Choose which client-facing languages your organization offers in CoolFocus. English is always required. The languages you turn on control what clients can pick on the Client Portal, and which translation fields your staff see when customizing messages, forms, and booking content.
Why this setting matters
Supported languages are an organization-wide choice. They do not change the language of the staff app (staff work in English). They do control the client experience and how much translation work your team can maintain in one place.
When you add a language here, CoolFocus uses that same list across client-facing areas, including:
- Client Portal — the language picker in the portal header (only languages you enable appear).
- Online booking — public appointment names, descriptions, instructions, and preparation text you translate per language.
- Scheduler reminders — automatic and manual reminder messages, plus confirmation replies, per supported language.
- Intake messages — SMS and email introductions sent when forms and consents go out before an appointment.
- Client forms and consents — field labels and help text in the form builder (translate buttons appear for each non-English language you support).
- Consent documents and related scheduler intake settings tied to those languages.
- Dropdown lists (Manage List) — optional translated labels for list values your clients may see, for the languages you support.
- Secure Message Invite (Inbox module) — optional translated invite text when you start a secured conversation.
If a language is not on your supported list, you will not see translation editors for it in these areas, and clients will not be able to select it on the portal.
Choosing languages is only the first step. After you enable a language, staff still need to enter or generate translations in each place above (or leave blanks to use CoolFocus defaults where that applies).
What your subscription package includes
How many languages you can turn on depends on your CoolFocus package (Core, Plus, or Premium). Your organization's current package is shown under Settings → Plan & Billing.
- Core — English and Spanish are the standard client-facing languages. This covers online client forms and consents (English & Spanish) and English & Spanish text reminder templates.
- Plus — Everything in Core, plus the ability to enable additional languages beyond English and Spanish for the client portal, forms, consents, reminders, intake messages, and related translations.
- Premium — The same additional-language capability as Plus for these client-facing features. Premium adds other advanced capabilities elsewhere on the platform; language packaging for translations matches Plus.
CoolFocus maintains a supported language library you pick from when adding languages (currently 44 options, including regional variants such as Portuguese (Brazil) and Portuguese (Portugal)). Plus and Premium can enable any of the additional languages in that library—not only Spanish. Core organizations should plan on English and Spanish as the standard client-facing pair.
If you need a language your package does not include, contact CoolFocus support or your account representative about upgrading to Plus or Premium, or about your organization's entitlements.
How to select supported languages
The same organization-wide list is saved in two places in Settings. You only need to update it once; both screens write to the same setting.
Option A — Client Portal settings (recommended)
- Open Settings (gear icon).
- Under Modules, open Care Settings or Scheduler Settings (whichever your organization uses for scheduling and the client portal).
- In the sidebar, under Client Portal, choose General.
- On the General tab, find Supported Languages (“Languages available to clients on your portal”).
- Add or remove languages with the language chips. English cannot be removed — it is always required.
- Select Save Changes.
Path in short: Settings → Modules → Care Settings (or Scheduler Settings) → Client Portal → General → Supported Languages.
Option B — Scheduler reminders
- Open Settings → Schedule → Reminders.
- At the top, under Client-facing languages, add or remove languages the same way.
- Select Save Languages.
Use this screen when you are already configuring reminders and want to unlock translated reminder editors in the same visit.
After you add languages — where to add translations
Enabling a language does not automatically translate your content. Plan time to customize (or use the in-app translate helper where offered) in areas such as:
- Settings → Schedule → Reminders — message text for each reminder rule, per language.
- Settings → Intake & documents → Intake Message — SMS intro, email intro, and email subject.
- Settings → Communication → Secure Message Invite — secured messaging invite (Inbox).
- Settings → Schedule → Appointment Types — public names, descriptions, and instructions for online booking.
- Client form templates and consent documents — labels and text in the scheduler form builder.
- Manage List editors — translated labels for dropdown options, when those lists are client-facing.
See Reminders, Notifications, and Intake Messages, Customizing Intake & Secure Message Templates, and Online Booking Configuration for next steps.
Not the same as “Primary Language” on a client record
On a client, donor, or volunteer record, Primary Language is a separate field that describes that person's preferred language. It comes from your organization's Primary Language dropdown list (maintained under Care lookups/lists). It does not turn languages on or off for the whole organization.
Good to know
- Supported languages apply to clients using the portal and booking flows, not to internal staff screens.
- If clients report missing a language on the portal, confirm the language is both enabled in Supported Languages and allowed by your package.
- Test with a real appointment type and portal login after you add a language: pick the language on the portal, complete a booking or form, and confirm reminders use the expected translation.
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