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Operations · 6 min

Setting policies you'll actually enforce

Cancellation, deposits, late arrivals and redo rules — with wording you can copy.

  1. 1

    Write the cancellation window

    48 hours is standard for services over two hours; 24 hours works for short services. State the fee as a percentage of the booked service.

  2. 2

    Take deposits on long or high-cost services

    Extensions, color corrections and transformations should require a non-refundable deposit applied to the service. It filters out the bookings that were never real.

  3. 3

    Define late

    Pick a number — 15 minutes is common. Past that you may shorten or reschedule the service. Say it once, apply it to everyone.

  4. 4

    Set a redo and refund rule

    Offer adjustments within 7–14 days at no charge for your own error; no refunds on services performed. Home color between visits voids it.

  5. 5

    Put it where clients agree to it

    Booking confirmation, reminder text, and a card on file. A policy nobody agreed to is a wish.

  6. 6

    Enforce it the first time

    The first waived fee teaches your whole book what the policy really is. Grace is a decision, not a default.

Watch out for

  • Card-on-file rules vary by processor and state — confirm you can legally charge a no-show fee.
  • Discounting your own policy for regulars is how the policy quietly disappears.
Run the numbers on thisCancellation & no-show cost — what a policy saves you