Answers before tickets
Getting started, your data, sync, the portal and licensing — the questions practices actually ask, answered plainly.
Getting started
What do I need to run SideClick?
A Mac (Apple Silicon or Intel) for the signed desktop release, or Windows for the unsigned preview build. The clinician mobile app is a PWA — it installs from the browser on iPhone, iPad and Android with a Practice edition.
How do I start — is there a trial?
Download, install, register, work. Every new install gets a full-featured 30-day evaluation window with no card and no key. When it ends, everything you documented stays fully accessible; installing a licence key is what keeps new patient intake open.
Do I need to set up a server?
No. Solo practices run entirely on one machine. Multi-device sync on Practice editions uses our relay — there is nothing for you to host, and the relay only ever stores ciphertext.
Your data
How do backups work?
Export an encrypted .cfbak file at any time — it captures the whole practice and restores from scratch. Practice editions also keep an encrypted relay-side backup. Both stay available in every licence state.
How is my data protected on disk?
The database is encrypted at rest (SQLCipher, AES-256) with keys held in hardware-backed custody on your machine. Field-level encryption covers sensitive values inside it; raw keys never appear in the interface or in logs.
How do I get data out?
FHIR bundles, PDF reports, CSV and the .cfbak archive — from the export screens, in every licence state, forever. De-identified export with automatic redaction is built in for sharing beyond the care relationship. More on export & backup.
How do I bring data in from my old system?
Fill the CSV templates from your old system's export and import them under Settings → Import data: patients and historical session notes come across, with a preview of problems and duplicates before anything is written. Prior PDFs attach to each chart as documents. The migration guide & templates.
Sync & devices
How do I add a second device?
With a Practice edition, enroll the device from the app — enrollment is explicit, and a seat includes three devices. The new device receives the encrypted history through the relay and converges automatically.
What if a device is lost or stolen?
Revoke it. Its sync access ends immediately, and the data already on it stays encrypted at rest — losing hardware is not disclosing records.
What happens when I work offline?
Everything keeps working — the app is local-first. Changes queue on the device and sync merges them when you're back online; simultaneous edits converge rather than overwrite.
Patient portal
What's the difference between the kiosk and the portal?
The in-office kiosk — patients completing forms on a practice device — ships in every edition including Solo. The remote portal, where patients message, book and complete PROMs from home, is what the Portal edition adds.
How do patients get access?
By invitation from the practice. You control who can message and book; patients see only their own record's surface — messages, documents, forms and bookings.
Licensing & billing
How do licence keys work?
One key covers the practice — every desktop installs the same key, with seats for named practitioners (admin, front-desk and auditor accounts are free). Verification is offline after a one-time activation, so an outage on our side can't lock you out.
What exactly stops working if my licence lapses?
Growth-side capabilities pause — sync, new device enrollment, portal publishing. Your existing records stay readable, editable and exportable in every licence state. The full capability matrix is published on the pricing page. See the degradation matrix.
How do I manage my subscription?
Card and seat management runs through our merchant of record's customer portal — the billing link in the site footer takes you there.
Not answered here? support@sideclick.io reaches the people who build the product.
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Full capability, no card required. Your data stays on your machine either way.
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