Answers
The four methods in use, what each one survives, and the part of a reading that notes never catch.
Four ways: a paper notebook, the notes field inside chart software, a general notes app or spreadsheet, or a practice workspace that keeps the notes beside the charts and a recording of the session itself.
A word on wording before the detail. People search for "client notes", so that is the question as asked. Inside a practice the thing being kept is softer than that: what you and the person you read for talked about, what they told you, what you said would matter in March. The record exists so that the next conversation can start where the last one ended.
| Paper notebook | Notes field in chart software | Notes app or spreadsheet | Practice workspace | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Costs anything | No | Already paid for | Usually free | A subscription |
| Sits with the chart | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Searchable in a year | No | Sometimes | Yes | Yes |
| Survives a new laptop | If you keep the book | Only if you move the file | Yes | Yes |
| Holds what was actually said | Only what you wrote | Only what you wrote | Only what you wrote | Yes, recorded and transcribed |
| Places to look before a follow-up | Two or more | One, if the notes are there | Two or more | One |
Nothing in that table says paper is wrong. A notebook is the fastest capture tool ever made and plenty of excellent astrologers will use one for another thirty years. What it cannot do is be in two places, be searched, or tell you what you said rather than what you remembered to write.
If you want the notes inside the software you already use, this is where the named tools stand. Each was read on its maker's own page on 12 October 2026.
Here is the honest limit of any notes field, including ours. During a reading you are talking. You are watching a chart, following where the person goes, choosing what to say next. Whatever you write down is a thin summary of a two-hour conversation, written by someone who was busy. Written afterwards, it is a thin summary written by someone who is tired.
Astrologers already know this, which is why so many of them tell the person they read for to record the session. The advice is almost part of the craft. But look at where that recording ends up: on their phone. You gave the reading, and six months later when they book again, you are the one working from memory.
So the version of this job worth solving is not "keep better notes". It is: the substance of the session should still be here, on the right person's profile, the next time you open it. In Steliara the consultation runs as a video call in the app, the audio is recorded once both sides agree, it is transcribed, and a short summary is saved on that person's profile. The longer version of that is on the recorded consultations page.
The full wording is in the privacy policy and the terms.
More than you would expect. Solar Fire organizes charts into client files and keeps unlimited comments per stored chart. Astrolium lists notes and session history against client profiles, with five profiles on its free tier. Astrologer lists a built-in client CRM with booking and calendar sync. Steliara keeps notes, charts and past consultations on one profile per person. TimePassages saves charts rather than client records, and the Chronos home page does not describe client notes. Checked on each maker's own page on 12 October 2026.
Recording solves the problem notes cannot: you were talking, not typing, so your notes are a thin summary of a two-hour reading written by someone who was busy. A recording with a transcript and a short summary gives you what was actually said. Recording needs the agreement of the person you read for, and a reason to keep it.
It solves their problem, not yours. That file belongs to them, has no transcript and no summary, is attached to no chart, and in practice you will never ask for a copy. The person who most needs the history before the next session is the astrologer.
Long enough to prepare for a follow-up, and no longer than you can justify. In Steliara the audio of a consultation is kept for six months and then deleted automatically; the transcript and summary stay on the profile until you delete them or close your account. You remain responsible for having a lawful basis to keep information about the people you read for and for telling them what you keep.
Not with a button, and it would be wrong to imply otherwise. Steliara has no self-serve export yet: getting a copy of your data is a request handled under the privacy policy rather than a feature in the app. If a one-click export is something you need, say so, and weigh it before you move a practice over.
Studio, at $39 a month or $32 a month billed annually. Practitioner at $24 a month covers charts, profiles and notes without calls, recordings or transcription. Every account starts with a 14-day trial of every feature and no card is required.
Everything about every person you read for, including the actual recorded consultations, in one place.
Start free, no card neededLast reviewed 12 October 2026.