Tidemend User Guide

Start here

What Tidemend is

Tidemend is one place to run a therapy practice. It drafts your session notes with AI and keeps your calendar, clients, forms, secure messages, invoices and insurance claims together. It has three parts.

How the pieces fit together

You add a client and book an appointment. After the session you capture it, Tidemend drafts the note, and you review and sign it. Then the session is billed, either to the client on an invoice or to their insurer as a claim.

1. Client
2. Appointment
3. Draft note
4. Signed note
5. Invoice or claim
6. Paid

Good to know before you start

• Nothing the AI writes is final. Notes, plans, letters and summaries are drafts until you review them and sign or copy them.
• Times follow the practice time zone set in Settings › Scheduling & booking, whatever your own device is set to.
• You're signed out after 30 minutes without activity. A "Still there?" box warns you one minute before, with a Stay signed in button. It never happens while you're recording, dictating, in a video call, or while a note is being written. A sign-in lasts at most 12 hours.
• Every view and change of clinical information is recorded in the audit log, along with sign-ins.

Start here

Quick start for a new practice

Follow these steps in order the first time. Everything can be changed later.

1. Create your account

   Click Start free on the Tidemend website (or go to /signup). Enter your full name, credentials (for example LCSW), work email and a password of at least 10 characters, then Create account. This creates your practice with you as its Owner. Tidemend emails you a welcome with a link to confirm your address; until you open it, a Please confirm your email banner (with Resend link) shows at the top of the app.

2. Fill in your profile

   Settings › Profile: your name and credentials as they should appear on signed notes, your individual NPI and licence number. Click Save changes.

3. Set the time zone and reminders

   Settings › Scheduling & booking › Time zone & reminders. Do this early: every time on screen, every booking and every reminder uses it.

4. Add practice details and branding

   Settings › Practice & billing: practice name, group NPI, tax ID, address, phone, billing email and the welcome text clients see in the portal. Add your logo and brand colour on the same page.

5. Add your services

   Settings › Scheduling & booking › Services: one per kind of session, with its length, CPT code, price and whether it's in person, telehealth or both.

6. Set working hours and booking rules

   Same page: your hours for each day, then whether clients can book themselves, how much notice you need and the gap between sessions.

7. Choose how notes are written

   Settings › Note preferences: your default note format, therapy approach, first or third person, and length.

8. Turn on two-step verification

   Settings › Security. Save your recovery codes somewhere safe: a password reset doesn't turn off two-step verification, so you'll still need your app or a recovery code.

9. Invite your team (optional)

   Settings › Team & roles: invite clinicians, billers and admins. Each person joins through their own invite link.

10. Add clients and invite them to the portal

    Clients › Add client, or Clients › Import to bring a spreadsheet over. Then, on each client's page, use Send portal invite so they can book, fill in forms and pay online.

Start here

Your day as a therapist

A typical session, from schedule to signed note.

1. Open the Dashboard

   See today's and tomorrow's sessions, drafts waiting for your signature, and anything that needs attention: new client messages, completed forms and safety flags.

2. Start the session

   Click Join next to a telehealth appointment to open the video room, or Start next to an in-person one to open a new note for it.

3. Capture it

   Record (with the client's consent), dictate a short summary afterwards, or type a few bullets. In the video room, record from the Record & note tab.

4. Generate the draft

   Pick the note format and click Generate SOAP note (or whichever format you chose). The draft is usually ready in under a minute.

5. Review and fix

   Read every section and edit it in place; changes save on their own. The Check tab lists anything payers expect that's missing.

6. Sign

   Click Sign note, confirm the attestation and sign. The note locks and the appointment is marked completed.

7. Share a recap (optional)

   The Recap tab has a plain-language summary you can edit, save, copy and send through Messages.

Start here

Roles and permissions

Everyone in a practice has one of four roles. The person who signed up is the Owner; that can't be changed and the owner's account can't be turned off.

• Signing notes: only the clinician responsible for a session can sign or unlock its note. That's the session's clinician, otherwise the client's assigned clinician, otherwise the owner. Owners and admins can edit someone else's draft but can't sign it.
• Unassigned clients are treated as the owner's.
• If someone opens a page their role doesn't allow, they see a "not found" page.

Start here

Finding your way

Everything is in the menu on the left. On a phone, tap the menu icon at the top left to open the same menu.

• Your name sits at the bottom of the menu with your role. The icon next to it is Log out.
• Billers see Calendar, Clients, Billing and Settings, and land on Billing when they sign in.
• A dashed "Demo AI mode" card at the bottom of the menu means notes are being written by the built-in offline writer, not by Claude. See Demo mode and connected services.

Clinical work

Dashboard

Where

Menu › Dashboard

Who

OwnerAdminClinician

Your home page. Clinicians see their own clients; owners and admins see the whole practice.

At the top

• Greeting and New session note.
• Four numbers: "Sessions today & tomorrow", "Notes to review" (drafts waiting for a signature), "Signed this week" (the last 7 days) and "Time saved (est.)", which counts 15 minutes for each note signed in the last 7 days.
• A welcome card appears once, right after sign-up, with Add a client and Set note preferences.

The cards

Clinical work

Clients

Where

Menu › Clients

Who

OwnerAdminClinician (own clients)Biller (billing only)

The client list

• Tabs: "Active" (the default), "Inactive", "Discharged" and "All", with counts.
• Search: type in "Search clients" and press Enter. It matches first, last and preferred names.
• Clinician filter: in a group practice, owners, admins and billers can show one clinician's clients.
• Each row shows diagnoses, number of sessions, the next session, and badges such as "2 to review" (unsigned drafts) and "No plan" (active client without a treatment plan).
• Owners and admins also see Import for bringing clients over from a spreadsheet (see Import).

Add a client

Click Add client. Only first and last name are required; everything else can wait.

The client chart

Click a client to open their chart. The header has Edit and New session note, and the tabs are:

Schedule from the chart

Schedule a session on the Overview tab books one appointment: date and time (tomorrow at 10:00 to start), minutes, CPT code, in person or telehealth, and note template. For repeating appointments or to book over a clash, use the Calendar instead.

Give a client portal access

1. Find the Client portal card

   On the client's Overview (or Forms) tab.

2. Check the email address

   "Send the invite to" is the address they'll sign in with. It doesn't change their contact email.

3. Click Send portal invite

   They get an email with a link to set a password. The link works once and lasts 7 days. Sending again replaces the old link.

• The card then shows "Invited", "Invite expired" or "Active" with their last sign-in. For an active client the button becomes Send reset link, which is how clients get a new password.
• Revoke portal access signs them out and stops their link. Their forms, messages and invoices stay on file.
• Discharged clients can't use the portal.

Edit, reassign or discharge

• Edit: Edit on the chart. Billers change billing details on the client's Billing & insurance tab instead.
• Reassign: owners and admins change "Clinician" on the edit page. Future scheduled appointments move to the new clinician; past ones stay.
• Clients can't be deleted. Set them to Inactive or Discharged. Discharging doesn't cancel booked appointments or queued reminders, so cancel those on the calendar first.
• Changes to reminder consent, email or phone apply to reminders queued from then on.

Clinical work

Calendar

Where

Menu › Calendar

Who

OwnerAdminClinician (own clients)Biller

All times are in the practice time zone, shown under the page title.

Views and filters

• Views: "Week" (the default on a computer; weeks start on Sunday), "Day" (the default on a phone) and "Agenda" (a list of the next 14 days).
• Today and the arrows move between days or weeks. Show cancelled adds cancelled appointments; no-shows are always shown.
• Clinician filter: in a group practice, owners, admins and billers can show one person's calendar or "All clinicians".
• Colours and icons: each appointment uses its client's chart colour. Icons mark telehealth, confirmed, completed, no-show and cancelled.

Book an appointment

Click New appointment, or click an empty slot on the grid (slots snap to 30 minutes).

Click Book appointment (or Book 6 appointments for a series).

• The appointment goes on the client's assigned clinician's calendar. There's no clinician field; to book with someone else, reassign the client first.
• Overlaps: if the time clashes with that clinician's other appointments, including the buffer between sessions, you'll see which one and can choose Book anyway or Pick another time.
• Booking doesn't check working hours, and you can't drag appointments to move them.

Open an appointment

Click any appointment to see its details: when, service, location, fee, who booked it ("Client, through the portal" or staff), whether it repeats, and its note status. From there you can:

Appointments can't be deleted; cancel them instead.

Reminders

• Each booking queues a reminder by email and/or text, depending on the client's consent and contact details, a set number of hours before (24 to start; change it in Settings › Scheduling & booking › Time zone & reminders). Telehealth reminders include the video link.
• Rescheduling or changing the location updates reminders, and a client who was already reminded gets an "Appointment changed" message. Cancelling, no-shows and completing withdraw reminders.
• Booking doesn't send a separate confirmation, and cancelling doesn't message the client. Tell them yourself.
• Reminders go out when your practice's reminder schedule runs, or when an admin clicks Send due now in the Outbox.

See appointments in Google, Apple or Outlook

Copy your private link from Settings › Scheduling & booking › Calendar feed and subscribe to it in your calendar app. It's read-only and shows client initials only. Changes in Google or Outlook don't come back into Tidemend.

Clinical work

Session notes

Where

Menu › New session noteMenu › Notes

Who

OwnerAdminClinician (own clients)

Start a note

Any of these opens the "New session note" page:

• New session note at the top of the menu, on the Dashboard, the Notes list or a client's chart (which picks the client for you).
• Start, Start note or Capture session from a booked appointment. The note is linked to that appointment.
• A Quick capture tile on the Dashboard, or Use for session on a template.

Choose how to capture the session

• Consent: before recording, tick "The client consented to this session being recorded". Recording won't start without it. The audio is used to write the note and isn't kept, unless keeping recordings is turned on in Settings › Privacy.
• Trying it out: tick "Use the fictional demo session" to generate a note from a made-up transcript. Dictate and Type have sample text links too.
• Record again discards the recording straight away, without asking.
• For sessions in Tidemend's own video room, record from the room itself (see Video sessions).

Session details

Click Generate SOAP note (the button names the format you picked). It usually takes under a minute, then the note opens.

• If the session wasn't booked, Tidemend adds it to the calendar for you, priced from the matching service, so it shows up in Billing.
• Capturing again for an appointment that already has a draft replaces that draft.
• If generating fails, the session has already been created. Open it from the client's chart and use Capture session rather than starting over, or you'll get a duplicate.

Review and edit the draft

• Each section is an editable box. Changes save on their own about a second after you stop typing; the bar at the top shows "Saving…" and "All changes saved". There's no Save button.
• Rewrite a section: point at it (or tap it) and choose Rewrite: "Make it shorter", "Add more detail", "More clinical language", "Convert to bullet points", "Write in first person", or type your own instruction. The section is replaced straight away and can't be undone, so copy anything you want to keep first.
• Copy one section with its copy icon.
• Sections can't be added, removed or reordered on the note; that's done in templates.

The side panel

What the compliance check looks for

Sign a note

1. Click Sign note

   If anything blocks signing, the box says so and points you to the Check tab.

2. Tick the attestation

   "I attest that this note accurately reflects the session."

3. Click Sign as with your name

   The note locks with "Electronically signed by…" and the date. A past appointment is marked completed.

Correct a signed note

Click Amend, give a reason (at least 5 characters, for example "corrected session length"), then Unlock for amendment. The note goes back to draft and the reason is recorded in the audit log. Make your changes and sign it again.

Copy, print, regenerate or delete

• Copy to EHR copies the whole note as plain text, with the client, date, length, CPT code and signature, ready to paste into another record system.
• The ⋯ menu has "Download .txt", "Print / save as PDF", and for drafts "Regenerate / change format" and "Delete session".
• Regenerate writes a fresh draft from the same session, optionally in another format. It replaces your edits, goal ticks and recap.
• Delete session removes the appointment and its draft. Signed notes, and sessions on an invoice or claim, can't be deleted.

The Notes list

Menu › Notes lists every note, newest first, with tabs "All", "Drafts" and "Signed". Choose a client or format and click Filter. Each row shows the date of service, format, CPT code, check score and status. Owners and admins see everyone's notes, including drafts.

Clinical work

Treatment plans

Where

Client chart › Treatment plan

Who

OwnerAdminClinician (own clients)

1. Draft or start blank

   Draft with AI writes measurable goals, objectives and interventions from the diagnosis, background and recent signed notes. Start blank gives you an empty plan.

2. Edit

   Presenting problem, diagnosis, frequency of care, strengths and supports, and review date. Then goals: each with objectives (status "Not started", "In progress" or "Met", and a target date) and interventions. Up to 8 goals and 10 objectives per goal.

3. Set the status and save

   "Draft", "Active" or "Completed", then Save plan.

• Progress: notes link to goals (ticked on a note's Check tab). Each goal shows how many notes addressed it, with links, and the chart's Overview shows objectives met.
• Print: Print opens a printable plan with signature lines for clinician and client.

Clinical work

Note templates

Where

Menu › Note templates

Who

OwnerAdminClinician

A template decides the sections of a note and what the AI writes in each. Tidemend has 14 built-in formats, and you can make your own.

Built-in formats

Use the tabs ("All", "Progress", "Intake", "Specialty", "My templates"), the search box and the care-type filter to find one. Preview shows every section, its AI instruction and a sample note.

Make your own

• Customize on a built-in format makes a copy you can rename, reorder and extend.
• New template starts from scratch: a name, description and care types, then up to 20 sections. Each section has a title, an instruction telling the AI what to write, a content type and a "Required" tick. Add ready-made sections from the Library tab (37 of them) or write a Smart section of your own. The live preview shows the result as you build.
• Create from example note: paste a note you've written (remove identifying details first) and click Build template. Tidemend builds a template in the same structure and voice.
• Use for session starts a new note with that template.

Template packs

Some organizations have their own templates prepared as a pack. An owner or admin scrolls to Add a template pack at the bottom of Menu › Note templates, types the pack name and clicks Add pack. The templates appear under "My templates" for everyone in the practice. Adding the same pack again does nothing.

• HOPEGLOW adds two ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) templates. HOPEGLOW Session Summary covers session information, data collection methods, interventions used, reinforcers used and the session summary. HOPEGLOW Supervision Note covers session information, protocol effectiveness, protocol adjustments, direction of the technician and the QHP's own work with the client.
• For ABA sessions, use the CPT codes 97151, 97153, 97155 or 97156 suggested on the capture screen. They're billed in 15-minute units.

Clinical work

Assistant

Where

Menu › Assistant

Who

OwnerAdminClinician (own clients)

Ask for help with prep, summaries and letters, drawn from your own caseload. Pick a client in the "Client" box for anything about one person.

Ready-made jobs

Actions you confirm

When you ask the assistant to do something, it shows a card instead of acting. Nothing happens until you click the button.

Dismiss discards a card. The assistant can't create invoices, or reschedule or cancel appointments; use the calendar for those.

• Conversations are private to you and saved automatically; delete them from the "Conversations" list.
• Answers aren't saved to the client's chart. Use Copy to take text into a note or letter.
• Enter sends; Shift+Enter starts a new line.

Clinical work

Forms and assessments

Where

Menu › FormsClient chart › Forms

Who

OwnerAdminClinician (own clients)

Clients fill in forms in the client portal. The Forms page has two tabs: "Library" and "Requests".

Built-in forms

Send forms

1. Click Send forms

   From the Forms page, or a client's Forms tab.

2. Choose clients

   One or more (up to 100). Each shows whether they have portal access.

3. Choose forms and a due date

   One or more forms (up to 20); the due date is optional.

4. Click send

   Clients with portal access get one email saying forms are waiting. Others see them the next time they sign in.

A form already waiting for that client isn't sent twice.

Results and trends

• Requests lists every form sent, filterable by client, form and status ("Waiting", "Completed", "Cancelled"), with scores and flags. Open one to see the answers, print it, or Cancel request if it's still waiting.
• Trends: a client's Forms tab charts their PHQ-9 and GAD-7 scores over time against the severity bands, with "Show scores as a table".
• Clients never see their scores.

Build your own form

New form, or Duplicate on a built-in form. Give it a name and type (Intake, Consent, Assessment or Other), then add up to 80 fields: section heading, short answer, long answer, date, email, phone, single choice, checkboxes, scored scale, yes/no, consent checkbox and typed signature. Switch to Preview to see what clients see, then save. Forms already sent keep the version they were sent with.

Clinical work

Messages

Where

Menu › MessagesClient chart › Messages

Who

OwnerAdminClinician (own clients)

Secure conversations with clients through their portal.

• Inbox: clients with messages, newest first, with unread counts and a search box.
• New conversation: New message, then find the client.
• Writing: up to 4,000 characters. Send, or Ctrl/Cmd+Enter. Each message shows "Sent" or "Read".
• The client is told: clients with portal access get an email saying they have a new message, without its contents. Clients without portal access see messages once they join.
• You're told: new client messages show on your Dashboard under "Needs your attention". There's no email alert, and an open conversation doesn't update on its own: reload the page to see replies.
• No attachments, and messages can't be edited or deleted. Discharged clients can't be messaged.

Clinical work

Video sessions

Where

Dashboard › JoinCalendar › appointment › Join videoClient chart › Join

Who

OwnerAdminClinician (own clients)

Tidemend has its own browser-to-browser video room, encrypted between you and the client. Nothing to install.

Joining

• Allow your camera and microphone when the browser asks. No camera? Use the test pattern instead.
• Click Join call. You'll see "Waiting for… to join" until the client arrives, then a timer.
• Controls: Mute, Stop video, Share screen (on a computer) and Leave / Rejoin.
• An in-person appointment offers Switch to telehealth; a cancelled one can't be joined.

The client's side

• Clients join from Join video on their portal home page, which appears 15 minutes before the start, or from the link in their reminder.
• The link works from 2 hours before to 3 hours after the start time. You can copy it from the side panel ("Copy join link").

The side panel

• Client: the join link, diagnoses, presenting concerns, treatment goals and an excerpt from the last signed note, beside the call.
• Record & note: tick "The client consented to recording this session", then Start recording. Both sides of the call are recorded for the note. Choose a note format and, when you're done, click Finish & write note. It stops the recording, writes a telehealth note and opens it.

Billing

Invoices and payments

Where

Menu › BillingClient chart › Billing & insurance

Who

OwnerAdminBillerClinician (own clients)

Billing has six tabs: "Overview", "Invoices", "Payments", "Unbilled", "Claims" and "Superbills".

Overview

• Outstanding balance, collected this month, unbilled sessions and claims awaiting payment.
• "Revenue by month" for the last 6 months (including insurance), with "Show as table".
• "Needs attention": overdue invoices, unsent drafts and claims that need action.
• A warning if the practice NPI, tax ID or address is missing. Owners and admins can fix it from Practice settings.

Unbilled sessions

Completed or signed sessions with a fee that aren't on an invoice yet, grouped by client. Cancelled sessions and no-shows are left out. Click Create invoice next to a client.

Create and send an invoice

1. Click New invoice

   From Billing, the Unbilled tab, or a client's Billing & insurance tab.

2. Pick the client and sessions

   All their unbilled sessions start ticked; untick any you don't want and change amounts if needed (for example to bill only a copay). Add other charges with Add item. Choosing a different client resets the form.

3. Set the due date and memo

   Due in 14 days to start. The memo is shown to the client, so keep clinical details out.

4. Click Save draft invoice

   Drafts aren't visible to the client. You can still Edit or Delete draft.

5. Click Send invoice

   The client gets an email with a link to view and pay it in the portal. Invoice numbers run INV-0001, INV-0002 and so on.

Invoice statuses: "Draft", "Sent", "Partly paid", "Overdue" (automatic once the due date passes with money owed), "Paid" and "Void". Print / save as PDF makes a printable copy.

Record a payment

On a sent invoice, click Record payment. The amount starts at the balance due; choose the method ("Card", "Cash", "Check", "Insurance" or "Other") and add a reference such as a check number, then Save payment.

• Partial payments are fine; the invoice becomes "Partly paid".
• You can't record more than the balance.
• The payment date is the moment you record it, and payments can't be edited or deleted. Double-check before saving.
• Card payments clients make in the portal are recorded automatically.

Change or cancel an invoice

• Only drafts can be edited. To change a sent invoice, Void it and create a new one; its sessions become unbilled again.
• Invoices with a payment recorded can't be voided, because their sessions would then be billed twice. The Void button is replaced by a note saying so. Tidemend doesn't handle refunds.
• Resend email sends the invoice link again.

Payments

Everything received from clients and insurers, filterable by month (last 12), client and method. Insurance payments posted from claims appear here too. Insurance adjustments (the part of a fee an insurer wrote off) aren't money received, so they're left out of this list and of revenue totals; they show on the invoice they reduce (see After a claim is paid).

Superbills

An itemised statement a client sends to their insurer to claim out-of-network reimbursement. On the Superbills tab (or Superbill on a client's billing tab), pick the client and a date range and click Create superbill. It includes provider NPIs, tax ID and licence, the client's details and diagnoses, and each signed session with date, CPT code (telehealth adds modifier 95), place of service, fee and amount paid. Print it or save it as a PDF.

A client's Billing & insurance tab

• Balance owed, paid to date and unbilled sessions.
• Their invoices, claims, payments and insurance policies (see Insurance and claims).
• Billing details: self-pay or insurance, sex for claims, date of birth and address. This is where billers update them.

Billing

Insurance and claims

Where

Billing › ClaimsClient chart › Billing & insurance

Who

OwnerAdminBillerClinician (own clients)

Add an insurance policy

On the client's Billing & insurance tab, under "Insurance", click Add insurance policy.

Check eligibility

Click Check eligibility on a policy to see whether coverage is active, plus plan, copay, deductible, coinsurance, visits remaining, prior authorisation and behavioural-health benefits where the payer provides them.

How a claim moves

1. Draft
2. Ready
3. Submitted
4. Accepted
5. Paid

Along the way a claim can be Rejected (refused before the insurer processed it, usually a data problem) or Denied (the insurer processed it and won't pay).

1. Create the claim

   Billing › Claims › New claim, or Create claim under "Signed sessions without a claim" on the client's billing tab. The session needs a signed note and the client needs a policy. One claim per session.

2. Review it

   The claim is filled in from the session and client: CPT code, fee, ICD-10 codes (primary first), and place of service 10 with modifier 95 for telehealth. Change them under Edit claim.

3. Mark it ready

   The readiness check lists anything missing, each with a link to fix it. Then Mark ready.

4. Submit

   Submit, then confirm. The claim gets its control number (TW000001 and so on).

5. Follow it

   With the demo clearinghouse, Check status moves it a step at a time. With Stedi, responses arrive by themselves; Check for updates fetches them now. Every step is on the claim's timeline.

The readiness check

Clinician NPI, group NPI, tax ID, practice address, client date of birth and address, an insurance policy with member ID, at least one ICD-10 code, a CPT code, a signed note, and a charge above $0. When Stedi is connected it also needs the payer ID, a primary policy and the practice's 9-digit ZIP code (ZIP+4).

Rejected or denied

Read the reason on the timeline, click Correct and resubmit to return the claim to draft, fix it, and submit again. A draft that was never submitted can be deleted with Delete draft.

After a claim is paid

• The insurance payment is posted automatically (shown under Payments) and the claim shows the client's share.
• If the session is already on a sent invoice, the insurance payment and the insurer's write-off ("Insurance adjustment") are applied to that invoice, so it only asks the client for their share. An invoice that already bills just the client's share is left as it is.
• If the session hasn't been invoiced yet, click Invoice the client. The new invoice opens with just that session, already priced at the client's share. Other new invoices also price insurer-paid sessions at the client's share.

Paper forms and files

• CMS-1500 prints the claim laid out like the standard form, for review or copying onto the official red-ink form. Payers don't accept the printout itself.
• Draft 837P downloads the claim as an electronic claim file, for checking with a clearinghouse.

Practice setup

Settings at a glance

Where

Menu › Settings

Who

Everyone (some pages owner and admin only)

The Settings page has your personal sections on it, and cards at the top that open the practice pages.

Profile and Note preferences save with Save changes.

Practice setup

Practice details and branding

Where

Settings › Practice & billingBilling › Practice settings

Who

OwnerAdmin

Practice details

Insurers reject claims when these don't match their records.

Click Save practice details.

Branding

• Brand colour: pick a colour or type a code like #1f6f8b, then Save colour. Default goes back to Tidemend violet. Very light colours are darkened a little so text stays readable.
• Logo: Upload logo: PNG, JPEG or WebP, up to 300 KB. It saves as soon as you choose the file. Remove takes it off.
• Your colour and logo appear on the client portal (once clients are signed in), invoices, superbills and emails. Your own Tidemend screens keep their usual colours.

Online payments and claims

• Online payments shows "Stripe on", "Demo mode" or "Off", and the steps to connect Stripe so clients can pay by card. Card details never touch Tidemend.
• Claims & eligibility shows "Mock", "Stedi · test" or "Stedi · live", the demo rules, and the steps to connect Stedi.

Practice setup

Scheduling and booking

Where

Settings › Scheduling & bookingCalendar › Scheduling settings

Who

OwnerAdmin (clinicians: their own hours and feed; billers: feed)

Services

The kinds of session you offer, shared by the whole practice. Click Add service.

Services can't be deleted; use Deactivate. Existing appointments keep them.

Working hours

• Each person sets their own; owners and admins can pick whose hours to edit.
• For each day click Add hours (09:00–17:00 to start) and add more ranges for split days. Times move in 15-minute steps; use 23:59 for "until midnight". A day with no ranges is "Unavailable".
• Copy Monday to Tue–Fri saves typing. Then Save hours.
• Clients can only book online inside these hours. With no hours, nobody can self-book.

Booking rules

Click Save booking rules. Clients can cancel online up to 24 hours before a session; that rule is fixed.

Time zone and reminders

Choose the practice time zone and how many hours before an appointment reminders go out (24 to start, up to 168), then Save. Upcoming reminders are re-planned to match.

Calendar feed

Your private subscribe link, with Copy and Open, and steps for Google Calendar, Apple Calendar and Outlook. It covers 60 days back to 180 days ahead and shows client initials only: clinicians get their own appointments, everyone else the whole practice. Regenerate link stops the old link working everywhere.

Practice setup

Team and roles

Where

Settings › Team & roles

Who

OwnerAdmin

Invite someone

1. Enter their name and email
2. Choose a role

   "Clinician" (their own clients only), "Biller" (billing, claims, insurance and contact details for every client, no clinical content) or "Admin" (everything; only the owner can invite admins).

3. Click Send invite

   They get an email link that works once and expires in 7 days. They choose a password and join. If email isn't connected, the link is shown on screen to copy and pass on.

Manage people

• Each person shows their role, invite status, whether two-step is on, their number of active clients, and "No NPI yet" if they need one for claims.
• Change a role from the dropdown. For pending invites: New link or Cancel invite.
• Turn off signs someone out at once and stops their calendar feed; their notes and records stay. Turn back on restores access. People can't be deleted.
• You can't change your own account here, the owner's row has no actions, and only the owner can change or turn off an admin.

Require two-step for everyone

Click Require for everyone (you need two-step on yourself first). Anyone without it is signed out and must set it up at their next sign-in. Make optional reverses it.

Practice setup

Sign-in and security

Where

Settings › Security/login

Who

Everyone

Logging in

• Enter your email and password and click Log in. If two-step is on, enter the 6-digit code from your authenticator app, or a recovery code, and click Verify.
• Lockout: after 5 wrong attempts in 15 minutes the account is locked for a while, even with the right password. The message tells you how long to wait.
• A turned-off account sees "This account has been turned off. Ask your practice owner to turn it back on."

Two-step verification

1. Start

   In Settings › Security, type your password and click Turn on.

2. Scan the code

   Use an authenticator app such as Google Authenticator, 1Password or Authy, or type the key shown.

3. Confirm

   Enter the 6-digit code and click Confirm.

4. Save your recovery codes

   Ten one-time codes appear once. Click Copy codes, store them safely, then I've saved them.

• New recovery codes needs a code from your app and replaces the old set.
• Turn off needs your password and a code. It isn't possible when the practice requires two-step.
• When the practice requires two-step, you're guided through the same setup at sign-in, ending with your recovery codes and I've saved them, continue.

Change your password

Enter your current password and a new one twice, then Change password. Passwords need at least 10 characters, can't be a common password, and can't contain your first name or the start of your email. A short phrase of unrelated words works well. Changing it signs you out on every other device.

Sign out everywhere

Sign out all devices ends every session, including this one. Use it if you lose a device or forget to sign out on a shared computer.

Automatic sign-out

After 30 minutes without activity you're signed out, with a one-minute "Still there?" warning. Recording, dictating, video calls and note writing pause the timer. Sign-ins end after 12 hours regardless. Your administrator can change the idle time.

Practice setup

Outbox and reminders

Where

Settings › Email & SMS outbox

Who

OwnerAdmin

A record of every email and text Tidemend sends to clients: reminders, invites, message alerts, forms, invoices and receipts.

• Delivery: shows whether email ("Resend · live") and texts ("Twilio · live") are connected, or "Demo, not delivered".
• Send due now: sends any reminders that are due. Use it when your practice has no automatic reminder schedule.
• Filters: status ("Queued", "Logged", "Sent", "Failed", "Cancelled") and type. Open a row to see the full message, recipient and any error. Queued messages can be cancelled.

Practice setup

Import from a spreadsheet

Where

Clients › Import

Who

OwnerAdmin

Bring clients and appointments over from another system with a CSV file. Nothing already in Tidemend is changed, and nobody gets an email or text.

1. Choose a file

   Pick "Clients" or "Appointments" and choose a CSV file (up to 2 MB and 2,000 rows; comma, semicolon or tab separated). Download Sample clients CSV or Sample appointments CSV to see the layout.

2. Match your columns

   For each column in your file, choose the Tidemend field it holds, or "Ignore". For clients, choose a clinician for rows that don't name one.

3. Check and import

   The preview marks each row "Will import", "Duplicate" or "Error". Click Import; either everything imports or nothing does.

• Clients need a first and last name (or one full-name column). Duplicates (same email, or same name and date of birth) are skipped, never overwritten. Reminders stay off unless the file says yes. Everyone comes in as an individual client.
• Appointments need a client already in Tidemend (matched by email, then name) and a date. Past appointments come in as completed history with no fee; future ones as scheduled.
• Imported upcoming appointments don't get reminders straight away. Saving Time zone & reminders in Scheduling afterwards queues them.

Practice setup

Audit log and data export

Where

Menu › Audit logSettings › Your data

Who

OwnerAdmin

Audit log

Every time clinical information is viewed, created, changed, signed, exported or drafted by AI, plus sign-ins and client actions. Entries can't be edited or deleted.

• Filter by record type (client, note, appointment, invoice, claim and more) and action, then Apply filters.
• Each entry shows the time, action, who did it ("By Jamie Park", "By client", "System"), the record and details. 50 per page.

Export all data

In Settings › Your data, type your password and click Export all data. A file named tidemend-export-YYYY-MM-DD.json downloads with all practice records, including the audit log. The password confirmation lasts 5 minutes and works once, and each export is logged.

For clients

Client portal guide

This section is written for clients, so you can share it with them. Staff notes are at the end.

Getting access

1. Open the invite email

   Your practice sends you a link. It works once and expires after 7 days.

2. Choose a password

   At least 10 characters, typed twice. Click Create account and sign in.

3. Sign in next time

   Go to your practice's Tidemend address followed by /portal/login, enter your email and password, and click Sign in.

Forgot your password, or your link expired? Ask your practice to send a new link. You'll be signed out after 30 minutes without activity, for privacy.

Home

Your next appointment, forms to complete, new messages and any balance due. The menu has "Home", "Appointments", "Forms", "Messages", "Billing" and "Profile" (a bar at the bottom on phones).

Book a session

1. Click Book a session

   On Home or Appointments.

2. Choose the kind of session

   Each shows its length, whether it's in person or video, and the price.

3. Choose where

   "In person" or "Video session", if the session is offered both ways.

4. Choose a day and time

   Open times for the next two weeks, in your practice's time zone.

5. Confirm

   Check the summary and click Book this time.

You can have up to 4 upcoming sessions booked online. If a time was just taken, pick another.

Your appointments and cancelling

• Appointments lists upcoming and past sessions.
• To cancel more than 24 hours ahead, click Cancel appointment, add a reason if you like, and click Yes, cancel.
• Within 24 hours, or to move a session, message your practice. To change a time, cancel and book again.

Video sessions

• Join video appears on Home 15 minutes before the session. Your reminder has the same link.
• Find a private, quiet spot, allow your camera and microphone, and click Join call. If your clinician isn't there yet, keep the page open; the call starts automatically.
• No camera? Choose "Use a test pattern" to join with audio.

Forms

Open a form under Forms, answer the questions (those marked * are required), type your full name where a signature is needed, and click Submit form. Finish in one go: partly filled forms aren't saved. Your answers are shared only with your clinician.

Messages

A private conversation with your clinician. Type your message and click Send. Messages are usually answered within two business days.

Billing

See your balance, invoices and payment history. Open an invoice to see its sessions and pay the full balance with Pay by card, which takes you to a secure Stripe payment page. If online payment isn't set up, the invoice asks you to pay the practice directly.

Profile and reminders

Add your mobile number, choose email and/or text reminders, and click Save preferences. You can change your password here too. To change your name or sign-in email, message the practice.

Reference

Demo mode and connected services

Tidemend works on its own in demo mode. Each connected service turns on a real provider. Connecting one is done by whoever runs your Tidemend server, and each needs a signed BAA before real client information is used.

Reference

Glossary

837P

The standard electronic format for professional insurance claims.

Authenticator app

A phone app that shows a new 6-digit code every 30 seconds for two-step verification.

BAA

Business associate agreement: the HIPAA contract needed before a service handles client health information.

Buffer

The gap kept between appointments.

Clearinghouse

A service that checks claims and passes them to insurers. Tidemend uses Stedi.

CMS-1500

The standard paper claim form for therapists and other professionals.

Control number

Tidemend's number for a claim, such as TW000001.

Copay, deductible, coinsurance

What the client pays per visit, before insurance pays, and as a share after.

CPT code

The billing code for a service, such as 90837 for 53+ minutes of psychotherapy.

Eligibility check

Asking the insurer whether coverage is active and what it pays.

ERA

Electronic remittance advice: the insurer's payment report for claims.

GAD-7

A 7-question anxiety questionnaire scored 0–21.

ICD-10

Diagnosis codes, such as F41.1 for generalised anxiety disorder.

Insurance adjustment

The part of a fee an insurer won't pay and the client doesn't owe, written off on the client's invoice.

Member ID, payer ID

The client's ID on their insurance card; the insurer's ID for electronic claims.

Modifier 95

Added to a CPT code to mark a telehealth session.

NPI

National Provider Identifier: Type 1 for a person, Type 2 (group NPI) for a practice.

PHQ-9

A 9-question depression questionnaire scored 0–27.

Place of service (POS)

Where a session happened: 11 office, 10 telehealth at home, 02 telehealth elsewhere.

Recovery code

A one-time code that signs you in if you lose your authenticator app.

Superbill

An itemised receipt a client sends to their insurer for out-of-network reimbursement.

Tax ID (EIN)

The practice's federal tax number, printed on claims and superbills.

Tidemend User Guide · written November 2026 for the current version of Tidemend. Screens and labels may change as Tidemend is updated.