Setting up a Cancellation Policy

Practice Better allows you to create and reinforce your cancellation policy. Cancellation policies discourage last-minute cancellations, rescheduling sessions close to the session time, and ‘no-shows’ in your practice.

The following options are available to use individually or in combination with each other. These steps will show you how to set up Terms & Conditions, waiver, cancellation policy, and process a cancellation fee.

• Setting up a Disclaimer or Terms & Conditions
• Setting up a waiver that requires a signature
• Restricting clients from canceling and rescheduling
• Processing a cancellation fee for no-shows

Setting up a Disclaimer or Terms & Conditions

Disclaimers and Terms & Conditions will be displayed on your booking page. Clients will need to acknowledge your terms before they can finalize their booking request.

1. Set up a Disclaimer or Terms & Conditions that outline your cancellation policy.
2. Go to My Practice > My Services, and add the Terms and conditions when adding a service.

Setting up a waiver that requires a signature

You can create a form for your cancellation policy that requires your client's signature. You can add a clause to any existing agreements you may have clients physically sign when they start working with you. This form can be included on your booking pages, sent automatically, and sent manually as well.

1. Create a form with your cancellation policy and add a required signature to the form. Clients must add a signature to this form to submit it back to you.
2. Attach the form to your services so clients are required to complete the forms when booking.
   

Restricting clients from canceling and rescheduling

You can restrict your clients' ability to cancel or reschedule their sessions completely or within a specific time period before their session. Your cancellation notice will appear to your clients when they click on the reschedule or cancellation options available in the Client Portal and email notifications.

1. Navigate to Booking & Cancellation Settings > Cancellation Options.
2. Enable the Display a cancellation policy when clients cancel or reschedule sessions setting and include your custom Cancellation policy.
3. Select your desired time frame from the Prevent clients from canceling or rescheduling... dropdown and click on Save Changes.
   

Service-specific cancellation options

You can override your default Cancellation policy and create unique cancellation options for each service.

1. Head to My Practice > My Services
2. Click Edit on your Service
3. Scroll down to the Booking Options section.
4. Uncheck the option Use my default cancellation and rescheduling restrictions
5. Customize your service's cancellation period and policy.
6. Click Save Changes.
   

Processing a cancellation fee for no-shows

If you have a payment processor integrated with the platform, you can require payment at the time of booking when a client books your service. Alternatively, you can save a client's billing information to process future payments. 

If you did not collect payment at the time of booking then you can create an invoice for the session and process the cancellation fee to the card on file.

1. Head to My Schedule > Booking & Cancellation Settings. 
2. Click the check box to Enable cancellation charge for no show sessions.
   
   
3. Select the fee type from the options provided. The fee can be set up as a Fixed Fee or a Percentage of the Session fee.
4. Type in the percentage or fixed amount in the field to the right.
5. When you are satisfied with your options, click Save Changes at the top-right. 
6. Follow the steps here to process your cancellation fee when Marking Sessions as No-Shows.