What is Add a New Client and/or Patient?
When a new client calls or walks in, you can register them and their pet directly in Digitail - creating the client record, patient record, and appointment all in one flow. If the client already exists, you can add a new pet to their profile without re-entering any of their details. For shelters, fosters, or multi-pet households, a bulk add option lets you register up to 20 pets at once.
How This Helps Your Daily Work
Role | How it helps |
Receptionists / Front desk | Register a new client and pet while booking the appointment on the same call - no switching screens. Duplicate detection prevents creating the same client twice. |
Vets & nurses | Add a new pet directly from a client's profile during a visit, so the record is ready before the exam starts. |
Practice managers | Keep all pets under one household linked to a single client - clean records, consolidated billing, no duplicate profiles. |
Where to find it
The right starting point depends on your situation:
Situation | Where to start |
New client, no appointment needed yet | Patients → + Add Patient |
New caller, book appointment immediately | Calendar → + Add Appointment → New Client or Patient? |
Existing client, you're on their profile | (+) button next to their pets list - fastest |
Existing client, not on their profile | Patients → + Add Patient → Add Pet to Existing Client |
Multiple new pets for one client | Patients → + Add Patient → Add More Patients at Once |
How to add a new client and/or patient
Scenario A - New client, no appointment needed yet
Use this when you want to register a client and their pet without booking an appointment at the same time - for example, after a walk-in you've already seen, or to set up records in advance.
Go to Patients in the main navigation.
Click + Add Patient in the top-right corner.
Fill in the client information:
Field | Required? |
First Name | Yes |
Last Name | Yes |
Phone | Yes (validated in international format) |
No, but recommended for email confirmations and Pet Parent app invites | |
Address | No, but is recommended for mobile clinics |
Accept the Terms & Conditions checkbox - required to submit.
Fill in the patient information. Required fields at this step: Name, Species, Breed, Gender, and Reproductive Status.
Optionally add patient alerts - tags that flag critical information (e.g. Aggressive, Allergies) visible across the platform. These can also be added later from the health card.
Optionally book an appointment using the Add Appointment section at the bottom of the form.
Click Save to create the records.
Scenario B - New caller, book appointment immediately
Use this when a new client calls and you want to register them and book their appointment without leaving the Calendar.
Click an empty time slot or + Add Appointment to open the Add Appointment modal.
Click New Client or Patient? above the patient search field. The modal header changes to "Add Appointment for a New Client or Patient" and the left pane splits into Client and Patient sections.
Fill in the client and patient details
Complete the appointment details in the right pane.
Click Add Appointment.
What gets created: a new client record, a new patient linked to that client, and the appointment - all at once. SMS notifications follow your clinic's settings if a phone number is provided. A welcome message is sent if an email is provided.
📌 Nothing is saved until you click Add Appointment. If you close it mid-way, a confirmation will ask if you want to discard your progress.
And if you changed your mind? Click Go back to Select Patient at the top of the left pane to return to the standard patient search.
What if Digitail finds a match while you're filling in the form?
If the phone or email you enter matches someone already in the system, Digitail will warn you before anything is saved:
Phone match (orange warning): "We found X clients with the same phone number. Select one of them to avoid duplicates." Click Select client to choose the correct one.
Email match (red warning): "We found [name] with the same email. You cannot create a new client with this email." Click Select this client - email addresses must be unique.
Once the existing client is attached, add the new pet's details and complete the appointment as normal.
Scenario C - Existing client, new pet (from their profile)
Use this when you're already viewing the client's profile - it's the fastest option since you skip the search step entirely.
Open the client's profile.
Click the (+) button next to their existing pets list.
Fill in the patient details.
Click Add Patient.
The new patient is immediately linked to the client and ready for appointments.
Scenario D - Existing client, new pet (from the Patients page)
Use this when you need to add a pet for an existing client but aren't currently on their profile.
Go to Patients in the main navigation.
Click + Add Patient in the top-right corner.
Click Add Pet to Existing Client.
Type the client's name, email, or phone in the search field and select them.
Click Proceed to the Next Step: Patient Information.
Fill in the patient details.
Click Add Patient.
Scenario E - Multiple new pets for one client (bulk add)
Use this for shelters, foster families, or any client registering more than one pet at a time.
Go to Patients → + Add Patient.
Click Add More Patients at Once.
Set the number of patients to add (up to 20).
Fill in each row - a simplified form with the most important fields. Full details can be edited later from each patient's health card.
Use the Duplicate button to copy an existing row and adjust the differences. Duplicating a row that includes an appointment also copies the appointment details (date, staff, visit type, status).
Optionally add appointments for all patients directly from this screen.
Click Add - all patients and appointments are created at once.
Other things you can do
Full patient field reference
Identity
Required: Name, Species, Breed, Gender, Reproductive status.
Select Species and Breed from the dropdown - breed options update based on the selected species. Toggle Crossbreed to select a second breed for mixed breeds. Reproductive status options change based on the selected gender (e.g. Neutered / Spayed / Intact / Unknown).
Optional: Birthday, Profile photo, Color, Distinctive marks.
For birthday, toggle between an exact Date of birth or an Age (years/months/days). Check Estimated birthdate if the date is approximate.
Profile photo should be up to 10 MB.
Medical
Optional: Blood type, Allergies, Microchip ID, Health card / RECS number.
Administrative
Optional: Passport number, Insurance number, Wellness plan / Mandatory scheme.
Internal
Optional: Description / Internal Notes, Patient alerts.
Description is general information that may be visible in various contexts.
Internal Notes are private to your clinic staff and never shown to the client.
Patient alerts are tags that flag critical information (e.g. Aggressive, Escape risk, Requires sedation) and appear on every appointment card.
Tips & best practices
If you're already on the Health Card, you have the Client's Profile on the right side, use the (+) button next to their pets - it's the fastest way to add a new pet, no search needed.
Always add an email address when you have it - even though it's optional, it unlocks email confirmations, reminders, and the Pet Parent app invite.
Use the age input (years/months/days) instead of guessing a birthdate for rescue animals, and always check Estimated birthdate - it's a small detail that makes a real difference when a vet is reading the health card.
Always enter the microchip number if the client has it - it's the most reliable way to identify a pet, and the system prevents duplicates within your clinic.
Add patient alerts at registration for anything critical - aggressive behavior, escape risk, drug sensitivities. They appear on every appointment card so the whole team sees them immediately.
Use Internal observations for notes that shouldn't be visible to the client, such as handling preferences or clinical context the owner hasn't shared.
When a phone number matches an existing record in the Calendar flow, always use the duplicate detection suggestion rather than creating a new profile. Duplicate clients cause split histories that are hard to clean up later.
For shelters and fosters, bulk add with duplicated appointment details means all animals can be registered and booked in one sitting.
Common Questions
Do I have to fill in all patient fields at registration?
No. In the Calendar flow, Name, Species, and Breed are the only required fields. From the Patients page, Gender and Reproductive Status are also required. Everything else can be added later from the patient's health card.
Can I create a client without booking an appointment?
Yes - use Scenario A (Patients page, new client flow). The Calendar flow always creates an appointment alongside the client and patient.
What happens if I close the Calendar modal halfway through?
If you've entered any data, a confirmation pop-up will warn you that closing will discard all progress. Click Close anyway to abandon, or Cancel to keep editing. Nothing is saved until you click Add Appointment.
Will reminders be sent if I don't have the client's email?
Yes - as long as a valid phone number is provided and your clinic has SMS reminders configured, SMS notifications will go out. Email confirmations and the Pet Parent app invitation require an email address.
Can I go back to searching for an existing patient after clicking "New Client or Patient?"
Yes - click Go back to Select Patient at the top of the left pane to return to the standard patient search.
I can't find the client when searching - what should I do?
Try searching by phone number or email instead of name. If the client genuinely doesn't exist yet, use Scenario A or Scenario B to create them from scratch.
I accidentally created a duplicate client. What do I do?
Contact your clinic administrator - duplicate client records need to be merged manually. To avoid this in future, always resolve the orange or red duplicate warnings before saving.
What's the difference between Description / Internal Notes?
Description is general information about the pet that may be visible in various contexts. Internal Notes are private to your clinic staff and never shown to the client - use this for sensitive notes.
What happens if I enter a microchip number that's already in the system?
Digitail will warn you that the number is already associated with another patient in your clinic. Check whether the pet already has a record before creating a new one.
Can I add more than one pet per client during registration?
In the Calendar flow, one patient at a time. For multiple pets, use Scenario E (bulk add), or complete one registration and start a second.
Is there a limit to how many pets I can add to one client?
No hard limit on pets per client profile. The bulk add option allows up to 20 pets in a single session.