A form filled in at the counter costs you minutes of the appointment, every time. A form filled in at home the night before costs you nothing, and the provider reads it before the client sits down.
Getting there takes three decisions: what to ask, how often to ask it, and how to make sure it is done before the visit. This guide covers each, and how a waiver fits beside them.
Separate the form from the waiver
They do different jobs, and mixing them makes both worse.
- An intake form asks questions the client answers: conditions, allergies, medications, injuries, goals. The answers change over time, so you may need to ask again.
- A waiver is terms the client accepts, such as a release for a boxing class or a reformer session. They read it and agree once. There is nothing to fill in.
A physiotherapy clinic needs a detailed intake. A gym may need a waiver and a short form about injuries. A lash studio may want both: an allergy question and a release for the treatment.
Ask only what changes the visit
Every question is one more reason to stop halfway, and a long form gets rushed answers. Before you add a question, name who reads the answer and what they would do differently because of it. If nobody would, cut it.
- Lead with yes or no. "Do you have any injuries?" is quick to answer and quick to scan. Follow it with a short answer, "If yes, tell us more", for the detail.
- Require only what blocks the visit. A required question nobody needs is the one clients guess at.
- Group questions under plain titles, such as "Your health" or "Before your first class".
- End with a signature if the client must confirm their answers are true.
The yes-or-no habit pays off in Onsuki. On a class roster, a client is tagged Health when their form answers a health question, such as one about an injury, surgery, pregnancy, or medication, with something other than a no. The instructor taps View health answers before class starts.
Choose how often each form is asked
Asking once keeps regulars happy but lets answers go stale. Asking every visit keeps answers current but tires the people who come most. Match the rule to how fast the answers change.
| Rule in Onsuki | Good for |
|---|---|
| New clients, at their first booking | A general intake that rarely changes |
| Chosen services and classes, once a year | A health update for regulars |
| Chosen services and classes, every appointment | A check before a peel, a laser session, or a vaccine, where the answer can change between visits |
| Only when you send it | A questionnaire after a course of treatment |
Each form has its own rule under When it's asked, so a clinic can run a one-time intake and a pre-treatment check side by side. See Forms.
Write a waiver people actually read
A waiver nobody reads protects nobody. Keep it short and specific to what you do.
- Say what the activity or treatment involves.
- Say what you ask of the client, such as telling you about an injury or following the instructor.
- Write one idea per short paragraph.
- Have your lawyer check the wording before you publish it.
In Onsuki, clients tick a box to agree at checkout the first time they book your appointments, classes, events, or all three. When you change something important, select Ask everyone to agree again, and clients who agreed before are asked at their next booking.
Get it done before the visit
The best moment for a form is right after booking, while the client is still on their phone. The second best is the evening before. Make both easy.
- Onsuki puts a link to each form a booking needs in the confirmation email.
- If it's still not done, Onsuki sends one reminder about 24 hours before the visit.
- Clients sign by typing their full name, so nothing needs printing.
- A booking's form closes when the booking starts. After that, you go through it with the client in person.
A client can still book without finishing the form. The Sent forms tab lists every form that is Waiting, and Copy form link gives you a link to paste into Messenger or Viber.
Handle the client who arrives without it
Some clients will arrive with the form undone. Hand them a tablet rather than paper, so nobody types their answers in later and nothing is lost between the clipboard and the file.
In Onsuki, open the client, choose the form, and hand over the tablet. The answers go straight to their profile, marked as filled out in person with your name.
Keep answers private and in reach
Health answers are personal information. Collect only what you use, and keep them where the provider can find them and others can't. Read the Data Privacy Act of 2012 and the National Privacy Commission's guidance, and ask your lawyer what applies to your business.
Onsuki saves every completed form to the client's profile, with each answer, the signature, and who filled it in. Answers are shown only to team members with the Manage client history and notes permission. If you link a Google Form instead, its answers stay on Google. Edits to a published form reach clients as soon as they're saved, so change a live form with care.
For clinics on the Clinic plan, Charting keeps the treatment record beside the forms. See how to keep patient records at your clinic.
