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What actually breaks first
It is rarely the numbers. A spreadsheet breaks because only the coach can interpret it, because it does not message a client or remind anyone of anything, and because adding a new client means copying a tab and hoping the formulas survive the copy, instead of a real repeatable step.
The client side breaks too. A client cannot log a set into a spreadsheet from the gym floor, so their training reaches you as a screenshot, a message or a memory a week later. Every number that arrives that way has to be typed in again by the one person who has the least time for it.
What has to move, and what does not
| Bring across | Leave behind |
|---|---|
| The client list: names and emails | The formulas nobody remembers writing |
| Each client's current week of training | Old weeks that are finished |
| Each client's current targets | Colour coding and cell layouts |
| Templates and documents that represent real work | Tabs for clients who left |
The exact cell layout does not need to survive the move. What you built up over time does: the programs and plans that work, and the guides you send. Keep the old file as a read-only archive for a while, so nothing is lost while nothing is moved that does not need to be.
Before you start: one clean list
Make one column of names and one of emails, one person per line. Take out clients who have left and any duplicates, and decide who is active now. That list is the whole of the client move. Everything else can follow client by client, at your own pace, while the roster is already working.
The move, step by step
- Paste the list. On the coach's desk, Add a client has a Paste a list option. Evobody finds the email anywhere on each line and takes the rest as the name, then marks every line Ready, Already on your roster, Repeated in this list, or Missing a name or a working email, before anything is saved. Confirm, and they are all added in one go.
- Bring each client's current week across. Start a workout from scratch, from a template, from a copy of another client's, or from an on-demand session, and set it to repeat every week. Evobody's team helps you bring over your programs, plans and documents, so the year of work in the spreadsheet is not rebuilt over a fortnight of evenings.
- Set targets and a check-in day for the clients who need them.
- Invite each client when you are ready. Nobody hears from Evobody the moment you paste. The invitation tells them to open app.evobody.app on their phone, type their email, enter the six digit code and add the app to their home screen.
What to tell your clients before the move
A client who hears about the change before an invitation arrives takes it as an improvement; a client who gets an unexpected email takes it as a hassle. Tell them four things: why you are moving, which is usually so they can log as they train and reach you in one place; what changes for them, which is an app instead of a sheet; when the invitation will arrive; and that their history stays with you, because it does.
Run both for one week
For the first handful of clients, keep the spreadsheet open alongside the app for a week. If a number looks wrong, you have the old one to check against, and by the end of the week you will trust the new place enough to move everyone else. After that, the spreadsheet becomes the archive.
Common mistakes
- Moving everything at once. The client list moves in one go; the programs can follow client by client.
- Rebuilding the history. Old weeks are a record, not a plan. They can stay in the archive.
- Inviting before the week is ready. A client who opens an empty app on day one learns the wrong first lesson. Set up their week, then invite.
- Doing it alone. Evobody's team helps you bring over programs, plans and documents, and every new coach can book a 30 minute walkthrough call.
What changes for the client
The biggest change is not on the coach's side. A client who used to receive a PDF now opens an app with the week's workouts one tap away, logs each set as they do it, logs food by search, barcode or photo, ticks off habits, and answers their check-in on the day you chose. They get a reminder when their check-in opens, and they can ask you a question in the same place. Their numbers reach you without either of you typing them twice.
The move is smaller than the years spent avoiding it
Decide once what a client actually needs from you each week: a plan, a way to log it, a check-in, a way to ask. Map that once, by hand, for the clients you have. After that, this stops being a spreadsheet's problem and starts being a normal part of taking on a client.
Most coaches put the move off because they picture doing all of it at once. Doing it a client at a time, starting with the five who would notice most, makes it a week of small jobs rather than one impossible one.
Questions about leaving a spreadsheet
When should a coach stop using a spreadsheet?
When you have become the only person alive who understands it. A spreadsheet works right up until it does not: one tab per client, formulas nobody remembers writing, and no way for a client to log anything themselves. The break usually shows up as the coach doing data entry instead of coaching.
What do I actually have to move off a spreadsheet?
The client list and anything you would be upset to lose. Most of a spreadsheet is workings rather than records, and workings do not need migrating. On Evobody you paste names and emails one per line and they are all added at once, so the client list is a same-day job.
Can I import a spreadsheet file into Evobody?
Not as a file. You copy the names and emails from the sheet and paste them, one person per line. Evobody finds the email on each line, takes the rest as the name, and marks anyone already on your roster before you confirm.
Will my clients have to learn a new app?
A simple one. Setting it up takes about ten minutes the first time they open it, and after that the week's workouts are one tap away each time, with their food, habits and check-in in the same place.
How long does moving off a spreadsheet take?
The client list is a same-day job: paste it and confirm. Each client's current week then takes about as long as building one week of their training, less if you start from a template or a copy, and Evobody's team helps with the programs, plans and documents.
Do my clients keep their history?
Their history in the spreadsheet stays in your archive, where you can still read it. In the app, everything from the day they join is logged as they go, so the record you build from then on is one they add to themselves.
Should I keep the old spreadsheet?
Yes, as a read-only archive for a few months. Bring across what is current and leave the history in the file, so nothing is lost while nothing old has to be moved.
Is coaching software worth it for a small roster?
It depends on whether the spreadsheet is costing you evenings. Evobody is free for five active clients with no time limit and no card, so a small roster can be run on it properly rather than trialled, and the decision can be made on experience rather than on a sales page.