Getting started with FrontDesk

This article introduces FrontDesk, your practice’s front-office workspace, and shows you what each page is for and the first steps to set it up.

What FrontDesk is

FrontDesk is the day-to-day home for your front desk. It brings together everything your team reaches for during a busy day: the schedule, a live view of who’s in the building, patient messages, patient records, intake forms, and the settings that teach Elva how your practice runs.

Where the AI Receptionist answers your patients on the phone and online, FrontDesk is where your team works alongside Elva — confirming the day, moving patients through their visit, picking up the conversations that need a human touch, and keeping every patient record and form in one place. The result is a calmer front desk that always knows what’s happening next.

Who it’s for

FrontDesk is built for practice owners and front-desk / office staff. You don’t need to be technical. Every page is designed to be glanced at and acted on quickly — between phone calls, between patients, and at the start and end of the day.

Core concepts

A few ideas show up across the whole app:

• Elva — your practice’s AI. In FrontDesk, Elva drafts replies, flags what needs attention, prepares notes, and follows the rules you set. You stay in control; Elva does the legwork.
• Patient — every appointment, message, and form ties back to a patient record, so context follows the patient everywhere.
• Provider — a dentist or hygienist who sees patients. Providers have their own colors, schedules, and appointment reasons.
• Operatory — a treatment room (a “chair”). Appointments and live patient flow are organized by provider or by operatory.
• Appointment reason — the kind of visit (for example, New Patient Exam or Adult Cleaning), which sets the length, color, and who can perform it.
• Triage — when something needs a person, it lands in the Triage Inbox so nothing slips through the cracks.

A tour of the app

Here’s where to find things and what each page is for. The left sidebar lists them in this order:

• Calendar — your schedule in Day, Week, and Month views, with KPIs for the day and a full dossier for any appointment. See Calendar.
• Bird Eye View — a live board of every patient in the building, from Arriving soon to Finished. See Bird Eye View.
• Triage Inbox — the single list of items that need a person, plus the calls your team should make. See Triage Inbox.
• Email and Messages — handle patient emails and text messages in one place, with Elva drafting and patient context on the side. See Messages & Email.
• Forms — your library of intake and consent forms, and the form builder for creating your own. See Forms.
• Patients — the daily patient roster, and the full patient profile behind every name. See Patients.
• Settings — set up your practice, providers, operatories, insurance, appointment reasons, and the rules that teach Elva. See Settings.

Your first steps

Set FrontDesk up in this order. Each step lives under Settings — full instructions are in Settings.

1. Go to Settings ▸ General Info to add your practice name, address, hours, and goals.
2. Go to Settings ▸ Providers to add each dentist and hygienist, with their colors and schedules.
3. Go to Settings ▸ Operatories to list your treatment rooms and what each is used for.
4. Go to Settings ▸ Insurance & Network to record the carriers you accept and which providers are in-network.
5. Go to Settings ▸ Appointment Reasons to define your visit types, their lengths, and who can book them.
6. Go to Settings ▸ Clinic Playbook to write your office rules in plain English so Elva books and answers the way you want.
7. Open the Calendar and watch your day come together.