What RecallQ does

Importing patients

A practice uploads a CSV export from its practice management system; RecallQ does not connect live to practice software. Each row needs a first and last name, a mobile or email, and a recall due date or last visit date (or one recall date chosen for the import). Headings come from a fixed list, dates are read day-first and other columns are ignored.

The practice must first tick a consent confirmation. Re-importing refreshes the patients it matches (by patient number, or first name, last name and phone together), changing only the last visit and recall dates, never consent or opt-outs. Unmatched rows, such as email-only or archived patients without a patient number, are added as new patients, so include a patient-number column. Each import is checked against the plan's active-patient limit (Terms clause 4.6) before anything is written; unusable rows go into a downloadable error report.

Reminder rules and messages

A reminder rule sets the channel (SMS or email), timing and message, from five ready-made templates (written for dental practices, and editable) or a blank message. Timing is a chosen number of days before or after the patient's recall due date, at an hourly time from 9:00 am to 7:00 pm. Rules send on the exact day they call for, only to active patients with consent for that channel who have not opted out. SMS goes only to Australian mobiles, never landlines. Email also needs email switched on in Settings (ABN, address and sender name saved) and a live subscription.

Every SMS names the practice and ends with “Reply STOP to opt out”. On Pro, with AI wording enabled by RecallQ, a recall SMS can be reworded by AI from the practice name, days overdue and the start of the practice's template, with no patient details; this covers recall SMS only. Where RecallQ has first-name greetings switched on, Pro can add the patient's first name to a recall or reminder SMS if it fits in one SMS, but not to a message the AI has reworded.

Appointment reminders and send times

When your team records a booking at least a day ahead, one reminder goes out about 24 hours before, by SMS or email (email only where email sending is on), asking the patient to reply Y to confirm; a booking recorded less than about a day ahead gets none. It is on by default and can be switched off in Settings.

Recall SMS send only from 9:00 am to 8:00 pm in the practice's time zone; messages outside it wait until it opens. The zone is Sydney by default; RecallQ support can change it to Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth or Hobart time (Adelaide and Darwin are not supported). No message to a patient sends without a live subscription, including the emergency 000 message.

Catch-up sweep and manual send

Daily rules fire only on their exact day, so patients already past it at import are missed. A catch-up sweep sends a practice's chosen rule to overdue patients, up to 50 a day by default under every normal check; patients over two years overdue are included only if the practice agrees. RecallQ runs it on request; it has no portal screen.

On a patient's page, staff can send a recall by SMS or email straight away if the practice has an active rule on that channel (and, for email, email sending is on). SMS only sends from 9:00 am to 8:00 pm, and a patient already sent any message on that channel in the last 24 hours is not sent another.

Two-way replies, STOP and unsubscribe

Replies to the SMS appear on Replies, and any needing action on Today. On every plan, a reply that is exactly STOP, UNSUBSCRIBE, END, QUIT, CANCEL or OPTOUT opts the patient out of SMS straight away, and clear phrases such as “stop texting me” are applied by fixed matching, never by AI. Email is unsubscribed through the link in each recall email; a spam complaint counts as an unsubscribe.

YES to a recall creates a booking with no time for the team to book. Y or YES to a day-before reminder confirms the booking; NO or RESCHEDULE cancels or reschedules it. A short fixed reply (for example “Great, thanks, we'll call you to find a time that suits”), on by default and switchable in Settings, follows.

Emergency acknowledgement

On every plan, before any AI sees a reply, RecallQ screens for emergency wording such as bleeding or trouble breathing. A match tops the staff queue and, where the patient can still be texted, gets a fixed message to call 000 now or the practice when it opens, at any hour and even with thank-yous off.

AI replies

On Pro, a practice can turn on AI replies in Settings once it has written a short FAQ. The AI answers a patient's free-text question by SMS, built to use only that FAQ and the practice's own online booking link (set in Settings), with fixed checks before sending. The AI that writes replies cannot change a booking, and its replies are automated messages. Clinical questions, complaints, urgent messages and anything outside the FAQ go to a person. Where a patient gives a clear later date within 12 months and a recall rule would still fire on it, the AI can push the recall date back (shown on Today with an undo); otherwise it goes to a person. It needs Pro with a live subscription, the practice's switch, and AI replies enabled by RecallQ.

Replies that need a person

Replies RecallQ cannot safely act on land in a queue, emergencies first, shown on Today and on Replies under Needs attention. On Pro, AI also reads other replies and labels their intent; where confident it can create a pending booking or confirm or reschedule an existing one, but never cancels a booking or opts a patient out. Staff can reply to a matched patient by SMS.

Today, bookings and the dashboard

Today is the front desk's worklist: replies needing a person, patients who said yes and need a booking, yesterday's bookings to mark “Came in” or “Didn't come”, and recalls pushed back. Staff book in their own software, then record the time in RecallQ, which schedules the day-before reminder if the booking is at least about a day away. Calendar shows the bookings your team has recorded, by week or month; Dashboard shows recall reminders sent today, replies received, confirmed bookings this month and overdue recalls. On Patients, staff can search, correct contact details or archive a patient, which stops scheduled reminders.

Staff email digest

When RecallQ has it switched on, RecallQ emails the billing contact address a digest of replies that need a person, checked about every 15 minutes. Each item names the patient and quotes up to 300 characters of the reply. It needs a billing contact email in Settings.

ROI report

The ROI report shows 12 months: recalls sent, replies, and how many said yes, were booked by your team and came in. A recovered patient is a booking your team confirmed in RecallQ that came from a recall (“Booked by your team”); bookings only inferred from a reply show as “Said yes” and are not counted. Expected revenue uses an average visit value the practice sets, starting at $420 until changed. The report's AI summary needs Pro.

Delivery tracking

RecallQ records what providers report back: for email delivered, delayed, bounced or marked as spam; for SMS, delivery confirmations only. A permanent bounce flags the email as undeliverable, and recall emails stop until staff correct it.

Consent, audit and data handling

At import RecallQ records who ticked the consent confirmation, when, and the wording version with a fingerprint of the exact text. The record is not tamper-proof against administrator access. An audit log of key actions holds no patient names or contact details and is not shown in the portal. The main patient database is in Sydney, Australia. Application servers run in Singapore. Some sub-processors operate overseas and are listed at https://www.recallq.com.au/legal/#sub-processors. See security and data handling, the Privacy Policy, Data Processing Agreement and Terms.

Settings, sign-up and billing

Sign-up is self-serve: practice details, a subscription, then a first reminder rule. Billing opens a portal run by Stripe where you manage your subscription and payment details.

Plans

In the software, only the AI features and SMS first-name greetings are limited to Pro; active rules and the active-patient limit also depend on the plan. The pricing page lists prices, limits and what each plan includes.

Common questions