No show calculator: what do missed appointments cost you a year?

Work out what no shows cost you

Move the three sliders to match your figures. Not sure how many clients stay away? Count the empty slots in your diary over the last four weeks and divide by four.

The sum is simple: the number of clients who don't turn up each week times the weeks you are open gives you the number of lost appointments a year. Multiply that by the average price and you have your yearly loss. Nothing is stored or sent anywhere. It all runs in your own browser.

How should you read the result?

The figure you see is turnover that never comes in. It is not quite lost profit, because some costs stop when nobody is in the chair. If you use few products, as in massage or physiotherapy, your real loss sits close to that figure. If you use a lot, as with a colour, it is a little lower.

At the same time, it is a floor. The calculator leaves out:

• Time spent preparing: setting up the table, mixing a colour, warming a room.
• The client you could have fitted in had you known in time that the slot was free.
• The follow up visit that never happens, because a client who stayed away once often does not come back.
• Time lost phoning, messaging and rebooking.

For a closer look by trade, with examples for a hair salon, a physio practice and a B&B, read what does a client who doesn't show up cost you.

How many no shows are normal?

There is no reliable average for salons and clinics in Belgium. What we do know: in a 2010 study in mental healthcare, quoted in a University of Antwerp presentation on no show fees in practice, an average of 5 to 8 percent of patients stayed away, with peaks of 14 percent. That is one sector, but it gives you a sense of scale.

More useful than any average is your own number. For four weeks, note every appointment that did not happen without a message. That is your baseline, and after a month of reminders you will see whether it drops.

Worked examples by trade

Here are three examples using the prices Bookable suggests as a starting point when you set up your services. The number of no shows per week is our own assumption, to show how quickly it adds up.

In the calculator you can try your own figures.

What should you do with the result?

A number on a screen changes nothing. What works is a few simple measures that help clients either turn up or let you know in time.

1. 1Send a reminder. Most clients who stay away simply forgot. A message the day before catches that. See how to send an appointment reminder.
2. 2Take a deposit for longer or pricier treatments. Clients who have paid either come or call. See asking your clients for a deposit.
3. 3Make your rules clear. Until when can clients move for free, and what happens after that? Read charging a no show fee in Belgium.
4. 4Make rescheduling easy. A client who can move an appointment in one click is less likely to simply not show.
5. 5Keep a waiting list. When a slot frees up, give it to someone who was already waiting.

When does a booking system pay for itself?

Under the calculator you see how many appointments you need to save to cover Bookable Start. Start costs from €348 a year when paid yearly. With an average appointment of €45, that is eight appointments a year, so fewer than one a month.

That is not a promise about how many no shows you will lose. It depends on your clients and your trade. It is an honest way to judge it, though: compare the appointments you need to save with the ones you lose today.

How Bookable helps against no shows

Bookable is an online booking system for businesses that see clients in person. Clients book themselves, and you do not have to send anything.

Paying monthly, it is from €34 for Start and from €58 for Praktijk. Mollie charges €0.39 per Bancontact payment for a deposit. Try it free for 14 days, no card needed. More on the pricing page.

Frequently asked questions