Time, Money, and Practice Audits for Coaching Excellence

If you are a coach feeling overwhelmed or lost in your business, it may be time to hit the reset button. Time, money, and practice audits are essential tools for understanding where your business is and making the necessary changes to become more efficient, productive, and ultimately, more profitable. These audits can be game-changers in streamlining operations and reducing stress.

Let’s break down what these audits are, why they matter, and how you can implement them effectively.

Money Audit: Know Where You Stand Financially

A money audit is one of the first and most effective tools for evaluating the financial health of your coaching business. It involves examining your expenses, both personal and business-related, to understand where your money is going and identify areas for improvement.

What Does a Money Audit Involve?

Track Your Expenses: Use tools like You Need a Budget or Mint to monitor your personal and business expenses over the past few months. This provides a baseline of your spending, whether it is business costs (e.g., software, marketing) or personal living expenses (e.g., rent, groceries).

Identify Unnecessary Costs: Review all subscriptions and recurring charges from at least the past three months. A surprising number of people are paying for things they no longer need or use. This can range from unused apps to forgotten memberships.

Renegotiate Services: A money audit also involves reviewing your recurring expenses, such as health insurance, car insurance, or loans. You can often save hundreds by switching providers or renegotiating terms.

Why It Matters

Knowing where your money is going allows you to calculate your “ramp”—the amount of time your savings will last if your business is not profitable yet. This helps you plan for the future and understand how long you can sustain your current lifestyle without additional income.

The audit also reveals important numbers like:

• Freedom Number: The minimum you need to cover basic expenses if things go south.
• Lifestyle Number: How much you need to maintain your current lifestyle.
• Target Savings: If you are aiming for financial independence, your savings targets will become clearer.

By knowing these figures, you can make informed decisions about pricing, services, and how much you need to earn.

Time Audit: Get More Out of Your Day

Time audits are essential for recognizing how you spend your time and whether you are utilizing it effectively. It is not only about managing your hours but also about understanding your true priorities.

How to Conduct a Time Audit

Track Your Day in 15-30 Minute Increments: You can do this on paper, in a spreadsheet, or through apps like Toggle. Record everything you do, from coaching sessions to admin work to personal time.

Categorize Your Activities: Separate personal and business tasks. This helps you determine how much time you are spending on each area and whether it aligns with your goals.

Identify Time Wasters: You may discover that tasks take longer than expected or that you are working in fragmented chunks of time throughout the day. This insight can help you streamline your day and cut out inefficiencies.

Why It Matters

A time audit helps you understand:

• Where you may be wasting time (e.g., constantly checking emails or social media).
• How much you are actually working vs. feeling busy.
• Whether your time is aligned with your business goals and personal values.

By understanding the amount of time you are investing in your business (including administrative tasks, client interactions, and other activities), you can more accurately assess your efficiency and productivity. It can even help you calculate your true dollar-per-hour value and optimize for higher earnings with fewer hours worked.

Practice Audit: Streamline Your Coaching Process

A practice audit is about identifying areas in your coaching business where you can eliminate waste and improve your overall workflow. It is also about examining what makes you happy and fulfilled in your work.

What Does a Practice Audit Involve?

Identify Waste: Look for repetitive tasks, such as answering the same client questions or sending similar emails, that could be automated or templated. Use templates for common communications and programs, or build an FAQ section to save time.

Assess Your Job Satisfaction: Pay attention to the aspects of coaching that drain your energy or frustrate you. Is there a part of your job that you just do not enjoy, like administrative tasks or client management? A practice audit gives you the opportunity to make adjustments and focus on what truly excites you about coaching.

Why It Matters

This audit helps you focus on:

• Eliminating repetitive, low-value tasks so you can spend more time doing what you love—coaching.
• Creating a work process that aligns with your strengths and passions, which will help you stay motivated and reduce burnout.

When your practice is efficient and fulfilling, you are more likely to stick with it in the long term and deliver a higher-quality service to your clients.

Putting It All Together

By understanding your financial position, how you spend your time, and where you can improve your coaching practice, you are positioning yourself for greater success and sustainability in your coaching career. By regularly conducting these audits, you not only improve your efficiency but also gain the peace of mind that comes with knowing exactly where your business is headed.

These tools are part of the Online Coaching Excellence course, which provides even more detailed guidance on how to implement these practices. If you are ready to take your business to the next level, start with these audits today. You will be amazed at the difference they can make!