Physiotherapy SOP Templates.
Ready-to-use systems for running a physio practice, from the first online booking to the patient who comes back and sends a friend. Open any of them free. No login needed.
The approach Lime Therapy, an allied health practice of close to 40 people, used before it was acquired.
Watch
Mapping a physio practice's client flow, live
Celia Champion has been Managing Director of Painless Practice for more than 16 years, helping practice owners with the business side of a clinic: planning, growth, leadership, patient retention and exit planning. In this episode she and Dave map the client flow of a physio practice with four or five physios and a front-of-house team or call answering service, stage by stage.
Her first move is to pick the right patient: self-paying, and motivated to get better rather than expecting to be fixed.
You've got to treat your business as your most important patient.
The Critical Client Flow
Your whole practice on one page
This is the flow Celia and Dave built on the call. The places she sees physio practices fall over are all on it: the phone, the recommendation at the assessment, rebooking, and patients who quietly stop coming.
- Pick the patient first. Self-paying, motivated to get better and willing to be part of the work. That shapes everything after it.
- Recommend the whole course, then book it. Explain the findings, put the plan in writing and book the block of sessions, so care happens at the right interval.
- Catch drop-outs the same week. A monthly cancellation list is far too slow when a patient is meant to be seen every week.
Where to start
Start where patients drop out
Don't try to write everything at once. The pack and Celia land on the same first two: catching patients who fall out of care, and recommending the full course of care at the assessment.
Biggest return
Where Celia sees practices fall over
Physiotherapy SOP templates, by department
Each one is a full standard operating procedure: what triggers it, who does it, the steps, the templates and how you know it is done. They are written for an Australian physiotherapy practice of roughly 5 to 15 people: an owner who still treats, a team of employed or contractor physios, and a front-of-house team or answering service, with a mostly self-paying musculoskeletal caseload. Funded and case-managed work, such as NDIS, workers compensation and DVA, runs a longer cycle and is not what these are written for. Every highlighted gap is a place to put your own fee, timeframe, software or rule. A smaller practice can read every role as a hat rather than a headcount.
The Patient
The client flow, from the first booking to the next referral.
Inquiry and Online Booking
Turn an enquiry into a booked assessment, online or by phone, with reception trained for the caller who is not sure you can help.
Open the system → Opens in systemHUB. No login needed.Pre-Visit Preparation
Forms, the cancellation policy, what to wear and a reminder, plus a flag when the forms have not come back.
Open the system → Opens in systemHUB. No login needed.Initial Assessment and Recommending the Course of Care
History, assessment and findings explained, then the full course of care recommended and booked in the same session.
Open the system → Opens in systemHUB. No login needed.Attendance and Retention Tracking
Spot the patient who has quietly stopped coming, at their own treatment interval, while there is still time to bring them back.
Open the system → Opens in systemHUB. No login needed.Reactivation and the Next Referral
Stay useful to discharged patients, win back the ones who drifted, and ask for the referral when they are happiest.
Open the system → Opens in systemHUB. No login needed.Also in the full pack (get them with a free trial): Attention: Referrals and Reputation · Delivering the Course of Care · Completion, Discharge and Home Program · Billing and Payment
Marketing
Getting found by people in pain, and by the GPs who see them first.
GP and Referrer Relationship Program
Build and keep warm your relationships with GPs, consultants and other clinicians who refer, on purpose rather than by chance.
Open the system → Opens in systemHUB. No login needed.Reviews and Reputation Management
A steady flow of genuine Google reviews and a quick reply to every one, good or bad.
Open the system → Opens in systemHUB. No login needed.Also in the full pack (get them with a free trial): Content and Social Media · Google Ads Management · Website and SEO Maintenance
Sales
Prices that keep up with costs, and programs beyond the course of care.
Fee Schedule and Annual Price Review
Review your self-pay fees once a year on purpose, instead of leaving them where they were when you opened.
Open the system → Opens in systemHUB. No login needed.Package and Program Pricing
Price and package Pilates classes and strength and conditioning programs that sit alongside physio care.
Open the system → Opens in systemHUB. No login needed.Also in the full pack (get them with a free trial): Corporate and Workplace Contracts · Patient Payment Plans
Operations
The front desk and the diary that everything else depends on.
Front-of-House and Call-Answering Standards
The standard anyone answering your phones must meet, in-house or outsourced, and the check that keeps it there.
Open the system → Opens in systemHUB. No login needed.Practitioner Scheduling and Capacity Management
Plan physio rosters against real demand, covering leave, locums and utilisation.
Open the system → Opens in systemHUB. No login needed.Also in the full pack (get them with a free trial): Clinical Records and Practice Management System Administration · Emergency and Clinical Deterioration Response · Equipment and Treatment Room Care · Incident and Near-Miss Reporting
Finance
Knowing what was claimed, what was paid and how the month went.
Health Fund Claiming and Reconciliation
Match what was claimed at the point of care against what the fund paid, and chase rejected claims in time.
Open the system → Opens in systemHUB. No login needed.Monthly Financial Review and Forecasting
A monthly look at revenue, wages, utilisation and debtors, while a problem is still small.
Open the system → Opens in systemHUB. No login needed.Also in the full pack (get them with a free trial): Accounts Payable · Insurance and Registrations Calendar · Practitioner Remuneration and Payroll
Human Resources
Hiring the right physios and leading them well.
Recruitment and Onboarding
Interview and select properly instead of advertise, chat, hire, then give a new physio a clear first few weeks.
Open the system → Opens in systemHUB. No login needed.Performance Conversations and One-to-Ones
Regular one-to-ones with every physio that patient bookings don't push out, and a clear way to work out why someone isn't performing.
Open the system → Opens in systemHUB. No login needed.Also in the full pack (get them with a free trial): Leave and Capacity Planning · New Graduate Mentoring and Clinical Supervision · Physio Registration and CPD Tracking · Staff Offboarding
Management
The numbers and the plan that let the owner treat less.
KPI Tracking and Scorecards
The handful of numbers that show how the practice is really running, on one page, on a fixed rhythm.
Open the system → Opens in systemHUB. No login needed.Succession and Practice Value
Build a practice that is worth something without the owner treating in it, starting years before you want to sell.
Open the system → Opens in systemHUB. No login needed.Also in the full pack (get them with a free trial): Risk and Compliance Register · Strategic Planning · Team Meeting Rhythms
Case study
2,000 invoices a month, no longer one person's job
Renee Kelly started out as a solo occupational therapist working from the family farm about 15 years ago. Lime Therapy grew into an allied health service of close to 40 people, with physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech pathology and exercise physiology. They had invested heavily in policies, and nobody looked at them.
They made Kaleb, a therapist only a couple of years into his career, their Systems Champion. His first system was invoicing: about 2,000 invoices a month that only one person knew how to send. Now the admin team covers it when she is away, and with new software alongside, the job takes a tenth of the time. The practice was later acquired, and the buyer did not need Renee tied in, because the systems carried the business.
Get the whole pack in systemHUB
40 systems for a physiotherapy practice: 9 that carry a patient from the first booking to the next referral, 31 that run the practice around it, plus 9 AI assistants. Start a free trial and ask our team to load the pack into your account.
Start free trialFAQ
Common questions
What should a physiotherapy SOP include?
What triggers it, who is responsible, the numbered steps in order, the forms, scripts or checklists used along the way, and a definition of done so anyone can tell it has been completed. Leave a clear gap anywhere a regulator or health fund sets the rule, rather than guessing at it.
Is this clinical advice?
No. These are workflow documents: who does what, in what order, and how you know it is done. Clinical decisions stay with the treating physio, and anything set by a regulator, registration board, health fund or privacy law is for your practice to confirm.
Do I need a systemHUB account to read them?
No. Every system on this page opens as a public page with no login. You need an account to copy them, edit them and assign them to your team.
Are these only for self-pay physio practices in Australia?
They are written for an Australian practice with a mostly self-paying musculoskeletal caseload. The marketing, operations, finance, HR and management systems fit most allied health clinics anywhere. If most of your work is funded or case-managed, the sales cycle is longer and the client flow will look different.
What is a course of care?
The set of sessions recommended at the initial assessment to treat a specific problem, for example four to six treatments at a set interval. Booking the block up front helps the patient get care at the right interval instead of one appointment at a time.
What is a Critical Client Flow?
The handful of stages every patient moves through, from first hearing about you to finishing their care and coming back, on one page. It shows where patients drop out and which systems to build first.
These systems are workflow documentation, not clinical or health advice. Clinical, privacy, registration and health fund requirements are for your practice to confirm against the rules where you work.