Ask the operations lead of a dental group how quickly their practices reply to new patient enquiries, and the honest answer is usually "it depends which practice, and I can't see it". Each site has its own phone, its own inbox, its own WhatsApp, and its own idea of what good looks like.
This is what we think head office needs to see, in roughly the order it matters, and how Group HQ in ReplyOS handles each part.
First, the live queue
The most useful number in a group is not a monthly conversion rate. It is how many enquiries are open right now, how many are still waiting for a first reply, and how many have gone past the reply time the group has set.
In Group HQ that is the "Right now" strip at the top of the overview, with a list of practices that need attention and why. From there you can open the group inbox and see the conversations themselves. A reply sent from head office goes out under that practice's own settings, so the patient hears from their practice, not from "the group".
Comparing practices fairly
A league table is only fair if every practice is measured the same way. Group HQ uses the same definitions as each practice's own dashboard and shows every practice on every measure, with its rank and its percentage of target. With five or more practices, the top and bottom fifth are shaded.
Leakage gets its own view, ranked by practice with the main cause. The definition is deliberately plain: an enquiry counts as leaked when it was lost or missed its reply time, and its value is the estimate recorded on it. Converted enquiries are left out. If a practice doesn't record estimates, its leakage value will be low, and that is a data problem to fix, not good news.
Setting standards without taking control away
Groups want consistency, and practice managers want to run their practice. Group HQ lets the group push four areas to its practices: message templates, AI assist settings, automation and quiet hours, and booking configuration. A confirmation shows what will be replaced before anything is pushed, and every push is logged.
Practices see a "Managed by the group" banner on those settings. They can still edit locally, and a drift view shows head office which practices match the standard, which are missing something and which have drifted. The next push from the group wins.
Routing rules are not pushed, and Group HQ does not move enquiries between practices. Routing depends on each practice's own locations and team, so it stays with the practice.
Monday morning and the board
Every Monday morning group admins get a digest by email: the headline numbers, practices below target and the biggest movers, starting with what is open right now. It never includes patient contact details.
For board meetings there is a board pack for a chosen period, with headline changes, the league table, leakage by cause and what needs attention. It is designed to print or save as a PDF from the browser.
What it doesn't do yet
- No practice management system integration. ReplyOS sits at the enquiry stage, before the PMS.
- No single sign-on yet. Sign-in is by email link; SSO is on the roadmap and discussed per rollout.
- No cross-practice search, and no automatic routing between practices.
- Group billing is agreed per rollout rather than bought online.
Who can do what: group admins see every practice and can push standards and set targets. The group owner decides which areas are managed and which practice sets the standard. Each practice's own team is still managed inside that practice.
Questions
Can head office reply to patients on behalf of a practice?
Yes. In Group HQ a group admin can open a practice's conversation and reply, and the message goes out under that practice's own settings and wording.
Does Group HQ route enquiries between practices?
No. Routing stays with each practice because it depends on that practice's locations and team. Group HQ pushes templates, AI settings, automation and booking configuration, not routing rules.
Does the weekly digest include patient details?
No. The Monday digest shows practice-level numbers only and never includes patient contact details.