FAQ
The questions a front deskactually asks.
If yours is not here, the contact page reaches the people who built Desk. Pricing questions are on the pricing page.
Taking a call
How little typing, really?
On a returning caller who books: the phone number. Name, history and preferences are known; answers, time and outcome are chips with keys; the note is written from the answers. For a new caller you also type their name.
What if the caller changes their mind mid-call?
Every step can be revisited with the arrow keys; a held slot is released the moment a different one is chosen. A call can be parked and resumed when they ring back.
Does it work on a phone or tablet?
Yes. The portal is responsive and can be installed as an app. It is built keyboard-first because that is what a receptionist has.
What about walk-ins?
One button: the next free slot from now. A walk-in is an enquiry like any other, so it counts in every report.
Bookings
How does the hold work?
Picking a slot holds it for ten minutes by default (a Blueprint setting). Nobody else can take it; it becomes a booking when the call is saved and is released if it is not.
Can a doctor or a table have its own hours?
Yes. Every resource has a weekly schedule and time off. Time off with bookings in the way asks you to decide each one: move, keep or cancel.
Which messages go to customers?
Email: confirmation, reschedule, cancellation and reminders, each with its own template. WhatsApp and SMS are in development and not available yet.
What if the diary is full?
The waitlist (Business and Enterprise). When a slot opens, the first fitting entry is offered.
The Blueprint
Can we change the words the product uses?
Yes, on every plan. Enquiry, Patient, Reservation, Table, Doctor: every screen follows.
Can we add our own fields and questions?
On Business and Enterprise. Fields have types, options, shortcuts, conditions and validation; flows decide the order they are asked in.
What stops a change from breaking old records?
The validator. Removing a field or changing its type is refused; you archive instead, and every enquiry remembers the version it was taken under.
Who can edit it?
Owners and admins, as a draft agents never see until it is published. Varynt's onboarding team can send an updated template to your draft, never over your published desk.
Accounts, data and security
What are the roles?
Owner, admin, manager, agent and viewer. Agents are scoped to their locations; viewers see their own day and never use a seat.
Is the data ours?
Entirely. Owners and admins can export the whole workspace as a zip of CSV files at any time.
How are personal fields protected?
Personal fields are marked in the Blueprint and masked in exports for anyone without permission.
Do you share our contacts with anyone?
No. We process your desk's data to run your desk and nothing else. See the privacy policy.
Can we use one sign-in for other Varynt products?
Yes. The same Varynt account opens Work, Invoice and Knowledge.
Do you support single sign-on?
Yes, on Enterprise: SAML or OIDC with your own identity provider, such as Okta, Microsoft Entra ID or Google Workspace, after your email domains are proven by a DNS record. SCIM provisioning comes with it, so your identity provider adds, switches off and removes people and syncs groups. Both are set up once for your whole organization.