Vestra Pro

The brief

Coaches were juggling spreadsheets, WhatsApp, separate payment links, and a different app for training plans. They wanted one platform that handled everything, looked professional in front of clients, and did not require them to learn a complicated tool. The build had to feel like real software, not a generic SaaS template, and the client portal had to be something clients actually used day to day.

What we did

• Coach dashboard with at-a-glance stats (active clients, revenue, completion rates, and alerts for clients who need attention)
• Client list, lead intake forms, and a branded public page each coach can share to bring in new clients
• Workout builder with a 1,300-plus exercise library (each with a demo GIF and target muscles), drag-and-drop blocks, supersets, and ready-made templates
• Meal plan generator with a 700-plus recipe library, per-client macro targets, automatic shopping list, and one-click swaps for coach or client
• Client portal with a daily Today view, weekly check-ins, weight and photo progress logging, and direct messaging with the coach
• Stripe payments end to end: coach subscriptions, client billing via Stripe Connect, payment links, and webhook-driven email confirmations
• Branded email notifications via SendGrid (client invites, payment confirmations, password resets, payment-failed reminders)
• In-app messaging with unread badges, sorted by most recent, with email fallback if a message goes unread

The numbers

Gallery

What we said no to

• Giving clients too much control. Clients can only swap today's meal inside a tight calorie and macro range. Stops them undoing the coach's plan.
• Third-party AI nutrition integrations. An earlier Spoonacular integration was removed so the recipe library, macros, and prices stay under control and stay accurate.
• A microservice stack. One full-stack app in one repo is cheaper to host, faster to ship, and easier for one team to maintain.
• SaaS jargon in the UI. Prices, currency, and copy are GBP and plain British English throughout.

Common questions

• How much does it cost to build a coaching platform for personal trainers?

  Valker builds custom coaching platforms from a fixed price of GBP 1,000, with no lock-in. For Vestra Pro we built a complete platform in one place: a coach dashboard, a workout builder with a 1,300-plus exercise library, a meal plan generator with 700-plus recipes, a client portal, in-app messaging, and Stripe payments.

• Can one app handle client management, workout plans, meal plans, and payments together?

  Yes. Vestra Pro puts all of it in a single platform so coaches stop juggling spreadsheets, WhatsApp, and separate payment links. It combines a coach dashboard, client list and lead intake forms, a workout builder, a meal plan generator, a client portal with messaging, and Stripe payments end to end.

• Can a coaching app take client payments from day one?

  Yes. Vestra Pro charges clients in GBP via Stripe from day one, using Stripe Connect for client billing, payment links, and webhook-driven email confirmations. It also handles coach subscriptions, so the whole money side runs through one integration.

• How big is the exercise and recipe library in a custom coaching app?

  Vestra Pro ships with a 1,300-plus exercise library, each exercise with a demo GIF and target muscles, plus a 700-plus recipe library with per-client macro targets and an automatic shopping list. The workout builder supports drag-and-drop blocks, supersets, and ready-made templates, and clients get one-click meal swaps inside a tight calorie and macro range.

• Can you build a coaching app that looks like real software, not a generic template?

  Yes, that was the brief for Vestra Pro. We built it as one full-stack app in a single repo using React 18, TypeScript, and a Node and Express backend, with a client portal coaches were confident putting in front of clients every day. Prices, currency, and copy are GBP and plain British English throughout, with no SaaS jargon in the UI.

Stack

• React 18 with TypeScript and Vite
• Tailwind CSS and shadcn/ui (Radix)
• TanStack Query, Framer Motion, Recharts, dnd-kit
• Node.js and Express backend
• PostgreSQL on Neon (serverless)
• Drizzle ORM
• Stripe Checkout, Connect, and Webhooks
• SendGrid for transactional email
• Google Cloud Storage and Cloudflare R2 for files
• Railway hosting with Docker and GitHub auto-deploy
• Sentry for error tracking