How to Get Paid for Online Therapy: A Step-by-Step Guide for Private Psychologists
- Ilya Chubanov
- Sep 9
- 4 min read
Running therapy sessions online is simple enough. You log in, meet your client, talk through their struggles, and give them strategies to cope. What’s not simple is making sure you actually get paid afterward.
Some therapists send invoices. Others ask for bank transfers. A few set up PayPal or Venmo. And sometimes, the client forgets, delays, or feels uncomfortable paying.
It adds stress to a job that already asks a lot from you emotionally.
Why payments are harder online
In a physical office, things are straightforward. The session ends, the client takes out their wallet, and the transaction is done.
Online, that natural step disappears. Clients log out of Zoom or Google Meet and… that’s it. The “moment of payment” doesn’t exist.
This leaves you chasing after clients. Sending reminders. Wondering if you should be stricter or more flexible. And let’s be honest: no psychologist studied years just to spend Fridays updating spreadsheets.
Step 1: Decide how you want to bill
Before choosing a system, think about your billing model. Different psychologists prefer different approaches:
Per session – fixed price, easy to explain.
Per hour – common in private practice, useful if session lengths vary.
Per minute – fairer for both sides, but requires the right tool.
Billing by the minute makes particular sense for online sessions. If a client needs only 35 minutes, they don’t overpay. If the call runs longer, you’re covered. But unless your software tracks time automatically, this becomes impossible to manage.
Step 2: Pick the right payment system
Here’s what matters when you’re choosing how to get paid:
Security – clients should feel comfortable entering card details.
Simplicity – you don’t want to be a part-time IT manager.
Automation – invoices, receipts, and tracking should run on their own.
Flexibility – per session, per hour, or per minute.
Integration – payments should connect directly to your sessions.
And this is where Book&Connect is different.
Most “practice management” platforms try to do everything. Scheduling, notes, billing, insurance, video, you name it. The downside is that they become heavy, complicated, and expensive.
Book&Connect was built around one main idea: make it easy for psychologists to run online sessions and get paid — without chasing.
Step 3: Connect payments with your sessions
Zoom and Google Meet don’t have billing. They’re great for video, but the money part is missing.
Book&Connect solves this by tying payments directly to the call. You schedule the session, you talk, the system tracks the time, and when the session ends, the invoice goes out automatically.
Clients can pay by card or other methods, and you don’t lift a finger. If you prefer pre-payment, that works too. If you want minute-by-minute billing, it’s built in.
It feels like therapy, not admin.
A quick story
I once spoke with a psychologist who used bank transfers for everything. She had a color-coded spreadsheet: green for paid, red for late, yellow for “waiting.” She told me she spent hours each week chasing payments.
Her words stuck with me: “I felt like I was running a collection agency instead of helping people.”
When she switched to Book&Connect, she told me the biggest change wasn’t financial — it was psychological. The stress of asking for money disappeared. The software did it for her, fairly and automatically.
Step 4: Make payments invisible
The best payment system doesn’t call attention to itself. Clients book, attend, and pay as part of a seamless flow. You provide therapy, not invoices.
That’s what makes Book&Connect different:
Billing by the minute (or session, or hour).
Automatic invoices with no manual work.
Integrated video calls so you don’t need five different tools.
No chasing — reminders and payments happen in the background.
It’s not the biggest system on the market. But that’s the point. It’s focused, simple, and built around how private psychologists actually work.
👉 If you’d like to see how it works, you can try Book&Connect here.
Step 5: Set expectations clearly
Even with great tools, communication matters. Be upfront with clients about:
When payments happen (before or after sessions).
How you bill (per session, per hour, or per minute).
Which payment methods you accept.
Book&Connect makes this easier with automatic client emails and receipts. But having your own policy written down is still smart.
Step 6: Test and adjust
No billing model is perfect. You may start with per session, then realize per minute fits better. Or you may add pre-payments for new clients while keeping post-pay for regulars.
The key is flexibility. With Book&Connect, changing billing models is just a setting, not a new setup. That gives you space to experiment without losing momentum.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a full practice management system?
Not if payments are your main issue. In fact, most psychologists find big systems too complex when they only want billing + video.
Can I bill through Zoom or Google Meet?
No. They don’t handle payments. Book&Connect integrates the call and the payment in one place.
Is billing by the minute confusing for clients?
Usually not. Many clients appreciate paying only for the exact time they used.
What about cancellations or no-shows?
With Book&Connect, you can set clear cancellation policies and have them applied automatically.
Final thought
Getting paid for online therapy shouldn’t feel harder than therapy itself. And yet, many psychologists still struggle with reminders, invoices, and awkward conversations about money.
Book&Connect was built to take that weight off your shoulders. It ties billing to your sessions, automates invoices, and makes payments practically invisible.
That way, you can spend more time on therapy — and less time chasing payments.
👉 Ready to stop chasing invoices? Get started with Book&Connect today
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