Barbers
A no-show policy template for barbers
This is the booked chair, not the walk-in line. Slotward only covers people who pick a time and pay a deposit. Someone standing in the shop is a line you still run yourself. Educational, not legal advice. State or local rules can differ. Check the rules that apply to your shop before you publish a deposit or no-show fee.
No card to start. The 7-day trial includes open bookings, then $39 a month or $390 a year. If it ends with no card, new bookings close until a plan is active. The barber preset is selected on the next step.
Educational information, not legal advice.
Write the three cases in the order a client will ask
Cancel before the window and the deposit is refunded. Cancel inside the window, or miss the time, and the deposit is kept. If the shop cancels, the deposit is refunded, including inside the window. The cutoff is the start time minus the hours you save. A cancellation at the exact opening of the window counts as inside it. That window is stored on the appointment, so a later edit does not rewrite a haircut someone already booked.
The barber preset starts a haircut at a $15 deposit on a $35 price, 45 minutes, and a beard trim at a $10 deposit on a $25 price, 30 minutes. Cut and beard starts at 30% of a $55 price, 60 minutes. The window starts at 24 hours, Monday through Saturday, 9:00 to 6:00. Those are starting values, not a claim about what a shop down the street charges.
- Before the window: the deposit is refunded.
- Inside the window, or a missed chair: the deposit is kept.
- The shop cancels: the deposit is refunded.
- A walk-in is not this booking and is not this deposit.
Put it on the booking page, not only on the mirror
The FTC Policy Statement on Deception lists misleading price claims among practices that can be deceptive when they would matter to a reasonable consumer. FTC staff's .com Disclosures guide says to show a required disclosure before the buying decision. A paper sign at the chair does not replace the sentence next to the deposit on the booking page. The salon-and-barber template is the longer combined version. This one is only the booked chair.
The deposit checkout is created on the shop's connected Stripe account. The call does not set an application fee. The line item is the deposit. Slotward takes $0 of it. Stripe's own processing fee is between the shop and Stripe. That is separate from Slotward's $39 a month or $390 a year subscription.
Template
[Shop] takes a deposit of [amount] to hold a booked [haircut, beard, or cut and beard]. This policy does not cover walk-ins. Cancel more than [hours] hours before the start and the deposit is refunded. Cancel with less notice, or miss the time, and the deposit is kept. If we cancel, the deposit is refunded. The hours and this wording are saved on the appointment when you book. The deposit is a charge on our Stripe account. It is not a card stored to bill you again after a missed visit. Educational, not legal advice.
Questions
Does this replace the walk-in line?
No. Only a client who picks a time and pays the deposit is on this book. The walk-in line stays outside Slotward.
Can two barbers share the chair on one login?
This version is one shop and one weekly schedule. It does not split the book by barber. A second barber needs a second shop.
Can I say every deposit is non-refundable?
Only if that is what will happen. A client cancel outside the window is refunded, and a shop cancel is refunded. A policy that denies those refunds would not match the charge. The FTC statement linked above is why the wording should match the refund.
Sources
Stripe, the Code of Federal Regulations, and the Federal Register page were read on November 9, 2026. The journal articles are cited by their publication. Pages change. Recheck a live source before you rely on it.
Montgomery Appworks LLC · 9905 S Pennsylvania Ave Ste A, Oklahoma City, OK 73159