#intake forms

We didn’t start out trying to build a form tool — we were trying to stop people from forgetting to fill them out.

Byndesk began with a simple but critical problem: clients kept showing up to appointments without having filled out their intake forms or signed the required waivers. Businesses are constantly chasing people with email reminders or scrambling to get paperwork signed in-person — wasting 15–20 minutes per appointment and creating friction right when they should’ve been focused on service.

We talked to dozens of small businesses that use Square Appointments — salons, massage therapists, wellness studios — and every single one had the same pain point. Some even started blocking out extra time in their schedule just in case a client arrived unprepared.

That’s when it hit us: what if forms were part of the booking flow itself?

We built Byndesk to do exactly that — to give businesses a way to embed intake and consent forms directly into the booking flow of Square Appointments, making them mandatory before a client can confirm their booking.

No more reminders. No more delays. No more liability risk. Just one seamless, professional experience for everyone.

Byndesk exists so service businesses never have to say for the fifth time, “Did you fill out the form?” ever again.

“Sign to acknowledge receipt of privacy practices.”

Never included in new patient intake packets:

Yet another homework post

As per part of my production design homework, I’m going to be talking about forms! Because absolutely everyone loves forms!

One of the things that is important about forms is that the receiver gets all the necessary information. That way, they don’t have to call you up at 10pm asking questions about the design. The same thing could be said, really, for job applications, resumes, and things of the like.  

The benefit of the rising amount of technology, also, means that these forms can be done all through the internet. A simple exchange of information from the comfort of your own home. The communication process that follows is highly dependent upon the information in the form. Many forms these days are being trashed for online forms, too.

A fine example of that would be the process of registering events for a club at Eastern Washington University. Just two years ago, they wanted everything done through paperwork that had to be signed by your club’s advisor and all that give. Here, take a look at the old Off Campus Event Registration form (which I still apparently have a copy of in my Gamers Club files):

Here is a screenshot of a snipet from the current event registration on Orgsync:

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Forms over the years have definitely improved. Let’s look at some Magic: The Gathering prerelease sign up sheets from the EWU Gamers Club before I got involved and then after I became president. 

The first image is the way the events used to be documented. The officers before me would highlight which event the person was paying for, if they were a EWU Gamers Club card holder, and all sorts of other information.

When I took over, having some disabilities, that form confused the heck out of me. I needed to create a new system to make it easier on me and the other people working in the EWU Bookstore (who take all the money and the like). That’s where the second picture comes in. The second picture is just that. All I need to know is their name, their contact number, and if they are a member or not (which is marked with an M in the last column). Now, the prices are only $25 or $24 for members. And they only get on that list if they have paid. So, if there is no M, I will know they paid $25 instead of $24. And there is a set of papers for each individual event instead of having them all on the same one.

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Overall, I believe that forms are a vital part of our existence nowadays. It is definitely best to go digital for your clients or for you to send to your designer and THEN worry about a physical backup. I hope this was in no way stressful to you at all and that you learned something from it! Forms are complicated and sometimes people make huge messes out of them when they can really be simple.

We are looking for early adopters for our online intake forms tool. 

Naturopathic doctors, nutritionists, integrative doctors and coaches will get a full featured 90-day free trial period.