Digital Forms, Consent & Waivers
Build digital intake questionnaires, consent forms, and waivers with electronic signatures. Auto-send before appointments, collect responses online, and keep everything organised in one place.
What is forms & intake?
Digital forms in salon software replace paper intake sheets, consent documents, and waivers with online submissions that clients complete before their appointment. Bella Booking's form builder supports ten field types including electronic signatures, file upload for photos or PDFs, and a Client details block that pre-fills from the client's record. Forms can be linked to specific services and sent automatically when bookings are confirmed, with frequency controls to avoid repeat submissions. All responses are stored against the client profile and appointment for easy retrieval.
Digital forms in salon software are automated questionnaires, consent documents, and intake forms sent to clients before their appointment - replacing paper with secure online submissions. The Forms module lets you create professional digital forms for client intake, consent, and waivers. Choose from ten field types including electronic signatures, file upload for photos or PDFs, and a Client details block that arrives pre-filled from the client's record. Link forms to specific services so they auto-send when appointments are confirmed, with frequency control - send every appointment or once per client. Clients complete forms online before their visit, and submissions are stored against both the client profile and the appointment. Of the 15 salon software platforms we compared, only 8 include digital forms - and several of those restrict them to higher-tier plans or charge add-on fees. Bella Booking includes the full forms module on the Professional plan at no extra cost.
What's included
Key capabilities of forms & intake
Form builder
Create forms with named sections and ten field types: short text, long text, multiple choice (single/multi), dropdown, yes/no, signature, file upload (photos and PDFs), info blocks for display-only content, and Client details. The Client details field adds the client's own name, email, phone number and date of birth, pre-filled from their record.
Electronic signatures
A signature pad field lets clients draw and capture their signature directly in the form - ideal for consent forms and waivers that need a signed acknowledgement.
Service and bundle linking
Apply a form to all services, or link it to specific services and bundles. When a matching appointment is confirmed - including when that bundle is booked - the form is automatically sent to the client.
Frequency control
Choose whether to send a form every appointment or only once per client. "Once per client" skips clients who have already completed the form.
Auto-send on confirmation
Active forms with auto-send enabled are automatically created and sent when a matching appointment is confirmed - no manual action needed.
Manual send
Send any active form to a specific client on demand, with or without linking it to an appointment. The client receives an email and SMS with a link.
Fill in for client
A client at your front desk - no email, no online-booking login, or simply here now - can have their form completed on the dashboard. Same questions, same required fields, same record; hand the device over for the signature. Every completed form records who submitted it, so a staff-filled consent never reads as client-completed.
Submissions tracking
View all submissions (pending and completed) from three places: the form editor, the client profile, and the appointment detail. Each submission stores responses as they were at the time of completion.
Resend and recover pending forms
If a client has not completed a form yet, open the submission to see when it was sent. Resend the link - it re-sends the original request by email and SMS without creating a duplicate - or copy the completion link to share it yourself. Every send reports an honest per-channel result, so you can see what was sent and why anything was skipped (no email on file, a bounced address, a channel switched off, or the SMS allowance used).
Print forms and submissions
Print form previews and completed responses directly from the browser in a clean, print-friendly layout. Save as PDF for your records.
Business notifications
When a client completes a form, your business and the assigned team member receive notifications. Configure channels in Automated messages.
Archive and restore
Archive forms you no longer need and restore them later. Archived forms and all their submissions remain accessible.
How Bella Booking's forms compare
Fresha, Mangomint, Zenoti, and Phorest include digital forms. Vagaro charges a paid add-on (A$15/mo). GlossGenius includes forms from the Gold plan up. Boulevard includes forms on Prestige but charges a paid add-on on lower plans. Timely offers forms only through a separate companion app (Timely Consult). Square Appointments, Booksy, and Setmore have no form builder at all; Treatwell has consultation forms but no e-signature or file-upload builder. See the full comparison across 15 platforms.
Use case: colour treatment consent
Build a consent form for chemical services - colour, bleaching, perms. Include allergy questions, patch test confirmation (yes/no), acknowledgement of risks (info block), and a signature field. Link it to your colour services so it auto-sends on booking confirmation.
Use case: new client intake
Create an intake questionnaire for first-time clients - preferred name, pronouns, medical conditions, medications, allergies, and how they heard about you. Set frequency to "once per client" so returning clients are not asked again.
Use case: cosmetic treatment waiver
For clinics offering injectables, laser, or microneedling - build a waiver with medical history fields, contraindication screening, informed consent text, and e-signature. Send every appointment to ensure the most recent medical history is captured.
Informed consent & privacy
Businesses performing chemical services, skin treatments, or cosmetic procedures are strongly encouraged to document informed consent and handle personal health information carefully under the privacy laws that apply in their country. Bella Booking stores form submissions securely against the client profile and appointment record, with audit trails and archival. Australian Privacy Act specifics are covered in the Australia FAQ below.
How forms work
Create a form
Go to Forms, click Add form, give it a name, and start building with sections and fields.
Configure settings
Link the form to services and bundles, choose frequency (every appointment or once per client), and enable auto-send.
Activate
Click Activate to make the form live. It will auto-send on appointment confirmation for linked services.
Client completes
The client receives an email and SMS with a link and completes the form in your online booking portal - or, if they are with you, a team member fills it in for them on the dashboard.
Review submissions
View completed responses from the form editor, client profile, or appointment. Print or save as PDF.
Plan availability
Feature
Solo
Starter
Professional
Charged in USD outside Australia.
Frequently asked questions
What field types are available?
Nine field types: short text, long text, multiple choice (single select), multiple choice (multi-select), dropdown, yes/no, signature, file upload (photos and PDFs), and info block (display-only text).
Can clients sign forms electronically?
Yes. The signature field type provides a drawing pad where clients draw their signature directly in the browser. Signatures are captured and stored with the submission.
Can I print a form or submission?
Yes. Both form previews and completed submissions have a Print button that opens a print-friendly layout. You can print directly or save as PDF.
How does auto-send work?
When a form is active with auto-send enabled, the system automatically creates a pending submission each time a matching appointment is confirmed. The client is notified via email and SMS.
Can I send a form without an appointment?
Yes. When manually sending a form, the appointment link is optional. You can send to any client at any time.
What if a client did not receive the form?
Open the submission from the form editor, the client profile, or the appointment to see when it was sent. For a form the client has not completed, use Resend link to send the original request again by email and SMS - it reuses the same submission, so there is no duplicate - or Copy link to share the completion link yourself. Sending reports a per-channel result so you can see exactly what was sent, and why anything was skipped (for example, no email on file, a bounced address, a channel turned off, or the SMS allowance used).
What happens to submissions if I edit a form?
Existing submissions are preserved as they were. Changes only apply to new submissions going forward.
Which salon software has built-in consent forms?
Bella Booking (Professional plan), Fresha, Mangomint, Zenoti, Phorest, Shortcuts, Mindbody, and Kitomba (Platinum/Diamond) include digital forms. Vagaro charges an add-on fee. GlossGenius includes forms from the Gold plan up. Boulevard includes forms on Prestige but charges a paid add-on on lower plans. Timely offers forms via a separate companion app. Square Appointments, Booksy, and Setmore have no form builder; Treatwell has consultation forms but no e-signature or file-upload builder.
What types of forms can I create?
Any form type: intake questionnaires for new clients, consent forms for chemical or cosmetic treatments, medical history forms, allergy disclosures, photo consent waivers, and aftercare instruction acknowledgements. With ten field types including file upload, multiple choice, dropdowns, info blocks, electronic signatures and a Client details block that pre-fills from the client's record, you can build forms for any purpose.
How does frequency control work?
When creating a form, you choose whether it is sent every time or once per client. "Every time" sends it for each matching appointment or product purchase - ideal for consent forms where you need the most recent medical history. "Once per client" is ideal for intake questionnaires or allergy disclosure forms that only need to be completed once.
How does Bella Booking compare?
See how forms & intake in Bella Booking stacks up against the other leading salon, spa and clinic software platforms.
View the full comparisonRelated features
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