Send forms automatically and require them
Send a form to one client, set rules that send forms when clients book, are added or finish a visit, and remind clients about required forms.
Applies to: Everyone except service providers
You can send a form to one client whenever you need to. Or add rules so Lilo sends a form for you when a client books, is added, or finishes a visit. Mark a form required, and Lilo reminds clients who haven't filled it in.
A form has to be published before you can send it. See Build forms.
Send a form to one client
- Open the client from Clients.
- Select More, then choose Forms.
- Under Pending, select Send Form.
- Choose the Form.
- Select Send Form. You'll see Form sent to client.
Lilo emails the client a link to the form. It shows under Pending until they submit it.
In the Lilo app, go to More → Forms, tap the form, then tap Send to Client. Find the client, choose Email, then tap Send Form.
Remind a client or take a form back
On the client's Forms tab, point to a pending form and select ⋯. Then choose:
- Send Reminder to email the link again. Lilo only emails it if the form was first sent by email.
- Cancel Form to take the form back. It happens right away with no confirmation. The client's link stops working.
In the Lilo app, open the client, tap More, then Forms. Tap Remind on a pending form, then tap Send via Email.
Everyone except service providers
Send a form automatically
- Go to Operations → Forms.
- Select the form's name. It opens in the builder.
- Select Settings, then choose Automations.
- Select Add rule.
- Under What triggers this automation?, choose one:
- An appointment is booked: for intake, consent and anything you need before a visit.
- A new client is added: runs once per client, whether they book or not.
- An appointment is completed: for feedback, aftercare and follow-ups.
- Answer the questions that follow. Depending on your choice, Lilo asks which services and which bookings or visits should send it, and which client tags if you use them.
- Under How should it reach them?, choose Email, Client portal or In office.
- Under When should it go out?, choose right away or after a set time.
- On Does this read right?, check the sentence. Select any answer to change it.
- Select Create rule, then Done.
The rule is on as soon as you create it.
Make a form required
- Open the form's Automations page.
- Turn on Required for the appointment.
Lilo also asks Is this form required for the visit? when you add the form's first rule for booked appointments. Some templates start with Required for the appointment already on. Then Lilo doesn't ask. Forms sent after a visit can't be required.
Pause, change or delete a rule
Each rule on the Automations page reads as a sentence.
- To pause a rule, turn off Active. It shows Paused.
- To change it, select its pencil icon. Select an answer, change it, then select Save changes.
- To delete it, select its trash icon, then Delete.
In the Lilo app, go to More → Forms, tap the form, then tap Manage next to Automations.
How it works
When rules send
- An appointment is booked runs for bookings made in Lilo, by Lilo AI and online. For a recurring series, only the first visit sends it. Choose Right after booking, or 1, 2 or 3 days or 1 week before. Lilo sends it right away if the visit is sooner than that.
- A new client is added runs when you add a client on the web or in the app, or a new client books online. Choose Right away, or 1 hour, 1 day, 3 days or 1 week later.
- An appointment is completed runs when the appointment is marked complete. Choose As soon as it ends, or 1 hour, 2 hours, 1 day or 3 days later.
- Right before sending, Lilo checks again. A booking's form doesn't go out if the appointment was cancelled or has already started.
- Rules only run while the form is published.
- All of a form's rules use the same kind of event. To switch, select Change on the first screen, then Delete and start over. That deletes the form's rules.
Who gets it
- Only a client's first appointment with you skips clients who've already had a visit.
- Only the first time a client books these services skips clients who've booked them before.
- Only tagged clients sends to clients with any of the tags you pick.
- A client gets each form once per appointment, even when two rules match. A new-client form goes once per client.
How it reaches clients
- Email: Lilo emails a link. Clients don't need to sign in to fill it in.
- Client portal: Lilo doesn't send anything. The form waits on the Forms page of your client portal for the client to find when they sign in.
- In office: Lilo doesn't send anything. There's no screen for filling in a form in person, so the form waits in the client portal.
Clients only see their forms in the portal while Forms is on in Settings → Client Portal.
Lilo doesn't email clients who have Email notifications off on their profile, or whose email address bounced. Their form still shows Sent. Clients with no email address can't be emailed a form at all.
Reminders
- For a required form, Lilo reminds clients about 24 hours and 2 hours before the appointment, until they complete it. One email covers every open form for that visit.
- Reminders only go to clients who were emailed the form by a rule for booked appointments. Forms you send by hand aren't tied to a visit.
- Lilo skips a reminder when the form went out less than about an hour before it. A form sent 1 day before gets only the 2-hour reminder.
- Reminders stop if the appointment is cancelled. If it's rescheduled, they start over for the new time.
- Appointment reminders are separate. Their switches don't turn form reminders on or off.
Common questions
Why didn't a client get a form?
Usually one of these:
- The rule is paused, or the form is a draft or archived.
- The booking or client didn't match the rule's services, bookings or tags.
- The client can't get emails from you (see How it reaches clients).
- Messages to your clients are paused while you switch to Lilo from another platform. See Switch to Lilo.
- It's a recurring series, and this isn't the first visit.
- The rule sends to the client portal or in office, so nothing was emailed.
Why didn't a client get a reminder?
The form isn't Required for the appointment, wasn't emailed by a rule for booked appointments, or went out too close to the reminder time. Clients who already submitted it don't get reminders.
What happens to a form when the appointment is cancelled?
If it hasn't gone out yet, Lilo doesn't send it. If it has, the client can still fill it in. Lilo stops reminding them. To take it back, select Cancel Form on their Forms tab.
Does Required stop a client from booking?
No. It only turns on reminders. Clients can book and be checked in whether or not they've filled in the form.
Why can't I select Add rule?
The form isn't published because it's a draft or archived. Publish it first.
Build forms
Create intake, consent and feedback forms from scratch or a template, add and arrange fields, preview and publish, and duplicate or archive a form.
Form responses and what clients see
Read and search a form's responses, check a client's forms and signatures, delete a response, and what clients see when they fill in a form.