A wise coach knows the importance of implementing a contract when starting new client relationships. Coaching contracts lay out expectations for the partnership moving forward and contain all pertinent information that clients need to be aware of when things first start. When providing your services independently, it is essential to write a good, readable coaching agreement, as it will keep your business safe and define the parameters for excellent communication during the coaching process.
But this doesn't mean you have to spend hours writing a new contract for each client you take on. Instead, create your own coaching agreement contract template ensuring it covers all the essential information so that you can simply fill in the client-specific details when you need to. This saves you a ton of time, but also reduces the risk of making errors. To help you draft the perfect coaching agreement template, we'll go over the most important aspects you must cover. Let's get to it!
Note: Bonsai helps coaching businesses start off on the right foot, with bulletproof coaching contract templates that save you time and guarantee healthy coach-client relationships. All of our templates are legally vetted to keep your business protected. Get yours today!
When creating your coaching-client agreement template, you want to ensure all of your bases are covered. A solid life coaching agreement should be clear about the nature of the relationship, what each participant is responsible for, and how services will be provided. Remember, these are legal agreements, so any omissions or mistakes can lead to misunderstandings and legal repercussions. Let's go over the vital elements you must include in your template.
Begin your coaching agreement template with a section for your business contact information as well as your client's. Include the full names (and company name if applicable), phone number, email and street address. Remember, this is a legal document, so all involved parties must be clearly identified.
The next step is to clearly define the parameters of the client-coach relationship. It's critical to make it clear that, as their coach (of any kind), you will not be held accountable for any decisions made during the coaching program or those that aren't made, regardless of how they could affect the client or their business. Your coaching services are not aimed to diagnose, treat or cure any mental condition, and should not be used in place of any necessary psychological therapy.
This section should also clarify what behavior and commitment is expected from your client during the coaching process. This can include maintaining an honest, transparent and open line of communication, being open to feedback, as well as investing the required time and effort into the program. This will help you sustain a solid coaching relationship.
Now that you've established the parameters for the relationship, it's time to list the services you're offering as part of your coaching package. This should have been agreed upon during the proposal process, or the discovery session, where you find out what your client's challenges and goals are. As you outline the activities and tasks that will take place during the program, make sure to specify how many coaching sessions you will provide as well as the duration and frequency of them.
Additionally, you must discuss how the scheduled meetings will take place, whether your client prefers in-person interactions, video calls, or phone calls. You can also mention your preferred way to be contacted in case the client needs you in between sessions. If you provide additional services (aside from the total cost of the program), you can indicate how your client may request such services and how much they will cost.
Time is money, and you don't want to waste it with missed appointments when you could be taking care of other clients or developing material for your programs. But you may also have inconveniences from time to time that might make it impossible for you to show up for a session, and your client also deserves respect for their time. To protect both of you from these situations, include a clause in your coaching contract template that clearly outlines the process to reschedule or cancel an appointment in case either you or your client needs to do so.
Specify how far in advance and how many times throughout the duration of the contract a meeting may be canceled or rescheduled. In case there is no notice in advance, make it clear how long you will wait before the session is considered 'missed' and what is your refund policy for these type of situations.
Next, you must provide the total cost of the coaching services negotiated and include a predicted payment schedule. This includes any upfront payments required and subsequent installments, as well as the due dates for payments or if you will be requesting payment after each session. Additionally, it's crucial to state the grace period your client will have to pay an invoice and whether late payment fines will be applied (specify how much the fees will be).
Don't forget to list the acceptable payment options, such as credit/debit cards, ACH transfers, online payment services like PayPal and Stripe, or direct deposits to your business bank account.
Having some legal protection for all of your original content is a wise business decision. Throughout the coaching process, you will give your clients useful content that you have probably created yourself. Including an 'intellectual property rights' clause will help you outline how your clients can utilize all of the materials and tools you provide, both during and after the program.
Even the best of coaches can get into a legal problem. A disgruntled client can easily lead to a lawsuit if you don't handle the issue properly. As a business owner, you need to protect yourself from any liability in case a client experiences negative consequences from following your advice. Using a limit of liability clause you can 'cap' the amount of possible damages to which your coaching business will be exposed. The cap could be applied to all claims that arise over the term of the contract or only particular kinds of causes of action.
Writing this section can get a bit tricky, so feel free to look at what other coaches are including in their clause to get a better idea of how to structure it. If you are an executive or business coach working for companies as opposed to an individual client, this is a vital piece in your contract.
Finally, your coaching agreement template should include a confidentiality clause. Here, you guarantee that all of your client's confidential information will remain private, and you are not to reveal any details of your discussions with them unless you're required to do so by law. This goes both ways, so your client is also required to maintain the confidentiality of your coaching methods. They shouldn't divulge information about your coaching program and trade secrets to anyone else because doing so could mislead another prospective client about the quality of your services.
Drafting your own contract template can be overwhelming, especially if you haven't figured out the right structure for your business. But don't worry, you're not alone. Save time and simply download Bonsai's free contract templates to create professional coaching agreements. Every aspect of our templates can be fully customized so you can add your own branding elements and change up the layout for a more unique document.
Plus, Bonsai makes it simple for you to stay on top of sent contracts. We will send you a notification when your clients receive and sign the agreement, which will be done safely using a legally binding online signature. But why stop there? You can get ultimate efficiency in your client onboarding processes as well as invoicing and payments with our all-in-one product suite. Start your 14-day free trial and see why Bonsai is the best administrative solution for small business owners and start-ups.
You bet. Our agreements are designed to use only your most critical information to plug into our framework to help you get up and running while ensuring maximum contract integrity.
No problem. Our contracts are fully customizable allowing you to input the clauses you need to make your agreements work for you no matter where you are.
100%, yes. Hopefully you and your clients never have to worry about enforceability of your agreement! However, on the rare occasion that you may need to enforce your contracts, Bonsai's agreements are bulletproof to protect you from the unexpected.
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This contract (the "Contract") is between Client (the "Client") and Acme, LLC (the "Coach").
The Contract is dated [the date both parties sign].
1.1 Project. The Client is hiring the Coach to develop a coaching relationship between the Client and Coach in order to cultivate the Client's personal, professional, or business goals and create a plan to achieve those goals through stimulating and creative interactions with the ultimate result of maximizing the Client's personal or professional potential.
The Client wishes to engage the Coach's services in order to achieve the following: [COACHING GOALS OR ATTACH STATEMENT OF WORK "Please see the attached Statement of Work."]
1.2 Schedule. The Coach will begin work on [START DATE] and will [END DATE OR "continue until the work is completed"]. This Contract can be ended by either Client or Coach at any time, pursuant to the terms of Section 4, Term and Termination.
The Coach and Client will meet ["by telephone" or "by video conference" or "in person"] [NUMBER OF DAYS] days per [week/month] for [AMOUNT OF TIME] [minutes/hours].
1.3 Payment. The Client will pay the Coach ["a flat fee of $XXX USD." or "in milestones totaling $XXX USD" or "an hourly/daily/weekly/monthly rate of $XXX USD"]. Of this, the Client will pay the Contractor [$XXX USD] before work begins. [The milestones will be invoiced as follows: INSERT MILESTONE SCHEDULE]
1.4 Expenses. The Client [will/will not] reimburse the Coach's expenses. Expenses [do/do not] need to be pre-approved by the Client.
1.5 Invoices. The Coach will invoice the Client ["at the end of the project." or "in accordance with the milestones in Section 1.3."] The Client agrees to pay the amount owed within [NUMBER OF DAYS] day of receiving the invoice. Payment after that date will incur a late fee of [X%] per month on the outstanding amount.
1.6 Support. The Coach [will/will not] be available by telephone or email in between scheduled sessions.
3.1 Overview. This section contains important promises between the parties.
3.2 Authority To Sign. Each party promises to the other party that it has the authority to enter into this Contract and to perform all of its obligations under this Contract.
3.3 Coach Has Right To Give Client Work Product. The Coach promises that it owns the work product, that the Coach is able to give the work product to the Client, and that no other party will claim that it owns the work product. If the Coach uses employees or subcontractors, the Coach also promises that these employees and subcontractors have signed contracts with the Coach giving the Coach any rights that the employees or subcontractors have related to the Coach's background IP and work product.
3.4 Coach Will Comply With Laws. The Coach promises that the manner it does this job, its work product, and any background IP it uses comply with applicable U.S. and foreign laws and regulations.
3.5 Work Product Does Not Infringe. The Coach promises that its work product does not and will not infringe on someone else's intellectual property rights, that the Coach has the right to let the Client use the background IP, and that this Contract does not and will not violate any contract that the Coach has entered into or will enter into with someone else.
3.7 Client-Supplied Material Does Not Infringe. If the Client provides the Coach with material to incorporate into the work product, the Client promises that this material does not infringe on someone else's intellectual property rights.
This Contract is ongoing until it expires or the work is completed. Either party may end this Contract for any reason by sending an email or letter to the other party, informing the recipient that the sender is ending the Contract and that the Contract will end in 7 days. The Contract officially ends once that time has passed. The party that is ending the Contract must provide notice by taking the steps explained in Section 9.4. The Coach must immediately stop working as soon as it receives this notice unless the notice says otherwise.
If either party ends this Contract before the Contract automatically ends, the Client will pay the Contractor for the work done up until when the Contract ends. The following sections don't end even after the Contract ends: 3 (Representations); 6 (Confidential Information); 7 (Limitation of Liability); 8 (Indemnity); and 9 (General).
The Client is hiring the Coach as an independent contractor. The following statements accurately reflect their relationship:
6.1 Overview. This Contract imposes special restrictions on how the Client and the Coach must handle confidential information. These obligations are explained in this section.
6.3 Third-Party Confidential Information. It's possible the Client and the Coach each have access to confidential information that belongs to third parties. The Client and the Coach each promise that it will not share with the other party confidential information that belongs to third parties, unless it is allowed to do so. If the Client or the Coach is allowed to share confidential information with the other party and does so, the sharing party promises to tell the other party in writing of any special restrictions regarding that information.
Neither party is liable for breach-of-contract damages that the breaching party could not reasonably have foreseen when it entered this Contract.
8.1 Overview. This section transfers certain risks between the parties if a third party sues or goes after the Client or the Coach or both. For example, if the Client gets sued for something that the Coach did, then the Coach may promise to come to the Client's defense or to reimburse the Client for any losses.
8.2 Client Indemnity. In this Contract, the Coach agrees to indemnify the Client (and its affiliates and their directors, officers, employees, and agents) from and against all liabilities, losses, damages, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) related to a third-party claim or proceeding arising out of: (i) the work the Coach has done under this Contract; (ii) a breach by the Coach of its obligations under this Contract; or (iii) a breach by the Coach of the promises it is making in Section 3 (Representations).
8.3 Coach Indemnity. In this Contract, the Client agrees to indemnify the Coach (and its affiliates and their directors, officers, employees, and agents) from and against liabilities, losses, damages, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) related to a third-party claim or proceeding arising out of a breach by the Client of its obligations under this Contract.
9.1 Assignment. This Contract applies only to the Client and the Coach. Neither the Client nor the Coach can assign its rights or delegate its obligations under this Contract to a third-party (other than by will or intestate), without first receiving the other's written permission.
9.2 Arbitration. As the exclusive means of initiating adversarial proceedings to resolve any dispute arising under this Contract, a party may demand that the dispute be resolved by arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association in accordance with its commercial arbitration rules.
9.3 Modification; Waiver. To change anything in this Contract, the Client and the Coach must agree to that change in writing and sign a document showing their contract. Neither party can waive its rights under this Contract or release the other party from its obligations under this Contract, unless the waiving party acknowledges it is doing so in writing and signs a document that says so.
9.4 Notices.
(a) Over the course of this Contract, one party may need to send a notice to the other party. For the notice to be valid, it must be in writing and delivered in one of the following ways: personal delivery, email, or certified or registered mail (postage prepaid, return receipt requested). The notice must be delivered to the party's address listed at the end of this Contract or to another address that the party has provided in writing as an appropriate address to receive notice.
(b) The timing of when a notice is received can be very important. To avoid confusion, a valid notice is considered received as follows: (i) if delivered personally, it is considered received immediately; (ii) if delivered by email, it is considered received upon acknowledgement of receipt; (iii) if delivered by registered or certified mail (postage prepaid, return receipt requested), it is considered received upon receipt as indicated by the date on the signed receipt. If a party refuses to accept notice or if notice cannot be delivered because of a change in address for which no notice was given, then it is considered received when the notice is rejected or unable to be delivered. If the notice is received after 5:00pm on a business day at the location specified in the address for that party, or on a day that is not a business day, then the notice is considered received at 9:00am on the next business day.
9.5 Severability. This section deals with what happens if a portion of the Contract is found to be unenforceable. If that's the case, the unenforceable portion will be changed to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable, unless that change is not permitted by law, in which case the portion will be disregarded. If any portion of the Contract is changed or disregarded because it is unenforceable, the rest of the Contract is still enforceable.
9.6 Signatures. The Client and the Coach must sign this document using Bonsai's e-signing system. These electronic signatures count as originals for all purposes.
9.7 Governing Law. The validity, interpretation, construction and performance of this document shall be governed by the laws of the United States of America.
9.8 Entire Contract. This Contract represents the parties' final and complete understanding of this job and the subject matter discussed in this Contract. This Contract supersedes all other contracts (both written and oral) between the parties.
THE PARTIES HERETO AGREE TO THE FOREGOING AS EVIDENCED BY THEIR SIGNATURES BELOW.
