Coaching apps and online coaching tools can help you grow

When you’re focused on growing your life or health coaching business, the right coaching apps and online tools can make all the difference.

Whether you’re a new or an experienced coach, choosing the right tools can help you streamline key business processes, so you can focus on doing what you do best: COACH.

In this post, we’ll discuss the top coaching apps and online coaching tools I’ve seen and used throughout my 10 years in the industry and which I recommend to my clients.

Why use coaching apps and online coaching tools

In the early stages of your coaching business, you may be doing everything manually—scheduling sessions, invoicing clients, and managing social media. While this can be a good way to learn, eventually you’ll max out on your time and realize you need a better approach.

Using coaching apps, software, and online tools can help you save time and help scale your business faster. Fortunately, there are many coaching tools—both free and paid—that can support your growth.

I’ve put together a list of my own favorite apps and tools to help me manage and grow my coaching business. I know they can help you, too.

Best apps for coaches to manage their business

Even if you’re just starting your coaching business, you’ll still want to use a few basic (ideally free) apps to help you manage your day-to-day business. Here are the ones I recommend for new coaches.

Best app for scheduling: Calendly

Calendly allows you to easily schedule consultations and client calls with one simple link. The free version offers one type of appointment, making it ideal for beginner coaches.

Best app for document sharing: Google Drive

Google Drive is an excellent tool for storing and sharing documents. You can create shared folders for each individual client to share homework.

Best app for creating graphics: Canva

At some point in the life of your coaching business, you’ll need to create graphics, whether it’s for social media, for a webinar, or for a course. Canva allows you to create professional-looking graphics using pre-made templates.

Best app for client communication: Voxer

Voxer is a walkie-talkie type app that allows you to communicate with clients between sessions. It allows voice messages, text, and images, making it a great tool for clients who need ongoing support.

Best app for client video calls: Zoom

Zoom is still the gold standard in online video conferencing which makes it a great fit for  coaching sessions. Whether it’s a 1:1 client, group session, webinar, or workshop, Zoom helps you keep it professional and the AI assistant even takes notes for you!

Best online coaching tools and platforms

Once you start growing your coaching business, look for online tools and platforms that allow you to handle multiple things at once, like client onboarding, accepting payments, and communicating with clients.

Best coaching client management platform: Paperbell

Paperbell is a comprehensive client management platform designed specifically for coaches. You get the convenience of contract management, payments, and scheduling all in one app that integrates with your Google calendar, Stripe, and Paypal. Paperbell is my most used and favorite tool in my coaching business, which is why I recommend it to everyone.

Best platform to host courses: Membervault

When you’re ready to expand beyond offering one-on-one coaching and offer courses or memberships, Membervault is an easy-to-use option that integrates with email marketing, offers payment processing through Stripe and PayPal, and supports affiliate program management for expanding your reach. Membervault is also more budget-friendly than pricey alternatives like Kajabi.

Best online tool for scheduling social media: Later 

Later is a platform that helps you schedule social media content in advance for platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. By planning posts ahead of time, you can spend more time coaching and less time managing your social media. Later even has a free version that allows you to schedule a limited number of posts each month.

Best accounting platform for coaches: Xero

Xero is a simple, user-friendly accounting platform designed for small businesses, like coaches. An alternative to Quickbooks, it allows you to easily manage expense tracking and bank reconciliation all in one place. Xero also integrates with Stripe and PayPal, making it a one stop shop to manage your finances.

Best online checkout cart for coaches: ThriveCart

ThriveCart is a popular platform designed to help simplify your sales process. Create high-converting checkout pages without having design experience. Thrivecart integrates with most email marketing platforms and membership sites, making the sales process seamless.

Best email marketing tool for coaches: ConvertKit

There are a lot of email marketing platforms out there these days. There’s Mailchimp, Mailerlite, ActiveCampaign and more. My current favorite email marketing tool is Kit.com. It’s robust enough to allow for tagging and automated customer journeys, while still being relatively simple to use. You can even build forms and custom landing pages without knowing any code. 

Best video hosting platform for coaches: Vimeo

While yes, you can use Youtube, when you’re looking for a place to host gated videos (like those within a paid course or membership), you’ll want to consider Vimeo. Vimeo allows you to have greater control of your content with password protection and advanced privacy settings. It also offers integration with other platforms.

Best software for growing your coaching business

As your coaching business grows, you’ll need more advanced coaching software to manage an increasing number of clients. Here are some of my top recommendations for software that helps you grow your coaching business.

Best project management software: Asana

Asana is a project management tool perfect for coaches who need to organize tasks and projects. If you’re working with a team or a VA, you can easily delegate tasks and track progress.

Best software for payments: Stripe

Stripe makes it easy to accept payments and break invoices into multiple payments. While PayPal is another option, Stripe tends to be more streamlined for payments, particularly for coaches.

Best quiz software for coaches: Interact

Interact is a user friendly quiz-building software that helps you create beautiful, well-designed quizzes to generate coaching leads. Interact offers design templates to help you start with a quiz even if you’ve never built one before. It easily integrates with popular mail providers to deliver your quiz results and build your email list.

My top business and marketing tools for coaches

As I’ve served primarily coaches, healers, and wellness businesses for the past 10 years, I’ve developed my own coaching tools for clients that I’ve supported Here are a few of my top business and marketing tools for coaches:

• Coaching Business Checklist is a comprehensive list of all the things to consider when starting your coaching business
• Market Research Guide for Coaches takes you through the process to validate your offerings and get feedback from your ideal clients
• Unleash My Niche: A mini-course designed to help you discover your natural niche and attract aligned clients.
• Magnetize My Message: A signature course that guides you in clarifying and communicating your core message to stand out in your industry.
• Marketing Workshops: A collection of 90-minute workshops covering essential topics like content planning, AI in marketing, and marketing without social media.