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Setup guide

Cliniko

Setup and troubleshooting guides for clinics that connect Recepta Desk to Cliniko. These cover creating your Cliniko API key and the online booking settings that decide which appointment times the agent can offer.

Connecting

Create a Cliniko API key for Recepta Desk

How do I get the Cliniko API key that Recepta Desk asks for?

Recepta Desk connects to Cliniko with an API key you generate inside your own Cliniko account. The key is what lets the agent read your open times and book appointments. You make it once, paste it into Recepta Desk, and Cliniko never shows it again, so copy it before you leave the page.

  1. 1In Cliniko, click your name and open My info.
  2. 2In the API keys section, turn on "Allow yourself to create and use API keys," then click Update user and confirm with your password or passkey.
  3. 3After the page reloads, click Manage API keys in the same section.
  4. 4Click Add an API key, give it a name you will recognize later (for example "Recepta Desk"), and click Create API key.
  5. 5Copy the key that appears and paste it into the API key field in Recepta Desk. Cliniko will not show it again, so if you lose it you will need to create a new one.

Good to know

  • Only a user allowed to create API keys can generate one. If you do not see the option, ask whoever manages your Cliniko account to enable it for you or to create the key.
  • The key ends with a short region suffix such as -au1, -uk1, or -us1. Paste the whole thing, suffix included.
  • Anyone with your API key can reach your Cliniko data, so only share it with software you trust. If you ever disconnect Recepta Desk, archive the key in Cliniko to revoke it.

Getting started

Turn on online bookings so the agent can offer times

Why is the agent only offering a couple of times, or none at all?

Recepta Desk reads your open times from Cliniko's online bookings. If online bookings are off, or your business profile is incomplete, Cliniko returns few or no available times and the agent has nothing to offer.

  1. 1Fill out your Cliniko business information completely. Cliniko will not let you turn on online bookings until the business profile is finished.
  2. 2Turn on online bookings for the business, the practitioner, and each appointment type you want patients to be able to book.
  3. 3Reconnect or refresh the clinic in Recepta Desk so it picks up the change.

Good to know

  • Online bookings must be enabled at all three levels: business, practitioner, and appointment type. If any one is off, those times will not appear.

Availability

Show more available times each day

Cliniko only shows one or two times per day. How do I open up more?

Cliniko caps how many times it shows per part of the day. It splits each day into segments (morning, afternoon, evening) and only offers up to a set number of times in each one. With the cap set to one, a 9 to 5 day shows just two times: one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

  1. 1In Cliniko, open your online bookings settings.
  2. 2Find the setting for the number of available appointments shown per time of day (per segment).
  3. 3Raise it from 1 to a higher number, or set it to unlimited.
  4. 4Save, then refresh the clinic in Recepta Desk.

Good to know

  • Segments are morning (before noon), afternoon (noon to 5pm), and evening (5pm onwards).
  • This setting controls how many times show, not how far apart they are. Spacing is a separate setting (see the guide on time between bookings).

Set the time between offered booking slots

Why are my times 90 minutes apart when my appointment is only 30 minutes?

The spacing between the times Cliniko offers comes from the practitioner's default appointment type, not from the appointment type a patient is booking. If the default type is 90 minutes long, every set of times is spaced 90 minutes apart, even for a 30 minute appointment. Set the default to a 30 minute type and the times move to a 30 minute grid.

  1. 1In Cliniko, go to Settings, then Users & practitioners.
  2. 2Open the practitioner and choose Edit.
  3. 3Set the Default appointment type to one whose length matches the spacing you want (for example a 30 minute type for times every 30 minutes).
  4. 4Save, then refresh the clinic in Recepta Desk.

Good to know

  • The interval is per practitioner and is shared across every appointment type. You cannot have one type on a 30 minute grid and another on a 90 minute grid for the same practitioner at the same time.
  • Changing an appointment type's duration changes which times fit before closing, but it does not change the spacing. Only the default appointment type changes the spacing.

Appointment types

Change how long an appointment type is

How do I change the length of an appointment?

Appointment length lives on the appointment type in Cliniko. Recepta Desk does not store its own copy, so whatever you set in Cliniko is what gets booked.

  1. 1In Cliniko, go to Settings, then Appointment types.
  2. 2Open the appointment type you want to change.
  3. 3Set the duration, then save.

Good to know

  • The duration also decides whether a late-in-the-day time fits before you close. A 90 minute type stops being offered earlier in the day than a 30 minute one.

Offer different appointment types to new and returning patients

Can new patients get a longer first visit and returning patients a shorter follow up?

Yes. Recepta Desk can book new patients into one appointment type and returning patients into another. Set both when you connect Cliniko: a new patient or initial consult type, and a returning patient or follow up type. If you only set one, every patient is booked into that single type.

  1. 1Create the two appointment types you want in Cliniko under Settings, then Appointment types (for example a longer First Appointment and a shorter Standard Appointment).
  2. 2When connecting Cliniko in Recepta Desk, pick the new patient type and the returning patient type.
  3. 3The agent then offers and books the right type based on whether the patient is new or returning.

Good to know

  • The spacing between offered times still comes from the practitioner's default appointment type, so both types share the same grid. The longer type simply stops being offered earlier in the day because it needs more room before closing.

Sources

Last updated 2026-07-01.

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