COLO gives independent therapists, counsellors, and allied-health professionals a single workspace for booking sessions, billing privately, sending intake paperwork, and communicating securely with clients — without juggling a separate booking tool, an invoicing app, a third tool for forms, and an email inbox for everything else.
TL;DR
Independent therapists, counsellors and allied-health professionals use COLO to book sessions, bill privately, send intake paperwork and communicate securely with clients. The calendar handles bookings, reschedules and reminders, invoicing covers single sessions, packages and sliding-scale fees so package balances stop being a guess, and client comms stay in context next to the record.
Who this is for
You are a solo therapist, counsellor, or allied-health professional (psychologist, dietitian, physiotherapist, speech therapist) running a private practice. A typical week is twenty to thirty 1:1 sessions, two intake calls, two no-shows that you would rather have caught earlier, and the steady background admin of sending invoices, booking confirmations, and chasing the occasional unpaid session.
The friction tends to be the same shape:
- Session admin is its own job. Booking, rescheduling, sending the confirmation, sending the reminder, logging that the session happened — all on different tools.
- Intake paperwork lives in an email attachment nobody can find. A new client emails on Monday; you send the intake form on Tuesday; the form comes back on Friday; you copy the answers into your notes by hand.
- Package balances are a guess. A client bought ten sessions in February; you and the client both think they have used six or seven; nobody is sure.
Three features therapists use every week
Calendar that handles bookings, reschedules, and reminders
Run your booking calendar with availability windows per session type — intake, 1:1 session, group session, follow-up. The calendar feature offers a host of benefits, enhancing scheduling, productivity, and coordination for both users and clients. By integrating a robust calendar, users can improve organizational efficiency and facilitate better time management and coordination. Clients book from the portal, the confirmation goes out automatically, and the reminder fires the day before — cutting no-shows.
Invoicing that handles single sessions, packages, and sliding-scale fees
Send a single-session invoice on the day, sell a six- or ten-session package as one invoice, or set a recurring monthly fee for ongoing care. Integrating invoice functionality into our application streamlines the billing process, enhances accuracy, improves cash flow management, and provides a better overall experience for both businesses and clients. Clients pay by card from the portal — you stop chasing payment between sessions, and sliding-scale fees become a simple per-client setting.
Secure client comms in context
Booking changes, reminders, and short-form questions live against the client record, not in your inbox. Integrating chat functionality into an application offers numerous advantages, enhancing both user experience and operational efficiency. By incorporating chat, an application can significantly improve client satisfaction, streamline operations, and foster stronger relationships. The conversation history stays attached to the client, so the next session does not start with "remind me what we said last time?"
For more, see calendar and the client portal.
A typical practice week in COLO for a therapist
- Enquiry — a prospective client books a free intake call from your portal; the lead becomes a client record automatically with the intake form pre-loaded.
- Onboarding — after the intake, you send a session-package proposal or a single-session booking invoice; the client signs the practice agreement and pays from the portal; the sessions appear on the calendar.
- Delivery — each session books from the calendar, the session note logs privately against the client record, and homework or worksheets attach where the client can find them.
- Payment — single sessions invoice on the day, packages are paid up-front or on a plan, and the finance dashboard shows package balance remaining per client.
How therapists use COLO today
Monday morning, the practice runs on the calendar — twenty-five sessions across the week, three intake calls Monday afternoon, one no-show window flagged for Thursday morning. Each session opens onto the client profile in one click; prep time is informed and short. The intake form a new client filled in over the weekend is already attached to their record; the first-session note is ready to write before the client walks in.
Through the week, sessions log against the client record. Homework attaches where the client can find it in their portal; package balances update automatically as each session closes. When a client mid-package asks how many sessions they have left, the answer is on screen — not "let me check and get back to you next week." Reschedules and cancellations flow through the portal within the practice's reschedule window; outside the window, the request comes to you for approval.
By month-end, the recurring monthly fees for ongoing-care clients fire automatically; single-session invoices for the week settle by Friday afternoon; the finance dashboard rolls revenue per client and per session type. The two retainers that are absorbing more session time than the fee covers become visible — the renewal conversation starts with data, not a feeling. The end-of-quarter export to the practice's accountant takes one click, not three weekends of spreadsheet reconciliation.
What it costs vs your current stack
Most solo therapists carry a four-tool stack — a scheduler, a separate payment processor, an intake-forms tool, and a billing or notes app. The monthly bill comes to roughly $60–100 before the first session of the week is invoiced. COLO replaces the four with one workspace.
| Tool | Plan | Cost/month |
|---|---|---|
| Current 4-tool stack | Calendly + Stripe + JotForm + QuickBooks | ~$85 |
| COLO Solo | Free | $0 |
| COLO Pro | Per user/mo | $18 |
| COLO Grow | Per user/mo | $24 |
You swap an $85/month stack for one tool that already does this work. Pro adds an associate therapist seat; Grow adds the white-label client portal on the practice's custom domain.
FAQ
Q: Can I sell a six- or ten-session package and let the client book each session against a remaining balance?
Yes. Set up the package as a project with the session count; the client books each session from the portal calendar, and the remaining balance updates automatically.
Q: How do I handle reschedules and cancellations without my whole week shifting?
Clients reschedule from the portal within your reschedule window — outside the window, the request comes to you for approval. Cancellation policies (fee, no fee) attach to the booking type.
Q: Can I send an intake form before the first session and keep the answers against the client record?
Yes. The intake form sits in the client portal; the client fills it before the first session; the answers attach to the client record without you copy-pasting from an email.
Q: Are session notes private to me, or do clients see them?
Session notes are private to you by default; the client portal shows only what you choose to share — booking history, invoices, homework, and any notes you explicitly mark as visible.
Q: How does COLO compare with a dedicated practice-management tool plus Calendly plus Stripe?
For most solo therapists, the all-in-one is cheaper and lets the client book, pay, and message you from one portal. See the Calendly comparison for the side-by-side, and our post on client management systems for freelancers.
Q: Can I run a sliding-scale fee structure where each client pays a different rate?
Yes. Each client record holds the rate; the invoice issues at that rate per session; the finance dashboard rolls the blended revenue across the practice.
Q: Can I send pre-session reminders to reduce no-shows?
Yes. Reminders fire automatically on the schedule you set — typically a day before and a few hours before. Most practices see a meaningful drop in no-shows once reminders are on by default.
Q: How do I run associate therapists with role-based access per client?
Each associate is a workspace user with access only to the clients assigned to them; the practice owner gets a cross-client view for workload and revenue planning.
Q: Can clients fill in an intake form before the first session?
Yes. The intake form sits in the client portal; the client fills it before the first session; the answers attach to the client record without you copy-pasting from an email.
Q: How do I handle cancellation fees that vary by booking type?
Set the cancellation policy per booking type — no fee inside 24 hours' notice, full fee for same-day cancellations on premium types, and so on. The portal shows the policy when the client books; the fee invoices automatically when applicable.
Pricing
Solo plan is free forever for one therapist. See our pricing for Pro and Grow plans if you bring on an associate or run a small group practice.