How to manage life coaching clients and sessions

For example, a client may begin by wanting more confidence at work. Several conversations later, they may be considering a different role. Keep the earlier goal and record the new focus in their own words.

If you are preparing for the first conversation, our guide to discovery call questions covers what to ask.

Before taking on another client, allow time for preparation, the call, notes and any follow-up you have offered. Include between-session messages if they are part of your service.

Imagine twelve clients who each meet you every two weeks. Spread evenly, that means six calls a week. At an hour per call, plus fifteen minutes of preparation and notes, that is seven and a half hours before messages and other business work.

Use your own session lengths to make the same calculation. Put preparation and admin time in your calendar, leave room for breaks and record the appointments agreed with each client.

A session package records how many sessions the client has bought and how many remain. Monthly billing records which charges go on that month’s bill.

For example, a six-session package could cover twelve weeks of fortnightly calls. Reduce the remaining balance as sessions are completed, not when the client pays.

Tell the client whether their monthly bill covers individual sessions or a fixed monthly service. A statement listing session charges is not a recurring retainer payment.

Another Session tracks session packages and can prepare monthly statements from session records. Record money received separately from sessions used. Keep any payment arrangements in your own payment service or bank. The guide to tracking session packages explains the balance in more detail.

Ask about an action agreed last time, but check whether it is still the priority. A client who planned a conversation with their manager may arrive wanting to discuss a change at home.

The International Coaching Federation’s Core Competencies guidance emphasises collaboration, listening and client ownership of goals and actions.

Check the next appointment and remaining package sessions beforehand. Resolve any admin questions without using up the time agreed for coaching.

After the call, record the subject discussed, what the client noticed and anything they chose to do next. Use their words where they help you remember the meaning. Keep your own observations recognisable as observations.

For example, a client says they accepted another deadline because they did not want to disappoint a colleague. Record that explanation. Writing that they cannot set boundaries turns one incident into a judgment about them.

You do not need a transcript. Keep enough to recall the conversation and follow up on what was agreed. Our guide to writing coaching session notes covers the note itself. For listening during the call, read Nancy Kline and the discipline of not interrupting.

Treat client information with care when storing notes or sharing messages. The ICF guidance includes confidentiality as part of professional ethical practice.

Decide how you will handle a message that arrives between calls. Tell the client which channel you use, when you normally reply and what belongs in the next session. Describe the access you are offering without implying that a monthly payment means you are always available.

If a message needs a longer conversation, agree to discuss it at the next session. If you offer coaching by message too, allow time for it when planning your week.

Choose a review point with the client. It could be near the end of a package or after a period of regular calls. Look back at their original aim, what they have tried and what they now consider useful.

If their goal has changed, ask what led to that change and what they want to work on next.

Another Session can use recorded session information to prepare an editable summary draft. Check its accuracy, remove anything you do not want to share and review it before sending.

Record completed sessions and money received separately. A prepaid package can be paid in full while sessions remain unused.

Check receipts against your bank or payment service before recording them. Another Session can prepare payment requests using your own payment link or bank details. It records what you mark as paid. Your payment service or bank handles the actual transfer.

Review outstanding amounts during your admin time. For your accounts, download received payments as a CSV from the Payments screen. Each recorded package instalment keeps its own payment date, even after the final balance is paid.

Start with one client record, an agreed appointment and a note from the first session. Add a package if they have bought several sessions, and record payments as they arrive.

Another Session keeps clients, sessions, notes, packages and payment tracking together. You arrange appointments with the client and record them yourself. The Life Coaches page shows the same working record with life coaching examples.

Every account starts with 30 days of unlimited clients, no card required. After that, keep every feature free for up to three clients, or choose Complete for unlimited clients. The limit counts saved client records in total. Complete has unlimited clients with exactly the same features.

If you have more than three clients when the trial ends, nothing is deleted and everything stays readable. To keep working with all of them, choose Complete. Upgrading restores full working access straight away. See pricing for the monthly price in your currency.