Start from the client, not the software
Most solo coaches use two or three payment models at once. A returning adult on a monthly rhythm. A parent buying a ten pack for a junior. A one off assessment paid on the day. That is normal, not messy. The job is to pick the right model for each client and let one system hold all of them.
Before you set anything up, name the shape of the relationship. Is this a rolling weekly commitment, a fixed block of work, an occasional booking, or a monthly retainer with a set number of hours. The answer decides the model. The rate is a separate question.
Per session
The default. One session happens, one charge is due, one payment lands. Simple to explain, simple to reconcile, and the easiest to keep tidy when the roster is small.
When it fits
Adult clients on a steady weekly or fortnightly rhythm. New clients where you have not yet earned the trust to sell a block. Anyone who prefers to pay as they go.
How to set it up in Another Session
On the client profile, set their billing to per session and enter the rate. Every logged session becomes a line on the Payments page under Outstanding until it is marked paid.
The habit that keeps it clean
Send the reminder in the same rhythm every week. Friday afternoon works for most coaches. Use Remind all so the message goes out in one go.
Hourly
A variation of per session for clients whose lessons are not a fixed length. A doubles clinic might run seventy five minutes, a warm up chat might add fifteen. Hourly bills the time you actually gave.
When it fits
Coaches whose sessions vary in length. Group sessions where the price depends on time on court. Assessments, consultations, or catch ups that do not fit a standard slot.
How to set it up in Another Session
Set the client to hourly and enter their rate. When you log the session, enter the duration. The charge is the rate times the hours, rounded to your preferred increment.
Packages paid upfront
A block of sessions sold and paid before the coaching starts. Ten pack, six pack, twelve week programme. The money lands once, the sessions burn down over weeks.
When it fits
Committed clients working toward something over a defined window. Parents buying a term of junior lessons. Anyone who prefers one bigger payment to weekly admin.
How to set it up in Another Session
Open the client profile, add a package. Enter the number of sessions, the total price, and the validity window. The package is created as To be paid, so it appears on the Payments page under Outstanding until you send the invoice and mark it settled.
Send the invoice at the point of sale
On the package card, tap Send invoice. A branded invoice opens with the block, the price and your payment details. Share it as a link or email it. When the money arrives, tap Mark paid.
The nudge you should never skip
At the second to last session in the block, Another Session prompts you to send the next invoice while the relationship is warm. The most common reason coaches lose blocks is waiting until after the last session.
This is the model most solo coaches lose the most money on, because nobody is watching the meter between sale and completion. The fix is not a spreadsheet. It is a package that carries its own payment state and its own count.
Monthly retainer
A set fee each month for an agreed rhythm of sessions. Four one to ones, weekly check ins, ongoing programme design. The client pays the same amount on the same day, and you do not think about invoicing in between.
When it fits
Long term clients who value predictability. Programmes that mix sessions with async work between them. Ongoing coaching where the value is the relationship, not the count.
How to set it up in Another Session
Set the client to monthly and enter the fee. The Payments page shows the monthly total under the This month view. You can send the invoice on the first working day of each month with one tap.
Credits
A prepaid balance the client draws down over time, without a fixed block size or expiry that feels like a deadline. Half way between packages and per session.
When it fits
Clients who book unevenly across the year. Families with two children sharing a balance. Anyone who wants the convenience of a package without a term.
How to set it up in Another Session
Set the client to credits and enter the starting balance. Each logged session deducts from the balance. When the balance runs low, the profile prompts you to top up and sends the invoice.
Pay after
The client pays the day of the session, in cash, by tap, or by transfer while you finish packing up. You log it as paid at the moment it lands.
When it fits
Casual sessions with adults you see occasionally. Holiday cover. First lessons where you are still finding the fit.
How to set it up in Another Session
Use per session billing, then mark the session as paid on the same screen where you log it. The Payments page never carries an outstanding line, because the money and the session are recorded together.
Deposits and trial lessons
Not a payment model on their own, but a shape that sits inside the others. A deposit holds the first session or the first block. A trial lesson has its own small rate, often paid on the day.
How the Payments page holds all of this
Whichever model you use, everything lands on one page. Outstanding shows every unpaid session and every unpaid package, per client, with a total at the top. This month shows the completed work for the current month with the running total. You can send a reminder to a single client, or use Remind all to send them in one pass.
That is the whole point of running your payments in one place. You never have to remember which model a given client is on. The system knows, and shows you the next action.