How to Reduce No-Show Appointments

Running an appointment-based business or scheduling consultations inevitably means some missed appointments or last-minute cancellations from clients. While people will always be unpredictable, there are three key things you can do to reduce no-shows and protect your time. 

1. Create and enforce a cancellation and no-show policy.

2. Take credit card information at booking or require a deposit.

3. Automate email and text reminders for upcoming appointments.

1. Write and enforce a cancellation policy

A clear cancellation policy sets mutual expectations for scheduled appointments. The best cancellation policies protect both you and your clients and are easy to enforce. 

Make your policy concise and specific to protect you from any lost revenue. Make sure your policy addresses:

• Cancellation windows

• Late cancellation or no-show fees

• Same-day cancellations

• Your appointment reminder systems

• Day-of grace periods

• What to do if they’re running late

Here are some tips to start writing a cancellation policy that makes sense for your practice or business.

Choose a cancellation window

Make it clear how close to their time slot clients can cancel or reschedule without penalty. For example, you might say clients can cancel or reschedule up to 24 or 48 hours before their appointment time. After that time frame, they’ll pay a cancellation fee.

You can also build a grace period into your appointments. Many service providers charge a no-show fee if a client is more than 15 minutes late. 

Set a cancellation fee

State the cancellation fee you’ll charge if clients violate your appointment policy. You could charge a percentage of the original appointment cost or a flat-rate cancellation fee, whichever works best for your business. 

Consider building some flexibility into your fee policy. For example, you could charge a 100% cancellation fee only after the first missed appointment or late cancellation. Or you could apply 50% of the no-show fee to the client’s next appointment if it’s their first missed appointment.

Outline repercussions for when you need to cancel

Forgetfulness and emergencies can happen to anyone. Don’t forget to outline what happens if you need to cancel outside of an agreed-upon time frame. For example, you could offer a gift card to clients you cancel on less than 48 hours in advance. Or offer 20% off a rescheduled booking and waitlist them for your next available appointment.

Do your best to personally communicate any cancellations or extended wait times ahead of an appointment too. If you’re rescheduling one or two days in advance, send an email. If you’re canceling on the day of an appointment or running late, phone calls or texts may be best. 

Include your policy in your client intake forms at the point of booking so clients know what to expect from the start. 

See an example cancellation policy

2. Take credit card details and require deposits 

One of the most effective ways to hold clients accountable is to accept payment at the time of appointment scheduling. People are much more likely to commit to their scheduled time with you if they’ve already paid for it. 

You can connect a booking platform like Acuity Scheduling with Stripe, Square, or Paypal. 

From there, use two key payment tactics at the point of booking.

• Require deposits. Full or partial upfront deposits make it more likely clients will keep their word and ensure you get paid on time. 

• Capture and save payment details. Taking your client’s card information at booking, even if you don’t require a deposit, makes it simple to enforce any no-show fees.

Learn more about how to use contactless payments in your small business

3. Automate appointment reminders

Email and text reminders are important tools for protecting your schedule and helping your clients stay on top of their calendars. Use automation to send reminders in the days and hours before appointments. 

Reminder emails and texts also create an opportunity for clients to follow up if they need to cancel or reschedule. Make sure you send your first reminder before your cancellation window starts. Earlier cancellations also open up appointment slots with enough lead time for someone else to book them, protecting your bottom line. Send a text notification 24 hours before the appointment as a more direct way to keep your appointment top of mind. 

With Acuity Scheduling, you can customize and automate up to three email reminders and one SMS text reminder for each appointment. You can even personalize your automated reminders by appointment type. That way, clients get helpful check-ins at the most effective times for the type of service they scheduled with you. 

Get tips and templates for email reminders and best practices for text message reminders.

Ready to reduce no-shows?

This post was updated on April 12, 2023.