Optometry Practice Management Software (2026, GDPR)

Optometry Practice Management Software (2026)

An optometry practice has one commercial fact that dominates everything: patients come back on a cycle. The annual (or biennial) eye test is the core of the business, and the practices that thrive are the ones that reliably get patients back for it. So while an optometry practice needs the usual booking, records, and reminders, the feature that actually moves revenue is recall - and doing it automatically instead of from a manual list.

This guide covers what an optometry practice needs, how to set it up, how the options compare, and the numbers that show the practice is healthy.

What an optometry practice needs

Automated eye-test recall

Recall is the revenue engine. Automated recall - a message when a patient is due their next test - is the difference between a full appointment book and a slow leak of patients who simply forget to rebook. It should run on the interval you set, per patient, with no spreadsheet to maintain. For a practice with thousands of patients on file, a manual recall list is unmanageable; automation is what keeps the diary full.

Online booking and reminders

Patients should self-book eye tests online, and a 24-hour reminder should protect the slots - a missed test is a slot that's hard to refill same-day. Self-booking also captures the patient who remembers at 9pm and would otherwise forget by morning.

Patient records, intake, and notes

Patient history in one place, with a pre-appointment intake (symptoms, medications, family history, current eyewear) and clinical notes if you want structured records rather than a free-text field. The optometrist walking into the test knowing the history is faster and safer than gathering it in the chair.

GDPR-grade data

Optometry records are health data - EU hosting, reviewed processor terms, and subject-rights support are required, which is where non-EU platforms add compliance overhead.

How to set it up (step by step)

1. Add optometrists and appointment types - "eye test", "contact-lens fitting", "specialist assessment" - with realistic durations.
2. Configure recall in Automations at your standard interval so due patients are contacted automatically.
3. Build a pre-appointment intake in Client Forms to send at booking.
4. Turn on Medical Records if you want structured clinical notes.
5. Set reminders (confirmation + 24-hour SMS) and, optionally, a deposit on longer appointments.
6. Publish online booking; add Multi-Location if you run more than one branch.

How the options compare

Feature	Tregovia	Optix / Ocuco	Acuitas / specialist optical	Generic booking
Automated recall	Yes (Automations)	Yes	Yes	Limited
Online booking + reminders	Yes	Yes	Varies	Yes
Clinical notes / intake	Yes (add-ons)	Yes	Yes	No
Dispensing / frame stock / retail	No	Yes	Yes	No
Spectacle-prescription management	No	Yes	Yes	No
EU hosting and processor terms	Yes	Verify	Verify	Varies
Pricing model	Flat rate - 2 staff incl., extra in 5-seat packs	Custom / per user	Custom	Per user

Competitor features and pricing change - verify at each vendor before deciding.

Specialist optical systems (Optix, Ocuco) bundle dispensing, frame/lens retail, and prescription management - essential if optical retail is central to your practice. A flat-rate, EU-hosted platform covers booking, recall, records, and billing at a lower, predictable cost; you keep a specialist optical system for dispensing and retail, or choose an all-in-one optical suite if you need everything in one. The recall-and-appointment layer, though, is exactly what a general platform does well.

What to look for when choosing

• Recall automation - the single biggest revenue lever.
• Online booking with SMS reminders.
• Pre-appointment intake saved to the record.
• Review hosting and privacy terms before importing production data.
• Flat pricing, with multi-branch support if you have more than one site.

Which numbers tell you it is working

• Recall conversion - the share of due patients who rebook after the automated message; this is the number that most directly drives revenue.
• No-show rate on test slots - reminders (and deposits on longer appointments) should keep it low.
• Online-booking share - the share of tests booked online vs by phone; a good booking page shifts load off the front desk.

Setting it up in Tregovia

Base plan (EUR 47/month): patient records, multi-optometrist calendar, SMS/email reminders (SMS per message via credits), online booking, billing.

Add-ons that matter:

• Automations (EUR 8/month): eye-test recall and rebooking - the key one.
• Medical Records (EUR 15/month): structured clinical notes and history.
• Client Forms (EUR 15/month): pre-appointment intake.
• Multi-Location (EUR 20/month): location-aware scheduling and reporting for multiple branches.

Typical setup: EUR 47 + EUR 8 (recall) = EUR 55/month; add records/forms/locations as needed. The 14-day trial flow is available from the signup page.

What Tregovia is not

It is not a specialist optical system. There is no dispensing module, no frame and lens stock or retail POS, and no spectacle-prescription management. It handles the appointment, recall, records, and CRM layer. A practice that lives on dispensing and optical retail should keep a dedicated optical suite for that part and use Tregovia for booking and recall - or pick an all-in-one optical system if you need dispensing built in.

The bottom line

For an optometry practice the highest-value thing software can do is make recall automatic - that's where the repeat revenue lives - on top of online booking, reminders, intake, and GDPR-grade records. Get patients reliably back for their next test and the practice stays full; the dispensing and retail can sit in a specialist tool alongside, and the appointment-and-recall engine runs on flat, EU-hosted pricing.

The practices that get the most from this treat recall as the priority setting, not an afterthought. Configure the interval once, let the reminders run, and the diary refills itself from the patient base you already have rather than from new-patient marketing - which is the cheapest growth an optical practice has.

Frequently asked questions

Does it automate eye-test recall?

Yes. Recall is the revenue engine of an optometry practice, and the Automations add-on (EUR 8/month) sends a recall message when a patient is due their next test - typically on a set interval - without you keeping a manual recall list. This is the single highest-value automation for an optical practice.

Can it store patient records and clinical notes?

Yes. Patient records are in the base plan, and the Medical Records module (EUR 15/month) adds SOAP-structured notes and history if you want structured clinical documentation. The base plan also has a per-appointment notes field.

Is patient data GDPR-ready?

Yes. Optometry records are health data (special-category under GDPR). Tregovia includes product workflows for access and erasure requests.

Can patients book eye tests online?

Yes. The online booking page lets patients self-book within your availability, and reminders reduce the no-shows that waste a test slot. Each optometrist can have their own calendar.

What does it cost?

Base plan EUR 47/month (booking, patient records, reminders, billing) plus Automations (EUR 8/month) for recall = EUR 55/month; add Medical Records (EUR 15/month) for structured clinical notes if needed. Flat rate. The 14-day trial flow is available from the signup page.

Does it handle dispensing, frame stock, or spectacle prescriptions?

No. Tregovia is not a specialist optical system - there is no dispensing module, frame/lens stock and retail, or spectacle-prescription management. It covers the practice-management layer: booking, recall, records, reminders, and billing. Practices that need dispensing and optical retail should keep a specialist optical system for that and use Tregovia for the appointment, recall, and CRM layer - or choose a dedicated optical suite if you need it all in one.

Can I take a medical/eye-history intake before the appointment?

Yes, with the Client Forms add-on (EUR 15/month). A pre-appointment questionnaire - symptoms, medications, family history, current eyewear - is sent at booking and saved to the record, so the optometrist reviews it before the test rather than gathering it in the chair.

Can it handle a multi-optometrist or multi-branch practice?

Each optometrist is a staff member with their own calendar (with staff managed inside the tenant account), and reports break down by optometrist. For multiple branches, the Multi-Location add-on (EUR 20/month) adds location-aware scheduling and reporting.

Can patients pay a deposit for longer appointments?

Yes, with the Online Payments add-on (EUR 15/month) you can require a deposit or prepayment per service via Stripe - useful for longer contact-lens fittings or specialist assessments that are costly to lose to a no-show.

How do I migrate my patient list and recall dates?

Patient records import from a CSV export of your current system, including the next-recall date so the recall automation picks up from where you are - no gap in the recall cycle. Historical clinical notes are typically attached as PDFs to the migrated record. Start with active patients and their recall dates so the diary keeps filling from day one.