What a No-Cancellation Policy Can Mean for Your Practice

Having a structured schedule in your practice and life can make running your practice and business easier. Putting policies in place and enforcing them (kindly) can help you keep that structure in place. That includes a no-cancellation policy. A no-cancellation policy can help you keep your schedule on track, so you’re not frantically trying to move childcare or a dentist appointment to reschedule a client. 

For anyone who is like, “what’s a no-cancellation policy” it’s basically an agreement in your consents and financial paperwork that says that your clients agree to pay for every session they schedule with you (often these are recurring, weekly appointments) whether or not they attend the session. If someone says, “oh wait- I can’t do next Tuesday after all,” they are responsible for payment even with tons of notice. The typical caveat to avoid charging them is that they are invited to reschedule anytime that week and sometimes the week after or before (if there’s enough notice.) That means if they’re usually seen weekly and schedule the week after, they’re getting two sessions that week. 

Many of the people I know who have no cancellation policies are full. Some reserve one or two “just in case” spots where they typically work on marketing or admin stuff that clients can slip into if something big comes up. Some people think, well, I have my work hour,s and you committed to one working for you, and maybe someone else in my caseload is in that circumstance, and it’ll work out to switch, but otherwise, it’s the agreement that was made, and clients have been informed and have agreed to it. 

Underlying this is probably a sense of guilt around charging for canceled appointments. I would highly recommend checking out Tiffany McLain, who has a no-cancellation policy if you have money mindset plateaus. She’s got some great info, so check her out if you need a boost on your money mindset. 

I’ve also seen the no-cancellation policy make a few people balk because of the perception of rigidity or maybe a little guilt in up-holding boundaries. You know your practice and your beliefs best - of course if there’s an accident or illness or significant life event that happens to prevent your client from seeing you at the scheduled time, use your judgment regarding this policy. 

You can have what you want in your practice, and establishing a schedule policy is a great way to build that foundation to a stable practice. That’s the foundation of what we teach in the Abundance Party. We help people figure out what they want and how to get it, so check it out!