Troubleshooting: Smart Scheduling

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This error is often caused by an Automated Appointment Booking Staff member not being selected within your Smart Scheduling Settings.  To check this:

1. Log into the Practice Online Portal (POP).
   
   

2. Click Smart Scheduling in the left-hand menu and select Settings:

   
   
   

3. On the Smart Scheduling settings page, scroll down and click the General Settings button:
   
   
   
   

4. In the Schedule Options section, locate Automated Appointment Booking Staff.
   
   
   
   
   • If NO ONE is selected here:  Select a member of your staff or YAPI YAPI from the list (if you see it there.  Then click Save.  This should fix the issue.
     
     
   • If a SOMEONE is selected here (including YAPI YAPI): Selecting an Automated Appointment Booking Staff member isn't causing this issue. Contact our Customer Support team for further troubleshooting.

 

This error can be caused by a Smart Scheduling Rule getting disabled within your Smart Scheduling Settings OR if your practice removed a provider or operatory from Dentrix, Open Dental, or Eaglesoft without updating Smart Scheduling Rules affected by that change.  To troubleshoot:

1. Log into the Practice Online Portal (POP).
   
   

2. Click Smart Scheduling in the left-hand menu and select Settings:

   
   
   

3. On the Smart Scheduling settings page, scroll down and click the Smart Scheduling Rules button:
   
   
   
   

4. Find the scheduling rule for the appointment type that your patient was trying to schedule when they saw the error message.  Make sure it's enabled (toggled to blue).
   
   
   
   

   Note: Though not common, you may see multiple scheduling rules for a single treatment.  If this is the case, follow these instructions for each rule that's tied to the treatment your patient was trying to schedule.

   • If the rule was disabled (gray): This is the cause of the issue.  Now that the rule is enabled, patients should be able to schedule this treatment online.
     
     
   • If the rule was already enabled (blue): Proceed to the next step.
     
     
5. Click the arrow next to the rule to toggle it open and view the Providers and Operatories assigned to that rule:
   
   
   
   
6. Make sure that all the providers listed still currently work at your practice and that all operatories listed are operatories that appear in your schedule in Dentrix, Open Dental or Eaglesoft.
   
   
   • If any providers or operatories shown here DON'T MATCH what's in your practice management software: Proceed to the next step.
     
     
   • If all providers and operatories shown here MATCH what's in your practice management software: Contact our Customer Support team for further troubleshooting.
     
     
7. Click the Edit icon on the rule to open it.  Write down all the settings listed here (rule information, providers, operatories, and time blocks).  Then click Cancel.
   
   
   
   
8. Click the arrow to toggle the rule open and click the Delete icon to delete this rule.  (This rule is trying to pull old providers and/or operatories that don't exist, so the best way to fix the issue is to delete the rule and create a new one.)
   
   
9. Click +Add Rule.  For this new rule, add in all the settings you noted from the other non-working rule except for any providers that have left your practice or operatories that aren't shown in your schedule (in Dentrix, Open Dental, or Eaglesoft.)
   
   
   
   
10. Click Save.  Once POP returns you to the Schedule Rules page, toggle your new rule on (blue).
    
    
    
    

 

This error occurs when your practice has disabled Smart Scheduling in the Practice Online Portal (POP) but the link to schedule an appointment is still available to patients.  To fix this, simply enable Smart Scheduling:

1. Log into the Practice Online Portal (POP).
   
   

2. Click Smart Scheduling in the left-hand menu and select Settings:

   
   
   

3. On the Smart Scheduling settings page, scroll down and click the General Settings button:
   
   
   
   

4. At the top of the General Settings page, set the Enable toggle to on (blue):
   
   
   
   
5. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click Save.
   
   

 

This error can have one of two causes:

• The scheduling link within a patient's recall reminder email has expired. 
• An existing patient trying to schedule wasn't able to confirm their identity in 3 attempts by entering the correct birthdate.

For patients who weren't able to confirm their identity in 3 attempts: 

1. Confirm that the birthdate you have on file for the patient is correct and update it if needed.
   
   
2. Then, you have three options for scheduling:
   
   
   • Schedule the patient manually this time and let them know they'll be able to schedule online next time.
     
     
   • Direct the patient to their original scheduling link.  From there, they can enter their mobile number or email address and try scheduling again.
     
     
   • Copy your practice's New Patient Scheduling Link into an email to send to the patient (this link works for both new and existing patients).

For recall patients whose link has expired: While there's no way to generate a new recall scheduling link for the patient on demand, you have several options to get the patient scheduled:

• Schedule the patient manually this time.
  
  
• Wait for YAPI to automatically generate a new link when it sends the patient their next recall reminder.
  
  
• If your practice allows existing patients to schedule recall treatments, copy your practice's New Patient Scheduling Link into an email to send to them (this link works for both new and existing patients) or direct the patient to your practice website to schedule from there.

 

This error occurs when Smart Scheduling can't communicate with YAPI on your server or with your Dentrix, Open Dental, or Eaglesoft database.  To troubleshoot: 

1. Open the YAPI Dashboard on your workstation.
   
   
   • If your Dashboard opens and stays open: Follow the steps in Restarting YAPI Service from a Workstation.  Then, proceed to the next step.
     
     
   • If you're unable to open the Dashboard or it doesn't stay open: Follow the steps in Stopping & Starting YAPI Service from Your Server, skipping Step 2.  Then, proceed to the next step.
     
     
2. Try making a test appointment by booking online.
   
   
   • If you ARE able to make an appointment: Great!  You've fixed the issue and patients can resume booking appointments online.
     
     
   • If you ARE NOT able to make an appointment:  Contact our Customer Support team for further troubleshooting.
     
     

 

This error occurs when at least one of your practice's Smart Scheduling Rules doesn't have a provider selected. The best way to fix this is to delete and recreate any affected Smart Scheduling Rules:

1. Log into the Practice Online Portal (POP).
   
   

2. Click Smart Scheduling in the left-hand menu and select Settings:

   
   
   

3. On the Smart Scheduling settings page, scroll down and click the Smart Scheduling Rules button:
   
   
   
   

4. Find the scheduling rule for the appointment type that your patient was trying to schedule when they saw the error message.  Then click the Edit icon on the rule to open it:
   
   
   
   

   Note: Though not common, you may see multiple scheduling rules for a single treatment.  If this is the case, follow these instructions for each rule that's tied to the treatment your patient was trying to schedule.

5. Write down all the settings listed within the rule (rule information, providers, operatories, and time blocks).  Then click Cancel.
   
   
   
   
6. Click the arrow to toggle the rule open and click the Delete icon to delete this rule.  (This rule is trying to pull old providers or setting that don't exist, so the best way to fix the issue is to delete the rule and create a new one.)
   
   
7. Click +Add Rule.  For this new rule, add in all the settings you noted from the other non-working rule except for any providers that have left your practice or operatories that aren't shown in your schedule (in Dentrix, Open Dental, or Eaglesoft.)
   
   
   
   
8. Click Save.  Once POP returns you to the Schedule Rules page, toggle your new rule on (blue).
   
   

 

For any patient-facing error not listed above, contact our Customer Support team for further troubleshooting.  We're glad to help!

 

When first clicking on Settings under Smart Scheduling, you'll often see the message "Initializing Procedure Code Database," which means that YAPI's making sure it's reading all the updated procedure codes from Dentrix, Open Dental, or Eaglesoft. 

If you're unable to get past this message and into your Smart Scheduling Settings, though, there could be an issue you need to troubleshoot:

1. To start:
   
   
   • Eaglesoft Users: Wait at least 5 minutes for the page to load.  Because Eaglesoft contains a full database of ADA codes, it typically takes some time for YAPI to to load them all.  It usually doesn't take 5 minutes, but waiting this long eliminates this as an issue.  If you're unable to get past the "Initializing Procedure Code Database" message after 5 minutes, proceed to the next step.
     
     
   • Dentrix & Open Dental Users: Proceed directly to the next step.
     
     
2. Log out of the Practice Online Portal and log back in.  Then try to access your Smart Scheduling settings again.
   
   
   • If your ARE able to access your Smart Scheduling settings: Great!  This means the page was just stuck and needed to be refreshed.
     
     
   • If the page still gets stuck on the "Initializing Procedure Code Database" message: Contact our Customer Support team for further troubleshooting.  We may need to update your YAPI plugin.

 

In Smart Scheduling settings, clicking the Providers button should show your full list of active providers from Dentrix, Open Dental, or Eaglesoft.

If a provider at your practice isn't showing up as an option in your Providers list:

1. Log out of the Practice Online Portal.
   
   
2. Clear the cache for your internet browser:
   
   
   • Chrome Users: Follow the instructions in Clear Cache & Cookies on Google's support page.
     
     

   • Firefox Users: Follow the instructions in How to Clear the Firefox Cache on Mozilla's support page.
     
     

   • Internet Explorer & Edge Users: These browsers are not recommended for using the Practice Online Portal and may be causing the issue.  Proceed to the next step using a modern browser like Google Chrome or Firefox.
     
     
3. Close and reopen your browser window.
   
   
4. Log back into the Practice Online Portal and return to the Providers page of your Smart Scheduling settings. (Click Smart Scheduling, then Settings, then Providers.)
   
   
   • If you ARE able to see all your providers here: Great!  You've fixed the issue.  Your browser was just remembering old information and you've reset it so it displays your correct, updated list of providers.
     
     
   • If you still ARE NOT able to see all your providers here: Contact our Customer Support team for further troubleshooting.  We may need to update your YAPI plugin.

 

If a provider or operatory at your practice isn't showing up as an option when creating a Smart Scheduling Rule:

1. Log out of the Practice Online Portal.
   
   
2. Clear the cache for your internet browser:
   
   
   • Chrome Users: Follow the instructions in Clear Cache & Cookies on Google's support page.
     
     

   • Firefox Users:Follow the instructions in How to Clear the Firefox Cache on Mozilla's support page.
     
     

   • Internet Explorer & Edge Users: These browsers are not recommended for using the Practice Online Portal and may be causing the issue.  Proceed to the next step using a modern browser like Google Chrome or Firefox.
     
     
3. Log back into the Practice Online Portal and return to the Scheduling Rule you were trying to edit.
   
   
   • If you ARE able to see all your providers here: Great!  You can stop here.  Your browser was just remembering old information and you've reset it so it displays your correct, updated list of providers.  
     
     
   • If you still ARE NOT able to see all your providers here: Proceed to the next step.
     
     
4. Write down all the settings listed for the Scheduling Rule (rule information, providers, operatories, and time blocks).  Then click Cancel.
   
   
   
   
5. Click the arrow to toggle the rule open and click the Delete icon to delete this rule.  (This rule is likely trying to pull old providers and/or operatories that don't exist, so the best way to fix the issue is to delete the rule and create a new one.)
   
   
6. Click +Add Rule. On the Add Scheduling Rule page that opens, click +Add Providers and +Add Operatories to check whether all the providers and operatories at your practice now appear.
   
   
   
   
   • If all your providers and operatories now appear: Great!  For this new rule, add in all the settings you noted from the other non-working rule plus any providers or operatories that were missing.  Then click Save.  Once POP returns you to the Schedule Rules page, toggle your new rule on (blue):
     
     
     
     
   • If a provider or operatory is STILL MISSING:  Contact our Customer Support team for further troubleshooting.  We may need to update your YAPI plugin.

 

If your practice no longer wants to use a specific operatory for online-schedule appointments, you may see an error message if you don't edit the Smart Scheduling rules the operatory is attached to first:

To remove an operatory from Smart Scheduling:

1. Click Settings to return to the main Smart Scheduling Settings page and click the Smart Scheduling Rules button:
   
   
   
   
2. Click the arrow next to each rule to toggle it open and see if the operatory is attached to that rule:
   
   
   
   
3. For rules where the operatory is the only operatory attached, click Delete to delete the rule completely:
   
   
   
   
4. For rules that include the operatory but also have other operatories attached:
   
   
   1. Click Edit .
      
      
   2. Click Edit Operatories.
      
      
   3. Deselect the operatory and click OK.
      
      
      
      
   4. Click Save.
      
      
5. Click Settings to return to the main Smart Scheduling Settings page and click the Operatories button.
   
   
6. Toggle the operatory to off (gray):
   
   

 

If a provider has left your practice and you want to remove them as an option for online scheduling, you may see an error message if you don't edit the Smart Scheduling rules they're attached to first:

To remove a provider from Smart Scheduling:

1. Click Settings to return to the main Smart Scheduling Settings page and click the Smart Scheduling Rules button:
   
   
   
   
2. Click the arrow next to each rule to toggle it open and see if the provider is attached to that rule.
   
   
   
   
3. For rules that include the provider but also have other providers attached:
   
   
   1. Click Edit .
      
      
   2. Click Edit Providers.
      
      
   3. Deselect the provider and click OK.
      
      
      
      
   4. Click Save.
      
      
4. For rules where the provider is the only provider attached but a new provider will offer the treatment instead:
   
   
   1. Click Edit .
      
      
   2. Click Edit Providers.
      
      
   3. Deselect the provider that's leaving and select any and all providers that will now be offering this treatment instead.  Then click OK.
      
      
      
      
   4. Click Save.
      
      
5. For rules where the provider is the only provider attached and no one else will be offering this treatment OR for rules that are provider-specific (i.e. the provider's name is in the rule name):
   
   
   1. Click Delete to delete the rule completely:
      
      
      
      
6. Click Settings to return to the main Smart Scheduling Settings page and click the Providers button.
   
   
7. Toggle the provider to off (gray):
   
   

 

If your practice already uses Smart Scheduling for new patients and recalls but your existing patients aren't able to schedule online yet, you may be tempted to simply toggle Allow existing patients to schedule online to on (blue) in your Smart Scheduling General Settings.  If you do this without setting up treatments and rules, though, you'll see this error message:

To enable Smart Scheduling for existing patients:

1. Follow the instructions in Adding a Treatment to Your Smart Scheduling Settings to add treatments for existing patients to schedule online and the Smart Scheduling rules that go along with them.
   
   
2. Return to your Smart Scheduling General Settings and toggle Allow existing patients to schedule online to on (blue).  Then click Save.
   
   
   
   

 

If your practice no longer wants to offer a particular treatment as an option for online scheduling, you may see an error message if you don't edit the Smart Scheduling rules it's attached to first:

To remove a treatment from Smart Scheduling:

1. Click Settings to return to the main Smart Scheduling Settings page and click the Smart Scheduling Rules button:
   
   
   
   
2. Locate the rule for the treatment you no longer want to offer and click the arrow next to it to toggle it open.  Then click the delete icon to remove it from your rules. 
   
   
   
   If you have more than one rule for the treatment, repeat this process to delete each of these rules.
   
   
3. Click Settings to return to the main Smart Scheduling Settings page and click the Treatments button.
   
   
4. Toggle the treatment to off (gray):
   
   

 

If you're creating Recall Rules for your practice's recall treatments (like Prophy and Perio), you may see an error message if you try to create multiple rules for the same recall type:

The good news is that you don't need more than one rule per type!  Even if you have multiple Treatments for a recall type in your Treatment Settings (for example, a Cleaning for recall patients and a Cleaning for existing patients), you only need one Recall Rule to cover them both.  Simply click OKAY to remove the error pop-up and move on to adding your Smart Scheduling Rules.

 

For any error not listed above, contact our Customer Support team for further troubleshooting.  We're glad to help!

 

On rare occasion, Dentrix users have experienced patients being able to schedule on days that a provider isn't available, even when the Vacation days are set in Dentrix. Because it's so rare, this may only affect a single provider at the practice. To fix this:

1. In Dentrix, open the Schedule for the provider with the issue:
   1. Select Setup in the toolbar and select Provider Setup.
   2. Select the provider and click the Schedule button:
      
      
2. Find and select the affected day on their calendar.  Then click Options and choose Delete Vacation Day:
   
   
3. With the day still selected, click Options and choose Reset Hours to default on selected date:
   
   
   
4. With the day still selected, click Options again and choose Set Vacation on selected date:
   
   

To make sure YAPI has recognized the provider's updated availability:

1. Log into the Practice Online Portal (POP).
   
   

2. Click Smart Scheduling in the left-hand menu and select Settings:

   
   
   

3. On the Smart Scheduling settings page, scroll down and click the Smart Scheduling Rules button:
   
   
   
   

4. Find the scheduling rule for the appointment type that your patient was able to schedule on the provider's vacation day.
   
   
5. Click the arrow next to that rule to toggle it open.  Then click the Appt Availability icon:
   
   
   
   
6. In the calendar, select the date that was causing the issue.  Beneath the calendar, you should now only see providers listed who are available and not the provider who has vacation that day: