Adding & Editing Client Information

Create new clients manually or import hundreds at once—plus how to keep client information accurate and up-to-date

Where to find this: Dashboard → People → Clients → New User button (top right)

What you’ll accomplish

Learn how to add individual clients to CoachIQ, bulk import your entire roster from a spreadsheet, edit client details as information changes, and add custom fields to track what matters most to your business.

---

When to add clients manually vs bulk import

Choose your method based on your situation:

Manual Entry (Best for...)

Use the “New User” button when:

• Adding 1-5 clients at a time
• Someone just signed up on your website
• You’re onboarding a trial client
• You need immediate access to book them into a session
• You want to assign specific tags and roles during creation

Advantage: Full control, immediate profile creation, can add custom details right away

Bulk Import (Best for...)

Use spreadsheet import when:

• Migrating from another platform (10+ clients)
• Starting fresh with CoachIQ and have an existing roster
• Adding an entire team or program cohort at once
• You already maintain a spreadsheet of athletes

Advantage: Add 100+ clients in seconds, no repetitive data entry, great for one-time migrations

Pro tip: Most coaches use manual entry for ongoing operations (new signups) and bulk import once during initial setup or when acquiring a new team/program.

---

Adding clients manually

1. Click 'New User' button

   From People → Clients, click the New User button in the top-right corner.

   

   A form will appear with fields for client information.

2. Enter required information

   Fill in the essential fields:

   Required fields:

   • First Name - Client’s first name
   • Last Name - Client’s last name
   • Email - Primary email address (used for login and communications)
   • Phone - Mobile phone number for SMS (include country code)

   Email is critical: This becomes their login credential for your Athlete Portal (mobile app/web). Use the email address they check regularly.

   Phone number format: Use international format with country code, e.g., [phone] for US numbers. This ensures SMS messages deliver correctly.

3. Assign role(s)

   Select at least one role for this person:

   Common role selections:

   • Athlete - For anyone who trains with you (most common)
   • Parent - For guardians of youth athletes
   • Coach - If they also help deliver training (limited admin access)
   • Admin - Full platform access (use sparingly)

   Multiple roles: You can select multiple roles. For example, a paying athlete who trains with you would be both “Athlete” and “Customer”.

   What roles control:

   • App access: Athletes/Parents see the athlete portal, Coaches/Admins see the coaching dashboard
   • Permissions: What they can view, book, and manage
   • Filtering: How they appear in your People list filters
4. Add tags (optional but recommended)

   Tags help you organize and filter clients. Add relevant tags during creation:

   Examples:

   • Program/group: “Elite Program”, “Beginner Group”, “Rising Stars”
   • Status: “Trial”, “Active Member”, “Monthly Subscription”
   • Location: “Downtown Facility”, “North Campus”
   • Custom: Whatever makes sense for your business

   Don’t overthink it: You can always add or change tags later. Start simple with 2-3 tags like program name and membership status.

   To add a tag: Type the tag name in the “Tags” field. If it doesn’t exist yet, CoachIQ will create it automatically.

5. Save and confirm

   Click Create New User button.

   Success! The new client:

   • Appears immediately in your People → Clients list
   • Receives an email invitation to access your Athlete Portal
   • Can now be booked into sessions, assigned products, and messaged

   The client will receive an email with instructions to set their password and access your app/portal.

---

Bulk importing from a spreadsheet

When you need to add many clients at once, bulk import saves hours of manual data entry.

1. Prepare your spreadsheet

   Create a CSV or Excel file with these columns (headers must match exactly):

   Required columns:

   • first_name
   • last_name
   • email
   • phone

   Optional columns:

   • tags (comma-separated, e.g., “Elite Program, Trial”)
   • role (e.g., “athlete”, “parent”)

   Example spreadsheet:

   first_name	last_name	email	phone	tags	role
   Sarah	Johnson	[e-mail]	[phone]	Elite Program, Active	athlete
   Mike	Chen	[e-mail]	[phone]	Beginner Group	athlete

   Clean your data first:

   • Remove duplicate email addresses (imports will fail for duplicates)
   • Verify phone numbers include country codes
   • Check for typos in email addresses
   • Ensure consistent tag naming (case-sensitive)
2. Access import feature

   From People → Clients, look for the Import button or navigate to Settings → Import & Export → Import Athletes.

   Location varies: Some CoachIQ accounts have the import button directly in the People section, others access it through Settings. Check both locations.

3. Upload and map fields

   1. Upload your CSV or Excel file
   2. Map your spreadsheet columns to CoachIQ fields
   3. Preview the first few rows to verify correct mapping
   4. Choose whether to send invitation emails (recommended: No for bulk imports, send manually later)

   Test with 5 clients first: Upload a small test file with 5 clients to verify your format works before importing your entire roster.

4. Review and import

   CoachIQ will show:

   • How many clients will be imported
   • Any errors or duplicates detected
   • Which fields are missing

   Click Import to process.

   Import complete! Your clients now appear in the People list. You can filter by the tags you imported to verify everything processed correctly.

5. Follow up after import

   After bulk importing:

   1. Verify the import: Filter by imported tags to check client count
   2. Send welcome messages: Use Inbox to send a group message to all imported clients
   3. Provide login instructions: Send app download links and first-time login guidance
   4. Assign products/programs: If they should have access to content or credits, add those next

   Welcome automation: Consider setting up an automation (Tools → Automations) that triggers when “New User” is created to send welcome messages automatically.

---

Editing client information

Client details change—email addresses, phone numbers, roles, tags. Here’s how to keep information current:

1. Open the client profile

   From People → Clients, click the client’s name to open their full profile.

   
2. Use the User Details sidebar

   On the right side of the profile, you’ll see the User Details panel with:

   • Role dropdown
   • First name field
   • Last name field
   • Email field
   • Phone number field
   • + Add Field button (for custom fields)

   To edit: Click into any field, make your change, and it saves automatically.

   Changing email addresses: If you change someone’s email, they’ll need to use the NEW email to log in. Notify them immediately to avoid confusion.

3. Update role or tags

   To change roles:

   1. Click the Role dropdown in User Details
   2. Select/deselect roles as needed
   3. Changes save automatically

   To update tags:

   1. Scroll to the Tags field in User Details
   2. Add or remove tags (type to search existing tags)
   3. Changes save immediately

   Bulk tag updates: To change tags for multiple clients at once, use the Clients list view—select multiple clients, then use bulk actions to add/remove tags. Details in Organizing Clients with Tags & Filters.

---

Adding custom fields

Beyond the standard fields (name, email, phone), you can track custom information specific to your business.

Common custom field examples:

• Emergency contact name/phone
• School or team affiliation
• Jersey number
• Graduation year
• Parent’s work phone
• Medical conditions or allergies
• Referral source

1. Click '+ Add Field'

   In the User Details sidebar of any client profile, click + Add Field at the bottom.

2. Name and populate the field

   1. Enter a field name (e.g., “Emergency Contact”)
   2. Enter the value for this specific client
   3. Click save

   Custom fields are global: Once you create a custom field for one client, it becomes available for ALL clients. You don’t have to fill it in for everyone—only for those where it’s relevant.

3. Use custom fields for filtering

   After creating custom fields, you can:

   • View them in the User Details sidebar for each client
   • Edit values at any time
   • Use them for reporting or segmentation

   Limitation: Custom fields appear in client profiles but aren’t currently available as filter options in the main Clients list. Use tags for filterable organization.

---

Exporting client data

Need your client list in a spreadsheet? Use the export feature for backups, external tools, or reporting.

To export:

1. Go to People → Clients
2. Apply any filters (optional—export only filtered results)
3. Click Export button (top right)
4. Download the CSV file

What’s included in the export:

• Name (first and last)
• Email address
• Phone number
• Role(s)
• Tags
• Join date
• Custom field values

Privacy reminder: Exported files contain personal information. Store securely, share only when necessary, and delete copies when no longer needed. Comply with your privacy policy and applicable regulations.

Regular backups: Consider exporting your full client list monthly as a backup. Store securely with your other business records.

---

Common questions

What happens after I add a new client?

Immediately after creation:

1. Client appears in your People → Clients list
2. They receive an email invitation to access your Athlete Portal
3. You can now book them into sessions, message them, and assign products
4. They can download your mobile app or access the web portal using the email you entered

Email invitation: Contains a link to set their password and get started. If they don’t see it, check spam folders or resend from their profile.

Can I add a client without an email address?

No—email is required because it serves as their login credential for your Athlete Portal.

Workarounds for special cases:

• Youth athletes without email: Use a parent’s email and set Role as “Parent”, then link the child later
• Team accounts: Create a temporary email (e.g., [e-mail]) but you’ll need to update it later for them to access the portal

Best practice: Always use real, working email addresses. It ensures clients can log in, receive booking confirmations, and get messages.

What if I import duplicate clients?

CoachIQ checks for duplicate email addresses during import. If a duplicate is detected:

• That row is skipped (not imported)
• You’ll see an error message identifying the duplicate
• Other non-duplicate clients in the file still import successfully

To fix: Remove duplicate emails from your spreadsheet and re-import just those clients, or manually add them one by one.

Can clients edit their own information?

Yes, partially. Clients can update their own:

• Name
• Email address
• Phone number
• Password
• Profile photo

They access these settings through the Athlete Portal (mobile app or web) under their account settings.

You control: Roles, tags, credits, product assignments, and custom fields—clients cannot change these.

How do I delete a client?

From the client’s profile, click the Delete button (trash icon) in the top-right corner near “Message” and “Book” buttons.

What happens:

• Client is removed from your People list
• They lose access to your Athlete Portal immediately
• Historical data (past bookings, transactions, messages) is preserved for your records
• They WILL be charged for any upcoming subscriptions. Subscriptions and billing are handled via Stripe. Be sure to cancel any active subscriptions before deleting a user.

This cannot be undone easily. Consider using an “Inactive” tag instead if they might return or you want to preserve their active status.

Can I change someone from Client to Staff?

Yes! Roles can be changed at any time:

1. Open their profile (People → Clients or Staff)
2. In the User Details sidebar, update the Role dropdown
3. Changes save automatically

Example: An athlete who starts coaching for you can have both “Athlete” and “Coach” roles. They’ll see the coaching dashboard AND their own athlete profile.

---

Pro tips for client management

Tag During Creation

Always add at least 2 tags when creating clients: their program/group and their status (Trial, Member, etc.). Makes filtering and messaging much easier later.

Verify Contact Info

Double-check email and phone before saving. Typos in email = client can’t log in. Wrong phone = SMS won’t deliver.

Use Consistent Naming

Decide on a format for names (First Last, or Nickname Full Last) and stick to it. Makes your client list clean and searchable.

Add Notes Immediately

Right after creating a client, open their profile and add a comment in their Activity with context: how you met, what they’re training for, referral source. Future-you will thank you.

---

What’s next

Now that you know how to add and edit clients, explore what you can do with their profiles:

Client Profiles Overview

Understand the complete activity dashboard and all profile tabs

Organizing with Tags

Master filtering, segmentation, and using tags for group messaging

Booking Clients

How to book clients into sessions from their profile

Messaging Clients

Send individual or group messages to your client base

---

Related articles

People Overview

Back to main People section guide

Managing Staff

Adding and managing coaching team

Credits Management

View and adjust client credit balances

Connect children

Connect an athlete or create a managed child from the client Family section

Bulk Operations

Update multiple clients at once with tags

Import & Export

Advanced import/export settings

---

You now know how to: Add individual clients manually, bulk import from spreadsheets, edit client information, add custom fields, and manage client data responsibly.