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Features & Modules

KoNote is modular. Enable only the features your agency needs, and disable the rest to keep the interface clean.

Enable/Disable Features

  1. Click gear icon -> Features
  2. Enable or disable modules as needed
  3. Click the toggle button to see what will change before confirming

Feature Reference

Feature What it does Default
Programs Organise services into separate programs with their own staff, templates, and metrics On
Custom Participant Fields Extra data fields on participant files (funding source, referral date, etc.) Off
Metric Alerts Notify staff when outcome metrics hit thresholds Off
Event Tracking Record intake, discharge, crisis, and other significant events On
Program Reports Generate formatted outcome reports for funders Off
Consent Requirement Require participant consent before notes (PIPEDA/PHIPA) On
Email Messaging Send email reminders and messages to participants (requires SMTP) Off
SMS Messaging Send text message reminders to participants (requires Twilio) Off
Portal Journal Participant portal -- private journal feature On
Portal Messaging Participant portal -- messages to worker feature On
Surveys Structured feedback forms with trigger rules and shareable links Off
Participant Portal Secure portal where participants view goals, progress, and journal Off
AI Assist AI-powered features like goal builder and narrative generation Off
Groups Group sessions and attendance tracking On
Quick Notes Lightweight contact logging (phone, text, email) On
Analysis Charts Progress visualisation charts on participant files On

Features can be toggled at any time without losing data. Disabling a feature hides it from the interface but preserves all associated records.

Feature Dependency Map

Some features depend on or enhance others:

participant_portal
  +-- portal_journal
  +-- portal_messaging
  +-- surveys (portal survey section)

messaging_sms
  requires: TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID, TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN, TWILIO_FROM_NUMBER

messaging_email
  requires: EMAIL_HOST, EMAIL_HOST_USER, EMAIL_HOST_PASSWORD

surveys
  enhanced_by: participant_portal (portal survey fill)

program_reports
  enhanced_by: ai_assist (AI narrative generation)

Create Programs

A program is a distinct service line your agency offers.

  1. Click gear icon -> Programs
  2. Click + New Program
  3. Enter name and description
  4. Click Create

Assign staff to programs:

  1. Click the program name
  2. Select a user from the dropdown
  3. Choose role: "Coordinator" (manages) or "Staff" (delivers services)
  4. Click Add

Set Up Plan Templates

Plan templates are reusable blueprints for participant outcome plans.

Key concepts:

  • Section -- Broad category (Housing, Employment, Health)
  • Target -- Specific goal within a section
  • Template -- Collection of sections and targets

Create a template:

  1. Click gear icon -> Plan Templates
  2. Click + New Template
  3. Add sections and targets

Example template:

  • Housing
    • Maintain stable housing for 3+ months
    • Develop independent living skills
  • Employment
    • Enroll in or maintain employment/education
    • Achieve 80% attendance rate

Changes to templates don't affect existing participant plans.

Manage Outcome Metrics

Metrics are standardised measurements attached to plan targets (e.g., "PHQ-9 Score", "Housing Stability"). KoNote ships with a built-in library, and you can add your own.

Browse the metric library:

  1. Click gear icon -> Metric Library
  2. Metrics are grouped by category (Mental Health, Housing, Employment, etc.)
  3. Toggle the Enabled switch to make a metric available or unavailable for staff

Review and customise metrics using CSV (recommended for initial setup):

This workflow lets you review all metrics in Excel, decide which to enable, edit definitions, and push changes back -- without creating duplicates.

  1. Go to gear icon -> Metric Library
  2. Click Export to CSV -- this downloads a spreadsheet with every metric
  3. Open the file in Excel. Each row has:
Column What it means
id System identifier -- don't change this (it's how KoNote matches rows back)
name What staff see when recording outcomes
definition How to score/measure it -- guides staff on consistent data entry
category Grouping: mental_health, housing, employment, substance_use, youth, general, custom
min_value / max_value Valid range (e.g., 0-27 for PHQ-9)
unit Label for the value (score, days, %)
is_enabled yes = available for use, no = hidden from staff
status active or deactivated
  1. Make your changes:
    • Set is_enabled to no for metrics your organisation won't use
    • Edit definition to match your agency's scoring guidelines
    • Change category to reorganise how metrics are grouped
    • Add new rows at the bottom (leave the id column blank for new metrics)
  2. Save the file as CSV
  3. Go back to Metric Library -> click Import from CSV
  4. Upload your edited file -- KoNote shows a preview:
    • Rows with an ID are marked Update (overwrites the existing metric)
    • Rows without an ID are marked New (creates a new metric)
  5. Review the preview, then click Import

Tips:

  • Don't delete the id column -- it prevents duplicates when re-importing
  • You can repeat this workflow any time (export -> edit -> re-import)
  • Deactivating a metric doesn't affect historical data already recorded
  • All exports and imports are recorded in the audit log

Add a single metric manually:

  1. Click gear icon -> Metric Library -> Add Custom Metric
  2. Fill in name, definition, category, range, and unit
  3. Click Save

Set Up Progress Note Templates

Note templates define the structure for progress notes. When staff write a note, they see a dropdown labelled "This note is for..." with options like "Standard session" or "Crisis intervention." Each option is a template you create here.

Default templates: KoNote comes with six templates pre-configured:

Template Use case
Standard session Regular participant meetings
Brief check-in Quick touchpoints
Phone/text contact Remote contact documentation
Crisis intervention Safety concerns, urgent situations
Intake assessment First meeting with new participants
Case closing Discharge and case closure

Staff can also select "Freeform" for unstructured notes without pre-defined sections.

Create or edit templates:

  1. Click Manage -> Note Templates (or go to Settings -> Note Templates)
  2. Click + New Template
  3. Enter a name (this appears in the "This note is for..." dropdown)
  4. Add sections:
    • Basic Text -- free-text area for narrative notes
    • Plan Targets -- shows the participant's active plan targets with metric inputs
  5. Set the sort order for each section
  6. Click Save

Example template structure:

Standard session

  • Session summary (Basic Text)
  • Plan progress (Plan Targets)
  • Next steps (Basic Text)

Tips:

  • Keep template names short and action-oriented (staff see them in a dropdown)
  • Include a "Plan progress" section (Plan Targets type) to capture outcome metrics
  • Archive templates instead of deleting them to preserve historical data

Note consent checkbox: When staff create or edit a progress note, they see a checkbox labelled "We created this note together (this is recommended)." This checkbox is optional by default -- staff can save a note without ticking it. The checkbox encourages co-creation with participants but does not block note submission, because a mandatory tick can become a reflexive click that creates a false audit trail. If your agency's internal policy requires documented co-creation confirmation on every note, contact your KoNote administrator to discuss re-enabling this as a required field.

Configure Custom Fields

Capture agency-specific information not in the standard participant form.

Create a field group:

  1. Click gear icon -> Custom Client Fields
  2. Click + New Field Group
  3. Enter title (e.g., "Funding & Referral")

Add custom fields:

  1. Click + New Custom Field
  2. Configure:
    • Name: e.g., "Funding Source"
    • Type: Text, Number, Date, Dropdown, Checkbox
    • Required: Staff must fill in
    • Sensitive: Contains private information
    • Choices: (for dropdowns) "Government, Private, Foundation"

Set Up Registration Forms

Registration forms let people sign up for your programs through a public web page -- no login required. You create a registration link, share it or embed it on your website, and submissions come into KoNote for your team to review.

How It Works

  1. You create a registration link tied to a specific program
  2. You share the link (or embed it on your website as an iframe)
  3. Someone fills out the form -- their information is saved and encrypted
  4. Your team reviews the submission -- and can approve, reject, waitlist, or merge with an existing participant

When a submission is approved, KoNote automatically creates a new participant record and enrols them in the program.

Create a Registration Link

  1. Click Manage -> Registration
  2. Click + New Registration Link
  3. Fill in:
Field What it does
Program Which program registrants will be enrolled in (required)
Title Heading shown on the form (e.g., "Summer Program Registration")
Description Instructions or welcome message shown above the form
Field groups Which custom fields to include (optional -- basic name/email/phone are always shown)
Auto-approve If checked, submissions create participants immediately without staff review
Max registrations Capacity limit -- form closes when reached (leave blank for unlimited)
Closes at Deadline -- form closes after this date (leave blank for no deadline)
  1. Click Save

You'll get a public URL and an embed code you can paste into your website.

Tip: Confidential programs cannot have registration links -- this is a safety feature.

Sharing the Registration Link

Direct link: Copy the URL and share it by email, social media, or your website.

Embed on a website: Copy the iframe embed code and paste it into your website's HTML. The form will appear directly on your page.

Reviewing Submissions

When someone submits a registration form (and auto-approve is off):

  1. Click Manage -> Submissions
  2. You'll see submissions organised by status: Pending, Approved, Rejected, Waitlisted
  3. Click a submission to see the details

For each submission, you can:

Action What happens
Approve Creates a new participant record and enrols them in the program
Merge Links the submission to an existing participant (avoids duplicates)
Waitlist Parks the submission -- you can approve or reject it later
Reject Marks it as rejected with a reason -- no participant is created

Duplicate detection: KoNote automatically flags submissions that match an existing participant's email or name. This helps you avoid creating duplicates -- use the Merge option when a match is found.

Auto-Approve vs. Manual Review

Mode Best for
Manual review (default) Programs where staff need to screen applicants, check eligibility, or manage capacity
Auto-approve Open programs where anyone who registers should be enrolled immediately

With auto-approve on, each submission instantly creates a participant record and enrols them. Staff can still see all submissions under Admin -> Submissions.

Tips

  • Each registration link is tied to one program -- create separate links for different programs
  • Custom field groups let you collect additional information (demographics, referral source, etc.)
  • Registration links can be deactivated without deleting them -- toggle Is Active off
  • All submissions are encrypted -- personal information is protected the same way as participant records
  • Every submission gets a unique reference number (e.g., REG-A1B2C3D4) shown on the confirmation page

Suggestion Themes

KoNote automatically identifies recurring themes from participant suggestions captured in progress notes. This helps program managers and executives understand what participants are asking for and track how the agency responds.

How It Works

  1. Staff capture suggestions -- Every progress note includes a "Participant Suggestions" field. Staff record what participants suggest or request during sessions.
  2. Automatic theme linking -- When a note is saved, KoNote checks the suggestion text against existing theme keywords. If a match is found, the note is automatically linked to that theme (Tier 1 automation).
  3. AI-generated themes -- During Outcome Insights analysis, KoNote can identify new themes from unlinked suggestions using AI (Tier 2 automation, requires OpenRouter API key).
  4. Manual theme management -- Program managers can also create themes manually and link suggestions to them.

Managing Themes

  1. Click Manage -> Suggestions to view all suggestion themes
  2. Each theme shows: name, description, keywords for auto-linking, status, and linked notes count
  3. Create new themes with Add Theme -- include keywords that will trigger automatic linking

Theme Status Workflow

Status Meaning
Open Theme identified but not yet acted on
In Progress Agency is actively responding to this feedback
Addressed Action has been taken; theme is resolved
Won't Do Theme reviewed but agency decided not to act (with reason)

Executive Dashboard Integration

The executive dashboard shows the top suggestion themes per program, giving leadership visibility into what participants across the agency are asking for.

Common Questions

Q: Do staff need to fill all custom fields?

A: Only if marked "Required".

Q: Does editing a template affect existing plans?

A: No. Templates only apply to new plans.

Q: What if I delete a program?

A: You can't delete programs with active participants. Deactivate instead.

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