If you own a service-based business, you know how important it is for your customers and clients to keep their appointments. No provider wants to be the bad guy, hounding clients to show up when they say they will. Nevertheless, your bottom line suffers when you have too many no-shows. That’s why a well-crafted cancellation policy is a must.

Many providers post their cancellation policies on their websites, or hand out a hard copy for clients and patients to sign at their first appointments. It is also a good idea to provide a link to your cancellation policy in any appointment reminder emails or SMS messages you send to customers.

Before you craft your company’s cancellation policy, it might help to ask yourself the following questions:

1. Did you charge a booking fee? And if so, do you want to give customers/patients a refund?
2. How long before the appointment must customers inform you of their need to cancel?
3. Will you charge a cancellation fee if the appointment is not cancelled within the stated time period?

We’ve created a series of cancellation policy examples and templates. These cancellation policy samples should be useful for a variety of B2C businesses. Whether you own a medical practice, law firm, or beauty salon, we hope you will find a template here that will work for your business.