- We review Power Diary, a cloud based practice management system used by health practitioners to manage their clinic.
Be sure to read our updated article on the Best Practice Management Software for Therapists UK.
Description and features
Power Diary has a variety of features to enable health practitioners to run their practice efficiently and to ensure that the patient experience within their clinic runs seamlessly.
As a massage therapist and reflexologist, I am keen to see how Power Diary can help with managing a busy practice. I am also intrigued as to the support available for practitioners adjusting to new COVID-19 guidelines.
At the very core of Power Diary is their comprehensive calendar management system, allowing you to manage your diary and client appointments, manage one location or more, and streamline the patient journey throughout the clinic. From choosing and booking an appointment, sending appointment reminders, completion of forms, taking clinical notes, payments and scheduling further sessions, plus comprehensive report generation, Power Diary appears to have everything covered. With this side of the business under control, you can focus on seeing your clients while Power Diary takes care of the necessary admin a busy and successful practice demands.
So who uses Power Diary?
Power Diary supports many different therapists with the running of their practice, from physical therapists to talking therapists. It’s also popular with physiotherapists, psychologists, chiropractors, osteopaths, counsellors, nutritionists, personal trainers, massage therapists and many other types of health clinics.
Power Diary Calendar View
Getting started
The first step is setting up the account. I received immediate confirmation of the new account followed by a lovely welcome email outlining the next steps. There were also links to the comprehensive Knowledge Base and further helpful tutorials. Power Diary walks you through everything you need to know, from logging in to your account to configuring the business basics. This felt reassuring as it can feel overwhelming starting or moving to a new system. Further help is also available from within the account using their Ask Function, or there is the option to send an email or use Live Chat on the website. There are lots of different help options available which is fantastic!
Setting up Power Diary
First Use
I am now ready to use Power Diary! Watching the Quick Navigational Tips is useful. The Power Diary icon (top left) always takes you back to the main screen and there is a handy search field at the top of the screen where you can search by client/appointment/invoice/referrer and third parties. Underneath each video tutorial there is a written transcript of the video. I like the ability to have this as a quick reference.
There is a very clear diary screen with a comprehensive side menu where all the main elements of Power Diary can be accessed, such as the Calendar, People, Sales, Reports, Tools, Set Up and Help Menu. Each section has a drop down menu with further options.
The Set Up – Configuring The Business Basics
I start with configuring the business basics. On the “Set Up” menu I select “Configuration” and “Business Info” and quickly input my business information. I input the details of the clinic and I like that there is an option to add in location notes. I add information about finding the clinic and parking. It’s useful to easily amend the colour scheme and assign each clinic a particular colour.
Calendar Display
Next to Configure is the main calendar display. I choose a 9am start time and 7pm finish time, allowing for the early and late clinics that I run. There is an option to choose minutes per calendar block, so I choose 30 minutes. There is also an option to show client account balance on the calendar, so I activate this useful option. Keeping track of client payments is very important!
Client Reminders
This is a really important setting. I can automatically remind my clients of their appointments by activating Client Reminders. This will reduce no shows or give the client the option to reschedule their appointment outside of the cancellation period. I choose the option of an SMS reminder 1 day before the session, plus an email reminder sent 2 days before. Clients get up to 3 automated reminders per appointment so this really keeps on top of the bookings.
There is the option to ensure “Appointment Reminders that would be sent on the weekend are sent on Friday”. This is a great feature as I know many of my clients don’t always check their emails on a weekend. There is also the option to turn on “Automatically cancel the appointment when clients reply ‘No’ or ‘Cancel’ to an appointment reminder”. It makes sense to have this activated as clients can immediately cancel their sessions and make the appointments available for other clients to book.
Event Reminders
Event reminders alert the practitioner to important client events and are automatically updated each night. I love the “Remind me about Client Birthdays” option. I know that many of my clients like to book a massage around the time of their birthday. Other clients would benefit from a reminder to do so. From a client perspective, this extra attention to detail by their clinic feels really special.
The other options are “Remind me when a Recurring Appointment is about to finish” and “Remind me when a Client uses the last Appointment in a Service Pack or when a Pack expires”. These are really useful. I like the reminder to make contact with a client to check in with them about booking further sessions. This option negates the possibility of losing revenue if a client comes to the end of a block of treatments and no action is taken.
Invoice Layout
There is the option to personalise the invoice by choosing the layout and using an invoice email template. Invoices can automatically include details about the service provided, timing, and price, and much more. They can also be customised with your clinic branding.
Calendar Configuration
This was very easy! I added a photo, my contact details and further information as requested. I like how straight-forward it is to add a list of client insurers to the practitioners calendar. The option to sync the calendar to your chosen Google Calendar to your iPhone or android device is a great feature – you will always have access to your schedule wherever you are!
Updating the weekly roster was quick to do. My clinic hours are different each day so setting the standard weekly clinic hours made life easier. I decided to have specific start times of the appointments. This is a good option based on the times I offer for my sessions. The toggle option allowing clients to book their sessions online – dependent on the day of the week – is a great feature.
Services
I started to add in the services I offer, but was a bit unsure about completing some of the information. A quick click on “Learn more here” gave me a walk-through tutorial and answered my queries, resolving my problem within a few minutes. Adding a category was easy – this is updated in the “Custom Lists/Saleable Categories” area.
Customising the Lists
Power Diary offer a great feature called “Custom Lists” which can be further customised to suit your practice. For example, appointment flags warn that this is the first or final client session. This is important in providing excellent customer care. Configuring the client marketing source is a fantastic option. How can we know what is working well if we don’t track it? Monitoring this will really show if existing marketing efforts are working as expected, highlighting any areas where the practitioner should take further measures. A really useful feature is having a list of relationship types to define the Contact’s relationship to the client, too.
Client Portal
Next to set up is the Client Portal, which allows clients to book their sessions online. I can stipulate the earliest time clients can book ahead, set a minimum gap between client appointments, define the cancellation policy and terms and conditions, and provide the option to take payment on booking. It was helpful to have a link to configure the bookable services on the calendar. At a click of a button I could activate each service for which I was happy to offer online bookings, and also a direct link to my roster to easily amend my working hours. I had a good play around with my working hours and it was incredibly easy to amend the roster and then refresh the portal to see the new available hours reflected on the calendar.
Clicking on the URL of the client portal then shows me what the client would see on booking. The layout is really clear, showing the month ahead, and colour coding morning, afternoon or evening appointments and then a summary of the appointment before the client goes on to confirm the session.
So that is the set up complete! It was quick and easy to do. If I was unsure at any point, the video tutorials were able to quickly provide help. Knowing that there was also help at the end of a Live Chat message was reassuring. However, Power Diary’s set up is so straightforward I didn’t need any further support from their team at this stage. I also received regular emails from Power Diary, checking how the trial was going and reminding me of the features that are available. This was really useful and a nice touch.
Using Power Diary
I move onto using Power Diary and look further into the features.
Creating an Appointment
The calendar was configured on set up. The view is for the week ahead, a clear snapshot of existing client bookings and available space for new clients. There is also the option of a Waiting List, letting you contact clients at short notice to fill empty slots and maximizing practice revenue. Booking in a client is easy. I just selected the day, time, add in the info for a new client, choose their session type, mark as an initial appointment and go from there. It really is that quick and easy to create an appointment!
Adding in time off was incredibly simple using the “Roster Override” section. The main calendar shows blocked-off time as unavailable and no bookings can be made during this time.
Client Information
Creating a client profile is quick and performed either via the side panel under “People/Create”, or in the main Calendar setting during the creation of their appointment. You can search for the client from either the side panel, “People/Clients”, or the top search panel for “Clients”.
Once created, it is then possible to update the information for that particular client in “Profile Details”. I like that it is possible to edit the reminder sessions for an individual client. I had automatically set the default appointment reminders for SMS and email as standard for all clients. However, I think it is a great option to be able to personalise the reminders to each client. From experience I have some clients that like to receive regular reminders, and some clients that prefer very few reminders. This is also ideal if you know you have clients that may be forgetful.
There is also the option to link contacts. For example, you can add your client in and then link to another client, specify what the relationship is, and the designated contact can also receive the reminder emails and also be stated as the emergency contact. This is excellent with regard to clients who may need extra support with managing their appointments, or making payments etc.
There is also the option of adding in Event Reminders. This could be useful if you know that a client has a medical appointment or COVID-19 test coming up in the future which may affect their attendance at future appointments. Setting a reminder for the date and event means that you can easily follow up with the client and make an informed decision on what to do, dependent on the outcome of the event.
Within the Client Profile is a summary of all appointments, appointment statistics to include their attendance rate. This is really useful as you can see at a glance the history of that client and if they are regularly cancelling their sessions or a no show and can take appropriate action.
Client Forms
Creating client forms is easy to do. Power Diary have a range of templates available that you can use and adapt as necessary, which is a great time-saving option. It is really useful to be able to send the Client Intake Form to the client for completion prior to their session.
Telehealth Video Calls
Power Diary has an integrated Telehealth system which enables secure video consultation with clients. You can access this feature from within the client profile. Power Diary generates a unique link which the client can access directly. They just click the link at their specified appointment time to start the session. This feature incurs no extra costs and you do not need to download additional software to use it. There is also a helpful “Getting Started with Telehealth” guide. Power Diary recommends performing a test run before seeing a client, which is always a good idea!
With the restrictions and changes imposed by COVID-19, many practitioners are being encouraged to take their practices online. Physical therapists are similarly being advised to complete form-filling and consultations online before in-person appointments. The Telehealth function is therefore a much-needed addition for practitioners both now and in the future. Having this as part of the practice management system is imperative. It’s great to see Power Diary supporting practitioners in this way.
Client Clinical Records & Admin Records
A useful feature Power Diary has made available is the option to have client notes separated into Clinical-type Notes. As client notes contain sensitive health information, you can grant different people restricted access so that only the relevant health practitioner can access these details. There are also Admin-type Notes relating to client appointments for use by receptionists and front office staff. Within the Admin section is the option of “Alert Notes”, new appointments allowed or blocked and appointment warnings.
It is also possible to create treatment note templates depending on the needs of the practice, either starting with a template from the treatment notes library or creating one from scratch. I can then update the notes with fields such as text, multiple-choice/tick boxes, or images/body charting (with annotation), and much more.
Appointment warnings are really useful, especially if a client might have a specific requirement, such as the need for a ground floor clinic. Flagging this up before they arrive for their session would avert an issue on arrival.
Communication
The Client Profile stores all SMS, Email and Letter comms. Sending a quick SMS about a forthcoming appointment was quick and easy to do and when the client replied by text to confirm their session, the appointment colour changed from red to blue. This is a great feature, showing that the appointment is confirmed at a glance. You can also view message responses on the main screen, too. This is ideal to check on any client messages during the clinic and keep in touch with clients.
Marketing Campaigns
Power Diary provides a fantastic feature of running marketing campaigns. This is perfect for times when the clinic is quiet, or if there is a special occasion coming up. You can do this via the side bar in the Tools > Communication > Templates area. You can initiate the campaign by email or SMS. I really like that there is an option to either select the whole database or refine the data and only send to clients based on certain criteria. For example, emailing clients who have not attended the clinic for over a year, or perhaps you want to initiate a new massage offer to all previous clients.
Payments & Invoicing
Within the Client Profile is the option to configure the billing set up, and either bill to self or a different client, plus the option to save bank account or credit card details. If the client is having their bill paid via an insurance company then these details can be easily added. A summary of invoices, payments and statements is kept within the client profile, so you can see at a glance their updated financial information.
Adapting to COVID-19
Power Diary can really help when it comes to managing your practice during COVID-19. Having an option for the client to book, amend payment methods or cancel their session using the Client Portal is really useful. It encourages the client to make their bookings and make payments online rather than during clinic time.
Another great feature is asking the client to complete their medical form and COVID-19 screening forms prior to their session. You can set this up via the reminder templates. Should there be the unfortunate need to close the clinic in the event of either a lockdown, or having to advise clients that a practitioner has had to self isolate or is unwell with COVID-19, then the option of sending bulk emailing or SMS to clients is a great tool. This saves time and gets the message out quickly. Having the waitlist available is a real benefit, with clients ready to come to the practice at short notice.
Reports
The Reporting option is easily located on the left hand side of the screen. This is broken down into Client Reports, Financial Reports and System Reports. It is easy to run and generate these reports. At the heart of every practice is the need to have this information at your fingertips. Power Diary has 26 reporting options available and provide detailed instructions on how to use these reports. I found their comprehensive Reports Overview is a good starting point.
Security
Power Diary’s Telehealth feature is encrypted and secure and no one (including Power Diary) can access the call data. It is HIPAA and GDPR compliant.
Integrations
Power Diary integrates with Stripe, Xero, Physitrack, Google Calendar and Mailchimp. All of these integrations increase efficiency and are fantastic features to incorporate. A particular favourite is the integration with Google Calendar, as I rely on this for both my personal and business life.
Support
This is where I feel Power Diary really stands out. They are passionate about their product and the support available is second to none. From the initial sign up, configuration and use, the extensive Power Diary Knowledge Base articles and video tutorials are always available, ready to use at any point. These resources are so thorough, anything I needed I could search for and the information was just a few clicks away. Further help was also available via email support, Live Chat or by phone if required.
How can Power Diary help practitioners and their clients?
Power Diary is an all encompassing practice management system suitable for both a single practitioner or busy practice owner. The system is fully customisable and does so much more than just book appointments. It has over 100 excellent features available, saving you time, keeping you organised and reassured in the knowledge that all aspects of your business are securely covered.
The excellent Knowledge Base, video tutorials, plus the live chat and email option/call back really are exemplary. With support every step of the way, you will be in safe hands with Power Diary by your side.
Find out how Power Diary can support you and your business in their excellent demo video.
Start your FREE 14 day trial of PowerDiary today
Cost
Starts at £10 a week for 1 calendar. Option of extra calendars at extra cost. All plans include all features. With 50% off for six months and a Money-Back Guarantee, this really is a risk free investment for you and your practice.