Frequently Asked Questions

No. You’ll have the support of our training, our technology and our coach mentors, but this is a self-employed role. The number of hours you work is up to you – our coaches work anywhere from 20 hours a week to full-time.

Being self-employed means you have a lot more flexibility than a regular employee. You get to choose the hours you want to work and when you want time off for things like holidays. You also have different rights and responsibilities. One of the big ones is how you pay tax. Self-employed workers must file a tax return every year and pay their tax as a lump sum after the end of the tax year, rather than it being deducted from their monthly pay.

Unfortunately not. We ask our coaches to commit to working with us for at least 20 hours per week – and most of that time needs to be during daytime working hours. It takes time to get set-up and look after your clients and it’s difficult to do alongside another full-time job.

But it is possible to work alongside more flexible part-time work, childcare, freelance work or a smaller side hustle.

If you’re looking to transition out of a full-time job into more flexible, self-employed work, get in touch and we can discuss options.

Yes! All we ask is that you cab dedicate a minimum of 20 weekday, daytime hours to practising as a money coach with us.

Not at the moment. We ask all of our coaches to make a long-term commitment to working with us. That’s because your clients will sign up for a 12-month service, so we need to know you’ll be around to support them.

Yes, you must be a UK resident in order to become a money coach with us.

When you find and sign up a client, you will earn £225 per client per year, net of our charges. It takes approximately 3-4 hours per year to serve a client – building their financial plan, as well as being available for questions and coaching throughout the year.

Within a few years, successful coaches can support up to 250 clients. This would give you annual earnings of around £46,500.

Earnings can vary in some cases – for example, when we introduce clients to you from our workplace partners. And after you get established, there are other opportunities to earn money as well – for example, hosting group webinars for our clients.

You must be accepted to and complete our training programme before you’ll start earning money from clients. Our standard remote training takes approximately 4 weeks to complete, with a new cohort starting near the beginning of every month. Our accelerated in-person training takes 2 weeks to complete and is delivered in person in London (starting at 9am each day).

You don’t need any special qualifications. Our training programme will provide all of the training and accreditation you need to serve your clients.

Coaching experience is a bonus but not a requirement. A portion of our programme includes training, practice and mentorship on the coaching skills you’ll need in the role.

You’ll need at least 5 years of work experience and be able to demonstrate an interest in personal finance and helping other people. But we don’t require any special financial certifications because you’ll learn everything you need to know in our training programme. Our coaches come from a wide variety of backgrounds – including teachers, the Army, corporate leaders, accountants, retired professionals and more.

You’ll need at least 5 years of work experience but otherwise, we welcome applications from people of all ages.

Unfortunately, because of potential conflicts of interest, we aren’t able to enrol individuals who are already providing financial coaching, financial advice or financial planning outside of Octopus MoneyCoach.

We review applications almost every day so we’ll get back to you as soon as we can!

For a faster training option, we’re now offering a 2-week accelerated programme. The course will require you to attend full day sessions with our team in London and it’s a great way to become an accredited coach even faster.

Oh, there’s so many! Read about Natasha, Harry, Charlotte, Dharmesh and Becks just to start.

Yes, we do incorporate aspects of money mindset coaching. Many of our clients realise they need to change their relationship with money in order to reach the goals they have for the future. We are also looking for ways to deepen and expand this kind of coaching support in the future.

No – but it depends what you mean by financial advice. Coaches can educate and guide clients through money topics like budgeting, saving, pensions, and more. They also use our financial planning software to show clients how to reach their money goals. But they don’t give regulated financial advice (e.g. which funds to invest in or which life insurance policy to choose).

We have established relationships with a few regulated financial advisers that we trust. We can introduce our clients to them if they’re interested.

Clients have to be UK residents. That’s because our financial planning tool has been built around UK tax rules. But we hope to expand this as time goes on.

Yes, we are proud to be a sister company of Octopus Energy! 🐙

Great question! Our training programme will cover everything you need to know to become a financial coach using a combination of written guides, videos and webinars.

Online Training Course: This is a course that you will complete on your own ahead of group training sessions.

Training Webinars: 3 days each week, we will do deep dives into specific areas in small groups. We will also run through the different types of calls you will be holding with clients and potential clients.

Real Life Practice: Throughout the training programme, you will hold practice sessions with real people. This will allow you to put the theory into practice.

Mentor: You will also have a dedicated mentor, who will be on hand to answer any questions you have, help you get set up with all the systems and provide tailored feedback to help you learn and develop.

The training is broken into modules on everything from the financial fundamentals you’ll need, to guides on delivering the Octopus MoneyCoach service and using our software.

Part 1: Delivering the financial coaching service
Module 1: Client Discovery Sessions
Module 2: Building Financial Plans
Module 3: Presenting Plans and Actions to Clients

Part 2: Financials
Fundamentals: Budgeting, Saving, Mortgages, Investing, Pensions
Advanced Finances

We start a new training cohort nearly every month (with some exceptions for holidays). But don’t hesitate to apply now, because you’ll be able to choose which month you want to start training during the application process.

A bit of both. Most of the training programme can be completed flexibly in your time (around 20 hours per week). But there are 3 live 1-hour webinars each week on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 11am-12pm. Worst case, it could be manageable to miss a few of these because they’re all recorded. But you’ll need to be sure you can make most of them in order to join the training.

The training doesn’t cost you anything other than time. All we require is that you can dedicate around 20 hours per week for the training programme. It should take between 4 and 8 weeks to complete.

We’ve worked hard to make our training programme free for all who are accepted, but we aren’t able to pay for you to complete it. We’ve tried to make it as enjoyable and informative as possible and give you all the tools you need to start helping clients.

Yes. All of our coaches are required to be accredited in our training programme, which is free for everyone who is accepted. That said, you may progress more quickly through certain modules based on your experience. For example, if you’re a retired financial advisor, you’ll cruise through our financial training. And if you’re an executive coach, you’ll quickly pass our coaching assessment.

Our programme starts on a set date each month. We run our training in cohorts, which means a small group of trainees goes through the programme at the same time. It also means you’ll have a supportive community to work alongside and learn with.

Our programme is currently only set up for people who want to become a coach and support clients through Octopus MoneyCoach.

Our training course has been approved and accredited by the London Institute of Banking and Finance (LIBF) and the Initiative for Financial Wellbeing (IFW). You will receive an accreditation from us, Octopus MoneyCoach, however this is yet to be recognised as an official accreditation/qualification.

We provide a huge amount of ongoing support, tools and resources to help you deliver the best possible service for your clients and continually develop and improve your skills.

You will still have a dedicated mentor who will help you build a successful coaching business. They will have monthly catch-ups with you to make sure you have everything you need. We will constantly review your calls and plans to make sure you’re always learning and developing. If you need extra help then your mentor is on hand to provide that.

Accredited coaches have access to a weekly webinar where we deep dive into different areas. This could be new training, discussing what’s coming up or open forums for everyone to share their thoughts. You’ll also have access to the coach community where you can interact with other coaches, discuss financial topics together or just say hi.

As a self-employed coach, you’ll get to design your schedule in whatever way suits you best. But our coaches typically split their time across a few different types of activities:

-Preparing for starter sessions with new clients (by reading about their financial situation and their goals)
-Holding 30-minute starter sessions with new clients
-Creating financial plans using our in-house software
-Catching up with existing clients (which we do every 3 months or so)
-Doing admin like updating client details in the CRM

All of our sessions are held online via Zoom.

The majority of sessions are held during daytime hours 8am – 7pm, which is why we ask that you’re available to work in these windows. However, some clients do opt for evenings and weekend sessions.

That depends a lot on how much time you spend as a coach. Some coaches can look after up to 250 clients over the course of a year, but that takes time to build up to level.

There are lots of ways our coaches find clients! They use their own networks. They market themselves on social media or in local groups and communities. They partner with businesses or workplaces near them.

You’ll also have the option of taking on clients that Octopus MoneyCoach has attracted through the workplaces that use our service.

We can’t guarantee a specific volume, but we can give you an estimate of what’s realistic at any given time. Some of our coaches are happy to focus primarily on workplace clients, but the best way to grow your business is by growing your own client base.

Yes, you are welcome to opt out of working with workplace clients.

We ask our coaches to commit to working with us for at least 20 hours per week – and most of that time needs to be during daytime working hours.

Yes and your availability can be different one week to the next. But we do ask that you help us plan by letting us know your hours 4-6 weeks in advance.

Money coaching is a job you can do remotely, so you’ll work from a quiet place in your own home. It’s important to have a private space where you can take regular video calls from your clients.

Of course! You’re self-employed, so you get to choose the hours you work and when you take time off. Clients will only be able to book a time with you at the times you set. So you can take holiday whenever you choose.

Your clients will sign up for a 12-month service with you, so we just ask that you’re clear with them about when they can reach you and continue to stay in touch with them over the course of the year.

If you choose to leave, we will ask that you first finish delivering the service your clients have paid you for. We will do our best to find another coach who can take on your clients, but in the rare event that we can’t, your clients will be entitled to a refund, which we’d ask you to cover.

As the role is a remote position, you’re able to work with clients and businesses from around the UK, not just your local area.

Yes, you would be required to take out professional indemnity (PI) insurance for your coaching business. We have partnered with an insurance provider who are experienced in providing PI insurance for financial coaches, who will offer a discount if you sign up with them.