How to Automate Your Client Onboarding and Save 5 to 10 Hours Every Week
This guide reveals how coaches and consultants can automate their client onboarding process to save 5-10 hours every week, streamline operations, and deliver a superior client experience. All using tools you likely already have.
The Hidden Cost of Manual Onboarding
Most coaches find themselves trapped in a cycle of administrative busywork, wasting precious time that could be spent serving clients or growing their business. The typical coach loses 5 to 10 hours every week on mundane tasks like chasing forms, sending contracts, and manually setting up new clients.
These administrative burdens not only drain your energy but directly impact your bottom line. For a coach charging £100 per hour, that's £500-£1,000 of potential revenue lost weekly—or up to £52,000 annually.

Want to see exactly how this works in action? Watch the full tutorial recording (49 minutes) for a detailed walkthrough of setting up your automated onboarding system.
Watch Recording
The Benefits of Automated Onboarding
Why Make the Switch?
An effective automated onboarding process delivers multiple benefits that directly impact your coaching practice:
1
Time Recovery
Win Back 5-10 hours weekly that can be redirected to revenue-generating activities or personal time.
2
Enhanced Client Experience
Deliver a smooth, professional first impression that builds confidence in your services from day one.
3
Reduced Admin Stress
Eliminate the mental load of tracking multiple clients through various onboarding stages manually.
Essential Tools for Your Automation Stack
Creating an effective automated onboarding system doesn't require complex or expensive technology. Most coaches can build a robust system using these familiar tools:
Payment Processor
Stripe or PayPal to handle client payments securely and trigger your automation workflows.
Automation Tool
Zapier connects your various applications and orchestrates the flow of information between them.
CRM System
Airtable or Trello to track client information and visualise their progress through your onboarding pipeline.
Intake Form
Typeform creates engaging, user-friendly forms to collect essential client information and preferences.
Contract Signing
SignNow allows for legally binding electronic signatures on your coaching agreements.
Coaching App
Trainerize or Everfit provides a dedicated platform for ongoing client interaction and programme delivery.
The 3-Stage Onboarding Framework
An effective automated onboarding system operates in three sequential stages, each triggered by the completion of the previous stage. This creates a seamless experience for clients while minimising your hands-on management.
Each stage has its own set of automated actions that move clients forward through your process, collecting necessary information, securing payment, establishing agreements, and setting up their coaching experience—all with minimal intervention required from you.
Stage One: Payment & Initial Setup
Payment Received
Client completes payment through your Stripe or PayPal integration, automatically triggering your onboarding workflow.
Welcome Email Sent
Zapier automatically sends a personalised welcome email containing your intake form link and next steps information.
Client Record Created
A new client record is automatically generated in your Airtable or Trello CRM with basic information from the payment.
Progress Updated
The client's onboarding status is set to "Stage 1 Complete" in your tracking system to maintain visibility.
This initial stage runs completely on autopilot once a client makes payment, ensuring they receive immediate acknowledgment and clear next steps without any manual intervention from you.
Stage Two: Intake Form & Contract
Intake Form Completed
Client submits your comprehensive intake form with their goals, preferences, and background information.
Client Record Updated
Form responses automatically populate fields in your CRM, giving you a complete client profile without data entry.
Contract Sent
Your coaching agreement is automatically sent via SignNow with client details pre-filled from their intake form.
Reminders Scheduled
Automatic follow-up emails are triggered if the contract remains unsigned after 24 and 48 hours.
The second stage of your automated onboarding collects crucial information about your client while simultaneously handling the paperwork aspects of your relationship. This stage significantly reduces administrative overhead while ensuring thorough documentation.
Stage Three: Coaching App Integration
1
Contract Verification
Once the client's electronic signature is received, Zapier detects the completed contract and triggers the final onboarding stage.
2
Coaching Platform Setup
A new client account is automatically created in your coaching app (Trainerize/Everfit) with all relevant details from their profile.
3
CRM Update
Your client management system is updated with login details, programme information, and completion status.
4
Onboarding Completion
The client's status is marked as "Onboarding Complete" and you receive a notification that they're ready for their first session.
This final stage brings everything together, establishing the client in your coaching platform with their programme details and ensuring all systems are synchronised. What would typically take 30-60 minutes of manual setup now happens automatically.
Progress Tracking and Monitoring
A key benefit of automating your onboarding is the ability to visualise client progress at a glance. Using Airtable or Trello as your central dashboard provides immediate visibility into where each client stands.
Set up your CRM to display clients by stage, with clear visual indicators showing completed steps and pending actions. This prevents clients from falling through the cracks and allows you to quickly identify any bottlenecks in your process.
  • Configure Zapier to send you notifications if a client stalls at any stage
  • Create views that segment clients by onboarding status
  • Use colour coding to quickly identify high-priority follow-ups
  • Track average completion time for process optimisation
"The beauty of a well-designed tracking system is that it tells you exactly where intervention is needed, while handling everything else automatically."
Implementation Roadmap
Ready to transform your onboarding process? Follow this systematic approach to build your automated system:
1
Build & Connect
Set up each tool in your stack and create the necessary Zapier connections between them. Start with payment integration to your CRM as your foundation.
2
Customise Content
Create your welcome emails, intake form questions, and contract template. Personalise each touchpoint to reflect your coaching brand and voice.
3
Test End-to-End
Run multiple complete tests of your system from payment to coaching app setup. Have colleagues or friends attempt to break the system to identify weak points.
4
Expand Automation
Once your core onboarding is working smoothly, consider adding post-onboarding automations like session reminders, progress check-ins, and milestone celebrations.
Remember that your automated system will evolve over time. Start with the essential components and refine based on client feedback and your own observations.
Ready to Transform Your Coaching Practice?
If you're interested in working together to streamline your systems and save time, click the button below to book a free consultation call.
Ready to Transform Your Coaching Business?
Implementing an automated onboarding system is one of the highest-leverage improvements you can make to your coaching business. The 5-10 hours you'll save each week can transform your practice, allowing you to:
Serve More Clients
Increase your client capacity without increasing your working hours.
Improve Service Quality
Dedicate more focused attention to each client's unique needs and progress.
Achieve Better Work-Life Balance
Reclaim evenings and weekends previously spent on administrative tasks.
"Not knowing what I didn't know was a very difficult difficult hurdle to overcome. I really appreciated the way that you sat down and explained everything that I could use to automate and systemize in a better way to make scaling in the future more easy. I also really appreciate you being able to work with me and help me really understand what was set up, and your ability to answer every question I've had. I'm confident that all these systems will help me scale my business to the next level and take things hands off so I can do what I love to do do best, coaching!"
— Casey Gilbert
Whether you build this system yourself or get professional help, the most important step is to start. Every week you continue with manual onboarding is another 5-10 hours you'll never get back.
Begin with just one connection - perhaps linking your payment processor to your CRM - and build from there. Your future self will thank you.