Comparing systems
Looking for an AesthetiDocs alternative?
No claims about other products appear on this page. What follows is what PillarClinic does for clinical documentation in a UK aesthetic clinic, and a set of questions you can put to any system — including this one — before you commit.
Who this page is for
- Clinics whose documentation tool sits apart from the diary and payments
- Practitioners who want notes, consent, photos and prescriptions in one episode
- Clinics taking on staff and needing role separation and an audit trail
- Owners preparing for an inspection or an insurance review
- Anyone consolidating several subscriptions into a single system
Why clinics look at alternatives
Documentation-focused tools do the hardest part well. Clinics start looking when the surrounding operations — bookings, payments, stock, compliance — remain manual around a strong clinical core.
Documentation without a diary
If the notes system does not own the appointment, someone keeps two calendars in step by hand.
The paperwork behind the paperwork
Policies, staff acknowledgement, training records and inspection evidence are a different job from writing a treatment note, and often have no home.
Money and records apart
Invoices, deposits and refunds recorded elsewhere make it hard to see a client's complete history in one place.
What PillarClinic covers
Clinical documentation sits at the centre, with the operational parts of a clinic attached to it.
Structured clinical episodes
A course of treatment holds consultation, consent, session notes, photos, mapping, products and prescriptions together.
Session sealing and audit trail
Completed sessions can be sealed, and clinic activity is recorded in an audit log so the record's history is verifiable.
Consent and intake automation
The right forms for the treatment are sent when the appointment is created, signed in advance and locked once signed.
AI note taker with review
Dictate the session, review the extracted detail, then save. Nothing enters the record without a human accepting it.
Prescribing and traceability
A separate prescriber role, POM services, private prescriptions and batch-level product usage per session.
Compliance, bookings and payments
Versioned policies with acknowledgement and training records, alongside the diary, deposits, till and invoicing.
A fair comparison framework
Score each system yourself against these questions, from a demo with your own treatments rather than from a website.
| Question to ask | PillarClinic | System you are comparing |
|---|---|---|
| Does one record hold consent, notes, photos and prescriptions? | Yes — the treatment episode holds all of them for the same course of care. | Ask the vendor |
| Is there an audit trail of clinical activity? | Yes — an audit log plus session sealing for completed treatments. | Ask the vendor |
| Is AI-drafted content reviewed before saving? | Yes — an explicit extraction review step precedes any save. | Ask the vendor |
| Does the same system own the diary and deposits? | Yes — bookings, deposits, invoices and records are one system. | Ask the vendor |
| Are policies versioned and acknowledged by staff? | Yes — with review alerts and an inspection pack export. | Ask the vendor |
| How is access limited by role? | Admin, practitioner, prescriber and reception roles enforced at the database level. | Ask the vendor |
| Can you export the full record if you leave? | Yes — record exports and per-client subject access exports. | Ask the vendor |
PillarClinic is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to AesthetiDocs. Product names are the trademarks of their respective owners. We publish no claims about another vendor's features, pricing or limitations — confirm those with them directly.
Written around UK aesthetic documentation
Terminology, templates and retention behaviour assume a UK private aesthetic clinic.
- Consent and intake templates you author and version
- Private prescriptions with clinic and prescriber details
- Batch traceability suitable for recall and adverse event review
- Retention periods and subject access export per clinic
- Aesthetic policy and SOP starting points in the compliance library
Documentation as a by-product of the work
- 1
Before
Consent and medical history arrive with the booking, so the record starts before the client does.
- 2
During
Notes, photos, mapping and batches are recorded in the room, or dictated and reviewed straight afterwards.
- 3
After
Aftercare goes out, the session can be sealed, and the episode stands as complete evidence of the treatment.
Pricing philosophy
One inclusive plan, because documentation, compliance and prescribing are the point of clinic software rather than premium extras.
£49 per month, pro plan
- Every module included on paid plans
- Unlimited clients, episodes and forms
- AI credits included monthly and carried over
- Group plan for multi-site clinics
Questions clinics ask
- Is PillarClinic affiliated with AesthetiDocs?
- No. PillarClinic is independent and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to AesthetiDocs.
- Why is there no feature table comparing the two?
- We would have to describe a product we do not control, and that description would age badly. Ask them directly and use the framework above to compare like for like.
- Can I import historic notes and documents?
- Clients and appointments import from CSV through the Migration Centre, and historic PDFs can be uploaded to each client's document library.
- Is the AI note taker mandatory?
- No. Notes can be typed as normal; the dictation and drafting features are optional and metered in credits when used.
Who PillarClinic suits — and who may prefer another system
A comparison is only useful if it is honest about fit. This is written from what PillarClinic does today, not from any claim about AesthetiDocs. If the right-hand column describes your clinic, keep looking.
PillarClinic tends to suit
- UK aesthetic clinics from a single room up to a small group of sites
- Prescribers and practitioners who want consent, notes, prescribing and aftercare on one record
- Clinics that need governance evidence — policies, training, risks, inspection packs — rather than a separate folder of documents
- Owners who want bookings, recalls and revenue reporting driven by real clinical activity
- Teams willing to move over with CSV exports of clients and appointments
You may prefer another system if
- You run a large multi-site group needing bespoke enterprise integrations or a dedicated account team
- Your business is mainly non-medical beauty, hair or spa retail rather than aesthetic treatment
- You depend on an existing integration or hardware we do not support — ask us before you assume either way
- You need a full accounting package rather than invoicing that syncs to Xero
- You want an on-premise install; PillarClinic is hosted only
Cost and plans are set out on the pricing and registration page, and how your data is held is documented in the trust centre.
Test it on a real treatment
Create an account and document one full treatment — consent, notes, photos, aftercare — before you decide.