How to use intake and consent forms

Chasing paperwork at the front desk slows everyone down and risks a half-filled form on a clipboard. Opraly’s intake and consent forms let customers answer questions and sign before they arrive, so the visit starts on time and every answer lives on their record. This guide walks you through building a form, attaching it to the right services, and making sure it is completed before the appointment.

What forms are for

A good form does two jobs: it gathers the information you need to deliver the service safely, and it captures the consent you need on file.

Intake — health history, allergies, goals, preferences, contraindications.
Consent — treatment consent, liability waivers, photo/marketing permissions, policy acknowledgements.
Pre-visit prep — instructions and confirmations (“avoid caffeine before your appointment”).

Because answers attach to the customer, a returning client only updates what has changed instead of starting from scratch.

Before you start

Decide which services genuinely need a form. Over-forming every booking adds friction; under-forming a clinical service adds risk. If you run more than one site, remember forms can be shared so the experience stays consistent — see managing multiple locations in one account. You will also want the right people able to build and view forms, which you set in staff roles & permissions.

Step 1: Build a form

Open Settings → Forms and select New form.
Give it a clear name (“New Client Intake”, “Treatment Consent”).
Add your fields — short text, long text, multiple choice, checkboxes, dates, and a signature field for consent.
Mark the fields that are required so a form cannot be submitted half-finished.
Save.

Tip: keep intake and consent as separate forms where you can. It makes them reusable — one consent form can attach to several services, and you only update it in one place.

Step 2: Attach a form to services

Open the service you want to gate.
Under its settings, choose the form(s) that should be completed for it.
Save.

Now any booking for that service automatically asks for the form. A quick add-on can stay form-free while a clinical treatment requires a signed consent — the rule travels with the service, not the customer.

Step 3: Decide when the form is collected

You have two natural moments:

At booking — the customer fills the form as part of confirming the appointment on your branded booking page. Best for required consent.
Before the visit — Opraly includes the form link with the appointment reminder, nudging anyone who has not completed it yet.

For anything legally required, collect it at booking so an appointment cannot be held without it.

Step 4: Review answers and signatures

Completed forms appear on the appointment and on the customer record. Before the visit, your provider can read the intake and confirm consent is signed — no clipboard, no re-keying. If a customer replies with a question, 2-way messaging keeps that conversation attached to the same booking.

Step 5: Keep forms current

Policies and treatments change, so review forms on a schedule:

Update required consent when your services or insurer requirements change.
Re-collect intake for returning clients after a set period.
Retire fields you no longer use so the form stays short.

A quick reference

You want to…	Do this
Gather health history	Build an intake form, attach to clinical services
Get a signed waiver	Add a signature field, mark it required
Collect before arrival	Send the form with the reminder
Block booking without consent	Collect the form at booking
Reuse across services	Keep consent as its own form

Common forms by business type

If you’re not sure where to start, a short list of the forms most businesses actually use saves you reinventing them:

Salons & spas — new-client intake (allergies, skin/hair history), patch-test consent, photo/marketing permission.
Clinics & med-spas — medical history, treatment-specific consent, contraindication screening, aftercare acknowledgement.
Fitness studios — health declaration (PAR-Q style), liability waiver, emergency contact.
All verticals — cancellation-policy acknowledgement, which pairs naturally with your deposit rules.

Start with the one or two that carry real risk, then add the rest as you go.

Keep forms short enough to finish

The biggest reason a form goes uncompleted is length. A few habits keep completion rates high:

Ask only what you’ll actually use — every extra field costs you a few finished forms.
Use multiple choice and checkboxes instead of open text where you can; they’re faster to answer and easier to scan later.
Split a long medical history across logical sections rather than one wall of questions.
Mark only the genuinely required fields as required, so an optional question never blocks a submission.

A two-minute form that everyone completes beats a thorough one that half your customers abandon.

Where forms fit the bigger picture

Forms are part of a smooth, paid-and-prepared arrival. Pair them with card-on-file and deposits so the slot is both confirmed and consented before anyone walks in — see cutting no-shows with deposits and card-on-file. And when the visit is done, checkout is one step because the paperwork is already handled; see how to accept payments and tips at checkout.

Forms matter most where safety and consent do — they are central to running a clinic or med-spa, and just as useful for waivers at a fitness studio or new-client intake at a salon or spa.

Ready to ditch the clipboard? Start free and build your first intake form today.