Cancellation Policy for Appointments

MyTime allows you to establish a cancellation policy to manage when clients can cancel appointments and automatically enforce cancellation fees.

Things to know:

• The ability to configure the cancellation policy for appointments is controlled by the "Accessing Account Settings" access control setting.
• Once configured, the policy applies to both canceled and no-show appointments for both new and existing client bookings.
• The cancellation window can be set in hours or days.
• Fees only apply if a client cancels within the designated window. Example: If set to 2 hours, canceling 2 hours or less before the start time incurs a fee. Canceling 2 hours and 15 minutes prior does not.
• If an appointment is still in a pending state, clients can cancel online outside the window. Once the appointment is accepted, the online cancel link disappears, preventing online self-service cancellations.
• Staff members cancelling an appointment on behalf of a client in-store have the option to waive the fee manually.
• Deposit Rules & Cancellation Fees
  • A service cannot have both a deposit and a cancellation fee assigned simultaneously.
  • When a client with a prepaid deposit cancels, the system automatically converts that deposit into the cancellation fee. The total amount previously paid remains unchanged—no additional charge or automatic refund is processed.
  • If staff waive or skip collecting a deposit during booking, no cancellation fee will be charged if the appointment is later canceled.
  • Converted deposits appear as "Appointment Cancellation Fee" on the client's ticket and is displayed under the Cancellation Fee column in reports
  • If Cancellation Fees Tax is enabled at the location, the configured tax rate dynamically applies to the converted deposit amount:
  • Non-VAT (Exclusive Tax): With a 3% tax and a $30.00 deposit:
    • Cancellation Fee: $29.13
    • Cancellation Tax (3%): $0.87
    • Total: $30.00 (No extra charge collected)
  • VAT-Inclusive Tax: With a 5% VAT-inclusive tax and a $10.00 deposit:
    • Cancellation Fee: $10.00
    • Sales Tax (5% Incl.): $0.48
    • Total: $10.00 (Tax is absorbed into the original deposit)
• Canceling In-Store
  • When an Appointment Booked Online is Canceled In-Store:
  • The system automatically updates the appointment value to $0
  • If no cancellation fee is charged, only the original ticket will appear on the appointment modal as voided.
  • If a cancellation fee is configured, the fee is automatically charged to the card on file, and two tickets will appear on the appointment modal:
  • One voided ticket for the original appointment
  • One closed ticket for the cancellation fee
• When an Appointment Booked In-Store is Canceled In-Store
  • If a cancellation fee is configured, you will be redirected to POS to manually process the payment. On the payment screen, you can choose to charge the card on file or select another payment method.
  • No ticket is created for the canceled appointment
  • A ticket for the cancellation fee will appear on the appointment modal
• Canceling Online
  • When an Appointment Booked Online is Canceled Online:
  • The system automatically updates the appointment value to $0
  • If no cancellation fee is charged, only the original ticket will appear on the appointment modal as voided.
  •  If a cancellation fee is configured, the fee is automatically charged to the card on file, and two tickets will appear on the appointment modal:
  • One voided ticket for the original appointment
  • One closed ticket for the cancellation fee
• When an Appointment Booked In-Store is Canceled Online:
  • If a cancellation fee is configured, the card on file will be automatically charged
  • A ticket for the cancellation fee will appear on the appointment modal
• When booking online, if an appointment requires a payment card for cancellation policy enforcement but does not require a deposit or prepayment, the checkout page displays: "Card required to hold your appointment. No charge today." This clarifies for clients that their card is being saved for policy compliance rather than charged immediately.
• Tax Application Rules
  • Tax Exemption: Clients marked as tax-exempt will not be charged tax on cancellation fees.
  • Reopened Tickets: If a ticket was closed before tax was configured and is later reopened, the configured tax will apply automatically.
  • Pending Tickets: If a ticket was created before tax was configured but closed after, the applicable tax will apply automatically upon closing.
• Group Appointments: Canceling an entire group appointment converts the full collected deposit into a retained cancellation fee. If only individual appointments within a group are canceled, their specific deposits convert into cancellation fees while remaining appointments stay unaffected.
• Multiday Appointments: Canceling a multiday appointment after deposit collection automatically retains the deposit as a cancellation fee.
• Compensation for Appointment Cancellation Fees: When the "Give cancellation fee to staff member(s) on appointment?" company setting is active, staff members receive compensation based on the Cancellation Fee Commission configured in their profiles.

  
  

Contents:

• Configure Cancellation Policy
• Charge Cancellation Fee Online and In-Store

Configure Cancellation Policy

To configure a cancellation policy:

1. Navigate to Business Setup > Settings
2. Scroll down to the Cancellation Policy section
3. Choose your cancellation window option for "How far in advance must clients cancel their appointment?"
   • Up until appointment: Clients can cancel the appointment up until the appointment start time
   • Never: If you don’t want clients to be able to cancel online, select never
   • Custom: You can set a custom cancellation period here, allowing you to specify the number of minutes, hours, or days a client can cancel before an appointment starts 
4. Decide if you want to enforce a cancellation fee. If enabled, MyTime will require a credit card to hold appointments and enforce a cancellation policy. You can still choose to accept online payments or require payments in person. 
   • Select "Charge client the full amount for their appointment" if the cancellation fee should be the total price of the service
   • Select "Charge a percentage of the appointment value" if the cancellation fee should be a percentage of the total price of the service
   • Select "Charge a flat fee" if the cancellation fee should be a set dollar amount regardless of the service price
5. Save

The cancellation policy will now be visible to your clients on the checkout page on your booking widget. You can consider creating cancellation reasons for reporting purposes. Learn more here.

Charge Cancellation Fee Online and In-Store

To charge a cancellation fee online, your clients will:

1. Select the Cancel Booking link on the booking confirmation page 
2. Confirm cancellation                                                                                                                                                                              
3. Agree to the cancellation fee                                                                                                                                         

The client's card will be automatically charged the cancellation fee, and the appointment will be successfully canceled. 

If the client does not agree to the cancellation fee, the appointment cannot be canceled online. 

To charge a cancellation fee in-store, your staff members can:

1. On the schedule, locate the appointment you wish to cancel
2. Click on the appointment
3. Select the Cancel Appointment link at the bottom left of the modal 
4. There is a confirmation box that will populate, asking you to confirm this action. Confirm the cancellation by clicking Yes on the confirmation pop-up. 
5. Confirm if you want to charge the cancellation fee                                                                     
6. If the client booked online, their card on file will be automatically charged. If the appointment was booked by the business, you will be redirected to POS to take payment. 

If you have any questions, please contact our Support Team at support@mytime.com.

Related Articles:

• Cancellation Policy Settings
  
• Canceling Appointments
• How Do Cancellation Fees Work for Appointments / Class Enrolments Covered by Packages or Memberships?
• Cancellations / No-Shows Report
• Booking Appointments Online
• Booking Appointments Online for Family Members
• Booking Appointments Online for Pets
• Scheduling Appointments for Clients
• Scheduling Appointment for Family Members
• Scheduling Appointment for Pets