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The rules for your booking calendar: duration, deposit, cancellations, and no-shows
You end up with a calendar that's open to the public: your real hours, the deposit that holds the appointment, the reminders you send clients, and what to do about no-shows.
Someone books for ten o'clock, and by ten fifteen you've already got another client waiting at the door, because the slot you posted didn't include time to reset the room. Another books and never shows, and that half hour is gone for good. A third cancels two hours ahead, and you're left with no time to fill it. None of this is bad luck: your calendar just doesn't have written rules, and without written rules, every client makes up their own.
This course sorts out your schedule slot by slot: first, how long each appointment really takes, including buffer time to turn the slot over, then what deposit to ask for and how to word that ask, then how late someone can cancel without losing it, and what happens with no-shows. It wraps up with the reminder that cuts down on empty slots, a waitlist you keep by hand to fill them, and the two numbers that tell you each week if something needs fixing.
This is for you if you already run a calendar of appointments or orders with set time slots and want to stop chasing confirmations over WhatsApp. It's not for businesses that sell only from a catalog, with no time slots to book.
- Calculate the real time slot for each service by adding up the work itself, the turnaround between clients, and a buffer for delays.
- Decide whether your deposit should be a flat amount or a percentage, with the exact wording to ask for it.
- Set a written policy for how late clients can cancel for free, and the penalty for no-shows.
- Keep an ordered waitlist within reach, so you can call in minutes whoever can take the slot that just opened up.
Have your appointments from the last two or three weeks on hand, with their time slots and any cancellations.
The 7 lessons
In the order it makes the most sense to read them.
- 1
How long each appointment really takes
You'll know how to calculate the real time slot to publish for each service: the service itself, plus the changeover, plus a buffer for delays.
4 min - 2
A flat fee if what you lose is time, a percentage if what you lose is an expense
You'll know whether your deposit should be a flat number or a percentage, and you'll have the exact wording to ask for it without sounding like you don't trust your clients.
4 min - 3
How late clients can cancel without losing their deposit
You set a free cancellation window based on whether you have time to fill the slot, post it clearly before the client pays the deposit, and repeat it in the confirmation, and you know when you can keep the deposit for a late cancellation and when the law requires you to refund it.
4 min - 4
No-shows lose the entire deposit, except for whatever the law requires you to refund.
By the end, you'll have a fixed, written rule for no-shows: what you keep, at what point it kicks in, and what you require before booking that client again.
4 min - 5
The reminder that prevents empty slots
You'll know when to send each reminder, when it's enough to just confirm the time, and when to ask for confirmation, with wording that doesn't sound like a scolding.
4 min - 6
Who fills the slot that just opened up
By the end, you'll have a waitlist you manage by hand: who's next in line, what message you send them, and how long you give them to respond before you move on to the next person.
6 min - 7
The two numbers that tell you if your calendar is working
Every week you look at two numbers, occupancy and no-shows, and they tell you whether to work on visibility, your hours, the deposit, or the cancellation window.
4 min