scaling · building a team

How to pay an assistant coach.

You have decided to hire. Now the question that decides whether the hire makes you money or just makes you busier: how do you pay them? Flat per client, a revenue share, hourly, or a salary - each protects a different thing and carries a different risk. This is the honest breakdown of the four models, what to actually pay, and the contractor-versus-employee call, sized from the margin the coach actually creates.

By Markus Evers · Updated September 2026

the short answer

Pay an assistant coach from the margin their clients generate, not a fixed rule. The four models: a flat fee per client (protects your margin, predictable), a revenue share of each client fee - commonly 30 to 50% for a delivering coach (aligns incentives, but you share every future price rise), hourly or retainer (for part-time or early arrangements), and salary (for a full-time senior coach once volume is stable). Start with revenue share or flat per client, size it so both of you come out ahead, and confirm contractor-versus-employee with a professional in your country.

the four models

The four ways to pay an assistant coach.

There is no single right model - each protects a different thing. Match the model to what your business needs most right now: predictable margin, aligned incentives, flexibility, or commitment.

Flat per client

How it works

A fixed amount per client the assistant coaches each month - say a set fee for every client on their client list, regardless of what that client pays you.

When it fits

Best when your prices vary or you want your margin protected and predictable. The assistant's cost scales cleanly with the work they do, and you keep the upside when you raise prices.

The catch

You carry the pricing risk: if a client pays little, the flat fee eats more of that client's margin. Set the fee against the lowest-priced client the assistant will hold.

Revenue share

How it works

A percentage of what each of the assistant's clients pays you - commonly somewhere in the 30 to 50% range of the client fee for a coach delivering most of the work.

When it fits

Best when you want incentives aligned and admin simple. The assistant earns more as your prices rise and as they retain clients, so they are motivated to coach well and keep people.

The catch

You give up that percentage for as long as the client stays, which at scale is a lot of margin. And a raise you earn through your brand and marketing is shared with the coach who only delivers.

Hourly or retainer

How it works

Paid for time - an hourly rate for hours worked, or a fixed monthly retainer for a defined scope of check-ins and messages.

When it fits

Best for part-time help, an assistant who also does admin, or an early arrangement while you both learn the fit before committing to per-client or revenue terms.

The catch

Time is not the thing you are buying - coaching outcomes are. Hourly can reward slowness and needs tracking; a retainer needs a clearly bounded scope or it quietly expands.

Salary

How it works

A fixed annual wage for a full-time, employed coach - usually with the client load, responsibilities and benefits that come with employment.

When it fits

Best once a senior coach is running a real book full-time and you want their full commitment, control over how they work, and a long-term seat on the team.

The catch

The highest fixed cost and the most commitment: you pay it whether the client list is full or not, so only move here when the client volume is stable and your margins clearly carry it.

the number

Size the pay from the margin, not a percentage you read somewhere.

The mistake is picking a number - "I will give them 40%" or "I will pay 300 a month" - before checking what the clients actually leave on the table. Work it the other way. Take what the assistant\'s clients pay you, subtract what it costs you to deliver (your platform fee, any built-in payment fee, the tools), and you have the margin those clients generate. The pay comes out of that margin, split so the assistant earns a fair wage for the delivery and you keep enough for the brand, the marketing and the risk you carry that they do not.

That is exactly the math the assistant-coach ROI calculator runs: put in the clients you would hand over, their fee, and the pay model, and it shows the margin you keep, the hours you free, and the client count where the hire breaks even. Decide the pay against that number. If the margin does not clearly carry the pay and leave you ahead, the answer is usually to raise prices before you take on more clients, not to squeeze the coach.

Ranges here are starting points to sanity-check against your own numbers and your local market, not fixed rates. This is business guidance, not legal or tax advice.

the structure

Contractor or employee - decide on the relationship, confirm with a professional.

How you pay is separate from how you engage them. A contractor is simpler and more flexible - they invoice you, set their own hours and handle their own tax - and is how most coaches start, on a revenue share or flat per-client fee. An employee gives you more control over how the work is done and a longer-term commitment, usually on salary, along with the payroll, tax and benefit obligations that come with employment.

The important part: most countries have strict tests for who genuinely counts as a contractor versus an employee - based on control, exclusivity, how they are paid and who provides the tools - and getting it wrong is expensive to unwind. Decide based on the working relationship you actually need, put it in a simple written agreement, and confirm the classification with an accountant or employment lawyer where you and the coach are based. Do not copy another country\'s norm.

Whichever you choose, the coach needs scoped access to only their clients, and a documented standard to work to - which is where the systems come in. The wider picture of adding a coach without dropping quality is in when to hire an assistant coach and the operating model in how coaches handle 100+ clients.

what makes the pay model work

A pay model only works if you can see the margin and protect it.

Every model above depends on two things: knowing the real margin per client, and not leaking it. That is a systems question as much as a spreadsheet one.

Keep the margin you are splitting

Take payments through your own Stripe on Coachway and the platform fee is 0% - so the margin you share with an assistant is not already thinned by a cut of every client\'s fee. Built-in payments are an optional 2.4% if you prefer them.

Scoped team access

Bring an assistant coach into the same workspace with access to only their clients, so the handover is clean and you keep oversight - not a shared login and a spreadsheet of who has whom.

A standard they inherit

When your programming and check-in flow live in the platform, the assistant delivers to your documented standard from day one - the thing that makes any pay model worth it, because the clients stay.

questions coaches ask

Frequently asked questions.

How much should I pay an assistant coach?

Pay from the margin the assistant's clients actually generate, not a number pulled from the air. Work out what those clients pay you, subtract your platform and delivery costs, and size the pay so both of you come out ahead - the assistant earns a fair wage and you keep a margin for carrying the brand, the marketing and the risk. In practice a revenue share for a delivering coach often lands around 30 to 50% of the client fee, or a flat per-client fee set against your lowest-priced client; confirm both against your own numbers and your local market rather than copying a percentage. The assistant-coach ROI calculator runs the exact margin so the pay is a decision, not a guess.

Revenue share or flat fee per client - which is better?

Revenue share aligns incentives and keeps admin simple, but you share every future price rise and pay it for as long as the client stays. A flat per-client fee protects your margin and keeps your pricing upside yours, but you carry the risk on low-priced clients. The rule of thumb: revenue share when you want the assistant motivated to retain and grow clients and your prices are still moving, flat fee when your prices are set and you want predictable margins as you scale. Many coaches start on revenue share for the alignment, then move to flat or salary once the client list and standard are stable.

Should an assistant coach be a contractor or an employee?

It depends on how much control you need and what your local law allows - this is a genuine legal and tax question, not a preference. A contractor is simpler and more flexible, sets their own hours and handles their own tax, and is how most coaches start; an employee gives you more control over how the work is done, plus the obligations and benefits that come with employment. The catch is that many countries have strict tests for who counts as a contractor versus an employee, and misclassifying someone is expensive. Decide based on the working relationship you actually need, then confirm the classification with an accountant or employment lawyer in your country. This is general guidance, not legal or tax advice.

When should I move an assistant coach from revenue share to salary?

When their client book is full, stable and full-time, and the maths says a fixed wage costs you less than the share would on that volume - while giving you more control and their full commitment. Salary is the highest fixed cost and the biggest commitment, so it follows proven, steady volume, not a hopeful forecast. Run it explicitly: model the revenue share on their current client list against a salary for the same load, and only switch when the salary is clearly carried by stable margin and you want that coach as a permanent part of the team.

The short version: size the pay from the margin the coach\'s clients generate, pick the model that protects what your business needs most - flat per client for predictable margin, revenue share for aligned incentives, salary for a full-time senior coach - and confirm contractor-versus-employee with a professional in your country. Run the numbers before you commit with the assistant-coach ROI calculator, and get the timing right first with when to hire an assistant coach.

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