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Your return window gets written down before anyone asks for it

You leave this lesson with your return policy decided, written in one sentence, and placed right next to the price, so you're not improvising the day someone asks for it.

By Yodai · Published September 6, 2026 · Updated October 12, 2026

4 min read

Sooner or later, the refund question comes up. Someone writes to you: "Can I get my money back?" Nothing strange happened: they just can't make the appointment, or the course wasn't a good fit for them. And that's when you realize you never decided what to say.

If you improvise, two bad things can happen. Either you refund everything just to get it over with, and you set a precedent that everyone will expect from then on. Or you simply refuse, and that person disputes the charge with their bank: your payment processor pulls the funds while the dispute is being resolved and charges you a fee you don't get back even if you win (with Stripe, $15).

A refund policy isn't written when the request comes in. It's written ahead of time, with a clear head, and posted where people see it before they pay.

Before the pressure hits, not during

The email that confirms a purchase settles that first "where's my order?" moment. A refund policy is the same idea, but for when something doesn't go as expected.

Writing it ahead of time changes the conversation. When the request comes in, you're not deciding under pressure: you read your own policy and apply it the same way for everyone. That's what protects you, not good intentions in the moment.

Refund in cash or refund as credit

Money back to the card

Closes the matter completely, nothing left hanging
With Stripe, the customer sees it in about 5 to 10 business days, depending on their bank; you don't control that part.
It's what anyone canceling with notice expects

Credit toward another purchase

The money stays in the business, it doesn't leave the account
Only makes sense if they're actually going to buy from you again
Used the wrong way, it looks like a way to avoid refunding anything

Which one do I choose: Refund in cash when someone cancels with enough notice: it's the fair thing to do and it won't cost you a client. Offer store credit only as an alternative, never as the only option, and save it for when the cancellation comes so late that it also costs you a calendar slot you won't be able to fill again.

The deadline: the line between yes and no

The number of hours or days doesn't matter as much as the fact that it exists and applies the same way to everyone. For an appointment, the line is usually about notice: 24 or 48 hours ahead, a full refund; after that, no, because that slot can no longer be sold to someone else.

For something physical you sell online to an individual, consumer protection law sets the line: they have 14 calendar days from the day they receive it to cancel without giving a reason, and you have to refund what they paid, including standard shipping, within 14 days of being notified. They cover the cost of shipping it back if you told them so upfront, and if they've used it more than necessary to try it out, they're responsible for any loss in value, but they don't lose the right to return it.

Watch out too for appointments you charge for online: that same law gives the customer 14 calendar days from when they book to cancel a service, except in cases like health services, time-bound entertainment, or a service that's already been fully provided with their prior consent. Your 24- or 48-hour cancellation window can't cut into that right: the law voids any clause that penalizes canceling.

Where you're the one setting the deadline, choose it with your own margin in mind, not whatever sounds better. If you make your living from a calendar with few open slots a day, 48 hours protects you more than 24.

The line that goes right next to the price

You can cancel up to 48 hours before your appointment and we'll refund the full amount to the same card (it may take your bank a few days to show it). After those 48 hours there's no refund, unless the law gives you the right to cancel, but you can reschedule once at no cost if you let us know by message.

Not deciding is deciding badly

Without a written policy, every refund gets negotiated from scratch, and today's exception is tomorrow's complaint. The expensive part isn't giving the money back: it's when someone you said no to disputes it with their bank. Your payment processor pulls the funds the moment the dispute opens, no questions asked, and charges you a fee you don't get back even if you win. You can fight it with evidence, and a written policy the customer saw before paying is one of the best, but the cheapest option is never getting there, and that's what your own policy, applied the same way every time, is for.

What you'll walk away with

A refund deadline set in hours or days, not by feel
Decided whether refunds go out as cash or credit, and when each one applies
The exact wording written out and placed next to the price, before anyone asks for it
Knowing what to do the day the first request comes in, instead of improvising

In Yodai the store comes with the Free plan, with a catalog, a cart and orders. See how to create your online store for free.

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