Coaching agreement, Hollis Coaching and D. Marchetti
Coaching agreement template that sets the sessions, the scope and the boundaries
The clause that makes a coaching agreement worth signing is the one that says what coaching is not. This three page example for a business coach and a founder sells twelve sessions for $3,600, maps them to four blocks of work, and states in clause 2.2 that the coach is not a psychologist, counsellor, accountant, lawyer or financial adviser.
The document, page by page
Every page as it renders and as it prints, with nothing summarised. Read the wording before you reuse it.
Section by section
What each section is for, so you can keep the ones you need and drop the rest.
- Parties and headline terms
- The coach, the founder as an individual, and a stats strip with sessions, length, fee and span.
- 1. The package
- What twelve sessions include, the one question a fortnight, and a table mapping sessions to outputs.
- 2. What this coaching is, and what it is not
- The scope, the not therapy clause, the pause and refer callout, and no promised result.
- 3. Fees and payment
- $3,600 as three instalments, and what the fee does not cover.
- 4. Rescheduling, lateness and expiry
- The 24 hour cut off, its exception, late starts and the nine month expiry.
- 5. Confidentiality
- What stays in the room, how notes are kept and deleted, and the two exceptions.
- 6. Ending the engagement
- Fourteen days notice, refunds at $300 a session, and confidentiality surviving.
- Signatures
- A block each for the coach and the client, with the clauses they confirm reading.
How to adapt this document
For life coaching rather than business coaching, keep clause 2.2 word for word and widen the pause and refer callout, because the boundary matters more when the subject is the client's life rather than their hiring plan. For a coaching engagement paid by the client's employer, add a clause saying what the employer is told and what it is not, since a sponsor who expects a progress report will otherwise assume one is coming, and confidentiality collapses on the first phone call. For an open ended monthly retainer, drop the twelve session table and replace the expiry in clause 4.2 with a notice period, then keep the per session price on the page anyway so an early exit can be settled without a negotiation.
What makes this document work
Twelve sessions are mapped, not just counted
The table gives sessions 1 and 2 to where the business is and what the client wants, 3 to 6 to the hiring plan, 7 to 10 to how the week is spent, and 11 and 12 to review against the three goals. Each block has a named output, from three written goals to a written close out.
The not therapy clause has a companion callout
Clause 2.2 says the coach is not a psychologist, counsellor, accountant, lawyer or financial adviser. The callout underneath says what actually happens if something else comes up: the coach names it, pauses the coaching, suggests a doctor or registered practitioner, and the paid sessions are held rather than lost.
Rescheduling has a cut off and an exception
Twenty four hours notice moves a session and the coach offers two alternatives within 10 days. Less than that and the session counts as used, unless the reason is illness or a family emergency. Clause 4.2 adds that 15 minutes late is a 45 minute session and the package expires nine months after session one.
Questions people ask
What should a coaching agreement say about scope?
Two things: what the coach does, and what the coach is not. Clause 2.1 describes a structured conversation about priorities, hiring, delegation and leadership. Clause 2.2 rules out therapy, counselling and professional advice on tax, law and finance. The pair is what stops a client treating a coaching hour as a substitute for a qualified adviser.
Is coaching the same as counselling or therapy?
No, and a coach should say so in writing. Professional coaching codes ask a coach to recognise the limits of their competence, disclose when they are acting in another role, and suspend or end the relationship where it is the wrong tool. This agreement turns that into a callout: name it, pause, refer, and hold the paid sessions.
How should a coaching package be priced and paid?
By the package rather than the hour, with the per session figure shown so a refund can be calculated. Here $3,600 is twelve sessions at $300, paid in three instalments of $1,200 on signing, before session 5 and before session 9. Clause 3.1 also says a session is not held while an instalment is overdue.
What happens if a client keeps rescheduling?
The cut off does the work. A session moved with 24 hours notice is free and the coach offers two alternatives within 10 days. A session cancelled inside 24 hours counts as used unless the reason is illness or a family emergency. The nine month expiry in clause 4.2 stops a package drifting into a second year.
Is what a client says to a coach confidential?
Under this agreement yes, including the fact of the engagement if the client prefers, with notes kept encrypted and deleted 12 months after the last session. Clause 5.2 names the two exceptions: a serious risk of harm, and where the law requires disclosure. Anonymised themes may be written about with nothing identifying.
Can either side end a coaching engagement early?
Yes, on 14 days written notice. Sessions already held are payable and sessions paid for but not held are refunded at $300 each within 14 days, which is why the per session price is on the page. Confidentiality survives the end of the agreement, so nothing said in a session becomes fair game afterwards.
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