Paperbell

Paperbell is an advanced scheduling system and program management for online coaches.

It’s a bit different from other online coaching platforms we’ve reviewed as it’s closer to a scheduling software (like Calendly) than a full-fledged tool.

This very lightweight tool makes everything simple and very easy to set up and manage your coaching business.

It might just be enough for you if you’re getting started in your online coaching journey, or simply if you already use other platforms in your tech stack.

Paperbell can be an awesome tool for a specific type of coach! Those that like to keep things simple and don’t need all the bells and whistles.

Its set of feature is as simple as that:

Again, this is a more refined feature stack than some other coaching platforms that also include a mobile app or extensive learning tools for example.

Paperbell might also not be the best fit if you have specific niche-related needs, as a fitness coach for example (tracking client’s food, exercise routine,etc.).

But let’s breakdown exactly what you can do to help you make that decision:

Appointments & Clients

At its very core, Paperbell is an advanced scheduler designed for online coaches to manage their clients and coaching sessions.

The built-in Appointment tool helps you set up availability and sync with your Calendar to get a calendar link your client can book a slot with:

You’ll also be able to set all of the other rules you’re used to if you’re already using a standalone scheduler.

Things like buffer time between sessions, expiring links, future limit (how far out can a client book a session,etc.

All of the booking information will also appear on the Client’s profile, as some sort of CRM:

That way you can easily track and see everything you need to know about your coach's client at a glance.

Overall this feature compares beautifully to other platforms that sometimes make this a little too complicated!

Packages & Programs

Of course, coaching sessions are the main deliverables of most online coaching programs, but they usually come in a package.

Paperbell allows you to create packages and set up different pricing: one-off, free, recurring,etc.

This is also where you can add information about this package on a Landing Page to sell it better.

Now, this isn’t a page builder where you can really change the layout and blocks, but it will display what you offer in a clear way.

If you want to create group coaching programs, this is also where you’d set that up by adding session dates:

Other important on-boarding elements Paperbell helps with are contracts and billing.

You can set up a contract for your client to sign as they checkout, which will automate a HelloSign agreement.

You can also add a Survey, which is a set of on-boarding questions for your coaching client to answer as they purchase the package.

And of course, Paperbell supports online payment through Stripe and Paypal with your very own checkout.

This is available on any plan and there is no additional fee charged on your sales.

Another useful thing to setup is automated email to message your new clients and create an on-boarding sequence.

Or simply reminders to book their next session or to download or watch some of the Content you put up there.

When it comes to that, Paperbell doesn’t exactly provide a course builder but you are able to upload files in the member’s area.

These are limited in size and you won’t be able to host videos directly on Paperbell, you’ll instead have to use Vimeo or YouTube.

But other small files to download can be hosted there!

What you’ll get after all of this is setup are a few links you can start sharing:

As you can see, this includes a helpful Embedded Calendar code to use your Paperbell scheduler on your website or any other platform.

Overall, the platform keeps things simple here for coaches and compares well to other competitors.

Again, you might need more advanced tools for your clients such as the ability to message your client in the app, setup assessment and tests or personalized tasks and Goals for each client…

In which case, you might want to check out more advanced tools:

Payment & Invoicing

You can keep track of sales and payment in the appropriate tab in Paperbell.

If you want your clients to pay you directly online, you’ll have to connect either Stripe or Paypal to use the checkout.

Note that there isn’t really any invoicing tool, but clients can get a receipt after the purchase is made through the payment gateway.

You can also “gift” packages to clients that have paid you outside of the platform or offline.

One of the upsides of the relatively few features Paperbell offers for coaches is that it’s extremely easy to use.

The whole interface is intuitive and pleasant to go through.

The platform is also very fast and free of any technical bugs.

It would have been great to have a bit more control over certain client facing elements to better adapt the platform to branding.

But overall Paperbell definitely stands out here and simplifies the whole user experience for you and your clients.

There are essentially 2 ways to start using Paperbell.

On the excellent free plan which will give you access to all features and 1 client.

Or with the a single paid plan:

This $40 per month billed annually gives you unlimited access to everything Paperbell offers!

Which is a very affordable pricing, when most other online coaching platforms will charge you based on how many clients you have and get progressively more expensive.

As with everything, Paperbell keeps it simple and offers this simple plan for all of its users.

Support and a community of fellow users can make a platform a lot more enjoyable to use!

Paperbell provides a range of support articles to help you navigate the platform and troubleshoot problems.

You can get support via email but unfortunately there is no chat widget to talk to an agent directly.

There is also no forum or facebook group with fellow users to meet.

The platform is still young and with its growing user base this may be something in the pipeline!