No-shows are the worst. They’re a drain on your time and your bottom line. So to ensure that you have as few missed appointments as possible, use our No-Show Protection with Square Appointments.
When you log in to Square Appointments, you now have the option to require clients to enter their credit card information when they book. You can also elect to apply a fee if someone misses the appointment or cancels at the last minute. Businesses using Square Appointments have found that merely instituting a policy reduces no-shows. The simple act of entering card information is often enough to keep customers from missing their appointment.
To set up No-Show Protection, head to the Settings tab on your Appointments dashboard and select Payments & Cancellations from the sidebar menu on the left. From there, enter your custom cancellation message to describe your policy in plain terms.
You also have the option to send friendly reminders for customers of upcoming appointments and notify them of changes automatically via email or text. Forget calling your customers to remind them about appointments. We’ve automated the whole process so you save time and your customers show up. To set up your reminder preferences, head to the Settings tab on your Appointments dashboard and select Communications from the sidebar menu on the left. From there, choose the amount of time before the beginning of an appointment to send your clients an appointment reminder.
With Square Appointments, your customers can give you permission to store their credit card on file and make their checkout experience even more seamless. This also lets you apply a fee to late cancellations or no shows. Payments is integrated into the Square Appointment app, so you can manage everything from one place.
To enable No-Show Protection online:
1) Visit the Settings tab of your Appointments dashboard > click Payments & Cancellations.
2) Select Booking with No-Show Protection.
3) Set a flat cancellation fee per appointments, or enable to for individual services. Note: When No-Show Protection is enabled for individual services, the cancellation fee will default to 50% of the total service charge for services created in-app, $0 for services created online. To update, head to your Services tab to add the cancellation fee amount.
4) Click Save.
Note: There a $650 limit if you set your cancellation fee per appointment.
To enable No-Show Protection from the Square Appointments app:
1) Tap the three horizontal lines pull up your navigation bar.
2) Tap Settings > Online Booking > Online Payments.
3) Tap Hold Card for No-Show Protection.
If you enable No-Show Protection from the Square Appointments app before setting a cancellation policy using the steps above, the following default settings will be applied:
Cut-off Time: 24 hours prior to the start of the appointment.
Cancellation Fee: 50% of the total service price for services created in-app, $0 for services created online.
To update, head to your Services tab. You can change your cut-off time settings from the Calendar & Booking section of your Square Appointments dashboard. To make changes to the cancellation fee, head to the Payments & Cancellations section. At this point, customers will need to enter payment details in order to complete booking their appointment. Their billing information will be held solely for No-Show Protection and will not be saved for payment or future bookings.
Things always happen — people get sick, cancelled flights. That’s why you’ll always have control over when your fee is applied. Plus, you’ll have up till two weeks (14 calendar days) after the appointment to decide if and when you want to apply a late fee.
Start optimizing your time and eliminating missed appointments today!
Get Started with Square Appointments.
Scheduling software that brings in more business.
Related Articles
4 Sure Fire Ways To Reduce No Show Appointments
Appointment Reminders Are A Great Way to Advance Your Business
How to Optimize Salon Scheduling