Cancellation policy for appointments: how to write one, with examples you can copy

Why you need a cancellation policy

Without a written rule you decide from scratch every time. One client cancels an hour before. Another does not turn up and does not pick up the phone. Do you ask for something? Do you let it go? Both feel wrong, because one client pays and the other does not.

A cancellation policy settles it. You decide once, calmly, and apply it afterwards without an argument. Your client reads what happens if they cancel late. When it does happen, they knew in advance.

There is a second benefit. People who know a late cancellation has a price tend to cancel earlier. Earlier notice gives you a chance to offer that slot to someone else. You can work out what an empty hour costs you over a year in what does a no show cost.

One thing first. This article is practical and not legal advice. The rules depend on your profession, your clients and what you tell them beforehand. If you are unsure about your wording, ask your professional body or a lawyer to read it. The basic principle is simple: your client must know your terms before they book.

How much notice should clients give?

The notice period comes down to one question: how easily can you still fill the slot that frees up? For a short half hour check in, you can often fill it the same day. For a three hour treatment, you cannot if the cancellation arrives that same morning.

These are starting points that suit many businesses. Adjust them to your own diary.

Pick a window you will actually enforce. A 72 hour window for a haircut sounds firm, but you will stop applying it with your first regular client. A rule you do not apply is worse than no rule at all.

Count in hours

Write 24 hours before your appointment rather than the day before. With the day before, your client cannot tell whether that means midnight or opening hours. For a 10 am appointment, 24 hours runs out at 10 am the day before. That is clear to everyone.

Think about the days you are closed

Closed on Mondays? Then a cancellation for Tuesday morning lands over the weekend while you are not reading anything. If your client can cancel through a link, the moment they cancel is what counts, not the moment you read it. With Bookable Praktijk that is how it works.

What do you charge for late cancellations and no shows?

This is where most businesses hesitate. You have four options. The right one depends on your price, your clients and how often it happens.

Keeping the deposit is the best choice for most businesses. You already have the money and your client knew the terms. You never have to chase anyone afterwards. Sending an invoice for a missed appointment feels awkward on both sides and often goes unpaid.

A stepped rule can work too, especially for long appointments. Cancelling well in time costs nothing, cancelling just before costs part of the price, not showing up costs the deposit or more. Keep it as simple as you can. Every step you add has to be something your client can remember.

Charge a fair amount

You charge for the hour you could not fill. Here is a worked example with our own assumptions: a €10 deposit on a €45 treatment feels reasonable. A rule that asks for the full price when a cancellation arrives one hour late scares clients off. The amount should match what you really lose.

Sample wording you can copy

Copy a text, change the notice period and the amount, and put it on your website and in your booking flow. Keep it short. Your client reads it between two steps.

An appointment of about an hour

You can cancel or reschedule free of charge up to 24 hours before your appointment. If you cancel later or do not show up, we keep the deposit. If you arrive more than 15 minutes late, we may not be able to complete your full treatment.

Physiotherapy or another practice

You can cancel or reschedule your appointment free of charge up to 24 hours beforehand. If you are ill, please let us know as soon as you can. If you cancel later or do not turn up, we keep the deposit. You can book a new appointment online straight away.

Hair salon or barber

You can cancel or move your appointment at no cost up to 24 hours before. For a later cancellation or a no show, we keep the deposit. If you are more than 15 minutes late, we will shorten the treatment or move it.

Nail salon or lash and brow studio

A new set or a long treatment takes a lot of time. You can cancel or reschedule free of charge up to 48 hours before your appointment. After that we keep the deposit. If you are more than 15 minutes late, we will shorten the treatment or move it.

Massage or wellness

You can cancel or reschedule free of charge up to 24 hours beforehand. For a later cancellation or a no show, we keep the deposit. If you arrive late, your massage ends at the planned time so the next client does not have to wait.

B&B or guest room

You can cancel free of charge up to 7 days before arrival. If you cancel later or do not turn up, we keep the deposit.

How to make sure clients read your policy

A text nobody sees does not help. Put your policy where your client will meet it.

• At booking, so your client sees it before confirming.
• In the confirmation they receive afterwards.
• On your website, next to your prices or on a page of its own.
• Next to your booking link, for example in your Instagram bio or on your Google Business Profile.
• At the front desk or on paper for people who do not book online yet.

The moment of booking matters most. Someone who only receives the text after booking can say later that they did not know it. Someone who accepts it while booking knows it. That is fairer to your client and easier for you.

Keep the tone friendly

Your policy does not have to sound stern. Explain why it exists: an hour you hold for one client is an hour you cannot give to someone else. A short reason, such as so we can offer your place to someone else, works better than a list of prohibitions.

Mention it at the first visit too

With a new client, on the phone or at the desk, one sentence is enough: you can reschedule free of charge up to 24 hours before. That way they hear it twice.

How to handle exceptions

There is always a client with a genuinely good reason. A hospital stay, an accident, a child with a fever. Make your rule firm enough to work and your exception wide enough to stay human.

• Decide in advance which situations count as an exception, such as real emergencies or illness.
• Grant an exception because the situation calls for it, not because a client pushes.
• Treat every client the same way. A regular who gets an exception every month no longer needs one.
• Write down what you agreed, so you remember what you promised.

The first time

A client who has never missed an appointment cancels late once? You can refund the deposit or put it towards a new appointment. Mention kindly that the rule normally applies. That way you keep both your client and your rule.

A client who often stays away

The same client misses appointment after appointment? You can ask for a deposit on their next bookings, or stop accepting new ones. Your time is limited and you decide how to spend it.

When you have to cancel

It works both ways. If you have to cancel an appointment, tell your client as early as possible and offer a new time straight away. People who are flexible with their own cancellations get more understanding for their policy.

How Bookable does this for you

On paper all of this works, but you have to remember it every time, show it to every client and collect payment afterwards. That is the part Bookable takes over.

• You enter your cancellation policy once in Bookable. Your client accepts it when booking, and Bookable keeps a record that they did.
• You switch on a deposit per treatment, a fixed amount or a percentage. Your client pays it right away while booking, with Bancontact or iDEAL.
• You decide which part of the deposit you keep, depending on how late your client cancels. A refund follows the rules you set.
• A booking that is not paid stays held for a limited time and then expires. You choose how long, two hours by default.
• Your client receives a confirmation by email with a link to their appointment. With Praktijk they reschedule or cancel directly, within your rules, and you do not have to pick up the phone.
• If a client does not turn up, you mark the appointment as a no show. Bookable counts it per client, and you can make a deposit compulsory for someone who often stays away.
• With Praktijk, a client can join the waiting list. When an appointment falls through, the next person gets a message.
• You enter holidays and closing days once, and nobody can book on those days.

Bookable never charges anything on its own. The deposit your client paid is what you keep. That keeps things simple and avoids awkward conversations afterwards. The money reaches your own account through Mollie. To see how to connect Mollie, read connecting Mollie.

You can see which plan includes what on the pricing page. Start costs from €29 a month when paid yearly and includes deposits through Mollie. Clients moving their own appointments and the waiting list are part of Praktijk, from €49 a month when paid yearly. You can try everything free for 14 days, no card needed.

See how it looks for a physiotherapy practice, a nail salon, a hair salon, a massage practice or a B&B. Those pages show the treatments and examples for your own trade.

Common mistakes

• A policy that only lives on your website, far away from the booking.
• A notice period you do not enforce, which drains your rule of meaning.
• An amount out of proportion to the appointment.
• Giving every client a different exception.
• Saying nothing about arriving late.
• Changing your policy without telling your clients.

Frequently asked questions