We’ve covered how to start your mental health practice and how to market your mental health practice, so now we’re going to take an in-depth look at how you can build your practice within Vagaro, as well as which features are beneficial to use as a mental health practitioner. As with learning any new piece of technology, it may seem like there’s an overwhelming number of things to take in at a quick glance. In this article, however, we’re going to cover the key basics of what’s needed to get your mental health practice started in your practice management software. For more in-depth explanations and tutorials of all Vagaro’s features, visit our help center HERE.
Setting Up Your Mental Health Practice in Vagaro: The Basics
First thing’s first: While it’s certainly not required, having a business plan made prior to adding your mental health practice in Vagaro will prove to make the overall process much smoother. Take a look at this article where we touched on exactly how you can prepare a business plan. Having an idea of how many employees you’ll have, which services you’re going to be offering, and what you want your mental health practice’s mission statement to be are all things that should be kept in mind beforehand. Once you have a detailed business plan, or at least an idea of exactly what you would like to accomplish, you’re ready to begin building out your practice in Vagaro. Did we mention that you can try it out for 30 days, entirely free? More on that, HERE.
Business Profile: During the signup process, you’ll be asked for things like your practice’s name and address, as well as which services you’ll be offering. Once you’ve taken a few moments to fill that out, you’ll be rerouted to your main Vagaro mental health management calendar. The first piece that you’ll want to complete is going to be your Business Profile, which can be set up from the Settings tab of Vagaro. If you’re using a mobile device, you’ll first need to select More along the bottom of your screen in order to see the Settings option on the next page. If you’re using a computer, simply click on Settings located along the top of your Vagaro screen. Regardless of which device you’re using, Business Profile will be the first option amongst your list of different settings within the Settings tab.
The Business Profile is the real meat & potatoes of your Vagaro account. If you ever need to adjust your business name, address, hours, or contact information, then the Business Profile is the place to do it. A crucial piece of your Business Profile is the Business Description, as it’s the first piece of information that both potential and existing clients will see when they visit your business page on the Vagaro Marketplace. The Business Description is your opportunity to really highlight yourself as a skilled mental health practitioner and the amazing services that you offer.
Employee Profiles: An Employee Profile is an individual profile, different from your Business Profile, that every employee who works at your practice will need to have. Much like the Business Profile, however, setting up an Employee Profile is incredibly intuitive. Within your Employee Profile, you’ll be able to set up your employees’ hours, services provided, contact information, and more. When setting up an Employee Profile, you’ll find that there are two Employee Types for you to choose from. If you’re adding in an employee who does not need to have their own calendar for performing services, like a receptionist, then you’ll want to be sure to select the Admin Employee Type. Should you hire another mental health practitioner or individual who does need to be able to utilize online booking for your mental health practice, ensure that you’re selecting Service Provider for the Employee Type.
Pro tip: In Vagaro, each additional calendar you use is just $10 extra per month on your subscription. However, any additional calendar after the seventh is free of charge. This means that your subscription price for a mental health practice of seven practitioners, including yourself, would cost the same as a mental health practice of 20+ practitioners.
Service & Class Menu: This is exactly that you’re wanting to provide to your clients. What kind of mental health practice are you going to run? That’s what your Service and Class Menu is for. If you’re using Vagaro on your computer, you’ll want to navigate to the Service and Class Menu tab located within Settings. The first thing you’ll likely notice is a green Add button located in the upper lefthand corner on the screen. If you’re on a mobile device, you will need to tap either Services, Classes, or Resources before you see the Add button. Using this Add button, you can begin to create a menu of options that your clients can select from when booking with you.
Online Appointment Rules: With your Business & Employee Profiles configured, and your Service and Class Menu all set up, you’re ready to start accepting appointments, right? You can absolutely begin offering services to your clients at this point; however, it would be smart to set up your Online Appointment Rules beforehand. This tab in Settings includes things like configuring how soon prior to their appointment that someone can book with you, your waitlist and how it accepts pending clients, and even your cancellation policy. As you can see, none of these items will prevent you from being able to operate your practice, but having them set up might prove to save you time and confusion later on down the road.
Okay, now that we’ve covered the basics, it’s time for the fun stuff! Which Vagaro features are must-haves for you, specifically as a mental health practitioner?
Features for Your Mental Health Practice: Telehealth Services, Forms & More
Vagaro Live Stream: The usage of telehealth services has grown rapidly in recent years. Nowadays, if an individual has the option of a virtual visit as opposed to making the trip to a physical mental health practice, they will almost always choose the telehealth option. With Vagaro Live Stream, you can offer telehealth sessions to clients, even from opposite ends of the globe.
Forms: Requiring completion of intake forms at the time of sessions is detrimental to streamlining your business’s flow. By using Vagaro’s Forms feature, you can require your clients to provide you with any necessary information, such as session goals, mental health notes, or any other kind of patient data prior to their appointment, thus preparing both of you for the session.
Vagaro Drive: Even without Vagaro Drive, your clients’ historical data will be saved locally for you to access. Things like their form responses, previous session history, patient notes, appointment notes & more, will all be saved automatically within your Vagaro account for easy access. The Vagaro Drive, on the other hand, takes this same principle to the next level. By using the Vagaro Drive, you can save the telehealth sessions that you offer for later use or reference, allow your clients to submit files or photos with their intake forms, and upload your own appointment or patient files to store for safekeeping or insurance purposes.
Email & Text Marketing: By using Vagaro’s in-house email & text marketing builder, you can easily market your business, automate custom post and pre-appointment notifications, and attract new clients with professional, beautifully designed marketing content. As a perk and a thank-you for being a Vagaro business, you're equipped with 1,000 emails each month, completely free!
Vagaro Merchant Services: At Vagaro, we pride ourselves on being an all-in-one software for anything that your mental health practice needs, and that includes simple & secure payment processing. By using Vagaro Merchant Services, you can allow your clients to pay their bill using HSA/FSA payments, as well as have access to detailed deposit & payment reports yourself, which are updated daily. Our dedicated Vagaro Merchant Services Team will ensure that your payments are on time, every time.
Online Shopping Cart: Ensure that you’re not losing any potential business by requiring a deposit or credit card when patients book sessions using Vagaro’s Online Shopping Cart. Don’t stop there, though. If you’d like to offer packages, memberships, or even gift certificates online, the Online Shopping Cart lets you do so, for just $10/mo.
Notifications & Session Reminders: Without any extra charge or hassle to you, Vagaro’s built-in notification & reminder settings completely automate your session reminders, thus keeping both you and your patients in-the-know and on time. Even within your 30-day free trial, you will have access to push, email, and text notifications for not only your clients, but both you & your employees as well.
Running your own mental health practice may not be easy, but that’s precisely why we’re here. At Vagaro, we understand that your time is exceptionally scarce & valuable. As a business owner, you often wear many hats and time is a resource that you typically don’t have in abundance. By utilizing Vagaro, you eliminate much of the hassle that goes into growing, marketing, and managing your mental health practice. To get started with your 30-day free trial, click HERE.
