How to Schedule and Record Counselling Sessions Online (Step by Step in Elivio)

To schedule and record counselling sessions online, share a booking link so students choose a slot themselves, run every session on one platform like Google Meet or Zoom, record with consent, and turn each session into notes and follow-ups the same day. In Elivio, the Meetings section does this in one place: create and record meetings, set your platform and availability, and generate a booking link.

The aim is simple. Less time on logistics, more time counselling.

Why scheduling eats your week

Back-and-forth messages to find a time. Links sent to the wrong number. Notes scattered across notebooks and phones. Follow-ups forgotten because the next session started straight away.

None of it is hard. It just adds up. Elivio's pitch of "one workspace instead of nine tools" names Google Calendar, Google Meet and Zoom among the tools it brings together, alongside intake forms, spreadsheets and WhatsApp.

A simple setup that works

Whatever tools you use, four habits make sessions run smoothly:

1. One booking link. Students pick from your available slots. No back-and-forth.
2. One meeting platform. Pick Google Meet or Zoom and stick to it, so families always know where to go.
3. Record with consent. Recordings save you from frantic note-taking and help you catch details later.
4. Same-day follow-ups. Send a short summary and next steps within a few hours, while it's fresh.

How to schedule and record counselling sessions in Elivio

Open Meetings from the sidebar ("Manage your meetings, recordings, and follow-ups"). You'll see three tabs: Overview, Sessions and Preferences, plus two buttons: Create Meeting and Record Meeting.

Step 1: Set your preferences

Go to Preferences and choose your meeting platform, Google Meet or Zoom, and set your availability.

For Zoom, there are two options. An organisation can set up one shared Zoom account for everyone, or each consultant can connect their own Zoom account. If your practice is small, connecting your own account is usually simplest.

Step 2: Generate your booking link

Still in Preferences, find Booking Link and click Generate Booking Link. Share the link with students and parents by WhatsApp, email or on your website. They'll see your available slots and book directly.

My tip: put the booking link in your WhatsApp replies and your email signature. Most families will use it without being asked.

Step 3: Create meetings

For sessions you schedule yourself, click Create Meeting, fill in the details and save. Your meetings appear under Sessions and Overview.

Step 4: Record sessions, with consent

Use Record Meeting to record a session. Always tell the student, and the parent if they're present, before you start: that you're recording, why, and how it's kept. Recording without clear consent damages trust quickly.

On paid plans, Elivio can also record, transcribe and summarise calls, which takes most of the note-taking off your plate.

Step 5: Follow up the same day

After each session, send a short summary: what you discussed, the decisions made and the next steps for the student. If the session led to a new activity, recommend it in the student's profile straight away. Our guide on tracking student progress in Elivio shows how.

Prepare for each session in five minutes

A recorded session is only as good as the preparation behind it. Before each one, I'd spend five minutes on three things.

Check the student's profile. Open them from My Learners and look at their planned and completed activities. Know what they've done since you last spoke.

Check their Copilot progress. If they're working on activities in Elevate (Elivio Copilot), the Copilot Progress Report shows what they've actually done, checked task by task. Our getting started guide for Elevate explains what students see.

Write one goal for the session. One decision, one plan, one problem solved. Sessions with a single clear goal run on time and leave families with something concrete.

What to cover in a first session

First sessions set the tone. Cover the student's interests and goals, their timeline, what the family expects, and how you'll work together, including how often you'll meet and how you'll report progress. End by agreeing one small first step, so the work starts before the next session.

After the first session, send the family a short written recap: what you heard, what you agreed and when you'll next update them. It sets expectations from day one, and it gives you something to point back to if priorities shift later. Families who know when to expect an update rarely chase you for one, which protects your time for the actual counselling work.

Good practice for recorded sessions

• Explain consent clearly at the start of the first session, and remind people briefly afterwards.
• Keep recordings for a reason, and only as long as you need them.
• Don't share recordings beyond the people in the session without permission.
• Summarise, don't transcribe. Parents want three clear points, not a transcript.
• Check your setup before each call. A quiet room, a working microphone and a stable connection matter more than any feature. Students open up more when the call simply works.

Plans

Elivio's free plan includes 3 recorded sessions, along with 5 students, 3 reports and 100 one-time trial credits. Connecting calendars and meeting platforms needs a paid plan, which is credit-based, monthly or annual, and can be cancelled anytime.

What to do in the next 15 minutes

Open Meetings, go to Preferences, choose your platform and click Generate Booking Link. Send the link to one student who needs a session this week, and see how much easier it is than finding a time by message.

To turn sessions into regular updates for families, read student progress reports for parents. And for automating first conversations before students book, see how to build an AI avatar for counsellors.