Starting a practice means making room for the clinical work and the administration around it. Your first systems should help you find what matters, document decisions and keep records recoverable as the practice grows.
1. Decide what your practice actually needs
Write down the way you intend to work: in person or remotely, on one computer or several, alone or with colleagues. Separate your essential needs from optional conveniences. A client portal, insurance claims and group-practice access may be essential for one practitioner and unnecessary for another.
2. Make the client record easy to follow
Decide where contact details, appointments, notes, consent choices and treatment goals will live. Use a consistent approach to session notes and completion so that the next appointment starts with a clear view of previous work. Free Text, SOAP and DAP are different documentation formats; choose what fits your professional setting.
3. Plan privacy and recovery together
Understand where records are stored, who can access them and which optional services process information externally. Explain your arrangements in your practice privacy notice. Whether you choose desktop or cloud software, understand its export, retention and recovery arrangements before relying on it.
For a local system, a copy on the same laptop is not enough protection against losing the laptop. Make an external backup and rehearse restoration. ProvenTherapy recovery needs both the backup and the associated Recovery Phrase. Read the local-records and backup guide.
4. Keep appointments and fees straightforward
Choose a reliable way to record appointments, attendance, charges, payments and receipts. Keep enough detail to reconcile what has been received and what remains outstanding. Use practice-management summaries to support your bookkeeping, alongside professional accounting and tax advice.
5. Compare the full cost of your software
Look at the plan you need, applicable taxes, optional services and the payment commitment. A monthly price and an annual price need to be compared over the same period. If you are switching, include the time needed to organise an export and confirm supported import fields.
ProvenTherapy plans start at €220 + VAT per year. Billed annually—no monthly subscription bills. Unlimited clients and appointments on every paid plan. Workshop prices vary; the annual software price and included features are shown on the plans page.
6. Choose support you can reach
Check how to ask a question before you commit. Know where to find installation, licensing and recovery guidance, and avoid sending identifiable client material in a support request.
Where ProvenTherapy fits
ProvenTherapy brings client records, appointments, notes, assessments, goals and practice finances into an encrypted desktop workspace. Keep core clinical work available offline, arrange appointments directly and choose separate services for booking, video or payments. Premium and Elite add on-device dictation and other tools. A client portal, self-booking, video calls, card processing and US insurance claim filing are not built in; include those needs when planning your setup.
This guide covers practice organisation. Check current professional, accreditation, insurance and data-protection requirements with the relevant bodies before starting independent work; it does not establish eligibility to practise.