directional
Cliniko feature and report inventory including waitlist and cancellations/no-shows reporting ↗industry reporting · directional
Cliniko ecosystem review — integration landscape for recalls, forms and communications ↗independent study
Harvard Business Review — The Short Life of Online Sales Leads (response timing, applied to enquiry handling) ↗
Do it yourself
Keep this page. It is free.
Use the official links, do one card at a time, and count the result after thirty days.
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