Managing the mobile unit schedule can be complicated when your clinic location is always switching, but this section will help you with that!
HQ does an excellent job of scheduling clinics in multiple locations. We call this Mobile Scheduling. For example, if a mobile unit is scheduled to be at separate locations throughout the week, HQ allows clients to select and schedule their appointment based on location and availability.
Location Scheduler
HQ has set up a location scheduler for clinics to set up on their calendar where their clinic is going to be.
- Ensure you have mobile locations enabled in Settings > Clinic Profile > Preferences.
- Click Save at the bottom. This will add a Mobile Locations page in Settings under Scheduling.
- You can set up your different locations in Settings > Mobile Locations > +Create Mobile Locations. You can edit these by clicking Edit – here, you can fill out the name and location, mark the type of location, enable/disable for online scheduling, and add a status.
Editing mobile locations- To assign a certain mobile location to a specific calendar day, go to the calendar, click the day you are assigning a clinic to, and click Adjust mobile locations for today.
- A popup will appear where you can select the clinic you want for that date. You can even select to repeat it every week on that day (until…). Click Add. You can add multiple locations on one day, too, by adding another in the same window.
- When you add multiple locations, they will both show up as links on the calendar window with the number of appointments they have for that day.
- Tip: When setting up mobile locations, if a location is marked as Stationary, it will automatically appear on each open calendar day. It is not possible to remove a stationary location from a particular day.
- By clicking on the clinic link, it will bring you to a page where you can see that day’s appointment summary for that location only and edit the staff note. Edit the staff note by clicking Edit. If you click New Appointment at the top, it will give you the option to choose the location.
Adjusting Capacity
In the standard spay/neuter calendar, you’ll see various tiles and colors that indicate the clinic’s capacity, which can be reviewed in the Spay/Neuter Calendar. For mobile locations, however, these settings may need adjustment.
The capacity is the same for every mobile clinic scheduled on a particular day, so you may need to modify it to ensure you’re offering the correct number of appointments at each location. For example, your main clinic might handle 20 appointments, but a mobile clinic can only accommodate 10. In this case, you would set the capacity for that day to 10. If there are multiple mobile locations for the day, you won’t be able to specify the number of appointments per location, as all locations will share the same capacity.
- TIP: The Microsoft – Surface Go is a great option for mobile clinics. It’s relatively affordable, super lightweight with a detachable keyboard and pen, so the screen comes off and can be used for things like going down a line of people, looking them up, and getting them to sign a consent form.
Online Appointments
When mobile locations are enabled in HQ and with the ability to book online (which you can do in the Mobile Locations settings), they will show up for your clients when booking an e-appointment.
Once they input the type of animal they are making an appointment for, they can choose the day, location, and even view a map to see where those locations are in relation to them.
- Note: If your clinic frequently has multiple locations open at the same time, you may consider opening a separate HQ profile per clinic. They would share a backend database for easy client lookup, while also ensuring each location can control the calendar capacities without impacting the other clinics. Each clinic profile is counted as a separate subscription.
Location Specific Confirmations & Reminders
The client’s confirmation email will be customized with their name, but also with the location they choose! All of the text is editable in Settings > Confirmations & Reminders > choose the type of reminder you’d like to edit.
When adding text for mobile location reminders, you will want to make sure the #location# field is in the text. Up top, click Mobile Location, and it will add the field to your text, inserting the address and customizing your reminders and confirmations to the specific mobile locations. You can do this for all of your different confirmations and reminders.
