Software for acupuncturists: booking, treatment series and consent

Acupuncture is sold one treatment at a time and works as a series. A patient with low back pain or migraines books a first visit, hears that six to ten weekly treatments is typical, and decides at the front desk whether to commit. Fertility patients time treatments around a transfer date set by their clinic. Herbs add a second line to the bill. The admin is getting the series agreed, consent signed before the first needle, and the next visit booked.

From the first treatment to a series

1. The patient books a 90-minute "First treatment" from your booking page, with intake and treatment in one visit, paid by card at booking. Follow-ups are 60 minutes with a 15-minute buffer to change the table.
2. Booking questions stay general: the main reason in a few words, how they heard about you, and whether they're working with a fertility clinic. Health history goes in your charting system.
3. Consent for acupuncture and related techniques (cupping, moxa, e-stim) and your cancellation policy go out for e-signature right after booking, so they're signed before the first needle.
4. Send your Good Faith Estimate as a PDF through Document Tracking. One estimate can cover a series of weekly treatments for up to 12 months.
5. After the first treatment, send a proposal for the series: six weekly treatments at $95, optional herbal formula as its own line, and a deposit.
6. Fertility patients get a single-use booking link for the treatment before and after transfer day, so the slot is held for them.
7. Create the series invoice from the accepted proposal and add herbs as line items when you dispense them. Patients pay by card through your Stripe account or with the payment details on the invoice.

A typical week

• Monday: three first treatments booked and paid over the weekend; all three signed the consent before arriving.
• Tuesday: two patients accept the six-treatment series after their first visit. One adds a two-week herbal formula to the same invoice.
• Wednesday: a fertility patient's clinic moves her transfer to Friday. You send a single-use link for Thursday afternoon and Saturday morning.
• Thursday: a patient who finished her series in August gets an automatic check-in email asking how the migraines are.
• Friday: you log needles, herbs from your supplier and the CEU course in Expenses, with receipts.

All 13 tools, one by one

Scheduling, E-Signatures, Proposals and Invoicing cover most of an acupuncture practice. The rest are for specific cases.

• Link in Bio: a page with first treatment and follow-up prices, the conditions you see most and your booking link, for Instagram and fertility forums.
• Short Links: a QR code on cards you leave at yoga studios and fertility clinics, counted per location so you know which referral works.
• Forms: a request form for corporate wellness days or a yoga studio's monthly clinic, with dates, headcount and the room you'll have.
• Scheduling: first treatment and follow-up as separate meeting types with a table-change buffer, paid at booking, with a reminder the day before.
• Proposals: the treatment series after the first visit, with herbs as an optional line and a deposit, accepted on the patient's phone.
• E-Signatures: consent for needling, cupping, moxa and e-stim, plus your cancellation policy, signed before the first treatment.
• Document Tracking: your Good Faith Estimate and a PDF on what to expect between treatments, with a record of when each was opened.
• Screen Recording: not much use in the treatment room. Good for a 4-minute video at your computer that shows how to take a granule formula.
• Notes & Boards: a board of patients by stage (first visit, in a series, maintenance) with first names only, and your herb reorder list.
• Time Tracking: rarely relevant. It counts for corporate wellness days or a studio clinic paid by the hour.
• Invoicing: the series invoice from the accepted proposal with herbs added as lines, and invoices to studios and employers for clinic days.
• Expenses: needles, herbs, cupping and moxa supplies, table linens, rent and CEUs, with receipts.
• Automations: a check-in email 6 weeks after a series is paid, and a no-show email with the link to book again.

Licensing and estimates

• Acupuncture licensing is set by each state. In California, you need a license from the California Acupuncture Board, which requires passing California's own exam: the state doesn't recognize licenses from other states or accept the NCCAOM exam for licensure, and practicing without a license is a misdemeanor. Other states rely on different exams and boards, so check yours.
• When a self-pay patient schedules care at least 3 business days ahead, the No Surprises Act requires a Good Faith Estimate within 1 business day of scheduling (within 3 business days when the visit is 10 or more business days out), and CMS expects you to tell self-pay patients about that right on your website, in the office and when they book.

HIPAA: who can use SoloWOS and for what

HIPAA applies to health care providers who send health information electronically in standard transactions, such as billing insurance. A cloud service that stores protected health information for a covered provider is a business associate and needs a Business Associate Agreement (BAA). SoloWOS doesn't sign BAAs and isn't HIPAA compliant.

• If you bill insurance electronically, you're a covered entity: don't put your patients' health information in SoloWOS. Keep using your EHR or practice-management system for anything clinical.
• If your practice is cash-pay only and never bills insurance electronically, HIPAA may not cover you, but state health-privacy laws can still apply. Ask your lawyer before you rely on that.
• Either way, keep intake forms and booking questions administrative (name, email, preferred time, reason for the visit in general terms) and leave clinical questions for the visit and your records system.

This is general information, not legal advice. Rules vary by state; check yours with a lawyer or your licensing board.

SoloWOS or Jane: which fits

Choose Jane if:

• You want charting, booking and a BAA in one system.
• You sell treatment packages that count down, or bill insurance with Jane's add-on.

Choose Acuity if you only need booking with packages and text reminders, and want a BAA on its Premium plan. See Acuity Scheduling vs SoloWOS.

Choose SoloWOS if:

• You chart on paper or elsewhere and want booking, consent, series proposals and invoices with herbs in one account.
• You sell clinic days to studios and employers with a proposal and a contract.
• You'd rather pay one price than add a contract tool and an invoicing app to your scheduler.

Prices and features checked between October 17 and 23, 2026 on each company's site.

Start with these three

Scheduling with the first treatment and follow-up types, E-Signatures with your consent sent after each first booking, and Proposals with the six-treatment series saved as a template. Invoicing takes over once the first series is accepted.

Free tools that help

• Freelance rate calculator to price a treatment from the income you need.
• Customer lifetime value calculator for a patient who comes back for maintenance.
• Profit margin calculator for the markup on herbal formulas.
• QR code generator for cards at yoga studios and fertility clinics.
• Break-even calculator for the treatments a week that cover rent.

What SoloWOS won't do for an acupuncturist

• No community acupuncture: each slot takes one patient, so several patients per hour in recliners needs another booking tool.
• No TCM charting, point prescriptions or tongue and pulse notes.
• No herb dispensary or inventory; herbs go on the invoice as lines.
• No packages that count down, no insurance claims and no superbills.
• Reminders by email only.
• SoloWOS doesn't file taxes, issue 1099s or collect sales tax for you. Invoicing sends the invoice with a pay link (card through your Stripe account) and your other payment details; your accountant or tax software handles the rest.