Top 12 Intake Form Software for Relationship Coaches, Ranked
The best intake form software for relationship coaches does three things a generic form builder does not: it lets each partner answer privately, it puts your coaching agreement and scope boundaries in front of the couple before the first call, and it carries those answers straight into the work that follows. A tidy questionnaire that lands in your email inbox solves the first ten minutes of the relationship. The deciding question is what happens to those answers after the couple clicks Submit.
Our pick is Coachful, because intake there is the first step of one connected client journey: booking with intake questions, an e-signed agreement, a client record that keeps the answers, and a program the couple works through between sessions, all under one login. We make Coachful, so weigh that, and read the other eleven entries with the same care. Each one ends with the situation where it beats our pick.
This guide covers what relationship, couples, dating and divorce coaches actually need from intake, a ranked table, a section per tool with prices as listed in October 2026, a feature matrix, costs at 5, 15 and 40 clients, and a step-by-step couples intake build. If you want the broader software picture first, start with our guide to the best coaching software for relationship coaches.
What do relationship coaches need from intake form software?
Relationship coaches need intake that handles two people, sensitive history and a clear scope line at the same time. Most intake tools are built for one client filling in one form, so the gaps show up quickly when a couple books.
Two partners, two sets of answers. In couples work, the most useful intake answers are often the ones a partner would not say out loud in a joint session: how safe they feel raising a topic, what they think the other person wants, whether they are already halfway out the door. That means each partner completes their own form, and you decide in advance, in writing, how you handle information one partner shares privately. Some coaches run a "no secrets" policy, others keep individual answers confidential. Either works if the couple knows the rule before they type. Your software should let you send the same questionnaire to two people and keep the responses on two separate records.
Scope screening before the first session. Relationship coaching is not couples therapy. Intake is where you find out whether a couple needs a licensed therapist instead of, or alongside, a coach. Questions about physical safety, fear of a partner, coercive control, active addiction, recent self-harm or an untreated mental health condition belong on the form, with a plain statement that you will refer out if any of them apply. If a partner reports violence or fear for their safety, the right next step is a referral to local domestic violence services or a qualified clinician, not a coaching package. We cover the full set of questions in our relationship coaching intake questionnaire.
Sensitive data handled carefully. Relationship intakes often touch sex life and sexual orientation, which the EU's General Data Protection Regulation treats as special category data under Article 9 (Regulation (EU) 2016/679). If you coach anyone in the EU or UK, ask only what you need, get explicit consent, and know where the answers are stored. None of the coaching platforms below make you a clinical provider, and you should not run your practice as one.
An agreement signed before the first call. The agreement is where the confidentiality rule, the scope line, the cancellation terms for joint sessions and the payment terms live. A form tool that cannot collect a signature means a second tool, a second email and a second chance for the couple to stall.
Booking that fits two calendars. A joint session needs one booking that both partners can see, with time-zone detection when partners live apart, and reminders that reach both of them.
Somewhere for the answers to go. Intake answers should shape the plan: the communication exercises you assign, the check-ins you ask for between sessions, the goals you track. If the answers sit in a spreadsheet, you will retype them. Dating coaches and divorce coaches have the same need with different questions (patterns and app habits for dating, co-parenting logistics and legal referrals for divorce); see our pages for dating coaches and divorce coaches.
Which intake tools for relationship coaches rank highest at a glance?
Ranking criteria: one login for the whole client journey from intake to program, between-session delivery for couples, total stack cost, and setup effort, including whether the vendor will build your forms for you at no extra cost.
| Tool | Rank | Best for | Intake approach | Starting price (as listed October 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coachful | 1 | Couples coaches who deliver programs, not just sessions | Intake questions on booking, forms and worksheets, e-signed agreement, answers on the client record | Lite: $29/month for up to 5 clients |
| Dubsado | 2 | Coaches who like building automated workflows | Lead forms and questionnaires inside workflows | $35/month (Starter) |
| HoneyBook | 3 | Package sellers who want proposals and contracts | Lead forms tied to proposals | $29/month billed annually (Starter) |
| Jotform | 4 | Coaches who want a powerful standalone form builder | Drag-and-drop forms, e-sign add-on product | Free tier; Bronze €39/month (euro pricing served) |
| Quenza | 5 | Coaches who assign exercises and worksheets | Activities and worksheets in a client app | $25/month (Spark) |
| Paperbell | 6 | Solo coaches who sell packages | Package checkout with booking and contracts | $97/month |
| Practice Better | 7 | Coaches with a wellness or clinical-adjacent practice | Forms inside a practice-management portal | Free tier (3 clients); $35/month (Starter) |
| Satori | 8 | Small caseloads billed by active client | Packages, contracts and client portal | $33/month (Essentials) |
| CoachAccountable | 9 | Coaches who live in worksheets and action plans | Worksheets, agreements and metrics | $20/month (2 active clients) |
| Acuity Scheduling | 10 | Coaches who mostly need booking plus a form | Custom intake forms on the booking page | $20/month (Starter) |
| Bonsai | 11 | Coaches who also freelance or consult | Forms and questionnaires with contracts | $25/month per user (Essentials) |
| Calendly | 12 | Coaches who only need booking questions | Questions on the booking page | Free tier; $10/seat/month billed annually |
How did we choose and rank these tools?
We started from the jobs a relationship coach's intake has to do: collect each partner's answers separately, screen for scope, get an agreement signed, book a joint session and feed the answers into the coaching itself. Then we read each vendor's pricing page and documentation, as listed in October 2026, plus public reviewer reports where they exist. We did not run paid accounts for these tools, so where a feature is not documented we say so instead of guessing.
Tools that cover the whole journey ranked above tools that cover one step, because a couple who fills in a form, then signs in a second tool, then books in a third is a couple more likely to drift. Standalone form builders and schedulers still made the list, because some coaches already have the rest of their stack and only need better forms. For a wider view of the category, our parent guide to coaching intake and agreement software compares tools across all coaching niches.
1. Coachful: intake, agreement and couples program under one login
Coachful is a coaching platform where intake is the first step of the client journey rather than a separate product. One membership covers booking, payments, coaching agreements, program delivery with habits and check-ins, courses, a community, a website with funnels and email, and an AI assistant called Michelle. The coach has one login; each partner gets your branding inside the Coachful app. It is built for coaches who deliver programs, solo coaches growing into a small team, and coaches replacing four to six tools.
How intake works. You can attach intake questions to any booking page, so a couple booking a discovery call answers your screening questions at the moment they pick a time. Booking pages handle availability rules, buffers, minimum notice and time-zone detection, with two-way Google, Apple/iCloud and Outlook calendar sync and either built-in video or auto-created Zoom, Meet or Teams links. Reminders go out by email, plus SMS 24 hours before and WhatsApp one hour before once messaging is enabled, which matters when two people have to show up at the same time.
The Intakes page tracks every intake call: how many are upcoming, how many converted and your conversion rate. Behind it, the Prospects page lists each lead with the form or resource they came from and their stage, so you can see whether couples arrive through your free conflict-repair guide or your application funnel.
Agreement before the first call. Coaching agreements with e-signature go out before the first session and are stored on the client record. That is where your confidentiality rule for private partner answers, your scope and referral statement and your joint-session cancellation terms belong. More on structuring that document on our coaching contracts page.
Answers that stay useful. Each partner's intake answers land on their client record next to goals, check-ins, habits, notes, tags, payments and sessions. Michelle reads that live practice data and briefs you before a session, so you walk into a joint call with each partner's context in one place instead of scattered across emails. Each record also carries a status of thriving, active, quiet or at risk, a useful early signal when one partner stops doing the between-session work.
What the couple does between sessions. This is where Coachful separates from form builders. You can build a multi-week program with weekly goals, daily tasks, habits, morning and evening check-ins and goals with progress bars. For a couple, that could be a nightly ten-minute check-in, a weekly appreciation habit and a goal tracking how many disagreements ended in a repair attempt. Enrolling both partners in a program creates a cohort group automatically, and courses with drip and completion tracking suit a pre-marital curriculum. The AI Coach, an AI version of you that selected clients can chat with between sessions, is optional and fully configured by you.
Here is a short walkthrough of the intake screens:
Payments and records. Payments run through your own Stripe Connect or Razorpay account: one-time, subscriptions, payment plans, coupons, refunds, Apple Pay and Google Pay. Coachful charges a 0% platform fee (since August 2026), so only processing applies. Full client data, including form responses, exports as a ZIP, and the product is GDPR-ready. If you are ICF-credentialed, coaching hours and distinct clients count automatically toward ACC, PCC and MCC thresholds.
Why Coachful stands out: a free white-glove service. From Create, the "We'll build it for you" card lets you describe what you want built, and the Coachful team builds it inside your own account, usually within about 24 hours. For a relationship coach that could be the two-partner intake form, the agreement-first booking funnel, a six-week communication program outline or an email sequence for couples who downloaded a guide. You can attach up to 8 reference links and up to 10 files, such as your existing PDF questionnaire. The team does not invent anything: no fake credentials, testimonials or prices, and gaps are left for you to fill. It does not cover recording videos, logo design, ad management or ongoing marketing. Details are in how the white-glove service works.
What Coachful does not do. It is not HIPAA-certified and offers no BAA, so it is not for clinical record-keeping or insurance billing; if you are also a licensed therapist, keep therapy records in a clinical system. There is no PayPal. It has no routing forms that pick a host from form answers. The client app ships under the Coachful listing with your branding, not under your own App Store account. There is no permanent no-cost plan, though there is a free trial.
Pricing is a flat monthly plan, with lower plans capping the number of clients and Pro unlimited (current plans: Lite: $29/month for up to 5 clients; Solo: $49/month for up to 20 clients; Pro: $99/month with unlimited clients; Studio: $199/month with unlimited clients). More on the niche setup at Coachful for relationship coaches.
2. Dubsado, for coaches who think in workflows
Dubsado is a client workflow CRM: forms, contracts, invoices, a scheduler and automated workflows it calls Flows. For a relationship coach, the appeal is sequencing. A couple who submits a lead form can automatically receive a questionnaire, then a contract, then an invoice, then a scheduler link, in the order you design. That suits a coach who wants every couple to sign before they book.
As listed in October 2026, Starter costs $35 a month ($27.92 a month billed annually) with unlimited clients and projects but only one active lead-capture form, and no scheduler or automations. Premier costs $55 a month ($43.75 annually) and adds the scheduler, Flows and unlimited lead forms. There is a 21-day trial with full Premier access and no card required. Dubsado states no platform fee; processor rates apply, and optional surcharging can pass card costs to the client.
The limits matter for couples work. Dubsado says it does not build websites and is not an email marketing platform. It has no courses, client community, habits or check-ins, so nothing carries your intake answers into between-session practice. The mobile app is a companion; full use needs the desktop web app. Public reviewers have described form design and scheduling as unintuitive and report feeling locked in by the time spent building Flows, and older profile notes from September 2026 say forms and templates do not export, which makes leaving harder later.
For two-partner intake, you would create the questionnaire once and send it to each partner as a separate contact. Plan an extra step to combine both answers before a joint session, because the tool treats them as two unrelated clients unless you group them in a project.
Pick it over Coachful if you only want intake, contracts and invoices automated, you already deliver the coaching elsewhere, and you enjoy designing detailed automated workflows.
3. HoneyBook suits a coach who sells packages like projects
HoneyBook is a client-management CRM built for service businesses. Lead forms sit alongside proposals, contracts and invoices, with a client portal, plus a scheduler and automations on higher plans. A relationship coach selling a fixed "eight-session couples reset" package can present it as a proposal that includes the agreement and the first payment.
Plans as listed in October 2026: Starter at $29 a month billed annually (the monthly figure was not shown on the page), with unlimited clients and two live lead forms; Essentials at $59 a month ($49 annually) with up to two team members and ten lead forms; Premium at $129 a month ($109 annually) with unlimited lead forms and team members. The scheduler and automations start on Essentials. There is a 30-day trial with no card required.
Payments must run through HoneyBook's own processing. Its pricing page conflicted on card fees when checked, with 2.7% + 10¢ in the FAQ and 2.9% + 25¢ in the plan comparison; ACH is 1.5%. Prices also rose in February 2025, per an older profile. Trustpilot showed 4.1 from 748 reviews on 25 October 2026.
For couples, HoneyBook's gap is everything after the contract. There are no programs, courses, habits, check-ins or community, so intake answers inform your sessions but never become between-session structure. Two lead forms on Starter is also tight once you separate a discovery form from a two-partner intake questionnaire and a post-program feedback form.
Pick it over Coachful if your coaching is session-only, your clients expect a proposal-style buying experience, and you are comfortable with HoneyBook handling your card processing.
4. Jotform: the strongest pure form builder on this list
Jotform is a dedicated form builder with drag-and-drop editing, templates, payment integrations and a separate e-signature product, Jotform Sign. If your existing stack already handles booking and delivery, it gives you the most control over the questionnaire itself: long two-partner intakes, a separate safety-screening section and file uploads.
The pricing page we loaded on 25 October 2026 served euro prices, so US figures may differ. As served: Free (5 forms, 100 submissions a month, 10 signed documents), Bronze at €39 a month or €408 a year (25 forms, 1,000 submissions a month), Silver at €49 a month or €468 a year (50 forms, 2,500 submissions a month) and Gold at €129 a month or €1,188 a year (100 forms, 10,000 submissions a month). In the plan data on that page, only Gold carries HIPAA compliance. Jotform offers a 30-day money-back guarantee and nonprofit and education discounts. Its integration list includes Stripe, PayPal, Square, Google Calendar, Google Sheets and Zapier.
For relationship coaches, the strength is also the limit. Jotform does excellent forms and then hands you the data. There is no client record built around a coaching relationship, no program, no check-ins, and the agreement sits in a different product from the intake. You will connect a scheduler, a payment flow and a delivery tool, and every link in that chain is somewhere a couple can stop.
On Free, five forms runs out fast: a discovery form, a partner A intake, a partner B intake, a consent form and a feedback form already uses them all.
Pick it over Coachful if you only need a sophisticated questionnaire, you already run sessions and programs in other tools, and you care more about form design than a connected journey.
5. Quenza, where intake becomes a worksheet
Quenza is a client-engagement tool for coaches and therapists. You build activities, worksheets and multi-step programs, then send them to clients through a client app with chat. For a relationship coach, an intake questionnaire becomes just another activity, and you can follow it with a "four horsemen" reflection or a weekly gratitude log in the same app.
Plans as listed in October 2026: Spark at $25 a month ($20 annually) for one professional and 10 clients; Growth at $50 ($40 annually) for 250 clients; Impact at $125 ($100) for 400 clients; Collective at $160 ($128) for up to three professionals and 500 clients; Beyond at a price not listed. There is a 30-day trial without a card. Trustpilot showed 4.3 from 8 reviews.
The gaps are on the business side. Quenza has no client payment processing today; invoicing and digital products are marked as planned. Older profile notes also list no scheduling or video calls. So a couple would book in one tool, pay in another, sign elsewhere and then do their exercises in Quenza.
The client cap matters too. Counting each partner as a client, Spark's 10 clients is five couples.
Pick it over Coachful if you already have booking and payments sorted, your main need is a library of exercises and worksheets, and you are happy to stitch the business side together.
6. Paperbell is the simple choice for solo package sellers
Paperbell is an all-in-one admin tool for solo coaches: booking, packages, payments, contracts, a client portal and a simple website. A couple buys a package, signs the contract and books sessions in one checkout, which is a clean path for a coach who sells a fixed number of joint sessions.
Paperbell has one plan as listed in October 2026: $97 a month ($80.83 a month billed annually) with unlimited clients, sessions, files, packages and traffic. There is a 30-day money-back guarantee. Its help center (July 2026) describes a 7-day trial with the public site offline and client messages and SMS turned off. Paperbell states no additional transaction fees; Stripe and PayPal processor fees apply. Trustpilot showed 3.5 from 14 reviews.
The vendor information we reviewed does not detail Paperbell's intake questionnaire options, so check how intake questions attach to packages during the trial. The documented gaps, per older profile notes from September 2026, are no courses, community, goal or habit tracking and no native mobile app (mobile browser only). That leaves a couple with sessions and a portal, but no structure for practice between sessions.
Pick it over Coachful if you coach only one-to-one sessions, want one fixed price regardless of client count, and value a short setup over between-session programs.
7. Practice Better: borrowed from wellness practices
Practice Better is practice management for wellness and nutrition practitioners: scheduling, telehealth, charting, billing, programs and a client portal, with forms included from the Starter plan. A relationship coach who works alongside therapists, or who also offers wellness coaching, may find its practice-style records familiar.
Plans as listed in October 2026: Sprout at $0 (3 clients, 1 practitioner, 100 MB); Starter at $35 a month ($25 annually) for 10 clients; Professional at $69 ($59) for 300 clients; Plus at $99 ($89) for unlimited clients; Team at $155 ($145) for two practitioners, with more at $50 each. Trials run 14 days on paid plans and 30 days on Team. Payments run through Practice Better Payments, powered by Stripe. Trustpilot showed 3.8 from 87 reviews.
Couples coaches should notice what sits on higher tiers: evergreen programs, portal branding, a custom URL and SMS start on Plus at $99 a month. Older profile notes list no website builder or funnel pages. Charting language may also feel clinical for a coaching practice that is careful to stay out of therapy territory, and every account below Team is one practitioner.
Pick it over Coachful if you run a combined wellness practice with clinical-style charting needs and want one tool built around practitioner workflows.
8. Satori bills only for the clients you are actively coaching
Satori is a coaching practice tool covering scheduling, a client portal, packages and programs, invoices and contracts. Only active clients count toward billing, which helps a relationship coach whose couples come and go in waves.
Plans as listed in October 2026: Scholar at $0 for people studying for a coaching certification (unlimited pro bono clients, apply by form); Essentials at $33 a month ($27.50 annually) for up to 10 active paying clients; Pro at $49 ($40.83), which older profile notes list at 50 active clients; Leader at $124 ($103.33), listed at 150. The trial is 15 days with no card, and Satori refunds on request within 30 days of sign-up. It takes no cut of client payments; PayPal and Stripe fees apply.
Like Paperbell, Satori's intake questionnaire detail is not in the vendor information we reviewed, so test the form builder against your two-partner questionnaire before committing. Older profile notes from September 2026 list no native mobile app, no native Zoom integration, and no landing pages, courses or community. Ten active clients on Essentials means five couples if both partners are enrolled.
Pick it over Coachful if you are an ICF student coaching pro bono couples toward your hours, or you want billing tied tightly to active clients and do not need a website or programs.
9. CoachAccountable and its worksheet-first back office
CoachAccountable is a coaching back office: sessions, action plans, metrics, worksheets, courses, invoicing and agreements, with the full feature set on every plan and unlimited coaches and admins. Worksheets are flexible enough to serve as intake forms, and action plans and metrics can track a couple's commitments afterwards.
Pricing as listed in October 2026 scales by active clients: $20 a month for 2, $40 for 5, $70 for 10, $120 for 20, $200 for 35, $250 for 50 and $400 for 100, with no annual discount. The trial is 30 days, no card, no limits. Trustpilot showed 4.8 from 47 reviews, the highest score in this list.
The pricing model hurts couples coaches more than most. If both partners need their own login and worksheets, each couple counts as two active clients, so 20 couples sits on the $250 tier. Older profile notes list no native mobile app and no landing pages, website or marketing automation, and the company states it is not HIPAA compliant.
Pick it over Coachful if you coach a small number of couples intensively, want deep worksheets and metrics more than a website or community, and the per-client price stays low at your volume.
10. Acuity Scheduling, if the form only needs to sit on the booking page
Acuity Scheduling, owned by Squarespace, is appointment scheduling with custom intake forms attached to the booking page, plus packages and memberships. For a coach whose intake is a dozen screening questions answered while booking, it does the job with little setup.
Plans as listed in October 2026: Starter at $20 a month ($16 annually) for one calendar, with custom intake forms, email reminders and Stripe, Square, PayPal or Venmo payments; Standard at $34 ($27) for up to six calendars, adding text reminders, packages and memberships; Premium at $69 ($55) for up to 36 calendars, adding a HIPAA BAA and an AI booking assistant. Every plan has a 7-day trial with no card. Trustpilot showed 3.6 from 687 reviews.
The form is tied to a single booking, so it suits the person booking, not both partners. You would have to collect the second partner's answers separately. There is no client portal for programs, habits, check-ins or messaging, and no courses, community, website builder or email marketing.
Pick it over Coachful if you need a HIPAA BAA for a booking form because you also hold a clinical license, or booking with a few questions is genuinely all you need.
11. Bonsai, built for freelancers more than couples
Bonsai is business management for freelancers and agencies: proposals, contracts, invoices, time tracking and projects, with forms and questionnaires, scheduling and a client portal from the Essentials plan. A relationship coach who also consults or runs workshops for organisations might already use it.
Plans as listed in October 2026, per user: Basic at $15 a month ($9 annually) with no invoices or payments; Essentials at $25 ($19) with forms, contracts, scheduling and the client portal; Premium at $39 ($29) with client tasks and messaging; Elite at $59 ($49) with a three-user minimum. There is a 7-day trial. Per older profile notes and help-center figures not re-read today, using your own Stripe or PayPal where Bonsai Payments is available adds a 1% platform fee. Trustpilot showed 4.3 from 641 reviews.
For couples work there are no courses, community, habits, check-ins or coaching programs, and a custom domain was still marked as expected in 2026. Time tracking and Gantt charts are wasted on a coaching practice.
Pick it over Coachful if most of your income is project-based consulting and relationship coaching is a side offer you want handled in the same freelance toolkit.
12. Calendly covers booking questions and little else
Calendly is a scheduling tool with questions on the booking page. It is the lightest option here and the one many coaches start with.
As listed in October 2026: a Free plan with one event type and one calendar connection; Standard at $10 per seat per month billed annually (monthly prices were not shown), adding unlimited event types, reminders and Stripe or PayPal payments; Teams at $16 per seat billed annually, adding round-robin scheduling and lead qualification and routing. Trustpilot showed 4.1 from 714 reviews.
Calendly keeps no client records, notes, programs, habits or check-ins, offers no intake questionnaires beyond booking questions, and has no contracts or invoicing. Each coach on a team pays per seat. A relationship coach using Calendly still needs a form tool, a contract tool and somewhere to deliver the coaching.
Pick it over Coachful if you run a multi-coach couples practice and need routing forms that assign a couple to a specific coach based on their answers, which Coachful does not offer.
How do the features compare for couples intake?
The table compares what each vendor documents for the steps of a relationship coach's intake. "Not listed" means the feature was not in the vendor information we reviewed, not that it is missing.
| Tool | Intake forms | Booking | E-signed agreement | Payments | Between-session program | Client app or portal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coachful | Intake questions on booking; forms and worksheets | Yes, two-way calendar sync | Yes, before the first call | Your Stripe or Razorpay, 0% platform fee | Programs, habits, check-ins, courses | Branded client app |
| Dubsado | Yes (1 lead form on Starter) | Premier only | Yes | Yes, processor rates | No | Portal |
| HoneyBook | Lead forms (2, 10 or unlimited) | Essentials and up | Yes | HoneyBook processing only | No | Client portal |
| Jotform | Yes, 5 to 100 forms by plan | Not its focus | Via Jotform Sign | Stripe, PayPal, Square integrations | No | App builder |
| Quenza | Activities and worksheets | No | Not listed | No (planned) | Yes, programs and activities | Client app |
| Paperbell | Not listed | Yes | Yes | Stripe, PayPal | No goals or habits | Portal, mobile browser |
| Practice Better | Yes | Yes | Not listed | Stripe-powered | Programs (evergreen on Plus) | Client portal |
| Satori | Not listed | Yes | Contracts | Stripe, PayPal | Packages and programs | Client portal |
| CoachAccountable | Worksheets | Yes | Agreements | Stripe, Square, PayPal | Action plans, metrics, courses | Web, no native app |
| Acuity Scheduling | On the booking page | Yes | Not listed | Stripe, Square, PayPal, Venmo | No | No |
| Bonsai | Forms and questionnaires (Essentials) | Yes | Yes | Bonsai Payments, Stripe, PayPal | No | Client portal |
| Calendly | Booking questions only | Yes | No | Stripe, PayPal (Standard and up) | No | No |
What does each tool cost at 5, 15 and 40 clients?
Relationship coaches should count partners, not couples, when a tool caps clients: 15 clients could be seven couples plus one individual. The figures below are monthly prices as listed in October 2026 on monthly billing unless noted, for the cheapest plan that covers intake plus booking where the tool offers both.
| Tool | 5 clients | 15 clients | 40 clients | What you still need to add |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coachful | Lite: $29/month for up to 5 clients | Solo: $49/month for up to 20 clients | Pro: $99/month with unlimited clients | Nothing for intake, agreement, booking or delivery |
| Dubsado | $55 (Premier) | $55 | $55 | Program delivery, website, email marketing |
| HoneyBook | $59 (Essentials) | $59 | $59 | Program delivery, between-session tools |
| Jotform | €39 (Bronze) | €39 | €39 | Scheduler, delivery, client records |
| Quenza | $25 (Spark) | $50 (Growth) | $50 | Scheduler, payments, contracts |
| Paperbell | $97 | $97 | $97 | Programs, habits, community |
| Practice Better | $35 (Starter) | $69 (Professional) | $69 | Website, funnels |
| Satori | $33 (Essentials) | $49 (Pro) | $49 | Website, courses, community |
| CoachAccountable | $40 | $120 (20 active) | $250 (50 active) | Website, marketing |
| Acuity Scheduling | $20 (Starter) | $20 | $20 | Contracts, delivery, client portal |
| Bonsai | $25 (Essentials) | $25 | $25 | Programs, habits, community |
| Calendly | $10 (annual) | $10 (annual) | $10 (annual) | Forms, contracts, delivery, records |
The cheap rows are cheap because they do one job. A coach running Jotform, Calendly and a separate delivery app pays for three subscriptions and spends the hours connecting them. Compare the full stack, not the single line.
How does a relationship coach set up couples intake in Coachful?
Here is a worked example for a couples coach selling a 12-week communication program. The program and its contents are examples. You can build it yourself or hand the form and funnel steps to the white-glove team.
- Write the two-partner intake questionnaire. Use the same questions for both partners: what brought you here now, what a good outcome looks like in 12 weeks, how conflict usually starts and ends, how safe you feel raising hard topics, and whether either partner is currently in therapy. Add a scope section: "Have you felt afraid of your partner, or been hurt by them, in the past year?" and questions on addiction and self-harm, with a sentence explaining you will refer out if any apply. Our list of coaching intake form questions has more starting points.
- Set up a discovery call booking page. Create a 30-minute joint discovery session with intake questions attached, buffers either side and minimum notice of 24 hours. Turn on time-zone detection if partners live apart.
- Write the agreement. State your confidentiality rule for private partner answers, your referral policy, the cancellation rule if only one partner shows up, and payment terms. Send it for e-signature before the first paid session so it lands on each partner's record.
- Add each partner as their own client. Send the full questionnaire to each partner separately as a form so answers stay private, and tag both records with the couple's surname so you can filter them together.
- Build the program. Twelve weeks, each with one weekly goal (week 1: one daily appreciation; week 4: a 20-minute weekly check-in conversation), an evening check-in asking "Did we repair after a disagreement today?" and a habit with a streak. Enroll both partners so they share a cohort group.
- Prepare for the first joint session. Ask Michelle for a briefing on both clients before the call, then compare the two intake answers yourself. Where the partners describe the same conflict differently, you have your first agenda item.
- Review intake conversion monthly. The Intakes page shows upcoming calls, conversions and conversion rate. If couples book discovery but do not buy, look at the gap between your intake questions and your offer. Our guide to automating intake form scoring helps you flag strong-fit couples early.
Clients see their next session, their documents and any required pre-session worksheet in their coaching hub, so partner B is reminded to finish their intake before the joint call.
What intake mistakes do relationship coaches make?
The most common mistake is sending one shared form to a couple. One partner fills it in, usually the one who booked, and the other partner's view arrives only in the first session, filtered through the room.
- No written rule on private answers. If partner A tells you about an affair on their individual form, you need a policy the couple agreed to in advance. Put it in the agreement, not in your head.
- Skipping safety screening. Joint coaching can be unsafe when one partner fears the other. Screen individually, and refer to domestic violence services or a licensed clinician when answers suggest abuse or coercive control.
- Collecting more sensitive data than you use. Questions about sexual history are rarely needed at intake for a communication program. Under GDPR, sex life is special category data, so ask only what you will act on.
- Calling coaching therapy. Forms that promise to "heal trauma" or "treat" anything blur scope. Say what coaching is and is not; our explainer on what relationship coaching is has language you can adapt.
- Letting answers die in an inbox. If intake answers do not shape the first three weeks of the program, the couple filled them in for nothing. Keep them on the client record and refer back to them.
- Too many tools. Form in one place, contract in another, booking in a third. Each handoff is a chance for one partner to drop off. See our comparison of tools for relationship coaches for how stacks add up.
Which intake form software should a relationship coach pick?
Pick Coachful if you want intake to lead straight into the coaching: booking with intake questions, a signed agreement, each partner's answers on their own record and a program they work through between sessions, with the white-glove team available to build the forms for you. It costs one membership instead of three or four subscriptions (Lite: $29/month for up to 5 clients).
Choose Dubsado or HoneyBook if you sell session-only packages and want contract-and-invoice automation. Choose Jotform if you only need a better questionnaire. Quenza suits exercise-heavy coaches who have booking and payments elsewhere. Paperbell, Practice Better, Satori and CoachAccountable are reasonable all-in-one alternatives with narrower delivery or per-client pricing. Acuity, Bonsai and Calendly fit coaches who need only one piece of the intake puzzle. For setup inspiration, our guide to writing a relationship coach website covers the pages that send couples to your intake.
Frequently asked questions
Should each partner fill in a separate intake form?
Yes, in most couples work. Separate forms let each partner answer honestly about safety, commitment and goals without the other reading over their shoulder. Decide in advance how you handle information shared privately and state it in your agreement.
What should a relationship coaching intake form ask?
Cover the reason for coming now, goals for the engagement, relationship history, conflict patterns, current support such as therapy, and scope screening questions on safety, addiction and self-harm. Keep sensitive questions to what you will actually use. Our relationship coaching intake questionnaire breaks this into eight areas.
Is relationship coaching intake data covered by HIPAA?
HIPAA applies to covered entities such as health plans and providers who bill electronically, and most coaches are not covered entities. If you are also a licensed therapist, keep clinical records in a system that offers a BAA. Coachful is not HIPAA-certified and is not meant for clinical records.
When should a relationship coach refer a couple to therapy instead?
Refer when intake answers suggest physical violence, fear of a partner, coercive control, active addiction, self-harm or an untreated mental health condition. Coaching can sometimes run alongside therapy with the therapist's agreement, but it should not replace it in those situations.
Can I use a free form builder for couples intake?
You can start with one, but free tiers run out quickly when you need separate forms per partner, a consent form and a feedback form. Jotform's free tier, for example, allows five forms. You will also need separate tools for agreements, booking and delivery.
Does Coachful let me collect intake answers when a couple books?
Yes. You can add intake questions to a booking page, and the answers are stored on the client record alongside goals, check-ins, notes and sessions. The coaching agreement can be e-signed before the first call.
What is Coachful's free white-glove service?
From Create, you describe what you want built, such as an intake form, a booking funnel, a program or an email sequence, and attach up to 8 links and 10 files. The Coachful team builds it inside your account, usually within about 24 hours, and leaves gaps for you rather than inventing credentials or prices. It does not include video recording, logo design or ongoing marketing.
How do I count clients when a tool caps the number?
Most tools count each person with their own login as a client, so a couple usually counts as two. Check whether the vendor counts only active clients (Satori and CoachAccountable do) and plan your tier on partners, not couples.
Do dating and divorce coaches need different intake software?
They need different questions, not different software. Dating coaches usually work with one person and ask about patterns and goals; divorce coaches ask about co-parenting logistics and refer legal questions to an attorney. The same intake, agreement and program setup works for both.
How do I start with Coachful?
Start a free trial, then request your intake form and booking funnel through the white-glove service if you would rather not build them yourself. Your clients, programs and content are imported for you during onboarding.
