Intake questions before a first appointment

The first visit is when you know least about a client and they know least about you. A colourist wants to know what was last put on the hair. A massage therapist needs to know about recent injuries. A tutor wants the child's level and school. A personal trainer needs a sense of fitness and goals. Asking these questions at the front desk eats into the appointment. Asking them beforehand lets you prepare, and gives the client a sense that you take care.

Two moments to ask

BookAndGo gives you two moments to ask questions, and they suit different needs.

• During booking: a short set of questions on the booking page itself, answered before the client confirms. Best for the two or three things you need to know to accept the booking at all.
• Before the appointment: a fuller form sent by email after the booking is made, with a reminder if it has not been completed. Best for detailed history that would make the booking page long.

Questions during booking are off until you turn them on, because adding required questions to a working booking page changes it for every client. Write them first, then switch them on when you are happy with the wording.

What to ask, by trade

Keep every question tied to something you will actually do with the answer.

• Hair: last colour or chemical treatment and roughly when, and whether the client wants a consultation first.
• Beauty and skin: known allergies or sensitivities, and products currently in use.
• Massage and body treatments: recent injuries or areas to avoid, and preferred pressure.
• Fitness and pilates: current activity level, goals, and anything the trainer should know before the first session.
• Tuition and enrichment: the student's level, school stream if relevant, and what the parent hopes to see improve.

Keep it short

Every question added to the booking page is a reason for someone to stop. Three questions during booking is plenty. If you find yourself writing a tenth, move the rest to the form sent before the appointment, where a client has time to answer properly.

Prefer choices over open boxes where you can. "Have you coloured your hair in the last three months? Yes, No, Not sure" is quicker to answer and easier to act on than a blank space.

Ask only what you need, and say why

Clients in Singapore are increasingly careful about personal information, and rightly so. Ask for what helps you deliver the service, and nothing more. A line at the top such as "These questions help your therapist prepare" explains why you are asking. Avoid collecting identity numbers or details you would never use.

The client sees a short privacy line naming your business with the questions, so it is clear who they are sharing their answers with.

Read the answers before the appointment

Answers are only useful if someone reads them. The answers appear on the appointment, so make it part of the morning routine: whoever is working opens the day's first visits and reads the answers before the client arrives. A therapist who already knows about a sore shoulder starts the appointment on the right foot.

Returning clients

Most intake questions matter on the first visit. Ask returning clients only what changes, such as recent treatments or new injuries, so regulars are not filling in the same form every month. Your notes on the client record carry the rest forward.

Test it yourself

Make a booking on your own page as a new client would, on your phone. Time how long the questions take. If it is more than a minute, trim them. Then open the appointment in the dashboard and confirm the answers appear where your team will see them.

Write questions in plain words

Clients answer what they understand. Avoid trade terms a newcomer may not know, and keep each question to one idea. "Any injuries or areas we should avoid?" works better than a list of clinical terms. In a multilingual city, simple English also helps clients for whom it is a second language. If many of your clients are more comfortable in another language, it is worth adding a short line in that language at the top explaining what the questions are for.

Finally, revisit the questions every few months. If nobody ever acts on an answer, remove the question. If the team keeps asking the same thing at the front desk, add it.