> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.bellabooking.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Booking Policy Strategy > How to think about your cancellation, deposit, approval, confirmation, and reminder policies - with recommended setups by business profile, plus advanced configurations and worked examples. ## Why this guide exists Bella ships with a [Booking policies reference page](https://docs.bellabooking.com/appointments/booking-policies) that explains what every setting does. This page is different - it covers **how to think about your policies as a whole** and recommends starting setups for different kinds of businesses. Use this guide first to pick the right shape for your business, then use the reference page to configure each setting. Most people only need the first half; the [advanced section](#advanced-configurations--use-cases) below the fold is there when you want to fine-tune. If you'd rather have a conversation, open **Ask Bella AI** from the sidebar - it can walk you through the same decisions interactively. *** ## What policies actually do Five settings interact to protect your time and revenue: | Setting | What it does | | - | - | | **Cancellation policy** | Sets the cutoff before which clients can cancel for free, and the fee after. | | **Deposit policy** | Collects payment up front so clients have something at stake. | | **Require approval** | Gives you the chance to review online bookings before confirming them. | | **Confirmation window** | For appointments you create yourself - requires the client to acknowledge they're coming. | | **Reminders** | Automated SMS or email nudges before the appointment. | Each one targets a different failure mode. Reminders catch forgetfulness. Deposits create commitment. Requiring approval catches suspicious or oversized bookings. Cancellation fees recoup lost time. Confirmations weed out clients who silently lost interest. *** ## Pick a starting archetype Most businesses fit into one of these patterns. Pick the closest one in **Settings → Booking policies** - you can fine-tune any individual field after. ![Booking policy template picker showing Lenient, Standard, Protective, and New archetype cards with a Custom option](https://mintcdn.com/bellabooking/Gru2P4fJVx1IGymG/images/booking-policy-templates.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=Gru2P4fJVx1IGymG\&q=85\&s=67ce663e6597dab5db28ab3e3a2f8d1e) The template picker in Settings → Booking policies. Pick an archetype, review the changes, then adjust any field. ### Lenient For businesses with a loyal, regular clientele and a low no-show history. * Cancellation: 24 hours, no fee * Deposits: none * Approval: Auto-confirm * Confirmation window: off * Reminders: SMS at 24 hours * Booking horizon: 60 days ### Standard (recommended default) Mixed clientele, occasional no-shows, no extreme cases either way. * Cancellation: 24 hours, 50% fee * Deposits: none * Approval: Auto-confirm * Confirmation window: 12 hours (for appointments you create) * Reminders: SMS at 24 hours + 2 hours * Booking horizon: 60 days ### Protective For high-prep services (colour, balayage, extensions, lashes, med-spa, clinical) where no-shows cost you significant time. The in-app **Protective** template turns on **require approval**. If you'd rather gate bookings with a deposit instead, see the two variants below - both are "Protective" in spirit, they just use different gates. * Cancellation: 48 hours, 50% fee * Confirmation window: 24 hours (for appointments you create) * Reminders: SMS at 24 hours + 2 hours, with confirmation link * Booking horizon: 30 days **Deposit-led** (requires Stripe Connect): * Deposits: 50% upfront * Approval: Auto-confirm - the deposit gates the bookings. Require approval only if you also offer free or zero-deposit services. **Approval-led** (the in-app Protective default - for businesses not taking deposits yet): * Deposits: none * Approval: Require approval - every online booking comes to you for review ### New / Building volume For brand-new businesses getting their first clients. Friction is the enemy. * Cancellation: 12 hours, no fee * Deposits: none * Approval: Auto-confirm * Confirmation window: off * Reminders: SMS at 24 hours * Booking horizon: 90 days *** ## How deposits and approvals work together This is the section most owners get confused about, so it's worth being precise. **Deposits and requiring approval cover different bookings.** They are NOT alternatives. * When a deposit IS required for a booking → the client pays at booking → payment auto-confirms the appointment. Approval doesn't apply. * When a card on file must be CAPTURED for a booking (your policy requires a saved card and the client doesn't have one yet) → saving the card is what confirms it. There is no appointment until then, whether your **Card on file** policy or a service or membership asks for the card: the time is held for 30 minutes while the client saves a card, and saving it creates the booking, already confirmed ([When a card on file is required](https://docs.bellabooking.com/sales/payments.md#when-a-card-on-file-is-required)). A booking carrying products you take full payment for at booking is created first instead and confirms as soon as the card is saved. Approval doesn't apply either way - unless the client already has a saved card, in which case there's nothing to capture and approval (if on) still gates the booking. * When no payment step applies to a booking → if approval is on, the booking goes to your queue. If approval is off, the booking auto-confirms immediately. Both can sensibly be on at the same time. Common reasons: * You take deposits for paid services AND offer free consultations - the deposit gates the paid bookings, approval gates the consultations. * You override the deposit to zero on specific services (loyalty perks, complimentary touch-ups) - approval gates those. * A gift card fully covers the deposit on a booking, and Collect at booking is not taking a fee - approval gates it because no payment was taken. * You haven't fully connected Stripe yet - deposits aren't taken until it is, so approval is the only active gate. Each of those online bookings shows **No deposit taken** ([Payment policy](https://docs.bellabooking.com/sales/payments.md#payment-policy)). > [!NOTE] > > **The rule in code:** `auto-confirm = (no deposit needed) AND (no card capture needed) AND (no approval required)`. Any gate alone holds the booking. **Scope:** the approval setting on the Booking policies page is your location default, and it can be **overridden per service** - like every other booking policy - from the service's Booking policies tab. So you can require approval for one service (a complex correction, a new-client consult) while others auto-confirm. There is no per-team-member approval toggle. This is separate from payment: a deposit or card capture confirms a booking on payment regardless of the approval setting (that's payment behaviour, covered above), so paid bookings never wait for your approval. **When to drop one of them:** * If every service you offer requires a deposit, approval becomes redundant - the deposit gates everything. Turn approval off in that case. * If you have any service that doesn't take a deposit (free consults, complimentary services, gift-card-covered bookings), keep approval on if you want to gate those. *** ## Online payments - the foundation Connecting Stripe (online payments) is the single biggest unlock. Without it, several settings silently have no effect: | Without Stripe | With Stripe | | - | - | | Deposit setting silently has no effect | Deposit charged at booking, auto-confirms appointment | | Clients are told your late cancellation or no-show fee, but Bella can't collect it | The fee comes out of the deposit automatically when a client cancels online late; you charge what the deposit doesn't cover, or the whole fee on Card on file, to the saved card in one click from the Scheduler | | You re-enter the card every time at checkout | Card-on-file → checkout, rebooking, and fee charges all skip the card-entry step | | Requiring approval is your only gate | Deposit + approval cover both paths | If you're seeing no-shows or late cancellations and aren't on Stripe yet, that's your single highest-impact change. [Connect Stripe →](https://docs.bellabooking.com/sales/payments.md) The full cascade: 1. Connect online payments - unlocks deposits, refunds, card-on-file 2. Enable deposits on relevant services - reduces no-shows 3. Save cards on file at checkout - speeds up future checkout, rebooking from the dashboard, and charging a late cancellation or no-show fee Each rung pays for itself before you climb to the next. > [!NOTE] > > **Card-on-file scope:** a saved card speeds up your checkout and rebooking, and lets your team charge a late cancellation or no-show fee. Online, a deposit is still paid at each booking; if your policy is **Card on file**, a client who already has a card saved at that location skips the card step. *** ## Cancellation policy - windows and fees Two settings, and a third if you take deposits: the **cancellation window** (the notice period before the cutoff), the **late cancellation or no-show fee** (a share of the service price or a fixed amount, the same for a late cancellation and a no-show) and the **deposit rule** (what a late cancellation or no-show leaves of the deposit). **Choosing the window:** * **24 hours** is the universal default - what most businesses use, what clients expect. * **12 hours** if your services are quick and your booking flow is high-velocity. * **48 or 72 hours** for high-prep services where same-day cancellation costs you significant time. **Choosing the fee:** * **50%** of the service price is the standard. * **25%** is more lenient but gives weaker incentive. * **100%** charges the full service price. It maximises revenue protection but can damage relationships if applied without flexibility. * A **fixed amount** suits a flat charge, whatever the booking is worth. **Choosing the deposit rule:** * **Refund the deposit, less the fee** keeps only the fee and gives the rest back. * **Keep the whole deposit** suits a business whose deposit is the penalty: a late cancellation or no-show keeps all of it, whatever its size. Set the fee to **None** if the deposit is all you charge. > [!TIP] > > When you cancel from the Scheduler, you can override the calculated refund. Use the policy as the default, but be flexible on genuine exceptions - illness, emergencies. The policy protects against pattern, not against people having bad weeks. **The fee is collected from what you hold.** The deposit pays it first. What the deposit doesn't cover, or the whole fee when there's no deposit, can be charged to a card the client saved, when you cancel the appointment or mark the no-show, or later with **Charge fee**. Without a deposit or a saved card, clients still see the fee (you can refuse to rebook, or charge at the next visit) but there's nothing for Bella to collect - so requiring a deposit or a card on file is what makes the fee enforceable. Preview what a late cancellation takes and gives back with **Preview cancellation scenarios** on the Booking policies page. [Configure cancellation policy →](https://docs.bellabooking.com/appointments/booking-policies#cancellation-policy) *** ## Require approval - when manual review pays off When approval is on, online bookings arrive for your review rather than auto-confirming. **When it's worth the work:** * Specialised services where you need to verify the client (advanced colour corrections, technical services, packages) * Free consultations or complimentary services where deposit gating doesn't apply * Businesses that haven't connected Stripe yet * High-value services where 5 minutes of review prevents a much bigger problem * Solo businesses where you want to know about every booking personally **When it isn't:** * Every service requires a deposit - the deposit gates everything, approval is redundant * High booking volume where reviewing each one creates a queue you can't keep up with > [!WARNING] > > A pending booking is a frustrated client. If you turn approval on, commit to reviewing the queue at least daily. If you can't, turn approval off and rely on deposits. [Set up require approval →](https://docs.bellabooking.com/appointments/booking-policies#require-approval-for-online-bookings) *** ## Confirmation window - for appointments you create The confirmation window only applies to appointments you create yourself in the Scheduler - **not** to online bookings. Online bookings auto-confirm on booking (or on deposit payment); someone who books online has already confirmed by booking. An appointment you create on their behalf hasn't. **When to enable:** * You frequently create appointments on behalf of clients (phone bookings, rebooking a client at the desk) * You want a low-friction filter for likely no-shows - un-confirmed appointments are an early warning * Clients should re-acknowledge appointments scheduled far in advance Skip it if your bookings are mostly online - those don't need a confirmation step. [Configure confirmation window →](https://docs.bellabooking.com/appointments/booking-policies#client-confirmation) *** ## Reminders - the highest-ROI policy Reminders cost almost nothing and don't add booking friction. Paired with a deposit, they cover both the clients who forget and the clients who change their plans. **Recommended cadence:** * **24 hours before** - gives the client time to reschedule before the cancellation cutoff * **2 hours before** - catches the same-day forgetters **SMS or email?** Both if budget allows - SMS is more reliable (95%+ open rates), email is free but easier to miss. Pragmatic split: SMS for the closer reminder (2 hours), email for the further-out one (24 hours). > [!TIP] > > Add a confirmation link in the 24-hour reminder. Even if your confirmation window is off, the link gives signal AND lets the client commit again with one tap. [Configure reminders →](https://docs.bellabooking.com/messages/automated-messages.md) *** ## Recommended setups by business profile Concrete starting configurations. ### New solo practitioner (first 6 months) * Cancellation: 12 h, no fee * Deposits: none * Approval: Auto-confirm * Confirmation window: off * Reminders: SMS at 24 h * Booking horizon: 90 days * Goal: friction-free booking while you build a base ### Established hair or beauty business, 1 to 3 providers * Cancellation: 24 h, 50% fee * Deposits: optional - start without; add 25 to 50% if no-shows climb above 10% * Approval: Auto-confirm * Confirmation window: 12 h (appointments you create) * Reminders: SMS at 24 h + 2 h * Booking horizon: 60 days ### High-end specialist (balayage, extensions, lashes, med-spa, clinic) * Cancellation: 48 h, 50% fee * Deposits: 50% upfront, mandatory * Approval: Auto-confirm for paid services; Require approval if you also offer free consultations * Confirmation window: 24 h (appointments you create) * Reminders: SMS at 24 h + 2 h with confirmation link * Booking horizon: 30 days ### Mobile / freelance practitioner * Cancellation: 24 h, 50% fee * Deposits: 50% upfront * Approval: Require approval (verify location and accessibility before confirming) * Confirmation window: 24 h * Reminders: SMS at 24 h + 2 h * Booking horizon: 60 days ### Multi-location business * Defaults at location level; per-service overrides for premium services * Cancellation: 24 h standard, 48 h on premium services * Deposits: 25% standard, 50% on premium * Approval: Auto-confirm * Reminders: SMS at 24 h + 2 h *** ## Advanced configurations & use cases The setups above cover most businesses. This section is for fine-tuning - per-service overrides, worked money examples, the settings the archetypes don't mention, and playbooks for specific situations. ### Per-service overrides - your most powerful lever Every policy on the Booking policies page is a **location default that any service can override**. This is how you run different rules for different services without making the whole booking experience stricter than it needs to be. The 2026 best practice across the industry is **selective (hybrid) deposits**: apply deposits to the bookings that actually carry no-show risk, and keep everything else frictionless. * **By service value/prep:** 50% deposit on colour, extensions, and lash sets; no deposit on a A\$25 fringe trim or a brow tidy. * **By risk:** a longer cancellation window and a deposit on your highest-prep services; lenient defaults everywhere else. * **Free consultations:** zero deposit + approval on the consult; deposit on the service that follows. > [!NOTE] > > **Multi-service bookings resolve to the most restrictive policy.** Minimum notice takes the longest period; cancellation takes the longest window, and its fee is each service's own fee added up; a deposit on any one service applies to the booking. See the [reference page](https://docs.bellabooking.com/appointments/booking-policies) for the exact resolution rules per setting. ### Worked money examples (Australia) Stripe's domestic rate in Australia is \*\*1.65% + A$0.30**, plus Bella's **1%** platform fee. Here's how a A$200 service with a 50% deposit plays out: | Moment | What happens | You receive | | - | - | - | | Deposit at booking | A$100 collected; fees A$2.95 (A$1.95 Stripe + A$1.00 Bella) | **A\$97.05** | | Client cancels in time | Full A\$100 refunded | A\$0 retained | | Client cancels late (fee of 25% of the service price) | A$50 fee from the deposit, A$50 refunded | **A\$50 retained** | | Client no-shows (fee of 100% of the service price, if set) | A$200 fee: the A$100 deposit, and the other A\$100 charged to the client's saved card if they have one | **A\$100 retained**, plus the card charge | | Client cancels late or no-shows, with **Keep the whole deposit** | Full deposit retained | **A\$100 retained** | Bella never adds a processing fee to the client's payment, so these fees are part of your costs. To recover costs, add an [appointment fee](https://docs.bellabooking.com/appointments/booking-policies#appointment-fee): one fixed fee per appointment, charged the same however the client pays. > [!TIP] > > On small deposits the fixed A$0.30 stings proportionally (a A$20 deposit nets A\$19.17 - over 4% in fees). Set a sensible minimum deposit. Use the **Fee calculator** on the Payments & deposits card to see the exact split for any amount. ### Use-case playbooks > [accordion] Free consultation, then a paid service > > Set the consultation service to **no deposit** with **approval on** so you can vet the request. Set the follow-up service (the colour, the treatment) to require a deposit. The deposit gates the paid work; approval gates the free consult. Both run side by side. > > To stop clients booking the paid treatment online until they have had (or at least booked) the consult, also set a **[Prerequisite service](https://docs.bellabooking.com/service-catalog/prerequisites.md)** on the treatment - **Completed** when the consult must be marked done, **Booked** when booking both together is enough. > [accordion] VIP / loyalty exemptions > > Override the deposit to **zero** on a "VIP" service variant, or simply book trusted regulars yourself from the Scheduler and flip **Waive deposit - auto-confirm now** on the appointment form. Your deposit policy applies to team-created bookings too, but the create form lets you waive it - or type a smaller amount - for that one booking (see [adjusting the deposit on one appointment](https://docs.bellabooking.com/sales/payments.md#adjusting-the-deposit-on-one-appointment)). Keep approval on if you want those zero-deposit bookings to still pass through your queue. > [accordion] Gift-card-covered bookings > > When a gift card fully covers the deposit and Collect at booking is not taking a fee, no card payment is taken - so the booking won't auto-confirm on payment. Keep **approval on** if you want to gate these, or let them auto-confirm if you trust gift-card holders. > [accordion] Group, event, or bridal bookings > > Use a longer **booking horizon** (up to 365 days), a **48 h+ cancellation window**, and a larger deposit on the relevant service. Because these are per-service, your everyday bookings stay on the lighter default. > [accordion] Walk-in / express services > > **0-minute minimum notice** so same-day slots are bookable, **no deposit**, **show all time slots**, and **waitlist on** to capture overflow. Friction is the enemy for impulse bookings. > [accordion] Seasonal peaks (festive, wedding season) > > Tighten during peak - add or raise deposits and lengthen the cancellation window on in-demand services - then relax afterwards. Per-service overrides make this a few edits rather than a policy overhaul. ### Tuning the settings the archetypes don't mention | Setting | When to change it | | - | - | | **Minimum notice** | If approval is on, set notice to **≥ 1 hour** so you have time to approve before the slot. Raise it for services that need prep or travel. | | **Booking horizon** | Long horizons (90 days+) raise no-show risk - pair them with a deposit or cancellation policy. Shorten if your availability changes often. | | **Schedule optimisation** | Switch to **Reduce gaps** (or **Eliminate gaps** for high demand) to stop online bookings leaving short, unfillable holes in your day. | | **Appointments per day** | Cap the day when the problem is volume rather than gaps. Schedule optimisation shapes *where* bookings land; this decides *how many* you take. Set it to the number you finish a day feeling good about, and pair it with the waitlist so a capped day still captures demand. It governs online booking only - you can add to a full day from the Scheduler. | | **Waitlist** | Turn on for services where demand regularly exceeds supply - it captures bookings you'd otherwise lose when you're full. | | **Hide prices** | For consultation-based or "from" pricing. Deposits are still shown so clients know what they're paying up front. | | **Appointment fee** | To recover your costs: one fixed, named fee on every appointment with a service, charged the same however the client pays. | | **Auto-cancel unpaid deposits** | Belongs to **Book now, pay within a window**: under **Pay to book** a booking clients make on your booking page never reaches your calendar unpaid, so the window has nothing to release there and its control is hidden. The one booking it still releases under Pay to book is one taken through your own website with an API key, which has no payment page to be held on and so is created first. Release the time if the deposit isn't paid within the window you set (counted from when the booking was **made**, not back from the appointment; resending the deposit request starts it again). Applies only to bookings clients make themselves online, and only to those made after you switch it on; imported bookings and the bookings already on your calendar are never touched. With Stripe, 30 minutes releases an abandoned checkout the moment its payment page expires (with Square, the 15-minute check does the releasing); \~2 hours suits a business whose clients pay from the email. Off by default. | | **When a team member books** | The same time limit for appointments your team creates, set on its own: a client you booked in often needs longer than one holding a slot online, so 1 day suits most. Shown when the deposit applies to all bookings. Counted from when the appointment was created (resending the deposit request starts it again), and only for appointments booked after you turn it on. To give one client longer, set their **Time to pay** when you book or use **Extend time to pay** later. Off by default. | ### Diagnose by symptom | You're seeing… | Change this | | - | - | | No-shows despite reminders | Add deposits - selectively on the riskiest services if you don't want them everywhere | | Late cancellations | Lengthen the cancellation window and/or raise the fee; require a deposit or a card on file so the fee can actually be collected | | A pending queue you can't keep up with | Turn approval off and rely on deposits | | A gappy, inefficient calendar | Set schedule optimisation to Reduce or Eliminate gaps | | Days so full you're rushing or running late | Set a maximum appointments per day, and turn on the waitlist | | Lost bookings when you're fully booked | Enable the waitlist | | Price-shopping or variable pricing | Hide prices and set a "From" prefix | | Unpaid-deposit bookings holding prime times | Set auto-cancel to 30 minutes or \~2 hours | | Fees eating into small deposits | Set a higher minimum deposit, or add an appointment fee | ### Built-in tools * **Availability** - Settings → Booking policies. This block always shows how many times clients can book over the next 7 days and the next 14 days under your saved policies, worked out against your real calendar. Change the time slot interval, schedule gaps, minimum notice or booking window and each window shows what its figure would become - so you can test a policy change against your own numbers before you save it, not after. The fortnight matters: when you're full for the coming week, it's the number that tells you whether clients can still book you at all. * **Preview cancellation scenarios** - Settings → Booking policies, under the cancellation rows. Shows the fee, what comes from the deposit, what is refunded and what is not collected, for any example service price. * **Fee calculator** - on the Payments & deposits card. Shows the exact Stripe + Bella split for any amount. * **Booking-page readiness** - when you share your booking page, Bella flags policy gaps (e.g. "deposit required but Stripe not connected", "long booking window with no cancellation policy") so you can fix them before going live. * **Ask Bella AI** - from the sidebar, to talk any of these decisions through against your own data. *** ## Revisit your policies Every 3 to 6 months, or whenever your no-show rate changes meaningfully. The dashboard digest surfaces signal-driven recommendations as your data accumulates - when one appears, ask Bella AI to talk through the specific change. *** ## See also * [Reduce No-Shows guide](https://bellabooking.com/guides/reduce-no-shows) - focused strategies on no-show prevention * [Online booking Setup guide](https://bellabooking.com/guides/online-booking-setup) - broader setup walkthrough * [Booking policies reference](https://docs.bellabooking.com/appointments/booking-policies) - what every setting does * [Payments settings](https://docs.bellabooking.com/sales/payments.md) - connect Stripe Connect * [Automated messages settings](https://docs.bellabooking.com/messages/automated-messages.md) - configure reminders This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.