Group Coaching SOP: Hosting, Group Size, Billing, Invoicing, and Schedule Changes
Group Coaching SOP: Hosting, Group Size, Billing, Invoicing, and Schedule Changes
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By Alex M.
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Group Coaching SOP: Hosting, Group Size, Billing, Invoicing, and Schedule Changes
Group coaching only works when expectations are explicit.
This SOP defines the default operating rules for running paid group sessions: how we staff sessions (host vs co-host), how we price and pay coaches, what happens when attendance is too low or too high, how we bill and invoice, and how we communicate schedule changes.
This is written as a practical policy you can copy into onboarding emails, invoices, and calendar invites.
Quick defaults (recommended)
Format: Rolling weekly group (clients can join/leave month-to-month; no multi-session packages by default)
Session length: 60 minutes (or 75/90 if your niche requires it)
Target group size: 6–8 attendees
Minimum group size (run threshold): 5 attendees
Maximum group size (cap): 10 attendees
Waitlist / overflow: At 10+, open a second cohort or add structure (see “Too big”)
Missed sessions: Client is billed (seat-based) unless the coach cancels; limited “grace miss” is optional
The single host receives 100% of session income (net of refunds and processing fees), unless there is an internal revenue-share agreement with the business.
Model B: Co-hosted group (two coaches)
Use this when the group is larger, more complex, benefits from two perspectives, or when you want redundancy (coverage when one coach is unavailable).
Why co-host:
Better facilitation: one coach leads while the other observes patterns and intervenes
Better equity: more airtime and support per attendee
Better reliability: coverage if one coach has an emergency
Responsibilities (default split):
Lead coach: opens, frames topic, timeboxes, manages flow
Rotate roles every session (or every month) to keep workload fair
How to pay two people (hard rule):
Co-hosts always split 50:50 of income, regardless of who “led” that day.
Define “income” precisely for accounting consistency:
Session income = client payments attributable to that session (or pro-rated from monthly membership)
Net session income = session income minus payment processing fees and refunds/chargebacks tied to those payments
Payout cadence: weekly or monthly, but consistent and documented.
2) What happens when the group dips below 4 or 5 people?
Low attendance harms outcomes: clients get less peer learning, and the session starts to feel like “therapy by committee” or an underpowered 1:1 substitute.
Use a clear threshold so you don’t renegotiate every week.
Recommended rule: run threshold = 5
If 5+ confirmed attendees: run as normal.
If 4 confirmed attendees: run only if the content is still group-appropriate and at least one of the following is true:
The group is in a temporary dip (holiday week, travel week)
You expect new joins within 2–3 weeks
The group is highly cohesive and the session value remains high
If 3 or fewer confirmed attendees: do not run as a “group” session by default.
What to do instead (pick one default)
Option A (recommended): Pause + recruit
Cancel that week’s session (or convert to office hours; see below)
Do a focused 2-week recruitment push (referrals, email list, outbound)
Resume when you have 5+ confirmed again
Option B: Convert to “group office hours”
Keep the same time slot
Make it more Q&A and less structured group programming
Still bill as group (seat-based), but only if clients were clearly told this is how low-attendance weeks work
Option C: Convert to a “mini-group”
Run with 3–4 attendees, but explicitly call it a mini-group format
Do not present it as the same product; the experience is different
If you keep billing the same price, deliver extra value (more airtime, tighter coaching)
Recruitment expectation (so the group doesn’t slowly die)
If attendance is below threshold for 2 consecutive sessions, treat it as a signal to either:
rebuild the cohort (recruit), or
sunset that time slot and relaunch with a fresh cohort.
3) What happens when the group gets too big (more than 10 people)?
Above 10, facilitation becomes materially harder: airtime collapses, quieter members disappear, and sessions drift into lecture mode.
Recommended rule: cap at 10
At 9–10: start a waitlist.
At 11+: do not “just squeeze people in.”
What to do at 11+ (pick a default)
Option A (recommended): Open a second cohort
Same topic, different time, or same time on a different day
Move the waitlist into the new cohort first
Option B: Split into two parallel groups
Same time slot, two Zoom rooms, each with a coach (or co-host pair split)
Requires enough staffing to keep quality high
Option C: Add structure (only if you must keep one cohort)
Use breakout rooms with clear prompts
Use a queue system (“hot seat” rotations)
Extend session length (e.g., 75–90 minutes) only if clients opt in
4) Minimum and maximum group size
Define size differently depending on staffing.
Recommended ranges
Single-host group
Minimum: 4
Target: 6–8
Maximum: 10
Co-hosted group
Minimum: 5
Target: 7–9
Maximum: 10
If you want a single universal rule across both models, use:
Min = 5, Max = 10, Target = 6–8.
5) Do we bill clients for missed group sessions?
Recommended default: Yes, because group coaching is a seat-based program with a reserved time slot.
Make this explicit so it feels fair and predictable.
Client misses a session
If the client misses (no-show or can’t attend), they are still billed.
Optional policy (if you want more goodwill):
One “grace miss” per rolling 8-week period (must notify before session start)
Grace miss does not roll over or accumulate
Coach cancels a session
If the coach cancels, clients are not billed for that session.
Remedy options:
Automatic credit applied to next invoice, or
Rescheduled session within 14 days
Notice window (recommended)
Client cancellation notice: 24 hours.
Under 24 hours: still billed (same as missed).
6) Invoicing group sessions vs individual (1:1) sessions
Group and individual coaching invoice best with different logic.
Individual sessions (1:1)
Typically invoiced per session (or via package/subscription) with explicit time blocks.
Pricing is tied to the coach’s direct hourly rate.
Group sessions (recommended invoicing approach)
Pick one default and keep it consistent.
Option A (recommended): Monthly membership invoice
Client pays a fixed monthly amount for access to the weekly group time slot.
Benefits:
Predictable revenue
Simple for clients and ops
Supports “rolling” format naturally
How to compute it:
Monthly price = per-person hourly rate × session duration × expected sessions per month (usually 4.0 or 4.33).
Decide whether you bill for “weeks in the month” (variable) or use a standard multiplier (stable).
Option B: Per-session invoice
Client is billed for each attended (or scheduled) session.
Benefits:
Simpler to explain if clients dislike subscriptions
Easy to prorate
Downside:
More admin, more variance, and more opportunities for confusion around misses.
Co-host payout accounting (applies to A or B)
Reconcile session income (or pro-rated membership revenue) at a consistent cadence.
Split net session income 50:50 between co-hosts.
Keep a simple ledger: date, session length, attendee count, gross, fees, refunds, net, payout per coach.
7) Should group sessions always be rolling (never part of a package deal)?
Recommended default: Yes, rolling.
Rolling groups reduce friction and stabilize attendance over time.
Rolling model (recommended)
Client can join any week after onboarding.
Client continues month-to-month unless they cancel by a cutoff date (e.g., 7 days before next billing date).
When to use a package or fixed cohort (exceptions)
Fixed cohorts can be useful when:
the curriculum is sequential (Week 1 builds into Week 2, etc.)
the group depends on trust building with a stable membership
you want a defined “start” to increase commitment
If you do fixed cohorts, still consider billing monthly during the cohort to avoid heavy package admin.
8) Pricing rule for co-hosted groups (discounted vs both coaches’ rates)
Your rule is simple and defensible: group rate should be cheaper than either coach’s 1:1 time, and anchored to the lower-priced coach’s minimum.
