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Intake form best practices

Smart intake, not paper intake

The intake form is where booking-abandonment goes to die. 27% of users abandon long forms; 64% drop off in long signup flows. Five rules drawn from May-2026 research, plus a 12-question reference for a mobile / studio hybrid spray-tan business.

The five rules

Design rules that pay back immediately

  1. #01

    Conditional branching, not walls of checkboxes

    A wall of 12 medical-condition checkboxes feels like a hospital intake form. Replace with one parent question ("Any medical conditions or recent procedures we should know about?" → free text + parent toggles for the most-critical 4: pregnancy / Accutane / recent peel / Botox). Branch into specifics ONLY when the parent says yes.

  2. #02

    Save-and-resume on mobile

    27% of users abandon long forms; 64% drop off in long signup flows. Auto-save every question to local storage + a magic-link to resume on a different device. Mid-fill abandonment is the #1 cause of half-completed bookings.

  3. #03

    Returning-client delta mode

    A returning client should NOT re-fill a full intake every visit. Show only "since-your-last-visit" deltas: "Any new medications?" "Recent peels or procedures?" "Allergies changed?" Goldenhour stores the prior intake and surfaces the delta questions automatically.

  4. #04

    Service-aware questions

    A spray-tan intake doesn't need 'do you have lash extensions'; a lash intake doesn't need 'are you on Accutane'. Configure per-service intake so each booking flow surfaces only the relevant questions. Generic 30-question intake = abandoned booking.

  5. #05

    Inline e-sig, no PDFs

    Print-sign-scan-email is extinct. Every consent form should be a one-tap e-sig field in the same flow as the booking. Goldenhour stores the e-sig timestamp + the policy version in the audit log: your dispute defense if anything goes wrong.

Anti-patterns

Five mistakes that kill conversion

  • 30+ questions before a first appointment.
  • No save-and-resume: form data lost when the user loses signal mid-fill.
  • Asking returning clients the same questions every visit instead of delta mode.
  • Wall of unrelated medical checkboxes instead of conditional branching.
  • PDF waiver download → print → sign → scan → email back.

Reference intake

12-question hybrid spray-tan intake

Tailored for a Miami-Beach-style mobile + studio hybrid. Returning clients see only the “since last visit” deltas (questions 2, 3, 6, 7): answering 5 in under 60 seconds.

  1. 01

    Name + mobile

    Required

    Auto-prefilled for returning clients via phone-number lookup.

  2. 02

    Are you pregnant or nursing?

    Required

    yes → branches to: "Please consult your physician; deposit refundable" message. Doesn't block but flags for artist review.

  3. 03

    Chemical peel, laser, microdermabrasion, or Botox/filler in the last 7 days?

    Required

    Multi-select with per-item timing. yes → notes which procedure + when. Affects tan quality + safety.

  4. 04

    Any DHA, propylene glycol, or fragrance allergy?

    Required

    Free text. yes → flags appointment for patch test recommendation.

  5. 05

    Currently on Accutane, retinoids, doxycycline, or hydroquinone?

    Optional

    Multi-select. Doesn't block booking: affects RESULTS quality. Triggers an aftercare-expectations SMS.

  6. 06

    Active eczema, psoriasis, sunburn, or open cuts?

    Optional

    yes → asks for photo upload (optional) for artist to assess pre-arrival.

  7. 07

    Desired shade (Light / Medium / Dark / Custom)

    Optional

    Optional selfie upload for AI shade-match. Defaults to "artist's pick" if not answered.

  8. 08

    Special event date (optional)

    Optional

    Sets aftercare-reminder timing + rinse-window enforcement to align with the event.

  9. 09

    Mobile-only: address + parking + pets + setup-space

    RequiredOnly shown for mobile / house-call bookings

    Conditional on service mode. Pre-validates the artist can actually set up at the address.

  10. 10

    Photo release for portfolio?

    Optional

    Yes-anywhere / body-only-no-face / no. Default no. Drives the photo-publication gate.

  11. 11

    How did you hear about us?

    Optional

    Referral / IG / Google / Other. Marketing attribution; not required.

  12. 12

    E-signature on liability waiver

    Required

    Inline, single-tap. Records waiver version + timestamp for dispute defense.

Where to set it up

  1. 01Open Settings → Intake and clear any leftover defaults.
  2. 02Add the 12 questions above. Mark required ones; set the parent-question branches in the conditional editor.
  3. 03Test the flow on your own phone. Time yourself: over 60 seconds for a new client is too long.
  4. 04Watch Reports → Funnel for the first week. The intake step should have ~5-10% drop-off; anything higher means a question is friction.

Related: photo consent workflow