Last-minute cancellations can lead to delicate conversations with clients about fees and expectations. Setting a clear cancellation policy in SimplePractice helps you define how cancellations are handled before these situations arise.
- Setting a cancellation policy in your account
- Understanding what the cancellation window means
- Allowing cancellations via text and voice reminders
- What if I don’t want to charge my client for a late cancellation?
Setting a cancellation policy in your account
To set up your cancellation policy:
- Navigate to Settings > Scheduling and inquiries > Calendar
- Under Cancellation policy, use the dropdown menu to select your preferred cancellation window
- Click Save changes
The available cancellation options are:
- Require a phone call to cancel
- At least 24 hours
- At least 48 hours
- At least 72 hours
Note: Allowing cancellations means clients can cancel upcoming appointments within the selected time frame through their Client Portal or via a text reminder, if these features are enabled. Canceling an appointment within the allowed window removes any financial responsibility for the appointment.
Understanding what the cancellation window means
Any appointment canceled outside of your approved cancellation window will be updated to the Late Canceled status. This appears as a red appointment on your calendar and holds the client financially responsible for the appointment fee, which appears as a balance due after an invoice is created.
If a client cancels within your approved cancellation window, the appointment is marked as Canceled, appears orange on your calendar, and the client isn’t billed for the appointment fee.
Tip: To learn more about appointment statuses and how to make adjustments, see Changing an appointment's status.
Allowing cancellations via text and voice reminders
To allow clients to cancel appointments through the Client Portal, text reminders, or voice reminders, select a cancellation policy that allows cancellations within a set time frame.
When you choose a 24-, 48-, or 72-hour cancellation window, clients can cancel their appointments directly within that time frame.
Clients can cancel from their Client Portal if online appointment requests are enabled. They can also cancel through text and voice reminders, if enabled.
Once the approved cancellation window has passed, clients can no longer cancel without contacting you directly. In these cases, you’ll need to manually update the appointment status from the calendar flyout.
If your policy is set to Require a phone call to cancel, clients must call to cancel their appointment. Cancellation options through the Client Portal, text reminders, and voice reminders won’t be available.
What if I don’t want to charge my client for a late cancellation?
If an appointment is canceled outside your cancellation window, you can still choose to waive the fee. Appointments marked as Late Canceled are invoiced by default, but you can change the status to Canceled so the client isn’t charged.
To do this:
- Navigate to the client’s profile and click the Billing tab
- If an invoice already exists for the appointment, delete the associated invoice
- Navigate to the Calendar and click the appointment to open the appointment flyout
- In the top left corner, click the Status dropdown and select Canceled (No Show and Late Canceled still charge the full fee and should only be used if you plan to charge the client)
- The session won’t need to be invoiced, but the appointment record will remain
Tip: To learn more about appointment statuses and how to update them, see Changing an appointment's status.