How to allow clients to book appointments on behalf of a dependant?

Some of your clients can't book their own appointments — typically children, but also adult dependants such as elderly parents or anyone whose care a family member manages. The "Allow clients to book on behalf of a dependant" option lets a parent or responsible adult book an appointment for someone else through your booking page, while still keeping a clean and accurate client record for the actual patient.

Where to find it

Go to Clinic Settings → Booking Page (https://www.colib.io/settings?show=bookingpage and look for the toggle "Allow clients to book on behalf of a dependant (e.g. parent booking for a child)".

What happens when the toggle is off 

Your booking page works as it always has. The person filling in the form is assumed to be the patient. No checkbox appears, no extra fields are shown, and a single client record is created for the booker.

If you treat only adult clients, or if your patients are always able to book for themselves, you can leave this option off.

What happens when the toggle is on

A new checkbox appears on your booking page just below the standard contact fields:

☐ I'm booking this appointment for a dependant (e.g. my child)

When the client ticks this box, three additional fields appear:

• Dependant first name (required)
• Dependant last name (required)
• Date of birth (optional)

The standard fields above the checkbox (first name, last name, email, phone) remain — but they now refer to the responsible adult, not the patient.

How records are created

When the client confirms the booking, Colib automatically:

1. Creates or finds the responsible adult as a client (using their email and name).
2. Creates or finds the dependant as a separate client with their own first name, last name, and date of birth. The dependant inherits the responsible adult's email and phone number.
3. Creates a Group of clients, with the responsible adult set as the Responsible Owner and the dependant added to the group.
4. Links the appointment to the dependant's client record — so the appointment appears in the patient's chart, not the parent's.

The group of clients is configured by default to:

• Send appointment notifications to the responsible holder (reminders, confirmations).
• Send billing notifications to the responsible holder.
• Mark the responsible holder as the third-party payer for invoices generated against the dependant's appointments.

You can review and adjust these defaults from the Family Group settings at any time.

What clients see across the booking flow

• Booking page — the dependant fields appear under the checkbox.
• Recap screen (before final confirmation) — the dependant's name and date of birth are shown clearly in the booking summary so the client can verify everything before submitting.
• Email verification screen — when 2FA is required, a banner reminds the client which dependant the appointment is for and who the responsible holder is.
• Confirmation email and final screen — sent to the responsible adult's email; the appointment itself is in the dependant's name.

Editing or duplicating a dependant booking

When a parent edits an existing dependant appointment from their email link, the form is automatically pre-filled with the responsible adult's details on top and the dependant's details below — exactly as it was originally booked. The same applies when they duplicate a booking to schedule a follow-up.

If the client modifies the dependant's first or last name during edit, a confirmation popup warns them: "You are about to change the patient. The appointment will be linked to a new client record." This prevents accidental typos from creating phantom client records.

Recurring bookings — how matching works

If the same parent books another appointment for the same dependant later, Colib recognises the dependant by matching the first name, last name, and date of birth. No duplicate client is created — the new appointment is simply added to the existing dependant's record.

If the parent later books for a different dependant (e.g. a second child), a new client record is created for that second dependant and added to the same Family Group.

Edge cases worth knowing

• The responsible adult is already a dependant in another group of clients. This is rare but happens (for example, an adult child who is themselves a dependant of a parent in your practice, and now books for their own child). In this case, Colib does not create a new  — the dependant is created as a standalone client and you can group them manually if needed.
• Manual duplicate detection. If you had already manually created a client record matching the dependant's name and date of birth in your practice, Colib will reuse that existing record rather than creating a duplicate. If multiple matches are found, the client whose email matches the responsible adult's is preferred.
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When to enable this option

Enable it if you treat:

• Children (paediatrics, speech therapy, occupational therapy, etc.)
• Elderly clients whose appointments are managed by a family member
• Any client population where the booker is regularly distinct from the patient

Leave it off if your practice treats only adults who book for themselves — it keeps your booking page simpler.

Important notes

• Activating this option does not retroactively change existing client records or appointments.
• You can turn it off at any time. Bookings already made for dependants remain intact, but new clients won't see the checkbox.
• Family Groups created automatically through this flow can be viewed and edited from Clients → Family Groups, just like manually created groups.