The short answer

Your policy should explain how to cancel or reschedule, the deadline, what happens to payments or deposits, how late arrivals and no-shows are handled, what happens when you cancel, and how genuine emergencies are considered. Make it strict enough to protect time you cannot replace, but simple and fair enough that a good customer can understand it before booking.

The best policy is not the harshest one. It is the one you can explain calmly, apply consistently, and support with a booking system that behaves the same way.

Include these eight parts

1. How to change an appointment: direct link, email, or phone number.
2. Change deadline: the exact hours or business days before the start time.
3. Late cancellation: fee, lost deposit, credit, or other stated result.
4. No-show definition: what counts when the customer does not arrive or join.
5. Late arrival: whether the session becomes shorter, moves, or is canceled.
6. Your cancellation: refund, credit, and how you will help reschedule.
7. Exceptions: who can approve them and what information is needed.
8. Acknowledgement: where the customer sees and accepts the policy.

Avoid phrases such as “fees may apply” without saying which fee and when. Customers should not need to negotiate the meaning after something goes wrong.

Set strictness from the loss you cannot avoid

Use a firmer rule when the appointment is long, requires paid preparation, reserves scarce equipment, involves travel, or is difficult to refill. Use a lighter rule for a short free call that costs little to prepare and can be offered again easily.

These are examples, not legal rules. Your final terms must fit the service and applicable requirements.

Choose a cutoff you can defend

Ask when you lose the practical chance to refill the time or recover preparation costs. If customers usually book a week ahead, a two-hour cutoff may offer little protection. If same-day bookings are common, a forty-eight-hour rule may be unnecessarily rigid.

Acuity’s scheduling controls allow businesses to set how close to an appointment a customer may cancel or reschedule and to use different limits for certain calendars. See Acuity’s scheduling-limit documentation.

Decide what happens to the money

State separately what happens when the customer cancels:

• before the cutoff.
• after the cutoff.
• after preparation costs were approved.
• after a prior courtesy exception.
• when she does not arrive.
• when you cancel.

If you offer a credit, explain its amount, expiration, transferability, and how to use it. If you retain a deposit or charge a fee, explain the amount or calculation. Never keep card information in a document or CRM note. Use an appropriate payment processor and authorized workflow.

Acuity recommends deciding how refunds work before and after the deadline, showing the policy during booking, and requiring acknowledgement when appropriate. Its platform guidance also describes reminders and payment-at-booking options. See Acuity’s no-show and cancellation guidance.

Write a human exception rule

“No exceptions” sounds easy until you are facing a storm closure, medical emergency, platform outage, or your own scheduling mistake. A useful rule might allow one courtesy transfer when the customer contacts you promptly, while repeated late cancellations follow the ordinary policy.

Record the exception and reason. That helps you stay consistent without asking customers for unnecessary private details.

Your policy should be at least as responsible when you cancel. Notify the customer quickly, return money or credit as promised, and offer realistic replacement times. Do not demand perfect notice from customers while giving none yourself.

Put the policy in four places

• booking page before payment or final confirmation.
• required acknowledgement when appropriate.
• confirmation message.
• reminder sent before the cutoff.

Use the same wording everywhere. Test the cancellation and rescheduling links from a customer account, including the exact moment the self-service window closes.

Review the results after sixty days

Track timely cancellations, late cancellations, no-shows, slots successfully refilled, fees waived, disputes, and complaints. If customers repeatedly misunderstand one sentence, rewrite it. If nearly every emergency receives an exception, the formal rule may be stricter than the business can fairly enforce.

Cancellation, refund, deposit, card-authorization, consumer-protection, and industry rules vary by state, country, and service. Check current local and industry requirements and use a qualified professional when the financial or legal risk warrants it. A scheduling platform’s settings do not decide whether a policy is lawful.

Sources and further reading

• Acuity Help: Limit When Clients Can Book, Edit, or Cancel
• Acuity Help: Limiting No-Show Appointments

A free next step

You don't have to build this alone

Bring your questions, share what you're working on, and meet other women building businesses from home. It is free to join.

Join Our Community Free

Related Questions

• How far in advance should customers be allowed to book, reschedule, or cancel?
• How do I reduce appointment no-shows with reminders?
• Zoom vs. Google Meet: what does a small business actually need for client calls?
• Which appointment-scheduling tool should I use, and when is Calendly or Acuity worth it?