Create an Appointment
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An appointment puts a client and their pet on the calendar. Once the patient is checked in, that appointment becomes the starting point of a visit record.
Where to Find This Section
Section titled “Where to Find This Section”- Open Appointments from the left menu.
- Click New Appointment.
You can also drag a range directly on the calendar, which fills in the start time and duration for you. A client’s own record has a New Appointment action as well, and it pre-fills the client.
How to Add an Appointment
Section titled “How to Add an Appointment”- Open Appointments → New Appointment.
- Fill in the form.
- Click Create Appointment.
Form Fields
Section titled “Form Fields”Only four fields are required: Customer, Visit/Appointment Type, Appointment Date and Time and Duration (min).
Customer
Section titled “Customer”Required. If the client is not in the system yet, use Add Quick Customer on the form itself instead of leaving to create them first.
Optional. You can book an appointment against the client alone. Selecting a pet also fills in its owner and opens a summary of the pet and client beside the form.
Visit/Appointment Type
Section titled “Visit/Appointment Type”Required. This field is not only a label: it decides which staff can take the appointment and sets the default duration.
Veterinarian / Staff
Section titled “Veterinarian / Staff”Optional. The staff list and the visit type list narrow each other:
- Pick a staff member first and the visit type list shrinks to the types that staff member provides.
- Pick a visit type first and the staff list shrinks to the staff who provide it.
Only staff with Visible in Calendar enabled appear here at all. Both settings live on the staff member’s own record. See Users and roles.
Appointment Date and Time, Duration
Section titled “Appointment Date and Time, Duration”Both are required. Choosing a visit type fills Duration (min) with that type’s default, and you can change it if this appointment needs longer. The maximum is 1440 minutes.
Once both are set, Veterian shows the slot it will book on the Appointment Hours line, with the start and end time, so you can check the end time before saving.
Optional, and marked Private: visible only to staff, never to the client.
Reminders
Section titled “Reminders”On by default. With it on, the client receives notifications about this appointment according to your notification settings.
The client’s own notification preferences still apply on top of this. If a channel is switched off on the client record, no automated message goes out on that channel, including appointment reminders.
Availability Warnings
Section titled “Availability Warnings”Once you have selected a staff member, a date and a duration, Veterian checks that slot and tells you if anything conflicts:
| Warning | What it means |
|---|---|
| Clinic Closed | The slot falls outside the clinic’s working hours |
| Staff Not Working | The staff member is not on shift at that time |
| Staff Has Appointment | The staff member already has an appointment in that slot |
None of these warnings block you, and you can still create the appointment. If you would rather move it, Show available slots lists the staff member’s next open times day by day. Click one and the form takes that time.
Booking a Past Date
Section titled “Booking a Past Date”You can create an appointment for a time that has already passed, which is how you record a walk-in afterwards. Two things happen:
- Veterian warns you that the client will receive no appointment notification for it.
- Mark the appointment as no show. appears, already ticked. Untick it and the appointment is created as arrived instead.
After the Appointment Is Created
Section titled “After the Appointment Is Created”Open it from the calendar to see the available actions: Mark as Arrived, Mark as No Show, Undo Arrived, Edit, Cancel, Delete. Which of those you see depends on the current status; see Appointment statuses.