How it is used in a coaching business

Founders say nothing is worse than having to give money back, and they are right, because a refund costs the sale, the acquisition cost and the delivery already done. Refund requests almost always trace to the first month: the client did not get a fast win, could not find their way around the portal, or found that the coach on the sales call is not the coach on the delivery call.

21%
refund rate reported for online courses, rising to 28 percent in the $497 to $1,997 price bandSource: Communipass, online course refund data, 2026

Those figures are for courses rather than high-ticket coaching, but they show the pattern: the more a client paid without a relationship attached, the more likely they are to ask for it back.

  • Track refunds by days since purchase. A cluster in week one is an onboarding problem.
  • Disclose the delivery model on the sales call. Surprise associate coaches cause refunds.
  • Answer every refund request within one business day, by a person, with an SOP behind them.