Supervision is the backbone of every successful ABA practice—but for new owners, it can quickly become overwhelming.

When you step into the world of ABA practice ownership, your responsibilities shift in ways most BCBAs aren’t prepared for. You’re no longer just supervising a few cases—you’re building a scalable, compliant, and ethical supervision program that supports your team, protects your license, and enables your business to grow.

This isn’t a small adjustment. It’s a transformation.

That’s why we created Supervision 101: A Guide for New ABA Practice Owners—a free webinar featuring Kamila Locab, BCBA and co-founder of MentraTrack which is designed to help you navigate the challenges of supervising as a business leader, build scalable systems, and avoid burnout.

This guide breaks down the key challenges new ABA practice owners face with supervision, shows how to avoid common pitfalls, and offers real-world strategies and tools to help you succeed from day one.

The Challenge: Supervision as a Business Owner

When Emily first opened her ABA practice in North Carolina, she thought supervision would feel natural. After all, she had years of experience mentoring trainees and overseeing cases.

But within six months, Emily found herself overwhelmed.

“Supervising as an owner is a totally different ballgame,” she recalls. “You’re not just guiding one or two trainees anymore. You’re responsible for an entire system—one that has to run smoothly even when you’re not in the room.”

Like many new practice owners, Emily struggled with:

• Documentation overload – Keeping supervision contracts, forms, and session notes organized across multiple staff and trainees.

• Compliance tracking – Ensuring everyone was meeting BACB requirements, especially with the 2027 fieldwork updates looming.

• Quality assurance – Making sure trainees weren’t just logging hours but actually developing clinical skills and ethical judgment.

• Time management – Balancing client care, business operations, and the increasing demands of supervision.

“I was working nights and weekends just trying to keep up,” Emily says. “One mistake could mean lost hours for a trainee—or worse, a compliance issue that put my practice at risk.”

The Breakthrough: A New Approach to Supervision

Emily knew something had to change.

“It hit me one night while I was fixing a broken spreadsheet formula at 1 AM,” she says. “If I didn’t figure out a system, I was going to burn out.”

She realized that supervising effectively as a practice owner required a different mindset. Instead of trying to do everything herself, Emily needed to build scalable systems that empowered her team and ensured compliance without constant micromanagement.

This mindset shift was her turning point.

“I stopped thinking of supervision as a checklist of tasks and started seeing it as an ecosystem,” she explains. “My job wasn’t to supervise every detail—it was to design a system where great supervision could happen consistently.”

The Solution: Building Scalable Supervision Systems

To create a sustainable supervision program, Emily focused on three key pillars:

1. Structure and Compliance

Emily implemented clear processes for documentation, hour tracking, and BACB compliance.

“I couldn’t rely on memory or messy spreadsheets anymore,” she says. “I needed a centralized system that flagged issues before they became problems.”

2. Mentorship over Management

Emily shifted from task-oriented supervision to mentorship-based leadership.

“Trainees don’t just need a supervisor—they need a coach,” she says. “I started giving more specific, actionable feedback and creating opportunities for them to think like BCBAs.”

For example, instead of saying, “You seemed unsure during that parent meeting,” she would say, “When the parent asked about tantrum responses, you paused and looked at me. Next time, try validating their concern and modeling the planned response confidently.”

This approach built her trainees’ confidence and clinical reasoning skills.

3. Technology as a Force Multiplier

Emily adopted Mentratrack, a digital platform designed to streamline supervision for ABA practices.

“Mentratrack changed everything,” she says. “It automated hour calculations, compliance checks, and even generated BACB forms. I finally had time to focus on being a mentor, not an administrator.”

The Results: Compliance, Growth, and Peace of Mind

Within three months of implementing her new supervision system, Emily’s practice transformed:

• 70% reduction in supervision admin time

• 100% compliance during her first BACB audit

• Trainees reported higher satisfaction and confidence in their fieldwork experience

• Emily added two new trainees without increasing her workload
  
  
  

“Supervision stopped feeling like a burden,” Emily says. “It became one of the most rewarding parts of my job.”

The Innovation: A Better Way to Supervise

Emily’s success wasn’t just about using technology—it was about her philosophy as a practice owner.

“Great supervision doesn’t happen by accident,” she explains. “It takes intentional systems and a culture that prioritizes mentorship, not just compliance.”

Her advice to other practice owners:

“Build supervision into the foundation of your business, not as an afterthought. It protects your license, supports your team, and helps your business grow sustainably.”

The Tools & Technology That Made It Possible

Here’s how Mentratrack helped Emily streamline her supervision program:

• Auto Pathway Classification – Supports BACB’s 2027 fieldwork requirements, automatically sorting trainees into the correct pathway.

• Real-Time Compliance Alerts – Flags incomplete documentation, missed observations, or supervision percentage gaps.

• Integrated Forms and Sign-Offs – Generates BACB monthly verification forms with a click.

• Supervisor Dashboard – Provides a live overview of all trainees’ progress and compliance status.

• Trainee Dashboard – Gives trainees real-time visibility into their hours, goals, and feedback.

• Goal Setting Tools – Tracks and monitors SMART goals for clinical skill development.
  
  
  

“Mentratrack didn’t just organize my supervision—it gave me peace of mind,” Emily says.

Partnering With Alpaca Health for Practice Success

While Mentratrack solved Emily’s supervision challenges, she credits Alpaca Health for helping her build the business foundation she needed to grow.

“As a first-time practice owner, I had no idea how hard it would be to handle billing, payroll, and insurance on top of clinical work,” she says. “Alpaca Health took all of that off my plate.”

Alpaca Health provides a “practice in a box” solution for BCBAs, offering modern, AI-enabled technology for scheduling, data collection, and intake, along with full-service administrative support. Together, Mentratrack and Alpaca created a seamless system that allowed Emily to focus on her clients and her team.

“Between Mentratrack and Alpaca, I finally feel like I’m running the kind of practice I always dreamed of,” Emily says.

Looking Ahead: Scaling With Confidence

With her supervision systems and business operations streamlined, Emily is preparing to expand her ABA practice into neighboring counties. She’s mentoring two new supervisors and preparing them to take on their own trainees.

“I feel confident growing my team because I know the systems we’ve built will keep us compliant and support high-quality care,” she says.

Advice to New ABA Practice Owners

Emily’s journey offers powerful lessons for BCBAs stepping into ownership:

• Start with systems – Don’t wait until you’re overwhelmed to set up scalable supervision processes.

• Focus on mentorship – Your trainees need more than compliance—they need a mentor to guide their clinical judgment.

• Leverage technology – Tools like Mentratrack and Alpaca Health save time, reduce errors, and help you grow sustainably.

• Protect your license – Supervision isn’t just a checkbox; it’s the foundation of your business’s ethical integrity.
  
  

“Supervision is where your practice’s culture starts,” Emily says. “When you get it right, everything else gets easier.”

Ready to Build a Scalable ABA Practice?

Whether you’re a seasoned clinician or just starting out as a practice owner, Mentratrack and Alpaca Health can help you supervise smarter, grow faster, and focus on what matters most—your clients and your team.

Book a demo today to see how these tools can transform your supervision and practice management.