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How Do Gensolve Clinics Take Bookings From Their Website After Hours?

October 2026· 7 min read

Website Booking

Gensolve

Bookings After Hours

Key Takeaways

Gensolve clinics have two ways to take bookings after hours: Gensolve's own Web Booking Portal, and a website assistant connected to the Gensolve API. They do different jobs and work well together.
The portal is a separate page your website links to with a "Book Now" button. Patients register an account (username and password) before they book, and Gensolve Support switches it on as an additional service.
A website assistant sits on your own site, answers the questions patients ask before they commit ("do you treat this?", "who should I see?"), and can check live availability and book without the patient creating a login.
Gensolve's API is requested through Gensolve Support and protected by a dedicated API user, a secret key and a list of allowed IP addresses. Give the integration only the endpoints it needs.
Australian online booking data puts between 43% and 51% of bookings outside business hours, so whichever route you choose, it's worth having one.

Gensolve clinics take after-hours bookings through Gensolve's Web Booking Portal, a website assistant connected to the Gensolve API, or both. The portal is a self-serve booking page patients reach from a "Book Now" link. A website assistant answers questions on your own site and can book straight into Gensolve in the same conversation. Below is how each works, what each needs to set up, and how to decide.

Why do after-hours bookings matter for a Gensolve clinic?
How does Gensolve's Web Booking Portal work?
What does a website assistant add?
How does an assistant connect to Gensolve?
How does it handle new and returning patients?
Portal, assistant or both?
Frequently Asked Questions
References

Why do after-hours bookings matter for a Gensolve clinic?

Because that's when many patients decide. HotDoc found in 2019 that 51% of online bookings were made between 5pm and 9am [1], and Healthengine says 43% of online bookings happen "when your doors are closed" [2]. In a 2024 US survey, 89% of patients said being able to book any time, online or on mobile, was important to them [3].

Gensolve makes the same point about its own product: "If you are relying on prospective new patients and clients phoning your practice during office hours to make an appointment, you are severely limiting your booking potential" [4].

The phone is expensive during the day, too. In a March 2026 poll of US practice leaders, scheduling was the second most time-consuming phone task for staff, behind insurance checks [5]. Every booking that happens online at 9pm is one your front desk doesn't take at 9am.

How does Gensolve's Web Booking Portal work?

Gensolve's Web Booking Portal lets patients book appointments, and classes if you offer them, 24/7 [4]. A few details are worth knowing before you rely on it:

It's switched on by Gensolve. Gensolve's documentation describes the portal as "an additional Gensolve service" and asks you to contact Gensolve Support to turn it on [6].
It's a link, not an embed. Gensolve gives you a URL "to give to your Website designer to incorporate as a 'Book Now' button" [7]. Patients leave your site to book.
Patients register first. A patient creates an account with a username and password, optionally verified by SMS code or a reCAPTCHA, and then books. Both the patient and the clinic receive an email confirmation [8].

For patients who already know what they want and which practitioner they see, that's a clean, reliable flow. For a first-time patient still deciding, the registration step and the jump to another page are where some of them stop.

What does a website assistant add?

A website assistant covers the step before booking. A patient on your site at 9pm usually has a question first: whether you treat their problem, which practitioner suits them, what an initial consult costs, whether their health fund rebate applies. A booking page can't answer those. A website assistant answers from your own website content, then offers real open times.

With QuackChat connected to Gensolve, the patient can go from "do you see runners with shin pain?" to a confirmed appointment in one conversation, without creating a login. The assistant checks live availability for the right practitioner and appointment type, including the difference between an initial consultation and a follow-up, which Gensolve tracks separately.

It also respects Gensolve's own rules. QuackChat never overrides Gensolve's clash detection, so Gensolve rejects a slot that has just been taken.

How does an assistant connect to Gensolve?

Through the Gensolve API, which Gensolve Support enables for your organisation. Gensolve's own guide lists what's involved: an API user login, a secret key generated by Gensolve, your region's base URL, and one or more allowed IP addresses, because "only the IP addresses set will be able to access the API" [9].

For QuackChat, setup follows these steps:

Ask Gensolve Support for API access and mention you're connecting a website assistant.
Create a dedicated API user with its own access role, rather than using someone's personal login.
Grant only the endpoints needed. Read-only availability needs a handful. Booking needs a few more for patients and appointments. Avoid granting everything: if the credentials ever leaked, the endpoint list is what limits the damage.
Add QuackChat's server addresses to Gensolve's allowed IP list. Our support team sends the current list for your region.
Enter the credentials in QuackChat, choose your region (Australia, New Zealand or the United Kingdom) and test the connection.

The full walkthrough, including the exact endpoint list, is in the Gensolve setup guide.

How does it handle new and returning patients?

Returning patients are matched on their details. Gensolve stores phone numbers in more than one field, so QuackChat searches both and matches on name, phone and date of birth. If there's no match, it asks the patient to check their details or contact the clinic instead of guessing, because booking into the wrong record is worse than asking again.

New patients fill in a short intake form (name, contact details and date of birth). QuackChat creates the patient in Gensolve and books the appointment in the same conversation. To avoid duplicate records, QuackChat first checks for an existing patient with that email and date of birth and reuses it.

Whichever it is, the patient confirms the appointment before it is booked. The assistant shows the practitioner, time and appointment type and waits for a yes. Cancelling and rescheduling are off until the clinic switches on patient notifications for them, so every change emails the patient when they have an email on file.

Portal, assistant or both?

	Gensolve Web Booking Portal	Website assistant (API)
Where it lives	A separate booking page	On your own website
Answers questions first	No	Yes, from your site content
Patient login needed	Yes, register then book	No
Classes	Yes, if configured	Appointments
Set up by	Gensolve Support	Gensolve Support (API) plus the assistant's settings
Best for	Patients who know what they want	Patients still deciding

Most clinics benefit from both. Keep the portal for returning patients who book the same practitioner every few weeks, and let the assistant catch the new patients who arrive with a question. If the portal is linked on your site, the assistant can point people to it when that's the better route.

If you're also weighing an AI phone agent, our comparison of website chat and AI phone receptionists covers which patients each one reaches. For the three levels of chatbot booking, see how live booking works inside the chat.

Direct booking into Gensolve is on QuackChat's Pro plan and above, and every paid plan starts with 30 days free on the plan you choose (card required). See pricing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Gensolve have online booking?

Yes. Gensolve's Web Booking Portal lets patients book appointments and classes 24/7. It's an additional service that Gensolve Support switches on, and you link to it from your website with a "Book Now" button.

Do patients need an account to book through Gensolve?

Through the Web Booking Portal, yes. Patients register with a username and password, with optional SMS or reCAPTCHA verification, before they book. Booking through a website assistant connected to the API doesn't require a patient login.

Does Gensolve have a chatbot or AI receptionist?

Gensolve's AI features focus on clinical documentation, such as notes and letters. We found no patient-facing chatbot from Gensolve itself. Website assistants such as QuackChat connect through the Gensolve API.

Can a chatbot book directly into Gensolve?

Yes, if Gensolve Support has enabled API access for your organisation and the API user has the booking endpoints. QuackChat checks live availability, registers new patients and books once the patient confirms.

Why does Gensolve need our IP addresses?

Gensolve only accepts API requests from addresses on your allowed list. That means stolen credentials alone aren't enough to reach your data. Add the assistant's server addresses rather than allowing every address.

Can the assistant tell an initial consult from a follow-up?

Yes. Gensolve separates initial appointments from follow-ups, and QuackChat uses that distinction when it checks availability, so a new patient is offered initial-consult times.

Is the Gensolve booking portal free?

Gensolve's documentation calls the portal an additional service and doesn't publish a price. Ask Gensolve Support what applies to your account.

References

HotDoc, "What 1 Million Bookings a Month Has Taught Us" (23 August 2019). https://practices.hotdoc.com.au/blog/1-million-bookings/ (retrieved 30 September 2026)
Healthengine, online booking system for practices (undated). https://practices.healthengine.com.au/online-appointment-booking-system-practices/ (retrieved 30 September 2026)
Experian Health, State of Patient Access 2024 (1,000+ US adults, fieldwork February 2024). https://www.experian.com/blogs/healthcare/the-state-of-patient-access-2024/ (retrieved 30 September 2026)
Gensolve, online bookings feature page. https://www.gensolve.com/features/online-bookings/ (retrieved 30 September 2026)
MGMA Stat, phones are still a backlog costing medical practices time (poll of 10 March 2026, 294 responses). https://www.mgma.com/mgma-stat/phones-are-still-a-backlog-costing-medical-practices-time (retrieved 30 September 2026)
Gensolve documentation, Web Portal configuration: general settings. https://docs.gensolve.com/help/gpm_au/desktop/Processes/Web_Portal/Web_Portal_Configuration_-_General_Settings.htm (retrieved 30 September 2026)
Gensolve documentation, appointment booking Web Portal configuration. https://docs.gensolve.com/help/gpm_nz/desktop/Processes/Web_Portal/Appointment_Booking_Web_Portal_Configuration.htm (retrieved 30 September 2026)
Gensolve documentation, login and booking processes within the Web Portal. https://docs.gensolve.com/help/gpm_au/desktop/Processes/Web_Portal/Login_and_Booking_Processes_within__Web_Portal_.htm (retrieved 30 September 2026)
Gensolve documentation, how to get started using the GPM API. https://docs.gensolve.com/help/gpm_nz/desktop/Knowledge_Base/GPM_API/How_to_get_started_using_GPM_API.htm (retrieved 30 September 2026)