First steps: Coach

This guide walks you through setting up your coaching practice, from your first login to receiving your first booking.

Before you begin

Practice is the dedicated web interface for coaching professionals on the Afterglow platform. It is where you manage your profile, connect integrations, handle bookings, and interact with clients.

Coach profiles are created by administrators, not through self-registration. An admin must create your coach profile in the Backoffice before you can access Practice. See Coaches management for admin instructions.

Note

You need the Coach role assigned to your account. If you do not see Practice in your navigation, contact your organization’s administrator.

Prerequisites

Before you start, confirm the following:

• An administrator has created your coach profile in the Backoffice.
• You have received your login credentials (email and password).
• You have a Cal.eu account for scheduling.
• You have a Stripe account (or are ready to create one) for payments.

Step 1 — Log in to Practice

1. Open your organization’s Practice URL in a web browser. The sign-in page reads Sign in with your coach account.
2. Enter your Email and Password.
3. Click Sign in.

After signing in, you land on the My Clients page. Your coach profile starts with a Pending status badge. This means an administrator has not yet approved your profile.

Step 2 — Complete your profile

Click My Profile in the sidebar. The Profile tab is where you set up your public-facing information. See My Practice for full details.

Fill in the following fields. Only Display Name is mandatory to save, but a complete profile helps your administrator approve you and helps clients choose you:

• Display Name (required) — The name clients see in the coaching directory.
• Bio — A short description of your background and approach.
• Specialties — Add tags for your areas of expertise (e.g. “Sleep”, “Mindfulness”, “Stress & burnout”). Type a specialty in the Add Specialty field and press Enter or click Add.
• Custom Specialty — A free-form field for a specialty that doesn’t fit a single tag.
• City and Country — Your location, shown on your profile.
• Profile Picture — Click Upload New to upload a photo.

Click Save Changes when you are done.

Step 3 — Connect Cal.eu

Switch to the Integrations tab on the My Profile page. The Cal.eu integration enables scheduling for your coaching sessions.

1. Log in to Cal.eu.
2. Go to Settings > Developer > API Keys in Cal.eu.
3. Create a new API key (a unique code that connects your Cal.eu and Afterglow accounts) and copy it.
4. Back in Practice, paste the key into the Cal API Key field on the Cal.eu Integration card.
5. Click Save. A message confirms the connection, for example “API key saved — connected to Cal.eu (Europe)”.
6. Once connected, the Webhook Status appears. If it shows Not Configured, click Create Webhook to enable automatic booking updates.

Once calendar sync is set up, the status changes to Configured with a green badge.

Step 4 — Connect Stripe

Still on the Integrations tab, find the Stripe Connect card. Stripe handles payment processing for your coaching sessions.

1. Click Start Onboarding.
2. Practice takes you to Stripe. Follow the steps to verify your identity and set up your bank account.
3. Complete the entire onboarding flow without closing the window.

Caution

If you close the Stripe onboarding window before finishing, your account may be left in an incomplete state. You can return to the Integrations tab and click Continue Onboarding to resume, but it is best to complete everything in one session.

When onboarding is complete, you are redirected back to your profile in Practice. The Stripe card shows Connected with Charges Enabled and Payouts Enabled badges.

Step 5 — Create your first service

Switch to the Services tab on the My Profile page.

1. Click Add Service.
2. Fill in the service details:
   • Name — A clear title for the service (e.g. “1-on-1 Coaching Session”).
   • Description — What the service includes.
   • Price (EUR) — The session price. A minimum price may apply depending on your organization’s settings.
   • Duration (minutes) — Session length in minutes (15–480).
   • Service Type — Choose Online or In Person.
3. If Cal.eu is connected, the Auto-create Cal event type checkbox is on by default. This automatically creates a matching event type in Cal.eu using the service name and duration.
4. Click Create.

Your service appears in the services list with an Active status.

Tip

Complete both Cal.eu and Stripe setup before creating services. The auto-create Cal.eu event type feature only works when your Cal.eu API key is configured.

Step 6 — Wait for approval

With your profile, integrations, and services set up, your account is ready for review. An administrator reviews your profile and approves it in the Backoffice.

Once approved, your status changes from Pending to Approved. You then appear in the coaching directory and clients can book your services.

Note

If your profile is not approved within a few days, reach out to your organization’s administrator.

Step 7 — Start coaching

Once approved, explore the coaching pages at the top of the sidebar:

• My Clients — View the clients who share their data with you and track their progress.
• Notifications — Stay up to date on client engagement: inactivity, overdue or completed homework, and journaling gaps.
• Consent Status — See which clients have granted you access to their data.

See Coaching for a detailed guide on managing your clients and sessions.

Caution

You cannot view client data (such as journal entries or progress) until the client grants consent through the mobile app. The Consent Status page shows you who has opted in.

Next steps

• My Practice — Full reference for the profile, services, bookings, and integrations tabs.
• Coaching — Managing clients, consent, and notifications.
• Coaching concepts — How scheduling, payments, and consent work behind the scenes.