THE TACTIC

A client cancels the morning of an appointment. Another reschedules for the third time. A third doesn’t show up at all. Each time, you’ve blocked off that time, turned other work down for it, and maybe prepared in advance. And each time, you’re stuck deciding on the spot whether to charge them, which feels confrontational, or let it go, which costs you money and teaches them it’s fine to do again.

Without a written policy, every cancellation turns into a negotiation. With one, it’s just how your business works.

Why it works

A policy takes the personal part out of it. You’re not deciding whether this particular client deserves a fee. You’re applying a rule they agreed to when they booked. That makes it much easier to enforce, and much easier for clients to accept.

It also changes behavior before anything goes wrong. When clients know a late cancellation has a cost, they take the booking more seriously. Many owners find that just having the policy, clearly stated, cuts last-minute cancellations noticeably, even if they rarely charge the fee.

How to run it

Decide three things. How much notice you need to cancel or reschedule for free. What happens inside that window: a flat fee, a percentage, or a forfeited deposit. And what counts as a no-show.

Write it in plain language. One short paragraph, no legal jargon.

Life happens, so you can reschedule or cancel for free with at least 48 hours’ notice. Changes made with less than 48 hours’ notice, or missed appointments, are charged 50 percent of the session fee. This lets me keep your time reserved for you and offer open spots to others.

Put it everywhere a booking happens. Your booking page, your confirmation email, your contract or proposal. Ideally the client checks a box or replies to confirm they’ve read it.

Remind them before the deadline. A reminder sent just before the free-cancellation window closes (“Your appointment is Thursday at 10. Need to reschedule? Let me know by Tuesday at 10”) prevents most problems before they happen.

Allow one real exception. Decide in advance what counts, such as a medical emergency, and how many times a client gets it waived. A clear exception is generous. An unpredictable one undermines the whole policy.

The mistake most people make

Writing the policy and then never applying it. If you waive the fee every time someone apologizes, clients learn the policy isn’t real, and it stops working. The other mistake is introducing it in the middle of a problem. Bringing up a fee for the first time right after someone cancels feels like a penalty invented on the spot. Share it before the first booking, not after the first cancellation.