How do I connect my practice management software?

Sound familiar?

Your real patient list lives in your practice management system, and your marketing lives in Co-Kinetic — and keeping the two in step by exporting and re-importing spreadsheets gets old fast. Connecting the two systems directly is the fix, and it takes one API key 🔗.

What's happening

In Settings → Integrations & Tools, the Practice Management Software section connects Co-Kinetic to your practice system. Nookal can be connected today; Mindbody and Jane App are marked coming soon. Connecting works by API key: you paste the key from your practice system, Co-Kinetic verifies it against the live system before saving anything (a wrong key saves nothing), and the section shows Connected. You can disconnect at any time, and reconnect later by entering the key again.

Once connected, the sync links patients to your Co-Kinetic contacts by email address and keeps their most recent appointment date current — which matters because your audience builder can filter on last appointment ("hasn't been in for six months"), and that filter is only as good as the date behind it.

Why it works this way

The API key approach means Co-Kinetic never holds your practice-system login, and the key is verified before it is stored — the connection either genuinely works at setup or isn't saved at all. Access is limited to patient names, contact details and appointment data; clinical notes stay where they are 🙂.

What to do now

1. In your practice system, find your API key (in Nookal, your account settings hold the API access section — their support covers where).
2. In Co-Kinetic, go to Settings → Integrations & Tools, find Practice Management Software, choose your system, paste the key and connect. Verification takes a moment; the section then shows Connected.
3. Tell us in the chat that you've connected — we'll make sure the data sync is fully switched on for your account and confirm what's flowing. (This feature is rolling out, and we like to check each connected account is syncing properly.)
4. Once running, spot-check it: open a contact you know had a recent appointment in Audience → Manage Contacts and check their last-appointment date.

Using Cliniko or another system? Tell us in the chat before doing anything — Cliniko support exists behind the scenes and we'll set you on the right path for your setup.

The question behind the question

"Will this fill my marketing audience with every patient I've ever seen?" The connection is about keeping data accurate, not about mass-mailing your patient list — and consent still rules: being in your practice system is not marketing consent. Use the sync to keep dates and details honest, and keep your actual email marketing pointed at audiences who opted in ("How do I stay GDPR-compliant when emailing patients?" covers the line) ⚖️.

The next question is usually...

• How do I bring contacts into Co-Kinetic from other systems?
• How do I add contacts and create audiences in Co-Kinetic?
• How do I stay GDPR-compliant when emailing patients?

Still stuck? This usually means...

• "Invalid API Key" when connecting. Re-copy the key without spaces, and check it's the API key (not a password). If it still refuses, tell us in the chat with your system name.
• Connected, but dates aren't updating. Sync runs on a schedule, not instantly — give it a day; if still nothing, tell us in the chat and we'll check your account's sync directly.
• You disconnected and reconnected. That's safe — disconnect just removes the stored key; reconnecting with the key restores the link.