How to Create a Cancellation Policy

An effective cancellation policy is important for any appointment-based business. A policy holds both and your clients accountable to your time together. It’s a chance to set mutual boundaries and expectations around attendance. Agreeing on a cancellation policy helps you protect your business by making sure you get paid, and it helps you and your clients to value each other’s time. 

Learn more about how to write and put in place your cancellation policy, including a cancellation policy example to use as inspiration for your own.

Build your cancellation policy into intake forms

A solid cancellation policy should be easy to enforce. It’s simplest to build your cancellation policy directly into your client intake forms. This will require clients to agree to the policy as part of their booking experience. You’ll help clients understand their responsibility to you by being direct about expectations and consequences up front. And they’ll know the relevant protocol if they need to reschedule or cancel appointments with you.

When you include your cancellation policy into your intake forms, it also keeps your workflow running smoothly and your records organized. For example, you’ll have easy access to a client’s signed cancellation policy if someone violates your policy. It’ll make it easier to get paid for your time. 

It’s best practice to include a summary of your cancellation policy in other high-touch areas of your business too. For example, include that information on your client scheduling page or in your website’s FAQ. 

Consider what you want to include in your policy

Your cancellation policy wording should be concise and practical. It should include a few key pieces to ensure you and your clients are on the same page.

Here are a few questions to ask yourself as you draft your cancellation policy.

1. What is the latest a client can cancel their appointment without repercussions? It’s common for small businesses to require 24-hour or 48-hour notice. You can decide what works best for your business practices.

2. What is the penalty when a client cancels outside of the cancellation window? Common late cancellation fees include: charging the client’s credit card in full, 50% of the appointment cost, or a flat-rate late cancellation fee. 

3. Are there other consequences for canceling outside of the cancellation window? You could set a “three-strikes” rule, so that clients that no-show or cancel late three times, they can’t schedule with you again. Or you could charge a service fee to rebook an appointment at the last minute.

4. Do you want to offer a free pass for their first transgression? This could be a less strict option to include for both existing and new clients. 

5. What happens if you, the business owner, cancel a session without the minimum amount of notice? A good appointment cancellation policy also outlines what clients can expect from you. For example, if you cancel outside of the cancellation window, you could waive 50% off the rescheduled appointment price. 

6. What happens in the event of a delay outside of anyone’s control? Illness or natural disasters could qualify as incidents that fall outside of the rest of the policy you’ve outlined. Be clear about whether deposits are always nonrefundable or if you will make an exception in those cases. 

7. What is your policy for late arrivals? Make it clear at what point a late client becomes a missed appointment. A common grace period time frame is 15 minutes past the appointment start time. Some people may offer to rebook if a late client checks in to explain their delay.

Review a cancellation policy example

This is not a cancellation policy template or legal advice. But it can be useful to see how other businesses handle cancellations, so we’re sharing this cancellation policy example for educational purposes. Make it your own when you’re ready to create your own cancellation policy wording for your own business.

“Our business operates on a scheduled appointment basis. When canceling an appointment, we require all customers to provide MORE than 24 hours notice before the scheduled time. Otherwise, we will charge customers for the full session. We will provide a one-time cancellation fee waiver, where customers can cancel a session in less than 24 hours, at no additional charge. Alternatively, we will offer one free appointment upon rescheduling. The free session will need to be scheduled within 7 days of the cancellation.”

Remember: This is just an example, not a legal template. What you choose to include in your cancellation policy is up to you as the business owner, but these tips are a useful starting point.

Ready to create your cancellation policy? Get started with a free trial of Acuity Scheduling.

This post was updated on March 8, 2023.