splose gives you two tools for managing incoming demand: the Screener and the Waitlist. The Screener is where you triage new referrals before they reach your queue, so you stay in control of intake. The Waitlist is where you manage clients waiting for services and match them to availability as it opens up. Used together, they cut the manual work of intake and help you fill cancellations quickly.
In this guide, we'll explain the difference between the Screener and the Waitlist, how referrals flow from one to the other, and how to set up and manage both, including reviewing referrals, adding and organising waitlist clients, booking from the waitlist, using tags, and a full intake workflow example.
Before you begin
New referrals reach the Screener automatically in two ways:
From an embeddable form with Create client and add to Waitlist Screener turned on
From your online booking page, when a client joins the waitlist because no suitable times are available
You can still add clients to the Waitlist manually without either.
Waitlist vs Screener: What's the difference and how to use both
What we're comparing | Screener | Waitlist |
What it's for | Reviewing new referrals | Managing clients waiting for services |
How clients get there | Automatically from an embeddable form or your online booking page (if enabled) | Accepted from Screener or manually added |
Actions | Accept / Reject / Restore | Filter / Book / Move to closed / Restore |
Tags | Auto-assigned from the form, not editable here | Fully editable based on your waitlist tags |
Practitioner access | Not visible unless they have access to all clients | Visible once booked or practitioner role is set to have access to all clients |
Client visibility | Roles with access to Waitlist and all clients | Roles with access to Waitlist and all clients |
Screener
Start with the Screener.
What it is
The Screener is your front line. It gives your team space to review incoming referrals before they're added to your actual Waitlist. That means you stay in control of intake, especially when you're at capacity or need to prioritise.
When clients appear here
Clients will automatically appear in the Screener when they submit a form with the Screener setting enabled. This form can either be embedded on your website's referral page or sent as a direct link to your referrers.
More on embeddable forms here →
To enable this:
Go to your Embeddable form → Share & Automate tab
Turn on Create client and add to Waitlist Screener
You can also set up email alerts for your team by clicking on Send email to and selecting users you want notified, so no new referral goes unnoticed.
Clients who join the waitlist from your online booking page also appear in the Screener, as long as the Waitlist toggle is on in the Settings tab of your booking page. They aren't sent a form automatically.
Screener: Review and respond to referrals
Go to Waitlist → Screener
Click a referral to open and review it
Choose:
Yes → adds them to your Waitlist
No → archives the referral
Choose how to respond:
Send your default email template
Pick another template
Write a custom message
Or skip the email entirely
splose includes default acceptance and rejection templates. You can customise or create more under Settings → Email Templates, and select your default ones in the form settings.
💡You're not locked in to the default screener templates you select under Share & Automate when responding to accepted/rejected referrals on the Screener, so feel free to create different templates for different use cases.
You can select between your templates from the screener by clicking the screener email template dropdown.
Screener: Restore a rejected referral
Made a mistake or changed your mind?
Go to the Rejected tab in the Screener
Click Actions next to the referral
Select Restore. The referral goes back to triage, ready to review again.
💡Need to reach out to the client before accepting or rejecting their referral? Simply click the Actions button by their name and use the options to Send SMS or Send email.
Screener: Tags
Tags in the Screener are automatically applied based on your form setup. You can't add or change tags in the Screener.
Once the referral is accepted and added to your Waitlist, you'll be able to assign or edit tags freely.
Waitlist
Move to the Waitlist
Once a referral is accepted, the Waitlist becomes their home base. It's where you manage client preferences, apply waitlist tags and use the map view, all in one place.
What it is
The Waitlist is your hands-on queue of clients waiting for services. Once someone is accepted from the Screener or added manually, they appear here, ready to be matched, scheduled and supported.
When you accept a client from the Screener, you get the option to select client preferences for appointments, which in turn adds this client to waitlist matches on the calendar.
Waitlist: Add a client manually
Go to Waitlist
Click Add client
Fill in:
Client name
Preferred location
Preferred practitioner
Date added (can be backdated)
Services they're waiting for (one or more)
Preferred days and times:
Morning: 12am – 12pm
Afternoon: 12pm – 6pm
Evening: 6pm – 11:59pm
Tags (e.g. High priority, Step 1: Initial contact)
Click Add
If a client is already on the waitlist, you will be notified after you enter their name ✨
Waitlist: Filter, sort and organise
You can filter the Waitlist by:
Tags
Preferred day and times
Preferred practitioner
Preferred service
Location
You can sort the Waitlist by:
Client name
Date added
Don't need all the columns showing? Click Show/hide fields to show or hide:
Date of birth
Address
Note
Referrer
Last contact
Need a birds-eye view?
Click Map to view clients by location. This is handy for:
Booking nearby clients on the same day
Reducing travel
Filling schedules based on geography
Map view uses your filters, so if you only want to see clients waiting for OT in Adelaide, that's what you'll get.
Waitlist: Booking appointments
You can book a client straight from the Waitlist, or from the calendar.
Option 1: From the calendar
Go to your Calendar.
Click an available time.
Click Appointment or Support Activity.
splose will show waitlist matches, sorted by who's been waiting longest.
Choose the client, complete the booking, and click Create.
📌 Can't find a certain client in your waitlist matches? You can go back to the Waitlist to check that their Practitioner, Location, Preferred day and Preferred time match with your calendar selection.
Option 2: From a client on the Waitlist
Click the client's name
Go to their Appointments tab
Create an appointment from there
💡 Once you book a client for a service they're waiting for, splose moves them to the Closed list for that service. If they're still waiting for other services, they stay in Active for those.
Waitlist: Move clients manually between Closed and Active lists
Want to move someone to Closed without a booking?
Click the Actions menu next to their name
Select Move to closed
To bring them back:
Go to the Closed tab
Click Actions next to their name
Click Restore
These aren't final, so don't sweat if you accidentally move a client from one list to another. The change logs also allow you to see any changes made to a client on the waitlist.
💡 Closed vs. Removed: what's the difference?
There is no option to permanently delete a client from the waitlist. Instead, Move to Closed is the intended way to remove a client from your active queue. Their record is retained so you can track history and restore them if needed. This is intentional. It preserves their waitlist history for reporting and record-keeping.
Waitlist: Tags
Track your client progress on the waitlist with tags. You can customise and apply tags to match your intake flow. For example:
Step 1: Initial contact
Step 2: Docs received
Step 3: Ready to schedule
Tags can be filtered and updated at any point on the Waitlist, so your whole team stays in the loop.
To create a waitlist tag:
Go to Settings, then under Business select Tags.
Select the Waitlist tags tab.
Click + New tag.
Enter the tag's name, type and colour.
Click Create.
To tag a client on the Waitlist:
Go to Waitlist, then select the Waitlist tab.
Click the Actions menu next to the client's entry.
Under Waitlist tags, select the tags you want.
Click Update.
You can also add tags when you add a client manually.
Practitioner visibility tip
Just assigned a referral to a practitioner and they can't see it?
By default, practitioners only have access to clients they have appointments or support activities with. To give access earlier:
Create a support activity or appointment for the client under that practitioner's calendar
That creates the link
You can archive the activity if it's not needed
Example workflow: A smooth intake in action
A referral is submitted via your embedded referral form on your website → lands in the Waitlist Screener
You review it from the Screener→ Accept and move to the Waitlist
Add or update tags on the Waitlist like High Priority or Step 2: Docs received
A cancellation pops up → click the time slot in your calendar
splose shows your waitlist matches
Choose a client from your waitlist matches and book the session
Client is automatically moved to Closed for that service
💡 Want to streamline your intake process? Attach an appointment template to your intake/initial service with standard forms attached.
New clients then get the right forms automatically before their appointment.
Things to Note
You can't merge a client while they're in the Screener. Accept or reject them first. More on merging clients →
You can also add a client to the waitlist for a user group, such as Physiotherapists. More on user groups →
Clients who join the waitlist from your online booking page don't get a form automatically. To send one, click the client in the Screener, then go to Forms → Add form → Send email.
Don't link to an embeddable form in your booking page's waitlist confirmation email. It may create duplicate client profiles in your Screener.
Troubleshooting and FAQs
FAQs
Can I edit the waitlist confirmation email, or make it specific to a location or practitioner?
Can I edit the waitlist confirmation email, or make it specific to a location or practitioner?
Not currently. The waitlist confirmation email is a standard message and can't be edited or customised per location or practitioner. Placeholders such as [Clinic name] pull from your workspace details (Settings > Details), not from the individual booking link.
Can I export my waitlist to a spreadsheet?
Can I export my waitlist to a spreadsheet?
Yes. Go to Settings > Data > Export and choose the Waitlist export. Set a date range, as it filters by the date each client was added to the waitlist, and select Include Closed if you want closed entries too. Start the export and the CSV download link will be emailed to you once complete.