This guide covers everything you need to know about creating and managing client records in splose - from adding or preparing to import clients, to finding them quickly, and understanding how cases and tags work together to track funding and care.
This guide is relevant to both practitioners and account owners. Practitioners will use client records every day, while Account owners will configure custom fields, terminology, structure, and access those records use.
Before you begin
splose uses "Client" as the default term throughout the platform. Account owners can change this to another term that better fits the practice's context. Any changes will be applied workspace-wide. See how to change client terminology here.
In a multi-practitioner practice, not everyone sees every client by default. Knowing how client access works ensures you and your team see the right clients. Keep in mind:
By default, practitioners only have access to clients they have an appointment or support activity with. Booking a client to that practitioner creates the link and gives them access.
To grant a practitioner access before a booking exists (for example, when assigning a new referral), create a support activity or appointment for the client with that practitioner - this creates the link. The activity can be archived afterwards if it isn't needed.
Some roles can be given access to all clients. Account owners control this through user roles and permissions, so that reception, practice managers, and admin staff and practitioners can see the whole client base when their role requires it.
💡 If a practitioner reports they can't see a client they should have access to, check whether they have an appointment or support activity with that client, or whether their role is set to access all clients.
The clients page
The Clients page in splose contains your full client list, and is where most day-to-day client lookups start.
As your client base grows, knowing how to find people quickly saves real time. To find clients:
Search by name in the search bar.
Filter your list by tags and custom fields to view a specific group - for example all NDIA-managed clients, or everyone from a particular referral source. Click the filter icon in the Tags column (See more about using tags in the Tags section below).
Switch between active and archived clients by clicking the filter icon at the top of the Name column. Archived clients are hidden from your default list and search results, but can be viewed and restored when needed.
💡 The way you set up your tags and custom fields directly determines how usefully you can filter your client list later. It's worth planning these before you import or add clients in volume.
Adding a new client
Client records are created from the Clients tab or directly from the calendar when booking an appointment. At a minimum you'll need the client's name, but adding contact details and communication preferences at the time of creation ensures appointment notifications work correctly from the first booking.
Key fields to complete when adding a client
Name - how they'll appear across the calendar, notes, invoices, and correspondence
Contact details - email and/or mobile number depending on their communication preference
Communication preference - Email, SMS, or both. This determines how appointment notifications are delivered. Mobile numbers must be mobile (not landline) for SMS to work
Timezone - important for clients in different timezones to ensure notifications send at the right time
Date of birth - required for Medicare and some health fund claiming
Funding details - eg. NDIS number and fund management type for NDIS participants; DVA file number for DVA clients
💡 Communication preferences set on the client record determine whether appointment confirmations and reminders actually send. If a client isn't receiving notifications, the first thing to check is that their communication preference is set correctly and their contact details are valid.
Importing your existing clients
If you're moving to splose from another system, you don't need to re-enter clients one at a time. splose can bulk import your existing client list from another platform, bringing across client details so you're ready to work from day one.
splose has guided imports for common systems, which map your existing client data into the right splose fields. See our import guides for various platforms here.
A few things worth getting right before you import:
Set up your tags and custom fields first (see below). If your funding-type tags and any custom fields exist before you import, clients can be categorised from the start rather than tagged one by one afterwards.
Check for duplicates after importing, especially if some clients were already added manually or created through online bookings. Duplicate records can be merged (see the Archiving client records and merging duplicates section below).
Managing a client record
Everything related to a client in splose lives in their client record.
To access a client’s record, go to Clients, then open the relevant client’s record.
The client’s information is organised across multiple tabs. Understanding this structure makes day-to-day work faster. The tabs within a client’s record are:
Details - demographics, contact info, communication preferences, funding details
Appointments - all past and upcoming appointments and support activities
Communication - log of all correspondence with the client
Files - uploaded documents
Progress notes - progress notes linked to appointments
Cases - active and past funding cases
Forms - sent and completed forms including intake, consent, and clinical forms
Invoices - all invoices and payment history
Letters - clinical correspondence
Practitioner Access - list of practitioners linked to the client
The Client Details tab
The Details tab contains the client’s general information and contact details, and is the place to start when saving a new client’s key information.
From the Details tab you can add information about medications, allergies & intolerances, and also add associated contacts, any custom fields needed and assign tags and to a client.
You can update the client’s details at any time by clicking Edit at the top of the page.
Associated contacts
Associated contacts are people linked to a client who should receive communications on their behalf, such as referrers or coordinators, parents, carers, guardians, or other nominated contacts. They're added under the client's profile and can be set to receive appointment notifications.
If an associated contact needs to receive SMS notifications, add them as an associated contact with appointment communications enabled and their mobile number listed first. See how to do this in the Set up associated contacts guide.
Custom fields
Custom fields let you capture client information that isn't covered by splose's default fields. For example a referral source, a school or employer name, a program identifier, or any other data point relevant to how your practice manages clients.
Custom fields are created by account owners via Settings → Custom fields. Once created, they appear on every client's profile and can be used as filters in reports.
Tags
Tags are labels you apply to client records to categorise them for filtering and reporting. They're set up by account owners in Settings → Tags and can then be applied to any client record.
Tags are useful for tracking:
Funding type - e.g. "NDIA-managed", "Plan-managed", "Medicare EPC", "Private"
Program or stream - e.g. "Early intervention", "School program"
Priority level - e.g. "High priority", "Waitlist"
Referral source - e.g. "GP referral", "Self-referred"
Tags appear as filters across batch invoicing, reports, the client list, and the waitlist - so the way you set them up at the start determines how useful they are later. Think through your reporting and filtering needs before creating tags so the structure is consistent across your client base.
Cases
A case is how splose tracks a client's allocated budget, sessions, or hours against what's been delivered and invoiced. Cases sit within the client record and bring together all the appointments, support activities, and travel linked to a specific funding package or referral.
When to use cases:
Private treatment packages - to track a prepaid session count
Insurer or employer-funded programs - to manage allocated hours and expiry
NDIS participants (AU) - to track plan budgets and funding periods
Medicare EPC referrals (AU) - to store GP referral details, expiry dates, and track sessions used
ACC claims (NZ) - to track treatment allocation and claim expiry
What a case contains:
Case type - budget, sessions, or hours
Total allocation and expiry date
Referral details - referring contact, referral date, and validity period
Linked appointments, support activities, and travel
Allocated vs invoiced view - what's planned versus what's been billed
Funding periods - if funding is released in cycles rather than as a lump sum
Case alerts - email notifications when a case approaches expiry or a utilisation threshold
Attached files - plans, service agreements, supporting documents
Making cases mandatory
For services where every appointment must be linked to a case - typically NDIS or insurer-funded services - you can make case selection compulsory at the service level. This ensures nothing is missed in tracking and prevents appointments being invoiced outside of a funding case.
How tags and cases work together
Tags and cases serve different but complementary purposes in client management. Understanding the relationship between them makes both more useful.
Tags | Cases |
Tags tell you what type of client or funding this is e.g. "NDIA-managed" tag on a client's record identifies their funding model at a glance and makes them filterable across invoices, reports, and the waitlist | Cases track the detail of that funding in action e.g. the NDIS case for that client holds the plan budget, linked appointments, and invoiced amounts - showing exactly how much has been used and what remains |
Tags help you find and filter groups of clients e.g. run a batch invoice for all "NDIA-managed" clients at once by filtering the batch invoicing screen by tag | Cases give you the per-client detail e.g. open the case to see whether a specific participant is close to their plan limit before booking more sessions |
💡 A well-tagged client base makes bulk operations much faster. Set up your funding-type tags before adding clients so every client is categorised correctly from the start - going back to tag an existing client list takes significantly more time.
Archiving client records and merging duplicates
Archiving. When a client is no longer active, archiving their record removes them from active lists and search results without deleting any data. Archived clients can be restored at any time. Permanent deletion is available but irreversible - use it only when you're certain the record is no longer needed.
Merging duplicates. If two client records exist for the same person, they can be merged from the client record. This consolidates all appointments, notes, invoices, and files into a single record. It's worth checking for duplicates after a bulk import or when clients have also been created through online bookings.
What next?
Completed these steps? Continue setting up your splose account by configuring the features that get new clients into your practice - online bookings, embedded intake and referral forms, and the waitlist and screener.
➡️ To do this, move on to our Getting clients in the door guide.