Most people finish first-time setup in about 5–10 minutes, and reminders and check-ins can start straight away unless you pick a later start date. You will need contact details for the person setting up the service and the person receiving it, at least one schedule (time and message), and — if others are involved — who should get alerts or help with payment.
This guide is for the repeat reminder and check-in service only (not one-off reminders or live professional calls). To see how delivery works once setup is done, read how repeat reminders and check-ins work. Start setup from our services page.
How long does setup take?
The signup flow says setup takes about five minutes on the first screen; in practice allow up to ten minutes if you add several schedules, several people in the support network, or personalised messages.
Unless you choose a future start date for the service, reminders and check-ins can begin as soon as setup is complete and any post-signup steps are done. See what can delay your first delivery for terms, account review, call blockers, and personalised recordings.
What information do I need?
Setup runs in order through the web app. Have the following ready before you begin.
1. Your details (person setting up the service)
On Your details you enter information about yourself (the call creator):
- Country (and region if shown for your country)
- Relation to the reminder / check-in receiver (including self-setup if you are setting up for yourself)
- First and last name
- Phone number(s) — you can add more than one if needed
If you are a health or care professional on an organisation account, extra fields may appear on the next step (see below).
2. Who will receive the reminders and check-ins
On Who is going to receive the reminders/check-ins? you add the call receiver:
- First and last name (pre-filled if you chose self-setup on the previous step)
- Phone number(s) for delivery — primary number plus an optional second number for retries on a different line
- Email (optional)
- Start date — today for immediate start, or a date in the future
- Organisation-only fields (if your account uses them) — for example assessment or funding identifiers required by your employer
Professionals setting up publicly funded services may need criteria from their organisation. If you are unsure what funding applies in your area, see public funding options.
3. Schedules and messages (call details)
On call details you define each reminder or check-in slot:
- Schedule type — once on a given date, weekly on chosen days, or monthly on a day of the month
- Time of day
- Message — choose from preset reminders/check-ins or flag a slot as Personalised (recorded or written later; see how to set up a personalised message)
You can add multiple schedules (for example morning medication and an evening check-in). Personalised slots are configured here but usually recorded after the rest of signup.
4. Support network (optional)
On the support network step you can add other people involved with the person receiving the service — family, friends, neighbours, or professionals. For each person you may add:
- First and last name
- Relation to the person receiving the service
- Country (and region if required)
- Phone number(s) (if available)
- Email (if available)
The old WordPress guide listed an end date for supporters; that step no longer appears in the current app — add only people who are actively involved.
You choose how each person is involved on the next step (roles).
5. Roles (alerts, messages, notifications, payment)
On Roles you assign responsibilities. All sections are optional except where your account requires payment or personalised messages.
- Alerts (optional) — up to three alert contacts if the person does not respond after the configured attempts (default two attempts, ten minutes apart). Choose at the same time or one after the other. See how to set up and use alerts.
- Personalised messages (if applicable) — who will record or write personalised wording, or whether your organisation will create scripts for you.
- Notifications (optional) — who receives weekly engagement reports, payment reminders, and service notifications (up to three).
- Payment / funding (if applicable) — who will pay or confirm funding. See cost and how to pay.
If you assign a task to someone else, CareCalls may contact them after signup to complete it.
6. Summary and finish
On Summary you review the service, say where you heard about CareCalls, enter an offer code if you have one, and submit. You will receive terms and conditions by email; deliveries may wait until those are accepted.
What happens after the main form?
Depending on how you configured the service, one or more follow-up steps may still be needed before every schedule delivers as intended:
- Personalised recordings — schedules marked personalised do not deliver until the message exists (personalised message setup).
- Call blocker / screening — for phone delivery, the CareCalls number may need to be allowed through a nuisance call blocker; the manage area includes delivery factors to check this.
- Ring time — for phone delivery you can adjust how long the line rings before an attempt counts as missed (often 20 seconds by default, extendable in delivery settings).
- Payment — card or Direct Debit during or after the trial, unless the service is fully funded (payment guide).
These steps may be done by you or by someone you named on the roles page.
Quick checklist before you start
| Area | What to have ready |
|---|---|
| You (creator) | Name, email, phone, relationship to receiver |
| Receiver | Name, phone(s), optional email, desired start date |
| Schedules | Times, days or dates, preset or personalised messages |
| Others (optional) | Names and contact details for supporters |
| Roles (optional) | Who pays, who gets alerts or weekly notifications, who records personalised messages |