Cancellation rules: what clients see and how to write them
On 9 October 2026 I went through a booking in the Slotsy demo studio in production all the way to the last step: the Intro Session service, 30 minutes, 20 EUR, Tuesday 13 October, 09:00. Above the confirm button there was a "Cancellation" block with one line: "Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start." and in small print under it: "By confirming, you accept the cancellation rules above." I did not confirm the booking. The demo studio has no text of its own, only the line the system built from the number 24. A client reads it in three seconds; the rest you have to write yourself.
Short answer. In Slotsy a client sees the cancellation rules on the last booking step, above the confirm button: a "Cancellation" block, a line built from your cut-off ("Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start.") and your own text of up to 1000 characters per language. You choose the cut-off in Booking Settings → Cancellation: Anytime, or 1, 2, 4, 6, 12, 24, 48 hours, 24 by default. Before the cut-off the client cancels or moves the booking from the booking page in the email (sign-in by a link to their email, no password); after it they see that it can no longer be changed online, and your phone number. Slotsy has no automatic card penalty: you refund or keep the money for a late cancellation by hand, according to your text. Checked 9.10.2026.
Create a Free account in Slotsy: 0 zł for one person, no card, works alongside the system you use now. In 15 minutes you choose the cut-off and write the rules; the preview shows what the client will see.
What the client sees before booking
On the last booking step, above the confirm button, there are three things: the "Cancellation" heading, the system line built from your cut-off, and your text if you entered one. A text longer than about 220 characters is folded to four lines with a "Show more" button. Under the block is a sentence about accepting the rules, or a checkbox (more on that below).
| Cut-off in settings | Line the client sees on the last step |
|---|---|
| Anytime | "You can cancel any time before the appointment." |
| 24 hours | "Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start." |
| 48 hours | "Free cancellation up to 2 days before the start." |
With a 48-hour cut-off the line says "up to 2 days". The client sees the same cut-off on the membership cards on the studio page.
Which cut-off to set
Start with 24 hours, the default, and change it when you see the slots not getting filled in time. The table below is a hint, not a rule.
| Studio | Cut-off | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Group classes where someone else can take the place | 12–24 hours | time to give the place away |
| Long treatments (colouring, tattoo) | 24–48 hours | hard to fill the gap on the last day |
| Short services, you work alone | 2–4 hours or Anytime | a cancellation is better than a no-show |
A cut-off that is too long pushes the client towards a no-show instead of a cancellation, and a no-show tells you nothing: you learn about the empty slot when it is already empty. The same cut-off applies to moving a booking, it is one setting. Moving: clients move their own bookings. No-shows: how to reduce no-shows.
What to write in "Your cancellation rules"
The system line only says a number. Your text should say three things: what the client does after the cut-off (call, which number), what happens to the money or to the membership visit, and nothing the studio will not actually do. The field is plain text, no links or formatting, line breaks are kept, up to 1000 characters, separately for each language. If a client picks a language you did not fill in, they see the text in the studio's main language. Under the field in settings there is a preview, "The customer will see:", showing exactly what the client will see.
Three examples to adapt to your own studio; the square brackets mark where your details go.
A salon, payment on site (cut-off 24 hours):
You can cancel or move your booking yourself on the booking page up to 24 hours before. Later, call us: [number] — we will try to find another time.
A pilates studio with passes (cut-off Anytime, visit return 12 hours):
You can free your place at any time. Up to 12 hours before the class the visit goes back to your pass; later it is lost.
A long treatment with a prepayment (cut-off 48 hours):
You can cancel or move your booking up to 48 hours before — then we refund the whole prepayment. Later, call us: [number]. If you cancel later or do not come, we keep [X]% of the price and refund the rest within [N] days.
Keeping part of a payment is a legal question (deposit, right of withdrawal). How to word it is covered in the article on the deposit for a salon booking; ask a lawyer as well.
Checkbox or a plain click
Pressing the confirm button is also consent. The checkbox is stronger evidence, because only with it does Slotsy record the consent together with the rules text, the date and the IP. The client later sees it in their account under "Privacy" as "Cancellation rules of the studio". You turn it on with "Ask the customer to confirm the rules".
| Off (default) | On | |
|---|---|---|
| What the client sees | "By confirming, you accept the cancellation rules above." | the checkbox "I accept the cancellation rules above.", the button inactive without it |
| What Slotsy records | — | consent with the rules text, date, IP |
Settings: policies and consents.
After the cut-off
Instead of the move and cancel buttons the client sees "Moving or cancelling online is no longer possible: it is less than 24 h before the start." and "Call the studio: [phone]". Without a phone number in settings: "Contact the studio to change it." You cancel and move bookings from your own panel at any time. A cancellation by the studio always returns the membership visit. The client's side: cancelling a booking. Your settings: cancellation rules.
Money and membership visits
A prepayment is not refunded automatically. You refund it in the panel, in full or in part; the money goes back through the same payment provider in 5–10 working days (payments overview). A full refund cancels the booking and returns the membership visit, a partial one leaves the booking in place.
Membership visits have a separate rule: "Memberships" → "Return a visit when cancelled earlier than" (12, 24, 48, 72 hours, 7 days or "Always return the visit", 24 by default). The cancellation cut-off and the visit-return limit are two numbers, and their combinations give different results:
| Cancellation cut-off | Visit return | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 24 h | 24 h | every allowed cancellation returns the visit |
| 24 h | 48 h | a cancellation 30 h ahead goes through, but the visit is lost |
| Anytime | 24 h | you can cancel to the end, but later than 24 h before, the visit is lost |
If you want a late cancellation to cost a visit without forbidding it, set the cancellation cut-off to "Anytime" and the visit return to 12 or 24 hours. Details: visit return rules.
How other systems do it
Data from the systems' own pages, 9.10.2026, no ratings.
| Slotsy | Booksy | Fresha | Bookero | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free-cancellation cut-off set by the studio | yes: Anytime or 1–48 h | yes | yes (example: 48 h) | not stated on the features page |
| Own rules text before booking | yes, up to 1000 characters per language | not stated on the page | not stated on the page | not stated on the page |
| Fee for late cancellation / no-show | not automatic; you refund or keep by hand | kaucja or przedpłata, automatic | card fee (example: 25%) | — |
| Card at booking | no (prepayment is the studio's choice) | for kaucja | yes ("secured with a card") | — |
| Client cancels on their own | yes, after signing in by a link to their email | not stated on the page | not stated on the page | yes, from an email or SMS (the studio turns it on) |
| Consent to the rules text | yes, with the checkbox (text, date, IP) | not stated on the page | not stated on the page | not stated on the page |
In Booksy the salon sets the time for free cancellation and the size of the przedpłata or kaucja (50% in the example); before booking the client is informed of the conditions and of the amount charged for a no-show or a cancellation that is too late, and Booksy calls this "pełna automatyzacja". Fresha's example: cancel up to 48 hours before with no fee, a 25% fee after that. If no-shows are your main loss and you want the system to take the money itself, Booksy or Fresha will do it for you. Slotsy is for you if it matters more that the client reads your rules in your own words and does not have to give a card to book.
Bookero's features page describes self-cancellation from an email or SMS that the studio turns on and off; it says nothing about a time limit or about showing rules before booking. In Slotsy the client first has to sign in through the link to their email, which is one step longer.
Downsides of Slotsy
- There is no automatic fee for a late cancellation or a no-show; you refund or keep a prepayment by hand.
- The cut-off is one for the whole studio (not per service) and shared by cancelling and moving.
- The widget on your own site does not show the cancellation rules or the checkbox, only the studio page in Slotsy does (as of October 2026).
- Consent to the rules text is recorded only when the checkbox is turned on.
- The system line always says "Free cancellation up to …", even if the studio charges nothing; what happens after the cut-off has to be explained by your text.
Frequently asked questions
Where does a Slotsy client see the cancellation rules? On the last booking step, above the confirm button: a line from the studio's cut-off and the studio's text. Also on the membership cards. They do not see them in the widget on the studio's site (October 2026).
Which cancellation cut-off should I set in Slotsy? 24 hours by default; the options are Anytime or 1–48 hours. Group classes: 12–24 hours, long treatments: 24–48 hours, short services: 2–4 hours or Anytime (a hint, checked 9.10.2026).
Can Slotsy charge a no-show fee by itself? No. In Slotsy you refund a prepayment in full or in part by hand in the panel; there is no automatic card penalty. Booksy and Fresha have one (9.10.2026).
Do I need the "I accept the cancellation rules" checkbox? It is not required, pressing the confirm button is consent too. With the checkbox Slotsy records the consent with the rules text, the date and the IP, which is stronger evidence in a dispute.
What does the client see once the cancellation cut-off has passed? In Slotsy: "Moving or cancelling online is no longer possible: it is less than 24 h before the start." and the studio's phone (24 h is the default). The studio cancels or moves the booking at any time.
Does the cancellation cut-off apply to moving a booking too? Yes. In Slotsy it is one setting (Anytime or 1–48 hours) for cancelling and moving.
All the measurements on simple booking are in one place: simple online booking.
Slotsy features and the Booksy, Fresha and Bookero pages checked 9.10.2026.
Start with one thing: create a Free account in Slotsy, choose the cut-off in Booking Settings → Cancellation and paste in one of the examples above, adapted to your studio. 0 zł for one person, no card, your current system can keep running alongside. It takes about 15 minutes.