Preparing the Schedule options and settings will ensure your practice runs efficiently. ‘Scheduling’ is broken down into 5 sections:

We’ll take a look at each one and see how to get things set up. First, navigate to the Scheduling tab under Admin in your Shepherd menu.

Think of an appointment type as a template for common appointments. You’ll be able to do a few things with appointment types, including:

Note: Appointment types are the options you can select under ‘Services Offered’ on the provider level. Appointment types should include all practice-wide 'services offered' which can be narrowed down by which provider offers which service(s). Read more about this below under Providers.

To sort an appointment type, select the arrows to the right of Appointment Types or Duration. You can sort appointments alphabetically or by duration.

To edit an appointment type select the 'edit' icon (looks like a pencil). When you edit an appointment type, you’re able to update the:

Note: You do not need to have notifications enabled for all appointment types. Deactivate notifications by toggling the Appointment Notification toggle at the top of the Edit Appointment Type section (blue is enabled, gray is disabled).

Read more about Notifications by appointment type here.

To archive an appointment type, select the 'archive' icon (looks like a box) on the right side of the screen under ‘Actions.’ Archived appointment types will no longer be an option to select for Services Offered.

To create a new appointment type, select the ‘Add New’ button on the right side of the screen. The fields you’ll need to fill out to make an appointment type are:

Once you've added a new appointment type, click the new appointment type as if to edit it - this is where you'll link appointment notification templates if you wish to have custom appointment notifications sent for this appointment type. Read more about Notifications by Appointment Type here.

A provider is any person (or in some cases a group of people) who can administer a specific treatment or perform a specific service to your patients. Each provider also has his/her/their own unique hours, so you won’t have to worry about scheduling a treatment when it’s unavailable for a patient.

It’s usually best to have each doctor in your clinic as their own provider. More general staffing positions like techs can have a generic ‘Technician’ provider.

From the Providers tab, you’ll be able to:

From the main Providers tab, select the archive icon (box) under actions, adjacent to the provider's name and availability. There will be a confirmation box to make sure you want to archive the provider.

To add a new provider, select Add New and fill out the provider's:

The main Providers page offers a quick glance at a provider’s availability. However, if you want a more detailed look, select the ‘view’ icon (looks like an eye) under Actions.

When you’re viewing the provider, you’re able to see the same fields you entered when creating the provider. Select Edit to change their settings and add new availability or out-of-office settings.

To edit a provider’s availability select the Edit icon (looks like a pencil) or click on the provider and use the Edit button. This will allow you to update the provider’s:

To set the hours of a provider's availability, type in the time in the box that says "hh:mm AM" (be sure to double-check AM and PM).

If you need to add a break, select the ‘+ Break’ button and add in when their break is.

Under this tab, you'll add the Resources to appear on the Boarding Calendar. You can think of "Resources" as individual runs/kennels you have in the clinic. Separating them by color or color family makes it easy to see at a glance what's available.

You can use Shepherd's default appointment notifications OR create custom text message and email notifications. These settings are found under Admin > Scheduling on the SMS Notifications and Email Notifications tabs.

Learn more about Scheduled Appointment Notifications default messages and creating custom messages here.