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

#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.
#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.
#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.
#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.
#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.

01
Name + mobile
Required
Auto-prefilled for returning clients via phone-number lookup.
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.
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.
04
Any DHA, propylene glycol, or fragrance allergy?
Required
Free text. yes → flags appointment for patch test recommendation.
05
Currently on Accutane, retinoids, doxycycline, or hydroquinone?
Optional
Multi-select. Doesn't block booking: affects RESULTS quality. Triggers an aftercare-expectations SMS.
06
Active eczema, psoriasis, sunburn, or open cuts?
Optional
yes → asks for photo upload (optional) for artist to assess pre-arrival.
07
Desired shade (Light / Medium / Dark / Custom)
Optional
Optional selfie upload for AI shade-match. Defaults to "artist's pick" if not answered.
08
Special event date (optional)
Optional
Sets aftercare-reminder timing + rinse-window enforcement to align with the event.
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
Photo release for portfolio?
Optional
Yes-anywhere / body-only-no-face / no. Default no. Drives the photo-publication gate.
11
How did you hear about us?
Optional
Referral / IG / Google / Other. Marketing attribution; not required.
12
E-signature on liability waiver
Required
Inline, single-tap. Records waiver version + timestamp for dispute defense.

Where to set it up

01Open Settings → Intake and clear any leftover defaults.
02Add the 12 questions above. Mark required ones; set the parent-question branches in the conditional editor.
03Test the flow on your own phone. Time yourself: over 60 seconds for a new client is too long.
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

Design rules that pay back immediately

#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.

#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.

#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.

#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.

#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.

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.

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.

Name + mobile

Required

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

Are you pregnant or nursing?

Required

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

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.

Any DHA, propylene glycol, or fragrance allergy?

Required

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

Currently on Accutane, retinoids, doxycycline, or hydroquinone?

Optional

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

Active eczema, psoriasis, sunburn, or open cuts?

Optional

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

Desired shade (Light / Medium / Dark / Custom)

Optional

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

Special event date (optional)

Optional

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

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.

Photo release for portfolio?

Optional

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

How did you hear about us?

Optional

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

E-signature on liability waiver

Required

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