ClearPractice Quickstart Guide
Welcome
This guide takes you from your trial email to a working practice in about 15 minutes. It covers ClearPractice on a single computer, which is the right choice for a therapist working alone or a few colleagues sharing one computer.
Your 30-day trial includes everything in ClearPractice. All your records stay on your own computer, encrypted. We never see or hold them.
One thing to get right: when ClearPractice first opens, it asks how the computer will be used. Choose Use ClearPractice on this computer. The other two options are for ClearPractice Pro, which isn't available yet.
1. Install and first run
Your trial email has your licence key and the download links. Keep it open; you'll paste the key in step 4.
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Install. On a Mac, open the download, drag ClearPractice into Applications and open it from there. There are separate downloads for Apple Silicon and Intel Macs; if you're not sure, choose > About This Mac and look for "Apple M" (Apple Silicon) or "Intel". On Windows, run the installer and accept the licence agreement. ClearPractice requires Windows 10 or macOS 15 as a minimum to run. Unfortunately it won't work on older operating systems.
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Accept the licence agreement. On a Mac it appears the first time ClearPractice opens. On Windows you've already accepted it in the installer.
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Welcome to ClearPractice: "How will this computer use ClearPractice?" Leave Use ClearPractice on this computer selected and click Continue. Don't choose "Connect to our practice server" or "Make this computer the practice server": they're for ClearPractice Pro. If you already did, see the next section.
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Licence key. Paste the key from your trial email and click Activate. Your computer needs to be online for this.
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Set up ClearPractice. Four short pages follow, covered in section 3 below: your practice, your sign-in, your backup password and dictated notes.
You only see steps 2 to 5 once. After that, ClearPractice opens straight to the sign-in.
2. If you chose a Pro option by mistake
Nothing is lost and nothing needs reinstalling. Here's how to get back to the question.
You chose "Connect to our practice server" and a window titled ClearPractice Pro: sign in asks for a join code:
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Click Cancel. ClearPractice closes.
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Open ClearPractice again. Because it never connected to a server, it asks "How will this computer use ClearPractice?" again. Choose Use ClearPractice on this computer.
You chose "Make this computer the practice server" and a window titled Set up the ClearPractice practice server opened:
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On its first page, "Is this computer right for the job?", click Use this computer differently…. If you've moved on to "Your practice", click Back first.
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The question appears again. Choose Use ClearPractice on this computer.
If you clicked Close, and carry on later, opening ClearPractice takes you back to that window, so follow the same two steps.
Still stuck? If the Pro sign-in or server window keeps coming back, or you went further into the server setup, email support@moonstrucksoftware.com with your computer type (Mac or Windows) and what you see on screen. We'll walk you through it.
3. Set up your practice
The Set up ClearPractice window asks for four things. Everything except dictation is needed to finish.
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Your practice. The practice name, your name and the currency you charge in. You become the practice owner and a therapist with your own clients. Colleagues can be added later, each with their own sign-in.
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Your sign-in. A username, your email and a password (at least 8 characters). You'll sign in every time ClearPractice opens, so your clients' records stay private even if the computer is left unlocked.
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Protect your backups. ClearPractice backs itself up every time it opens and closes, and this password encrypts those backups. Use a different password from your sign-in and write it down away from the computer. We can't recover it for you.
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Dictated notes. Tick the box if you'd like to speak your notes. You can skip this and set it up later (see section 5).
If your computer has Touch ID or Windows Hello, you're offered it for signing in. Say yes; it's quicker and just as safe.
Save your recovery key straight away. When ClearPractice opens, a banner asks you to save your recovery key. This key unlocks your records if the computer's keychain is ever lost, for example when you move to a new computer. Save it, then keep a copy away from this computer: printed, or on a USB stick in a drawer.
Then, before your first client
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Practice > Details: your address, email, phone and logo. These appear on invoices and letters.
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Practice > Sessions & fees: your session types and prices, cancellation notice and when invoices are due.
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Practice > Invoices: invoice layout and your bank details, so clients know how to pay.
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Settings > Emails: connect your email account if you want ClearPractice to send invoices, reminders and forms. It also lets you reset a forgotten password by email.
4. Your first client, start to finish
The left-hand menu holds everything: day-to-day pages at the top (Week, Clients, Follow-ups, Waiting list, Resources), then Money and Rooms, then My registration, Practice, Settings and Help.
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Add a client. Go to Clients and click New. A name is enough to start; fill in contact details, GP and emergency contact when you have them.
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Book a session. Go to Week and click an empty slot. Choose the client, session type, fee and whether it's face to face, online or by phone. Under Repeat? you can book every week, every 2 weeks or every month in one go. Click Book it.
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Write your notes. After the session, click it in the Week page, then Write note. Type, or press Record to dictate. When you're happy, Save and sign locks the note. Your own reflections go in Process note, which only you can read.
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Mark attendance and payment. In the same session window, record whether the client attended and, if they paid on the day, how they paid.
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Invoice. Click Raise invoice… in the session window, or go to Money > Invoices > New Invoice to bill several sessions at once. From there you can view the PDF, email it and mark it paid.
Follow-ups keeps track of what you're waiting on: unpaid invoices, assessments sent out and contracts awaiting signature. Check it once a week.
5. Optional: dictated notes and whole-session recording
ClearPractice can type out what you say and draft the note for you to check. It all runs on your own computer; no audio or text is sent anywhere.
To set it up, go to Settings > Clinical & AI > Set up dictated notes (or tick the box during setup). ClearPractice suggests a model for your computer and downloads it. Leave it to finish on a good connection.
Record whole session appears in a session's note window once the Large model is downloaded and the computer has enough memory. It records the session, then writes a draft note in a minute or two for you to review, edit and sign. Get your client's consent before recording.
Dictation is a drafting aid. Always read the draft and correct it before you sign.
6. Keep your records safe
Your records live only on your computer, encrypted, so keeping them safe is in your hands. Three habits cover it.
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Keep a backup off this computer. Automatic backups are taken every time ClearPractice opens and closes, but they sit beside your data on the same computer. Once a week, go to Settings > Backup & data > Create encrypted backup… and save it to a USB drive or an encrypted cloud folder.
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Keep your three keys safe and apart: your sign-in password, your backup password and your recovery key. Without the backup password and recovery key, nobody, including us, can open your backups on a new computer.
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Lock your computer when you step away, and keep it updated.
Moving to a new computer? First go to Settings > Licence > Remove this computer… on the old one, so your licence can be used on the new one. Then install ClearPractice on the new computer, go through the setup screens, and use Settings > Backup & data > Restore from backup… with your backup and backup password.
7. Your trial, and getting help
Settings > Licence shows how many days of your trial are left. To keep going, click Buy a licence… there; your records carry straight on. If the trial ends before you buy, ClearPractice still opens and you can still read and export everything. We never hold your records hostage.
Need help?
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The knowledge base on moonstrucksoftware.com has step-by-step articles for every part of ClearPractice.
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In the app, Help > Contact support / request a feature… sends us a message with the details we need to help. It uses your own email account, so set up Settings > Emails first.
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Or email support@moonstrucksoftware.com. Please never include client names or details.