About online booking configuration

Clients can use online booking to make appointments in the Vello client portal. Before clients can use online booking, a practice manager must do the necessary configuration.

To do the necessary configuration for online booking, use the Appointment Booking screen in Vello. Examples of configuration include:

Activate online booking
Get access to configuration settings for a visit type (for example, wellness visit or sick visit)
Select an online booking configuration type for a visit type
Set the periods that show as available for appointments for a visit type (for example, 15 minutes or 30 minutes)
Set the days, times, and staff members that show to clients as available for appointments for a visit type

To activate online booking, set Online Appointment Booking in the Appointment Booking screen to Enable:
The Enable setting

Note: If you do not activate online booking, the Vello client portal shows a message that tells clients to make a phone call to schedule an appointment.

Visit types for online booking

The Appointment Booking screen shows different visit types that are available to use for online booking. If you want to use online booking for a visit type, you must do the necessary configuration for the visit type. After you do the configuration, the Vello client portal shows the visit type as available for appointments:
Visit types in the client portal

You can change the name of a visit type that shows in the Vello client portal. For example, you can change the name of wellness visit to annual check-up. To change the name, use the Client-Friendly Appointment Name box in the configuration settings for the visit type:

Configuration types for online booking

Vello has different configuration types for online booking. The configuration types show in the configuration settings for each visit type. You can use these configuration types for a visit type:

Call to book
Appointment requests
Direct booking

Note: Before a client can make an appointment in the client portal, a practice manager must configure a visit type to use direct booking or appointment requests. Without the configuration, clients must make a phone call to your practice to schedule an appointment.

To set a configuration type, set Online Booking Type as necessary in the settings for the applicable visit type. The image and table that follow gives each setting and its function:

Figure 1. Online booking configuration types


Online Booking Type set to:	Function
Call to Book	If you select Call to Book, clients must make a phone call to your practice to schedule an appointment for the applicable visit type. Note: After you activate online booking, Vello automatically sets Call to Book as the configuration type for all visit types.
Appointment Requests	If you select Appointment Requests: Clients can make appointment requests in the Vello client portal Your practice receives the appointment requests in the Vello inbox Staff must give approval in Vello for the appointment requests After staff give approval, Vello syncs the appointments to your PIMS calendar
Direct Booking	If you select Direct Booking: Clients can use the Vello client portal to schedule appointments directly in your PIMS calendar It is not necessary for clients to wait for approval from staff for appointments that they schedule in the client portal It is not necessary for staff to give approval in Vello for appointments that clients used the client portal to schedule Note: When a client schedules an appointment directly, you receive a message in the Vello inbox to tell you:

Configuration settings for visit types

To show configuration settings for a visit type, select the pencil button shown in the Appointment Categories section of the Appointment Booking screen.

This table gives each configuration setting and its function:


Setting	Function
Client-Friendly Appointment Name	Use Client-Friendly Appointment Name to change the name of the visit type that shows to clients when they make an appointment.
Appointment Description	Use Appointment Description to enter general information about the visit type. Tip: Enter information that helps clients to know if a visit type is applicable to their appointment. For example, for a sick visit, you could enter a Description of `My pet is showing signs of illness or discomfort`.
Online Booking Type	For more information about Online Booking Type, refer to Configuration types for online booking.
Configure Availability (ezyVet only)	To set the days and times that are available for appointments, set Configure Availability to Manual Configuration. If necessary, you can make different times available for appointments during the same day. Tip: To use planning guides as a method to configure available times, set Configure Availability to Use Planning Guides.
Book to Appointment Type	If you select Direct Booking, use Book to Appointment Type to select the appointment type that is available for clients to select for appointments.
Default Appointment Length	Use Default Appointment Length to set the periods that are available for clients to select for an appointment. For example, you can select 15 minutes or 30 minutes.
Days	Use Days to set the days and times that are available for appointments. If necessary, you can make different times available for appointments during the same day.
Provider Availability	Use Provider Availability to select the staff members and rooms that are available for appointments.

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