Group and Group Appointments FAQ

This is a compilation of some of the most frequently asked questions about Jane’s Groups and Group Appointments features.

Feel free to scroll through the questions, or click on one of the questions below:

Getting started with Groups and Group Appointments

What is a Group Appointment?

A Group Appointment involves multiple clients who do know each other and are attending the session or receiving the service together. These clients are billed under a single invoice that covers the session. You can decide which client will be billed for the appointment. An example of a Group Appointment is a couples counselling session.

To learn more about Group Appointments, take a look at our handy guide.

What’s the difference between Classes and Group Appointments?

Great question! There are a few differences between these session types:

Who are they for?

Classes are for multiple unrelated clients, like a yoga or Pilates class.
Group Appointments are for multiple (often related) clients joining a session together, like a Family Counselling session.

How are they scheduled?

Class times must be scheduled administratively before clients can book online.
Group Appointment times, however, can be chosen by clients online, just like 1:1 sessions.

Administrative scheduling

Classes and Group Appointments can be booked the same way as 1:1 visits. Click anywhere on the schedule and then choose the Class or Group Appointment from the drop-down menu in the appointment panel.

Invoicing and taking payment

Class participants are invoiced separately and they pay separately.
Group Appointments have one Primary Client who is invoiced for the session. The invoice includes the names of Secondary Clients who have been arrived.

At this time, there is no option to split the bill between clients who attend a Group Appointment (we’re working on it though — stay tuned 😉).

Should Group Therapy be a Class or a Group Appointment?

Contrary to what you might think, Group Therapy sessions should actually be created as a Class for two reasons:

Class participants can all be billed and invoiced separately, whereas Group Appointments can only have one payee per session.
Group Therapy sessions usually involve participants who are unrelated, and Group Appointments are intended for clients who know each other and/or are related (eg. Couples or Families).

What is a Group?

Groups are an administrative shortcut that allows you to add multiple clients to a Group Appointment without having to search for their names one by one.

For more info on Groups, check out our guide.

Can clients belong to more than one Group?

You bet they can! For example, a child could belong to a Group with them and one caregiver and another Group with them and their second caregiver.

Do Groups affect Relationship permissions?

No, adding clients to a Group has no effect on their Relationship permissions. You could even add unrelated clients to a Group, like members of a sports team, for example.

How do I change my one-on-one appointments to Group Appointments?

While you can’t change the appointment type of your existing sessions, you can archive your one-on-one sessions that you’d like to replace with Group Appointments, which will not affect those sessions you’ve already scheduled. This removes the old sessions from your online booking page, preventing clients from booking them going forward.

Next, you can create your fresh new Group Appointment sessions and make them available for online booking.

Optionally, you can delete and rebook any one-on-one sessions that you’d like to replace with Group Appointments, but this isn’t necessary if you’d prefer to let those sessions pass on their own.

What do I do if I’ve only been using joint profiles (for example, one client profile named “Jack and Jill Smith”)?

Great question! You’ll want to start by Adding a new Client for each person who will be attending sessions if you haven’t done so already. You’ll be booking these individual profiles into Group Appointments going forward.

For any chart notes stored under joint profiles, you can reference them on an as-needed basis or transfer them over to the individual profiles. This can be done using the duplicate/change client workflow below or by copying the chart contents from the joint profile and pasting them into the individual profiles’ chart entries. You’ll want to choose the workflow that works best for you.

For more info on making the switch from joint profiles to individual profiles, check out our guide.

I’m waiting for Group Billing to be released. Is there a benefit of using Groups and Group Appointments now?

Absolutely! Groups and Group Appointments are the first steps in the journey to Group Billing. Getting started now means you can hit the ground running when the next family and group-related feature is released.

Scheduling

Can a client book a Group Appointment from the online booking site?

You bet they can! Clients can book their own group appointments for themselves and any related profiles they have a relationship with. We even have a guide to show how clients can book group appointments.

Can clients change the Primary Client themselves for a Group Appointment after it has been booked?

No, this can either be done by the client by cancelling for all participants and rebooking the appointment, or a staff member can reassign the Primary administratively.

Can staff change who the Primary Client is in a Group?

No, this can instead be done by deleting the Group and recreating it starting with the profile for the client we’d like to designate as the Primary.

What happens if a Primary Client cancels but leaves the Secondary Client(s) booked in the Group Appointment?

That’s no problem! A staff member will be able to reassign one of the remaining clients as the Primary.

What permissions are enabled when a client adds a family member when booking a Group Appointment, and why?

When a client adds a family member or related profile, all permissions are enabled towards that client except permission to use their credit cards on file.

For example, if I add my child as a family member, I will (by default):

Receive a copy of my child’s receipts, statements, and financial emails.
Receive a copy of my child’s email notifications and reminders.
Be able to manage my child’s online bookings and complete her intake forms.
Add my child’s appointments to my calendar subscription.
The only permission that will not be enabled by default is for me to use my child’s saved credit cards.

These permissions can be edited administratively, and they’re enabled by default so that parents or other related profiles can easily manage these different areas for minors or folks who need their support.

Do I need to completely fill a Group Appointment?

Nope! You can just have one client registered, though it might make for a lonely Group Appointment.

Can a staff member add multiple clients to a Group Appointment without creating a Relationship?

Yes, this can be done administratively, though a client can only add related profiles to a Group Appointment when booking online.

Can I book recurring Group appointments for the same participants?

Not at this time. But, once you have the first visit booked, you can copy it into future weeks and all the participants in the copied appointment will come along, just like a Class.

Billing and Invoicing

Are default price Adjustments applied to Group Appointments?

Yes, under one condition. If the Primary Client has a default price Adjustment on their profile (for example, a sliding scale arrangement), then that Adjustment will be applied to the cost of their Group Appointment. Price Adjustments on Secondary Clients’ profiles will not be applied to Group Appointments.

To learn more about Adjustments, check out our guide.

Can I split the invoice for a Group Appointment?

No, a Group Appointment is associated with a single invoice that is billed to the Primary Client at this time.

Intake Forms and Charting for Group Appointments

Will the same Intake Form be sent to all participants for Group Appointments?

Yes! If you have a Group Appointment for families or clients with different age ranges, you might include a section on your Intake Form to be completed on behalf of a minor if applicable.

If you need separate intake forms for different age groups, we recommend sending them out manually so that you have full control over which form clients receive.

For more info on intake forms, check out our guide here.

How do I chart for a Group Appointment?

For any Group Appointment, you’ll want to choose one client profile to chart on, and then duplicate the entry:

Next, you’ll move the duplicated chart to the other profile using the Change Client option: