Writing a cancellation policy that holds
Where the policy lives, how a client agrees to it, and why it has to be visible before they book.
A deposit is only half of it. The deposit is the mechanism; the policy is what makes keeping it defensible.
Cancellations and refunds are between you and your client. Inchair gives you the tools — the decision and the cost are yours.
That's the reason the policy has to be in writing and in front of the client before they book, rather than quoted at them afterwards.
Where it lives
Write the policy under Booking rules (opens in a new tab). Two related settings sit with it: how many hours ahead a client can cancel themselves, and whether they can cancel online at all or have to contact you.
You can also have your booking form show the policy and ask the client to agree to it. With no policy written there's nothing to show, so that field disappears rather than asking them to accept a blank.
Getting it agreed on one booking
For an appointment made over the phone or at the desk, you can email the client the policy to accept or decline. It goes out as a link that expires, their answer is recorded against the booking, and re-sending it replaces the old link so only the newest one works. Declining cancels the appointment, and they're warned of that before it happens.
Then that email changes shape: the policy is in the message itself, there's no link, and there's nothing for them to answer. Declining would be a cancellation, and you've said cancelling goes through you — so the email is there to put the policy on the record, and a client who has a problem with it phones you. Nothing about it can cancel the appointment.
There's no policy written yet, or the client has no email on file — a walk-in added with just a name has nowhere to receive it. Both are ordinary states rather than errors, so the booking is still made.
Wording you can start from
Change the numbers to yours. Short and specific beats thorough — it has to be readable on a phone while someone is deciding whether to book.
Cancellations. Life happens — give me 48 hours' notice and there's no charge, and your deposit moves to your next appointment.
Inside 48 hours. Your deposit covers the slot I can't refill at short notice.
No-shows. The deposit is kept, and rebooking needs the service paid up front.
Running late. More than 15 minutes and I may need to shorten your service or move you to another day.
Apply it evenly
A policy you enforce only when it's easy isn't a policy. The pushback comes from long-standing clients who've never missed, and it comes once — the answer is that the deposit isn't about them, it's what lets you hold three hours without taking another booking.