You don't run a register. You run a court. Coach saves a card at booking, charges your cancellation policy on its own, and takes a lesson off a pack the moment your client shows up.
Coach is a Square Appointments alternative made for a solo racket-sport coach. The core difference: with Square the card is held for one visit and not saved, and charging a no-show is a manual decision every time, inside a 14-day window. Coach saves the card, charges the penalty automatically per your own policy, deducts packs on its own, and lets the client see their pack balance any time. The Coach platform fee is 0% (Stripe processing still applies).
Square Appointments is built for a front desk with a card reader. That shows up in the small print that matters to a coach:
None of that is wrong for a salon with a counter. It's wrong for a coach who's on court all day and can't stop to chase a charge.
You describe how you work in a couple of sentences, and the chat builds the rest: your booking page, your payments, your client list, your cancellation policy. After that the chat is the remote control. "Invoice Anna." "Move Tuesday to 6pm." "Who owes me?"
A card is saved when the client books. If someone misses a lesson or cancels late, the fee charges itself per the policy you set. No 14-day window, no manual decision, no awkward follow-up.
Sell a pack of 10 once. One lesson comes off automatically when the client attends. They can see "3 of 10 left" any time, not just during a booking. Deposits or prepay are taken the moment they book.
The platform fee is 0%. You keep the lesson money. Stripe's processing fee still applies, the same as it would anywhere you take a card.
| Coach | Square Appointments | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | One solo coach | A front desk with a card reader |
| Card at booking | Saved on file | Held for one visit, not saved |
| No-show fee | Charges itself per your policy | Manual decision every time, 14-day window |
| Setup | Minutes, from a chat | Menus and settings |
| Packs | Auto-deduct when client attends | Supported |
| Client sees pack balance | Any time | Only inside a booking |
| Deposit plus pack on one service | Yes | Not on one service |
| Platform fee | 0% (Stripe processing applies) | No-show stack from $49/mo per location |
| Charge to saved card | Stripe processing | 3.5% + 15¢ |
| Coach phone app | Yes | n/a for this use |
Most coaches move one pack and one regular at a time. Tell the chat what each client has left, set your cancellation policy in plain words, and share your booking link. The card on file and pack deductions start working from the next booking. You don't migrate a database. You just start taking bookings on a page that handles the money for you.
Coach is $19/mo, or $190/yr, with a 14-day trial that needs a card. There's no per-location no-show add-on. Square's no-show stack runs $49/mo per location, and every charge to a saved card is 3.5% + 15¢. Coach's platform fee is 0%, though Stripe's processing fee still applies.
No. Square holds the card for one visit and doesn't save it, and charging the no-show fee is a manual decision every time, only inside a 14-day window. Coach saves the card and charges your policy on its own.
In Coach, yes, any time. In Square, the client can only see the pack balance inside a booking. Coach takes a lesson off automatically when the client attends and shows "3 of 10 left" on their page.
In Square, a deposit and a pack can't be combined on one service. Coach lets you take a deposit or prepay at booking and run packs on the same service.
No. Coach runs from your phone and a web booking page. There's nothing to plug in and no counter to stand behind.
Set up your studio from a chat, save cards at booking, and let no-show fees and packs run themselves. Start your 14-day trial. A card is required, and you can cancel any time during the trial.
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