If something looks wrong - troubleshooting & FAQ

Find your symptom below. Each feature page also has its own Gotchas section for the traps specific to that screen.

If a step mentions something you can't see, that's usually fine - parts of Wattle are switched on per clinic, and your account may not have permission for everything. A setting, not a fault.

The three questions that solve most of it

1. Can a colleague with a different role see it? Then it's permissions - ask whoever set up your clinic.
2. Can nobody see it? Then it's either coming soon or not switched on for your clinic.
3. Did it maybe just get filtered out of view? Most lists hide something by default (see below).

"I can't sign in"

• Check you're using the same email you registered with.
• Forgot password? on the sign-in screen sends you a reset link. You don't need to be signed in.
• Check you're on your clinic's link. Lost it? Ask your clinic owner.
• Invite codes expire after 7 days and work once. Ask for a fresh one.

Still stuck? Your account may not be fully set up - ask your clinic admin. See Signing in.

"My changes won't save / I got signed out"

A tab left open a long while can have its session quietly expire. When that happens, Wattle shows "Your session has expired" rather than letting the save fail silently.

• Sign in again - gets a fresh session, then carry on.
• Not now - closes the dialog without signing you back in. Use this when you have unsaved text on screen you want to copy first.

The safe routine: click Not now, copy anything unsaved into a note, then sign in again and paste it back.

"A button is greyed out"

"Something is hidden"

Most lists hide something by default to stay tidy:

"I clicked something and nothing happened"

• Archive and Delete on the Clients list aren't wired up yet. They look clickable and do nothing. Contact support to manage an inactive client.
• Book Appointment in the patient list row menu isn't wired up. Open the patient's page and use its ⋯ instead.
• The notifications settings gear points at a page that isn't built. Use your browser's back button.
• A time field that looks empty hides its clock icon until you hover. Type the time directly as 14:30.
• You can't drag to reorder on a tablet. The grip handle (≡) needs a mouse or trackpad.
• Some things only reveal themselves on hover or click - colour swatches show their name on hover, the appointment status pill is a dropdown, and dashboard summary cards are clickable across the whole card.
• A button that's saving shows a spinner and won't take a second click. On a slow connection a save can sit there for several seconds. Wait for it rather than clicking again - and if a button ever spins for more than about 30 seconds, reload the page and check whether the change went through before redoing it.

"I made a mistake"

Breathe. The only truly permanent actions are deleting a draft and deleting a record outright. When you see Delete in red, slow down and read the confirmation. Almost everything else leaves a trail or can be reversed.

Careful with Start Consult - it also creates a consult and navigates you away, so save any appointment edits first.

"The numbers look wrong"

• An invoice reading Overdue that's been paid - was the payment recorded in Wattle, and was it allocated to that invoice? Unallocated money sits as account credit and the invoice balance doesn't move. See Taking payments.
• A patient's Account Balance looks too high - it's the owner's total across all their pets, not just this animal. Read Not yet billed and Invoices below it instead.
• Account terms of "0 days" means payment due at time of service, not "no terms".
• An invoice with no patient - a patient is optional (only the client is required). Always pick one where you can, so you can answer "what was this for?" later.
• An S8 balance that seems off is exactly what the register is built to surface. A vet reconciles with Adjust stock; a reason is required and the discrepancy is logged.

"It saved before I clicked Save"

Some screens save as you go, by design.

• Account Settings saves about half a second after you stop typing. No Save button needed.
• Clinic Settings fields save when you click away.
• Clinical notes autosave ~2 seconds after you stop typing.
• Vitals are the exception - they only save on Done, and pressing Enter saves immediately even if you're half done. Use Tab between fields.

"The notes say Waiting for signal"

Your typing is safe. It's held and sent by itself as soon as you're back in range - there's nothing to click and nothing to copy out first.

"Save failed" is the different one. That means your device thinks it has a connection, so something else stopped the save: check the visit hasn't been finalised, or that a colleague hasn't changed it while you had it open.

"I lost notes when the app closed"

From beta.422 (16 August 2026) you shouldn't. Unsaved notes are kept on the device and offered back with Restore it when you reopen the visit, so a crash, a force-quit or a flat battery no longer takes them.

Two cases it deliberately does not cover:

• After a sign-out. Unsaved notes are wiped on sign-out and tied to whoever typed them, so a shared clinic computer never offers one person's notes to the next. Being signed out mid-sentence still loses the typing.
• Notes older than a day, which are cleared automatically.

"Changing my password logged me out"

Expected, and worth knowing before you click. Change Password signs you out immediately and sends you to the reset page - there's no warning dialog. Save your work in this and any other open tabs first.

"I can't change my own email or role"

Both are intentionally locked. Your email is managed by support (hello@wattlevet.com); your role is changed by a Practice Manager from Settings → Team. You can't change your own role - a deliberate safety measure so nobody quietly grants themselves more access.

Quick FAQ

How do I delete my account? Email hello@wattlevet.com. The on-screen button is greyed out on purpose so it only happens by deliberate request. Typically actioned within a few business days.

Why is my avatar just my initials? That's the placeholder when no photo is uploaded. Add one in Account → Profile Photo.

Why must I finish onboarding first? The first-login wizard is required and runs once, about five minutes. The separate floating Getting Started checklist is optional and just tracks progress.

I dismissed the Welcome message - can I see it again? It shows once, but the same summary lives in the Getting Started checklist.

Where did my export file go? Quietly into your browser's Downloads folder, with no pop-up. CSV gives you a ZIP containing several spreadsheets - that's normal.

Why can't I enter an international phone number? Australian numbers only. Store an overseas number in a notes or additional-contact field. Phone is usually optional anyway.

I can't change the patient on a completed appointment. Once Completed or Cancelled, the patient is locked to preserve the record as booked. Cancel and create a new appointment.

Three red errors at once when saving an appointment? You need at least one of patient, reason, or internal notes.

Still stuck?

If something genuinely isn't behaving - not just hidden or filtered - you won't be in trouble, and you almost certainly haven't broken anything.

Tell us from inside the app: Help & feedback, at the bottom of the sidebar. It comes straight to us and already knows which screen you were on, so you don't have to describe where you were.

Send a screenshot if you can. A picture of the thing going wrong saves more back and forth than any description. Paste one in with Ctrl+V (Cmd+V on a Mac), drag a file onto the box, or click Add a screenshot. Up to three images or PDFs, 10MB each. They upload while you keep typing, so Submit is instant.

You can still email hello@wattlevet.com, or ask your practice manager, if you'd rather.

Related

How the app talks to you · Buttons & symbols · Every screen at a glance · Glossary