How to bill clients as a personal trainer or coach

Training income lives or dies on consistency. Sell prepaid session packs so clients commit money before they commit to a Tuesday 6am, or run monthly memberships that bill themselves while you focus on the workout. Fee-Lion handles both rhythms, and the cash lands straight in your own Stripe account.

Sell a prepaid session pack

The “10-session pack, paid up front” model is just an estimate priced with units — quantity times rate — plus a deposit so the client pays before the first rep.

1. From the sidebar, open Estimates and start a new one for your client.
2. Add a unit line item: set the quantity to 10 and the rate to your per-session price. The total fills in automatically.
3. If you offer a pack discount, drop in a discount line so the savings are visible — clients love seeing the “you saved $50” math.
4. Set a deposit percentage. For prepaid packs, set it to 100% so the whole pack is collected up front. You can make this your standard at Settings → Preferences under deposit defaults.
5. Send the estimate. Your client opens a magic-link portal — no login — and approves with one tap, then pays by card right there.

Tip: Set your tax and deposit defaults once at Settings → Preferences so every new pack inherits them. No more rebuilding the same 10-session estimate from scratch each month.

Run a monthly membership on auto-pay

For unlimited-class members or ongoing coaching retainers, you want money to arrive every month without you lifting a finger. That’s a recurring invoice with auto-pay.

1. Open Invoices from the sidebar and create a recurring invoice for the membership amount.
2. Set the cadence to monthly and pick the bill date — say, the 1st.
3. Invite the client to enroll in auto-pay. Once their card is on file, each month’s invoice charges automatically and you skip the awkward “did you see my invoice?” texts.

• Prepaid packs suit clients who want to commit to a block and burn through it.
• Monthly memberships suit open-ended training where the relationship just keeps rolling.
• Plenty of trainers run both — a pack for new clients, a membership once they’re hooked.

Get paid into your own account

Before any money can move, connect Stripe so payouts land in your bank, not someone else’s. Card payments flow through your own Stripe Connect account (Fee-Lion takes a small platform fee), and you keep full control of payouts and timing.

• If a client pays you in cash after a session, record it as an offline payment so the invoice still shows as settled.
• Need to refund an unused pack? You can issue a full or partial refund right from the invoice.
• Try the ⌘K command palette for quick moves like “pay INV-204” or “create invoice for Acme” between clients.

What’s next

• Collect a deposit on an estimate
• Create a recurring invoice
• Turn on auto-pay
• Connect Stripe to get paid