Beauty pros: a cancellation policy for booked appointments

Write one short cancellation rule, put it in the description of every service on your booking page, and apply it the same way to everyone. Say how much notice you need to move or cancel, what happens with a late cancellation or a no-show, and how clients reach you to change a booking. When the rule is visible before the client books, applying it later is a reminder of something they already accepted, not a surprise, and your slots stop disappearing at the last minute without a word.

A late cancellation hurts a beauty business more than most. A ninety-minute colour, a full set of nails or a long massage can't be filled by a walk-in at ten minutes' notice, and the product you prepared may be wasted. A clear rule doesn't stop every cancellation, but it changes how clients treat the booking: they know the time is held for them, and that letting you know early matters.

Keep it to three or four lines that a client reads in a few seconds:

Choose terms you are really willing to apply. A strict rule you never enforce teaches clients that it doesn't matter.

One rule for everything is simplest, but long services can justify more notice than a quick trim. If you use different notice periods, put each in the description of the service concerned rather than in a general page clients may never open. A bridal trial, a long colour or a half-day spa package can carry 48 hours, a short appointment 24.

On Book, each service has a name, a price and an optional description shown on your public page, which clients read when they choose a service. Put your cancellation rule at the end of each description, in the same words every time. The confirmation email the client receives after booking reminds them of the time; your rule is already in what they read before confirming.

Clients can't move or cancel bookings online: they contact you, and you reschedule or cancel from your bookings list. That gives you a moment to apply your rule, offer another slot and keep the client. Book doesn't email clients when you move or cancel a booking, so confirm the new time yourself by message or phone. Rescheduling works across services, so a client can move from a long colour to a shorter service if their plans change.

When you cancel a booking that came in with notice, the slot becomes free again and shows on your public page for others to book. If you know clients who wanted an earlier time, a quick message can fill it the same day. Clients you book in yourself from your calendar only receive a confirmation if you enter their email.

When several people book together, a bridal party or friends before an event, one late cancellation can empty a whole morning. Agree the notice for the group when you book them, put it in the note, and confirm it to the person who organised the group. If one guest drops out, ask early whether someone else will take the place.

Apply the rule the same way for regulars and new clients, but leave room for real emergencies: illness, a sick child, a car breakdown. Note cancellations and no-shows in your own records, and after repeated no-shows, book that client yourself only when they confirm by phone. Book doesn't take payments or deposits, so any charge for a late cancellation is handled directly with the client, at the next visit or as you agreed.

A rule written as a list of penalties puts clients off. Explain why it exists in one line, such as "your appointment time is reserved for you alone", and thank clients for letting you know early. The aim is fewer empty chairs, not more arguments. Book costs €5/month, everything included: unlimited services and bookings, no commission, no contract.