Software for massage therapists: bookings, deposits and gift massages

Most independent massage therapists in the US are cash-pay: a client books a 60- or 90-minute session, pays at the table or online, and comes back in a month if it went well. The admin is the no-show who cost you an hour, the gift massage someone wants to buy at 9 p.m. on December 23, and an intake that tells you what you need without turning your booking page into a medical chart. Licensing is set state by state, and so are some of the rules about what goes in your ads.

From booking to rebooking

1. Create 60- and 90-minute meeting types with a 15-minute buffer after each for linens and a fixed deposit at booking (for example $30), refunded if they cancel 24 hours ahead. The rest is paid after the session, at the table or on an invoice.
2. Keep booking questions minimal: phone number, first visit or returning, and "Anything I should know before your session?" Detailed health history goes on your paper intake at the first visit.
3. Mobile or in-home massage? Add a required address question and a longer buffer for driving and setting up the table.
4. Turn on the follow-up email about an hour after each session, with a link to book again, and an automation that sends a rebooking link to anyone marked as a no-show.
5. A gift massage: send an invoice for the gift. When it's paid, create a one-time link to a "Gift massage" meeting type you've turned off and email it to the buyer. Leave it without an expiration date, or set one at least five years out (see the gift certificate rule below).
6. Chair massage at an office: send a proposal with hours, therapists and travel as line items, and the contract for e-signature. The invoice comes from the accepted proposal.

A typical week

• Monday: two new clients booked overnight from the link on your Google Business Profile, each with a $30 deposit.
• Tuesday: a client cancels 3 hours before. Your window is 24 hours, so the deposit stays with you.
• Wednesday: the follow-up emails after yesterday's sessions bring back two rebookings.
• Thursday: an HR manager accepts the chair-massage proposal for a wellness day, and the contract is signed by the afternoon.
• Friday: three gift massages sold for the holidays, each paid by card and sent as a one-time link.

All 13 tools, one by one

How a massage therapist uses each tool. Scheduling and Invoicing carry most of the load; the lines below say where a tool barely helps.

• Link in Bio: the link on your Instagram and Google profile with your services, prices, booking page and license number, which some states require in ads.
• Short Links: a QR code on the card you leave in the treatment room, so clients rebook from their phone before they leave the parking lot.
• Forms: a short new-client form with contact details, how they found you and pressure preference. Medical history stays out of it.
• Scheduling: 60- and 90-minute massages with a linen buffer, a fixed deposit at booking, a 24-hour reminder and a follow-up email that invites a rebooking.
• Proposals: chair massage for offices and events, with hours and therapists as line items and a deposit on acceptance.
• E-Signatures: your client policies and the contract for a corporate wellness day, signed online with a certificate for each signer.
• Document Tracking: a self-care stretch sheet as a tracked PDF, so you see who opened it after the session.
• Screen Recording: hardly useful in the treatment room. It works for a short walkthrough, up to 5 minutes, of a corporate chair-massage proposal.
• Notes & Boards: a simple board for event days and continuing education deadlines. Session notes with health details don't go here.
• Time Tracking: barely matters when you charge per session. Use it to log the hours of a corporate event you bill by the hour.
• Invoicing: the balance after a deposit, gift massages and corporate event invoices, with a card pay link and your Venmo or Zelle details.
• Expenses: table, linens, oils, laundry service, room rent and CE courses with receipts, so you see what each massage really earns.
• Automations: a no-show gets an email with your booking link, and 30 days after a booking is made, a note that it's time to book the next one.

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 clients' 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.

Licensing, ads and gift certificates

• Texas: you need a license from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) to practice or advertise massage therapy, and a national certification doesn't replace it. Massage establishments need their own TDLR license, with an exemption for a solo practitioner whose advertising includes their license number or full name.
• Florida: section 480.0465 of the Florida Statutes requires massage therapists and establishments to put their license number in advertising, including on the internet. Put it on your Link in Bio page and in your booking page description.
• Elsewhere, requirements differ by state. Check your state's massage board before you advertise or take your first client.
• Gift certificates: under the federal rule in Regulation E (12 CFR 1005.20), a gift certificate redeemable for goods or services generally can't expire sooner than five years after it's issued, and the expiration terms have to be disclosed. States can add their own rules, so set your gift links to match.

SoloWOS or Acuity: which fits

Choose Acuity if:

• You bill insurance or otherwise need a signed BAA (Acuity offers one on Premium). A massage-specific system such as MassageBook is another option; check its site for what it covers.
• You want clients to buy gift certificates on their own, online, and you want text reminders.

Choose SoloWOS if:

• Your practice is cash-pay and you want deposits refunded or kept by your own cancellation window.
• Corporate chair massage is part of the business, with proposals, contracts and invoices in the same account as the booking page.

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

Start with these three

Scheduling, with a deposit on each massage and the follow-up email turned on; Invoicing, for balances and gift massages; and Automations, for no-show rebooking and the 30-day reminder. Proposals and E-Signatures come in with your first corporate client.

Free tools that help

• Freelance rate calculator for what a 60-minute massage has to cost.
• Payment fee calculator for what card processing takes from each session.
• Mileage deduction calculator for mobile massage.
• Receipt generator for clients who pay cash and want a receipt.
• QR code generator for the rebooking card.

What SoloWOS won't do for a massage therapist

• It isn't HIPAA compliant and signs no BAA, so it can't hold records for a practice that bills insurance.
• No SOAP notes, treatment records or body charts.
• No point of sale, tips, retail sales or inventory.
• No gift card balances: a gift is one session booked through one link.
• Reminders by email only, not SMS.
• 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.