Terms and conditions for a business coach

A business coach sells accountability and perspective to business owners. The terms have to define what a package includes, say what coaching is and is not, keep the client's decisions the client's, protect what is said in sessions, and make cancellations and payment work for a sole practitioner. I draft those terms for a fixed fee of £995, delivered in five working days.

Who this is for

Business coaches, mentors and accountability coaches in England and Wales working with business owners, founders and managers on session packages, group programmes and retained coaching, as a sole practitioner or a small practice. Clients are usually engaging for their business, so these are business-client terms, with a short consumer section where an individual buys personally.

What matters in business coaching terms

Packages, sessions and programmes

The terms should define each package by the number, length and frequency of sessions, the period in which they must be used, what happens to unused sessions, and what support between sessions is included. Group programmes need their own section on numbers, dates, participation and the confidentiality of other participants. A package with no expiry is an open-ended liability.

What coaching is and is not

The terms should say that coaching is a structured process that helps the client think, plan and act, that it is not consultancy, legal, accounting or therapeutic advice, nor financial advice, which needs authorisation under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, and that the coach does not guarantee revenue, growth or any other result. Where the coach does give business advice, the terms should say it is offered as opinion for the client to weigh, and that decisions and their consequences are the client's.

Confidentiality and what the coach keeps

Sessions cover things the client would not say elsewhere. The terms should impose confidentiality on the coach, say what notes are kept and for how long, that nothing is disclosed except with consent or where the law requires, and that the client's personal data is handled under the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 with a privacy notice. Group programmes should require participants to keep each other's disclosures confidential.

Cancellations, rescheduling and payment

Sessions cancelled inside a stated notice period should be forfeited or charged, with the coach committing to reschedule sessions it cancels, and the terms should say so. Packages are paid in advance or by instalments with the whole price payable regardless of attendance, and business clients pay interest and fixed compensation on late payment under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998. Where the client is a consumer buying personally, a programme sold online carries a cancellation right under regulation 29 of the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 until sessions start at their express request, and the Consumer Rights Act 2015 requires the cancellation terms to be fair.

Boundaries, liability and ending early

The terms should say how the engagement can be ended by either side, what is refunded if the coach ends it, and that the coach may end it where the relationship is not working or the client's conduct makes it untenable. Liability should be capped at the fees paid, with consequential loss and losses from the client's decisions excluded, tested for reasonableness under the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977. The coach should also say when it will refer a client to other help.

What it costs

Customer or supplier terms and conditions, £995. One set of terms, customer-facing or supplier-facing, drafted for your business. Five working days.

Review of your existing terms, £495. You already have terms and want them checked and brought up to date. Returned marked up with my amendments and an explanation of the changes. Three working days.

Buying online forms the engagement on payment. The scope is what the terms and conditions drafting page describes, you accept the Terms of Service at checkout, and I email you within four working hours to get started. If you would rather ask something first, email me.

What you get

• A full set of bespoke terms drafted for your business, reflecting the legal requirements that apply to your business and sector
• A note in plain English explaining the terms I have drafted for you
• Liability, payment, termination and IP provisions that protect your position and are drafted to withstand scrutiny from the other side
• Guidance on how to incorporate the terms properly
• Your questions and comments answered by email or phone
• One round of amendments to finalise the terms ready for use

What is not included

• Negotiating your terms with individual customers (I am happy to quote for this as an additional service if required)
• Sector-specific regulatory compliance beyond the contract terms themselves
• Website privacy notice and cookie compliance, which I quote separately
• Terms governed by the law of another country
• Tax advice

Questions I am often asked

A client says the coaching did not deliver the growth they expected and wants a refund. Do they get one?

If the terms say no result is guaranteed and fees are for the sessions provided, no. Coaching delivered with reasonable skill and care is what was sold.

A client keeps missing sessions and then wants to use them months later. What applies?

The terms should set a notice period inside which cancelled sessions are forfeited and a period within which the package must be used. Once the terms are clear, applying them is a matter of consistency.

Can I share what a client told me with their business partner, who is also my client?

Not without consent. The terms should impose confidentiality on the coach for each client separately, and the coach should manage the conflict of coaching two people in the same business by agreement with both.

Related guidance and services

• Terms and conditions drafting, £995, the service this page describes
• Contract review, £495
• Terms and conditions for an executive coach
• Terms and conditions for a management consultant

This page is general guidance for businesses in England and Wales, not advice on your own circumstances. Last reviewed: September 2026. Email geoffrey@caesar.co.uk.