The Client Referral Intake feature allows you to publish a secure, public web form that anyone can fill out without needing to log in to ShiftCare. It is the perfect tool to embed on your website to capture new leads, referrals, and prospects.
Submissions are sent to a dedicated Referrals Workspace. Here, staff members can review the information and choose to either Accept (which automatically creates a new Client profile) or Decline the referral.
Creating and Publishing Referral Forms
The Referral Intake feature uses ShiftCare’s existing Forms feature.
Navigate to Forms > New Form > Client Referral Form > Start.
Rename the document, then drag and drop fields from the left to the right side of the screen to build your form. Read this guide for in-depth instructions.
Use dynamic variables to map the questions on your form to actual ShiftCare Client fields (e.g., Full Name, Email, Mobile, DOB, Address).
To ensure the system can create a client profile later, Name and Email are mandatory fields for this form.
Click 'Preview' to see what the form will look like when done, then click 'Next' after all the changes have been made.
Click 'Publish Form'.
Once published, the system generates a unique public link (e.g., shiftcare.com/r/your-token). This link never expires and can be embedded on your company website or emailed directly to referrers.
For security purposes, file attachments/uploads are not currently supported on public-facing referral forms.
Referrals Workspace
When a form is submitted, it does not automatically create a client profile. Instead, it goes to your dedicated workspace.
To protect sensitive lead data, the Referrals Workspace is currently restricted to users with Admin or Coordinator roles.
Navigate to Clients > Referrals to access the workspace.
This page displays:
A quick count of your Total, Accepted, Pending Review, and Declined referrals.
Filters to easily search or filter the list by status, date range, and text search.
Quick buttons to Accept or Decline the referral and add notes.
An Export button (CSV).
The Detail Drawer
Clicking on any pending referral row will open a side panel (the Detail Drawer) so you can review the submission before making a decision. It contains three tabs:
Details: A preview of the mapped client fields (Name, Email, Phone, DOB, etc.) that will be used to build the client profile if accepted.
Form Response: A complete record of every question answered on the form.
Attachments: An area where you can leave internal free-text notes regarding the prospect.
Accepting or Declining a Referral
'Accept' and 'Decline' action buttons can be found at the bottom of the Detail Drawer or directly in the list (table) view.
Accept and Create Client
When you accept a referral, the system builds a brand new client profile using the mapped answers from the form.
After clicking 'Accept', a pop-up will ask you to set the new client's initial status. It defaults to Prospect, but you can also choose Referral, Waitlist, Active Client, Inactive Client, or Lost.
If the submitter did not provide a Date of Birth, ShiftCare will insert a temporary placeholder so the profile creation isn't blocked.
Decline
If the referral is not a good fit (e.g., they are outside of your service area), click 'Decline'. You will be prompted to enter an optional Decline Reason for your records.
No Client Profile is created, keeping your ShiftCare database clean and organised.
Once a referral is Accepted, it cannot be reverted to Declined.
Public Submitter Experience
When a prospective client, family member, or referring coordinator clicks your link:
They are taken to a clean, professional web form.
No login is required.
Once they hit 'Submit', the data is securely sent to your ShiftCare account.
For further assistance with Managing Client Referral Intake Forms, please contact our Support team using online chat when you're logged into ShiftCare or email our Support team at support@shiftcare.com.