What is Doulado?

Doulado is an all-in-one customer relationships management (CRM) software for doulas. You can use it to send and receive paperwork, collaborate with other doulas, take better client notes, send invoices, collect payments, schedule visits, submit claims and build trust with your clients.

Why doulas and why now?

Doulado is one of the first platforms designed exclusively for all kinds of doulas, birth workers and care workers who assist and support people through many of life’s important journeys. The US is making headlines right now for its dismal maternal mortality rate - especially for Black women - but data on doulas indicates they can play a vital role in addressing this public health crisis.

We believe a professional, high-quality software like Doulado can help by allowing doulas to streamline important but routine tasks, take advantage of rapidly emerging opportunities to submit to insurance, and free their energy so they can focus on what they do best: savings lives.

Is Doulado secure?

Yes. Your privacy and security are as important to us as they are to you and your vulnerable population. We will never sell or use your client information, and we use industry-standard secure servers to store your data. We also have a two factor authentication to increase security with logging into your account.

I have more questions, feedback, or a feature I’d like to suggest

We would love, love, love to hear it. Reach out at support@doulado.co. 

I’d like to partner and/or become an affiliate

We feel like the best way to grow is by linking arms with you, and growing together. If you think you’d be a good affiliate candidate, just email support@doulado.co and we’ll share information about our new affiliate program!

Technology isn’t my favorite

We’re building Doulado from a people-first, neurodivergent perspective. If you’re having trouble with any part of Doulado, please reach out so we can help! support@doulado.co  

How does Doulado give back?

We believe care workers have been traditionally overlooked by society, and as a result, we all suffer - but especially people on the margins. Our goal is to build a business that helps care workers grow their own businesses. We’re doing this by building an affiliate business model that helps us share equity and ownership through residual income, so that you build actual economic wealth as you do the work you’re called to do. We believe sustaining doulas’ work is vital to the wellbeing of our world, and we’re doing our part to make it happen. 

Read more: Sliding Scale Pricing: Our Commitment to Sustainable, Community-Led Care

Can I accept payments in Doulado? 

Yes! We use Stripe for secure transactions (with an industry-standard 3-5% processing fee).

The Stripe fee is 3.2% + $0.30 per card transaction. There is also an option for clients to pay via ACH transfer, which has a lesser fee of 1.1% on first $625, 0.3% after that!

You can also control the payment options for clients to align with your payment preferences.

What if I have an agency or team? 

If you have a Team plan, you can add up to 9 other members to your Doulado team. They'll be able to access team clients, share team paperwork and collaborate with other team members. If they have their own Doulado accounts, they'll see their clients AND your shared Team clients. (If a doula is on your team, they do not need their own Doulado subscription to work with team clients.)

Read more: 5 Ways Doulado helps You Manage Teams

How do you say “Doulado”?

Sounds like “gelato.”

Are your plans HIPAA-compliant?

We use industry-standard secure servers to store your data no matter which plan you choose, however to be HIPPA Compliant, you will need a Team or Impact plan (even as a solo provider) because of the increased official responsibility we both take on to protect PHI. Our HIPAA-compliant plans include a signed BAA.

Can clients book their own appointments?

Yes! You can set up custom booking pages within Doulado, select multiple appointment types, location options and add your available timeslots. Clients can access the booking page through their client portal or a direct link. You can also embed the booking page into your website, linked to a lead form to make it an easy process for clients to submit their information and schedule a consultation all in one!

How does Doulado compare?

Right now, there are very few options made with a doula’s unique needs in mind. But, here’s how Doulado compares to some of the options you might be using right now: 

Birthbase and eDoula vs Doulado:

Each is designed for doulas, but adding multiple backup doulas or team members gets cumbersome and/or expensive with eDoula or Birthbase.

Trello, Dubsado, & 17hats vs Doulado: 

Trello, Dubsado, and 17hats can be affordable, but setting them up so they work for your clients (and/or your backup doulas and team) is very difficult…and sometimes impossible without complicated workarounds. Doulado is affordable without sacrificing vital features that help you run your business. 

Honeybook vs Doulado: 

Honeybook can be very cumbersome and/or expensive, especially for newer doulas or doulas with a smaller client load. And it still requires a lot of work to set up, unlike Doulado, which is designed so that adding new clients, sharing paperwork (contracts and resources), and adding backup doulas is really simple and affordable. 

Read more: What is a CRM and do Doulas Need One?

Do I have to accept payments in Doulado?

No, you can also take payments via cash, check, trade, Venmo, or any other way…and you can still log your payments in Doulado as an outside payment.

Can I get a refund if it doesn’t work out?

We do not offer refunds once a payment has been made, however, you can cancel or pause your plan anytime should your needs change. Our refund policy is guided by our commitment to equitable access and social impact. Due to the nature of our sliding scale payment model, designed to accommodate varying financial capacities, we are unable to offer refunds.

If you pause your plan, you will not be billed for the next cycle of your plan whether it was paid monthly or annually. Your account will be completely available until your current billing cycle ends. When you go to pause within the “select/modify a plan” section, you can view the “renewal” date to see when your account will be active until on your current subscription. After pausing, you will not be billed for the next cycle.

Can I use Doulado to process insurance claims?

Yes! With a subscription to a Team or Impact plan, you can turn on the claims processing feature by following a few steps in your account!

Here is a helpful overview of the claims process within Doulado! We’ve created some articles to show you how to create and submit a claim in Doulado, how to track a claims’ status, manage payments, and common error support. Please note: There are small additional fees with each claim related feature: per claim submitted, ERA transferred, and eligibility verification completed within Doulado.

We can offer some initial guidance on getting started sending claims through Doulado, but we do not currently have dedicated claims support specialists on our team to offer continuous managed billing. You are welcome to find your own biller, and add them to your team for additional support if that would be helpful for your business! Reach out to support@doulado.co with any more claims questions!