Set up workflows & automations
Workflows automate the repetitive parts of practice life, such as intake, portal invites, reminders and follow-ups, so they happen on time without anyone having to remember.
- Forms in your default Intake folder, if you want Send intake to send them (lesson 5.1)
- Plus or Advanced, for reminders, SMS, changing workflow wording or building your own workflows
What workflows automate
Workflows are event-triggered: something happens in Carepatron and a sequence of steps runs. Steps can send an email or SMS, add intake forms, a portal invite or a booking link, or wait a set time before the next step.
There are two kinds:
- Built-in workflows cover the essentials: Send intake, Send Portal invite, appointment notifications (new, requested, declined, cancelled, rescheduled), Chat message received, and billing messages such as Invoice paid.
- Your own workflows are ones you copy from the Templates tab or build yourself. They can start from things like a new client, a status or tag change, a form submitted or not, an appointment event, or a client who hasn't rebooked.
Turn on the basics
Open Workflows from the left sidebar. Your list shows Active workflows first, then Unpublished ones. Hover over a workflow and click the toggle icon to turn it on (its tooltip reads Activate), or click it again to turn it off (Disable). You can also open it and click Activate workflow.
For new-client onboarding, start with Send intake (it sends every form in your default Intake folder) and Send Portal invite. Both start inactive, so you need to activate them. Appointment notifications such as New appointment, and billing ones such as Invoice paid, start active: check their wording and leave them on.
Reminders: separate, but related
Reminders sit under Workflows → Reminders, a separate tab. They're timed nudges rather than responses to an event:
- Appointment reminders: a set number of hours before the appointment.
- Intake reminders: days after the forms were sent, if they're still not complete.
- Portal invite reminder: days after an automated invite went out, if the client hasn't signed up.
- Invoice reminders: days before or after the due date. See Lesson 4.4.
Click New reminder under a type and pick the delivery method (email or SMS), timing, message and language. New workspaces already have an appointment email 48 hours before, an appointment SMS 24 hours before and an invoice email the day before it's due, so check those first. Reminders need Plus or Advanced, and SMS doesn't send during the free trial.
Build your own, and check before it runs
Smart chips in workflow and reminder messages pull live values: client name, appointment time, location, practitioner. Always click Preview before saving to see what your clients will receive.
To build your own, click New workflow, or open the Templates tab, preview a ready-made workflow and click Copy to workspace. Choose a trigger, add steps, then use Test workflow on a client: nothing is sent to them. A new or copied workflow stays off until you activate it, and its Runs tab shows who it reached and who was skipped.
Plan note: you can switch built-in workflows on and off on every plan, including Free, where they send email but not SMS. Building your own workflows and changing a workflow's wording need Plus or Advanced, and neither works during the free trial. Plus includes 2,000 runs of your own workflows per user each month; Advanced has no limit.
Tick these off in your own workspace before moving on.
Five automation setups that earn their keep.
Examples to adapt. Start with the closest match.
Auto-send intake + portal invite on client creation. 24-hour appointment reminder (email). 1-day reminder if intake not done.
Intake + injury history + consent (3 templates in default folder). 48-hour appointment reminder (SMS). Invoice reminder 5 days post-due.
No automated intake (manual). 24-hour SMS appointment reminder. Invoice reminder 1 day before the due date, then 7 days overdue.
Intake + goals questionnaire on creation, portal invite at the same time. Intake reminder after 5 days. A workflow copied from Templates to follow up clients with no upcoming appointment.
Intake + insurance card upload on creation. 48-hour appointment SMS. Invoice reminders at 3 and 7 days overdue.
What can workflows automate?
Built-in workflows send intake forms and portal invites to new clients, appointment notifications (new, requested, declined, cancelled, rescheduled), chat message alerts and billing messages such as Invoice paid. Workflows you build can also react to status and tag changes, forms submitted or not, appointment events and clients who haven't rebooked, and send email or SMS, intake forms, portal invites or booking links.
Are workflows available on the Free plan?
Partly. On Free you can switch built-in workflows such as Send intake and Send Portal invite on and off, and they send by email. Reminders, SMS, changing a workflow's wording and building your own workflows need Plus or Advanced.
What's the difference between workflows and basic reminders?
Workflows react to an event: something happens, so something else runs. Reminders, under Workflows → Reminders, are timed nudges tied to an appointment, invoice, intake or portal invite, sent at the interval you choose.
Can I personalise the messages workflows send?
Yes, smart chips like client name, appointment time and location fill in with real values when the workflow runs. Always click Preview before saving. Changing the wording needs Plus or Advanced.
Do appointment reminders apply to existing clients too, not just new ones?
Appointment reminders cover every upcoming appointment, including those for existing clients. Invoice reminders apply to invoices you send from now on. Send intake and Send Portal invite only run when a new client is created, so they won't reach clients already in your workspace.
Can I disable a workflow temporarily?
Yes, hover over the workflow and click the toggle icon (its tooltip reads Disable). Its setup stays intact and you can activate it again any time. Reminders don't have an off switch: edit or delete them instead.
Why isn't a workflow firing?
Check four things: (1) the workflow shows as Active in Workflows, (2) your plan covers it: reminders and SMS need Plus or Advanced, and SMS and your own workflows don't run during the free trial, (3) for a workflow you built, its Runs tab shows whether the client was skipped and why, and (4) the client's notification settings allow the channel you've chosen.