What every cancellation policy must cover
A strong policy answers four questions without ambiguity: how much notice do you need, what happens if a client cancels late, what happens if they do not show at all, and what payment method secures the booking. If any of those is missing, you will end up improvising in the moment, which is where disputes and lost revenue come from.
The tone matters as much as the content. Write it as a clear, fair expectation rather than a threat. Clients respect a business that values its time; they resent one that sounds punitive. The template below is written to be firm and friendly at the same time.
- Required notice to cancel or reschedule.
- Late-cancellation fee.
- No-show fee.
- The card or deposit that secures the booking.
Copy-paste cancellation policy template
Copy the template below and replace the bracketed placeholders with your own salon name, notice window, and fees. Show it during the booking flow and require clients to agree before the appointment is confirmed.
CANCELLATION & NO-SHOW POLICY
At [Salon Name], your appointment time is reserved just for you. Because a missed appointment means a stylist sits idle and another client misses the chance to be seen, we ask that you respect the following policy.
NOTICE TO CANCEL OR RESCHEDULE Please give at least [48] hours notice to cancel or reschedule your appointment. You can do this online, by text, or by phone.
LATE CANCELLATION Cancellations made with less than [48] hours notice will be charged [50]% of the booked service price.
NO-SHOW If you do not arrive for your appointment and do not contact us, you will be charged [100]% of the booked service price.
LATE ARRIVAL If you arrive more than [15] minutes late, we may need to shorten or reschedule your service so the next client is not delayed.
SECURING YOUR BOOKING A valid card on file [or a deposit of [amount/percentage]] is required to book. By booking, you authorize [Salon Name] to charge the fees above to that card under this policy.
DEPOSITS Deposits are applied to your service total. Deposits are refundable if you cancel with at least [48] hours notice and are forfeited for late cancellations or no-shows.
We appreciate your understanding. This policy helps us give every client our full time and attention.
[Salon Name] | [Phone] | [Website]
Choosing your numbers
The placeholders in the template are starting points, not rules. For notice, 24 to 48 hours is standard; choose 48 if your slots are hard to refill on short notice and 24 if your clientele tends to book closer in. For the late-cancel fee, 50 percent of the service is common and feels proportionate. For no-shows, charging the full service price is defensible because the slot was completely lost.
Whatever numbers you pick, apply them consistently. A policy enforced unevenly teaches clients that it is negotiable, which brings the no-shows right back. Consistency is what gives the policy its power; the exact percentages matter less than the fact that you always honor them.
- Notice: 24 to 48 hours depending on how fast you refill.
- Late cancel: commonly 50 percent of the service.
- No-show: commonly 100 percent of the service.
Making the policy enforceable
A policy is only as strong as your ability to act on it. To charge a late-cancel or no-show fee, you need a valid card on file and proof the client agreed to the policy at booking. Without both, the fee is just a number on a page. The two common failure points are cards that were never validated and cards that clients quietly delete after booking.
Keptbookings closes both gaps. The card is validated with Stripe at the moment of booking, so an invalid card is rejected before the appointment is confirmed, and you are alerted if a client removes their card afterward. The policy agreement is captured at booking, and any fee you charge pays out through Stripe the next business day with no holds and no commission. That is the difference between a policy you can enforce and one you only hope works.
A shorter version for your booking page
The full template is ideal for your website and intake forms, but the booking flow itself needs something a client will actually read in the two seconds before they tap confirm. Keep a condensed version that captures the essentials without the full formatting, and require agreement to it at booking.
CONDENSED POLICY (for the booking checkbox): I understand that [Salon Name] requires [48] hours notice to cancel or reschedule. Late cancellations are charged [50]% and no-shows [100]% of the service price to the card on file. Deposits are applied to my service and forfeited for late cancellations or no-shows.
Use the long-form template where clients have time to read, such as confirmation emails and your policies page, and use this condensed line as the checkbox they agree to at booking. Keeping both in sync, with the same numbers, is what makes a fee defensible later: the client agreed to clear terms at the moment they reserved your time.
Adapting the template for different services
One policy rarely fits every service you offer. A $30 quick fringe trim and a $250 four-hour color correction do not carry the same risk, and your policy can reasonably reflect that. The template is built to be adjusted per service or service category rather than applied as a single blunt rule.
For long, high-value, or specialist services, consider a larger deposit and a longer notice window, because those slots are the hardest to refill and the most costly to lose. For short, low-cost services, a card on file with no upfront deposit usually keeps booking frictionless while still giving you recourse. New clients can sit one tier stricter than established regulars across the board.
Whatever tiers you set, write them down and apply them consistently within each tier. The goal is a policy that feels proportionate to the client, defensible to you, and simple enough that you never have to improvise in the moment.
- Bigger deposits and longer notice for long or specialist services.
- Card-on-file, no upfront deposit, for short low-cost services.
- New clients one tier stricter than established regulars.