The Practice Management System I Use to Run My Entire Coaching Business

Why Vibly is the first tool every health coach should set up — before they have a single client

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If you've ever said yes to a new coaching client and then immediately panicked about how to actually handle the logistics — the coaching agreement, the scheduling, the payment, the intake form — this post is for you.

One of the most common mistakes new coaches make is trying to get clients before they have the systems to serve them. And I understand why: the systems feel less urgent than the clients. But the first experience a client has of working with you isn't your coaching. It's your onboarding process. It's how easy (or chaotic) it is to book with you, pay you, and get started.

That first impression matters enormously in a trust-based business like coaching. Which is why the first system I tell every new coach to set up — before anything else — is a practice management platform.

And the one I use and recommend is Vibly.

What is Vibly?

Vibly is a HIPAA-compliant coaching practice management platform — essentially a business in a box designed specifically for coaches. It consolidates everything you need to run your practice into one clean, easy-to-use system.

Before I found Vibly, I was managing nine separate tools just to see my coaching clients. A calendar system. A payment processor. A video platform. A separate form builder. A document storage system. A contract tool. It was exhausting, expensive, and — if I'm honest — a little embarrassing to explain to clients when something didn't work seamlessly.

Vibly replaced most of that stack with one platform.

What I use it for

Here's what I run through Vibly on a daily basis:

Profile. Setting up a website can feel daunting, and knowing how to drive traffic to your website can feel impossible when you're just getting started. Your Vibly profile provides everything you need to start building a public persona for your coaching business, all without coding or writing optimized website copy. By having a profile on Vibly, you're majorly increasing your searchability because you're piggybacking on Vibly's SEO.

Discovery calls. When someone is interested in working with me, they book directly through my Vibly profile. No back-and-forth emails, no scheduling links from five different tools. (Note: I also have a Discovery call system set up through Google Appointment Schedules because I accommodate requests for consulting, guest blogging, podcast interviews, my NBHWC Board Exam Prep Course, and more. But you don't need to have more than one Discovery Call system running to have a successful business.)

Client management. Every client has a profile in Vibly where I can see their session history, access their notes, and track their progress.

Scheduling and appointment reminders. Vibly syncs with my Google Calendar and sends automatic appointment reminders — which means fewer no-shows and zero manual follow-up from me. Clients can also easily reschedule their appointments from within their Vibly portal if they need to, so there's no rescheduling back-and-forth happening in my inbox.

Session notes. I take all of my session notes directly in Vibly, attached to each client's profile. They're organized, searchable, HIPAA-compliant, and private. There's also a "sharable notes" and a "client notes" feature within Vibly, so I can share session summaries and action steps with my clients and they can share their notes and takeaways with me, all in one easy place.

Forms and agreements. Intake forms, coaching agreements, post-coaching assessments — all of it lives in Vibly and can be sent to clients and e-signed in seconds. No downloading, printing, scanning, or emailing PDFs.

Payment processing. Vibly connects to Stripe so clients can pay directly through the platform. I don't have to chase payments or send monthly invoices. It offers pay-in-full or payment plan options that are fully customizable per service, which makes managing the financial side of my coaching practice a breeze.

Invoicing. If I want to collect payments for custom coaching, consulting, or teaching services, I can do that easily by sending custom invoices to clients that are processed securely through Stripe. Invoices on Vibly are highly customizable and configurable and look seamless and professional to my clients.

Webinars and events. Running webinars and live events is super easy on Vibly, and is a fantastic way to gain exposure to new people. They make it easy to collect registrations and starting the webinar is as easy as clicking a button.

Directory listing. My Vibly profile is shareable via a link or QR code, and I show up inside Vibly's directory of coaches, which means potential clients can actually find me if they're searching for a coach online.

Why I love it

The thing I love most about Vibly isn't any individual feature. It's the fact that it eliminated the cognitive load of managing nine different tools and replaced it with one system I can actually trust.

When I opened Vibly, I went from feeling scattered and reactive to feeling super organized. I knew where everything was, I knew what needed to happen next, and I could focus on coaching instead of admin tasks.

For health coaches specifically, especially NBC-HWCs, the HIPAA compliance piece is significant. If you're working with clients on health-related topics — and you are, even if you don't explicitly market yourself as a health and wellness coach — you have an ethical and professional responsibility to protect your client's health information. Vibly takes that seriously, which means you can too without having to become an IT expert.

One more thing I love: the pricing transparency. You know exactly what you're paying. There are no hidden fees, and Vibly doesn't take a percentage of your service revenue the way some platforms do.

What it costs

Vibly Pro: $59/month (or less when billed annually — approximately $600/year)

There's a 30-day free trial so you can explore the platform before committing. And if you use code SONJA20, you'll get 20% off your first three months.

How to get started

1. Sign up for a free trial at Vibly using my link and code SONJA20

2. Set up your profile — your bio, coaching philosophy, and approach (this is what potential clients will see)

3. Create your first service — your coaching package, discovery call, or both

4. Connect your calendar — sync your Google Calendar so Vibly knows your availability

5. Set up your first form and agreement — get your intake form and coaching agreement uploaded before you need them

6. Share your profile link — add it to your email signature, your social media bio, your business card, or a flyer

That's it! You can have a professional, functional coaching practice management system set up in an afternoon.

A note for new coaches

You might be tempted to skip this step until you have clients. Please don't. Setting up your practice management system before you need it is one of the most confidence-building things you can do as a new coach. The next time someone says yes to working with you, you'll know exactly what to do — and your client will feel that confidence from the very first interaction.

Systems first. Clients second. In that order.

Want more tools like this? I put together a free guide called The 7 Systems I Use to Manage My Coaching Practice — download it here and get the full rundown.