Understanding Booking Types in CoachIQ

Learn the three ways athletes get booked into sessions and when to use each booking method for your coaching business

What you’ll learn

CoachIQ offers three distinct ways to create bookings, each designed for different coaching scenarios. Understanding when to use each method helps you manage your schedule efficiently and provide the best experience for your athletes.

Athlete Self-Booking

Athletes book themselves 24/7 through your portal, app, or website

Manual Booking

You book athletes directly for special situations or VIP clients

Recurring Bookings

You create standing weekly appointments (coach-only feature)

Quick decision: Most bookings (80%+) should be athlete self-booking. Use manual/recurring booking for specific situations described below.

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The three booking methods

1. Athlete self-booking

What it is: Athletes browse your available schedulers, select a time that works for them, and book themselves instantly—no back-and-forth coordination required.

How it works:

• Athletes visit your booking page (portal, app, or embedded on your website)
• They see your schedulers with available time slots
• They select a date/time and complete booking
• You both receive automatic confirmation

Who can use it: Any athlete who has:

• Sufficient credits (if credit-based scheduler)
• Payment method (if paid scheduler)
• Access to your portal/app (if not public booking)

When to use it:

• Regular training sessions
• Drop-in classes
• Open enrollment programs
• Any session where athletes choose their own times
• When you want to reduce administrative work

Best for: Starter and scaling coaches managing their calendar efficiently

Time-saver: Athlete self-booking runs on autopilot. Once your schedulers are set up, bookings happen 24/7 without any effort from you.

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2. Manual booking (coach-initiated)

What it is: You book athletes directly from your admin dashboard using the Booking Builder—bypassing the athlete’s self-booking process.

How it works:

• You open the Booking Builder from your dashboard
• Select the athlete, scheduler, and time
• Confirm the booking
• Athlete receives automatic notification

Who can use it: Only coaches/admins (athletes cannot manually book themselves)

Special capability: You can book outside your normal availability by enabling “custom date selection”—perfect for one-off accommodations.

When to use it:

• VIP clients who prefer you to schedule for them
• Makeup sessions after cancellations
• Special accommodations outside normal availability
• Last-minute emergency bookings
• Athletes who need scheduling assistance
• Complimentary or comp sessions

Best for: Scaling coaches and facility owners managing high-touch relationships

Manual booking consumes credits or processes payment the same way athlete self-booking does—the only difference is who initiates the booking.

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3. Recurring bookings (coach-initiated)

What it is: You create multiple bookings at once in a recurring pattern (weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, custom)—perfect for committed athletes with standing appointments.

How it works:

• You use the Booking Builder’s “Recurring” section
• Define the pattern (e.g., “Every Tuesday at 5pm”)
• Set duration or end date
• System creates individual bookings for each occurrence

Who can use it: Only coaches—athletes cannot book recurring sessions themselves

Important distinctions:

• Shows as individual sessions on calendar (not grouped visually)
• Each session consumes credits separately (if credit-based)
• You can edit individual occurrences without affecting the whole series

When to use it:

• Committed athletes with weekly standing appointments
• Team practices or regular group sessions
• Private clients who train on consistent schedule
• Subscription members with fixed time slots
• Athletes who’ve prepaid for multiple sessions

Best for: Scaling coaches and facility owners with committed long-term athletes

Credit consideration: If booking 10 weekly sessions, athlete needs 10 credits available. Each booking consumes credits individually.

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Quick comparison

Who Can Use

Feature	Athlete Self-Booking	Manual Booking	Recurring Booking
Athletes can initiate	✅ Yes	❌ No	❌ No
Coaches can initiate	✅ Yes*	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Admin only	❌ No	❌ No	❌ No

*Coaches can manually self-book using Booking Builder

Key Capabilities

Feature	Athlete Self-Booking	Manual Booking	Recurring Booking
Books within availability	✅ Yes	✅ Yes (default)	✅ Yes
Can override availability	❌ No	✅ Yes (with checkbox)	✅ Yes (with checkbox)
Creates multiple at once	❌ No	❌ No	✅ Yes
Credit consumption	Per booking	Per booking (optional)	❌ No
Shows on calendar	Individual session	Individual session	Multiple individual sessions

Best Use Cases

Scenario	Best Method
Regular training sessions	Athlete Self-Booking
Drop-in group classes	Athlete Self-Booking
VIP client management	Manual Booking
Makeup session	Manual Booking
Emergency accommodation	Manual Booking (custom date)
Weekly private training	Recurring Booking
Team practice schedule	Recurring Booking
Subscription fixed slots	Recurring Booking

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Choosing the right method

Use this quick decision guide:

Does athlete need to book themselves at their convenience?

├─ YES → Athlete Self-Booking
└─ NO → Continue

Is this a one-time special situation?

├─ YES → Manual Booking
└─ NO → Continue

Is this a regular weekly/recurring commitment?

├─ YES → Recurring Booking
└─ NO → Manual Booking (or reconsider athlete self-booking)

General principle: Default to athlete self-booking for scalability. Use manual/recurring booking only when there’s a specific reason that requires coach initiation.

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Common questions

Can athletes create recurring bookings themselves?

No—recurring bookings are a coach-only feature. Athletes must book each session individually (or you create the recurring pattern for them).

Why: This prevents athletes from monopolizing time slots and ensures coaches maintain control over recurring commitments.

Workaround: If an athlete wants to book multiple weeks at once, you can create the recurring booking for them.

Do different booking methods handle credits differently?

Yes—only athlete bookings and manual bookings consume credits (if scheduler is credit-based) or process payment (if scheduler requires payment) identically.

Recurring bookings do not have the ability to redeem credits.

Can I manually book into times that aren't in my availability?

Yes—when using manual booking, you can enable “Allow custom date selection outside of a session’s availability” to override your normal schedule.

Use case: Athlete needs a session Tuesday at 2pm, but you’re normally only available Mondays/Wednesdays. You can manually book this exception.

Athlete self-booking: Cannot override availability—they can only book from your published available slots.

What if I want athletes to have standing weekly appointments?

Best approach: Create recurring bookings for them using the Booking Builder. (no credits needed, just a payment plan)

Alternative: Some coaches have athletes self-book the first session, then coach creates recurring pattern for subsequent weeks.

Why not athlete recurring: Prevents athletes from locking up prime time slots for extended periods without coach approval.

Can I convert athlete self-bookings to recurring?

Not automatically—if an athlete self-books once and wants to continue weekly, you need to create a new recurring booking pattern starting from the next occurrence.

The original self-booked session remains separate; new recurring sessions are independent bookings.

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Related articles

Creating Schedulers

Set up bookable sessions before athletes can book

Calendar Overview

View and manage all your bookings

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You now understand: The three booking methods and when to use each one. Ready to implement the booking strategy that fits your coaching business!