A no-show costs more than the price of the service. It costs the slot, which can't be sold again once the hour has passed, and often the client you turned away to hold it. A deposit and a clear cancellation policy work by giving the client a reason to come, or to tell you in time.
This guide covers which bookings need protecting, how big a deposit should be, how to set a window that works with your reminder, and what to do on the day someone doesn't show.
Find the bookings that cost you most
Not every no-show costs the same. A missed men's cut leaves a 30-minute gap a walk-in can often fill. A missed full set of lash extensions or a two-hour color leaves half a morning empty, sometimes with product already mixed.
- Long appointments block the most time and are the hardest to refill on short notice.
- Premium services, like a senior stylist's color or a facial treatment, lose the most per empty slot.
- First-time clients have no habit with you yet, so the booking is easier for them to drop.
Protect these first. A rule on every booking adds a step for regulars who were always going to come.
Size the deposit to the slot you lose
When a client doesn't come, what they paid up front is what you keep. A balance due at the visit can't be collected from someone who never arrived. So start from what the empty slot costs you, then decide how much of that the client should carry.
- A fixed amount is easy to say. For example, ₱300 for any lash set, paid when they book and taken off the bill at the visit.
- A percentage grows with the price. For example, 30% of a ₱2,500 treatment is ₱750 now and ₱1,750 at the visit.
- Full payment suits classes and court hours, where the price is small and the slot is the whole product.
A bigger deposit recovers more and puts off more bookings. A smaller one is easy to accept and recovers less. Aim for an amount that makes skipping cost the client something, without making booking feel like a purchase.
In Onsuki, turn on Require a deposit and choose a fixed amount of at least ₱100, or a percentage. A service can have its own deposit, or none, and its setting wins. The deposit is paid when the client books, so turn on a way to pay online first. While a deposit is due, clients choose from your online ways to pay, and Pay in person is hidden. See Payments.
Decide whether the deposit comes back
This is a separate choice from the deposit itself. A refundable deposit protects you from no-shows and late cancels while staying fair to a client who tells you in time. A deposit you always keep protects you from every cancel, but clients weigh it more before they book, and an honest early cancel starts to feel like a penalty.
Onsuki has a switch for it: Refund the deposit when a client cancels in time. Turned off, you keep the deposit whenever a client cancels.
Set a window that works with your reminder
The cancellation window is the point after which a cancel counts as late. Choose one window and use it for everyone, so the rule is easy to say and hard to argue with.
Then line it up with your reminder. A reminder the day before catches clients who simply forgot, but only if they can still act on it. If the reminder arrives about 24 hours ahead and your window is also 24 hours, a client who reads it is already late. A 12-hour window leaves them time to cancel for free, and you time to fill the slot.
A policy clients can read in one breath works best. For example: "Cancel or reschedule up to 12 hours before for a full refund of your deposit. After that, the deposit is kept."
Onsuki emails a reminder about 24 hours before each booking when Email a reminder the day before is on. Clients can also move a booking themselves while it is still free to cancel, which turns some would-be no-shows into a new time.
Know what each late cancel costs
Once the window is set, every cancel falls on one side of it. Here is how Onsuki treats each case, so you can choose your settings knowing the result.
| When the client cancels | Paid with money | Paid with a package credit |
|---|---|---|
| Before the window | Refunded the way they paid | Credit returned |
| Inside the window, late cancels charged | Kept | Used up |
| Inside the window, late cancels not charged | Refunded the way they paid | Credit returned |
The deposit follows its own switch. A transfer or QR payment that needs to go back is listed under To refund for you to send, so nothing is forgotten. A cancel in time also opens the slot for other clients right away.
Handle a no-show the same way every time
A policy is only as fair as its use. Apply it the same way to a regular and a first-timer, and you never have to explain why one paid and the other didn't.
- Wait a set time, such as 15 minutes, then send one message asking if they're on the way.
- If they don't come, mark the appointment as a no-show. What they paid, including the deposit, is kept, the balance isn't charged, and a package credit it used stays used.
- If they turn up after all, undo the no-show and see them as usual.
In Onsuki, the no-show dialog shows the exact amounts before you confirm, and Undo no-show puts the booking back.
Stop repeat no-shows from booking online
A few clients miss again and again. Rather than argue each time, set a limit once and let it apply on its own.
In Onsuki, set Block online booking after to a number of no-shows counted over a number of days, such as three in 90 days. Missed classes and missed appointments count together. See Appointments.
