Routiq vs Doing It Manually.
What Doing It Manually says it does: The front desk answers what it can between patients, and the rebooking report waits for a quiet week that never comes. Routiq pairs Robyn, who answers every channel and re-engages lapsed patients, with Abby, who checks the wording against published AHPRA advertising guidance first. Here is the honest comparison.
| Routiq | Doing It Manually | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Australia | The status quo |
| Practice systems | Cliniko, Nookal, PracSuite | Whatever you already run |
| Channels | Phone, SMS, WhatsApp, Web chat | Phone, when free, Voicemail, otherwise |
| Patient re-engagement | Yes. Robyn works the rebooking report and writes follow-ups | Partially, see below |
| AHPRA-aware checking | Yes. Abby checks messaging against published AHPRA advertising guidance | No public equivalent |
| Pricing | AUD $199 per location per month, or $159 billed annually. No setup fees. 7-day free trial. | Free on paper. Paid for in missed calls, unworked recalls and admin hours nobody invoices. |
What Doing It Manually does well
- ✓ No new tools, no new bills, no change management
- ✓ Full control. Every message is written by your team
- ✓ Works fine, right up until the clinic gets busy
Choose Doing It Manually if
- You are genuinely quiet: low call volume, no waitlist, diary under control.
- One practitioner, personal caseload, every patient personally known.
Choose Routiq if
- Calls go to voicemail at your busiest times, which is exactly when new patients call.
- Your practice system's rebooking report has names in it nobody has contacted this month.
- Follow-ups only happen in quiet weeks, so they happen rarely and read rushed.
The verdict
Manual is not free. It is deferred: paid later in lapsed patients and voicemail. The tell is simple. Open your rebooking report and count the names. That number is the price of the status quo, this month.
The fix does not require replacing anyone. It requires giving the front desk a teammate who works the phone at 2am and the report every week.
Common questions
How do I know if manual is costing me?
Two numbers: missed calls per week from your phone system, and names on the rebooking report with no contact. If both are near zero, keep doing what you are doing, honestly.
This comparison uses public information, last checked 8 August 2026. Spotted something out of date? Email daniel.welsh@routiq.ai and we will fix it.
See Robyn work your rebooking report.
7-day free trial. No setup fees. Live in a day on Cliniko, Nookal or PracSuite.
Also compared: Hiring a Receptionist · A Virtual Assistant · HotDoc · all comparisons