Policy template
A no-show policy template for salons and barbers
Put your hours and your amount in the blanks, then show the result before the client pays. The sentences match how a Slotward deposit is actually refunded. Edit them. They are not a statute, and they are not a tattoo policy.
No card to start. The hair salon preset is selected on the next step. Barber is the next choice on that screen. The trial is 7 days, then $39 a month or $390 a year.
Educational information, not legal advice.
Three outcomes, written so they can be told apart
A client who cancels before the window gets the deposit back. A client who cancels inside the window, or who does not show, does not. 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, so the deposit is kept. Those hours, and the wording, are stored on the appointment. A later edit does not rewrite a booking someone already paid for.
- Before the window: the deposit is refunded.
- Inside the window, or a missed visit: the deposit is kept.
- The shop cancels: the deposit is refunded.
Show it before the card is charged
The FTC Policy Statement on Deception treats a material omission as deceptive when it is likely to mislead a consumer acting reasonably. Whether a deposit comes back is that kind of fact: it is likely to affect the decision to pay.
FTC staff's .com Disclosures guide tells advertisers to display a required disclosure before the buying decision, close to the claim it qualifies, in plain language. A booking page should show the hour count beside the deposit, not only inside an unlabeled "terms" link. The guide is staff guidance from March 2013. It does not set a required number of hours for a salon.
The salon and barber presets both start at 24 hours. You can change that from 0 to 168 hours. A longer window keeps the deposit across more of the week before the visit. A shorter window gives the client more time to cancel and still be refunded, which is also the only automatic way the slot comes back.
Template
[Shop name] takes a deposit of [amount] to hold [service]. Cancel more than [hours] hours before the start time and the deposit is refunded. Cancel with less notice than that, or miss the appointment, and the deposit is kept. If we cancel, the deposit is refunded even inside that window. The hours and this wording are saved on the appointment when you book. A change we make later does not rewrite this visit. The deposit is a charge on our Stripe account at booking. It is not a card stored to bill you again after a missed visit.
What this template does not cover
Tattoo sessions, including a consult and a custom sitting, are on deposits for tattoo sessions. Equipment that leaves the shop is on equipment rental deposits and card holds. Do not paste this chair policy onto either of those and assume the window is the same.
Do not write "all deposits are non-refundable" if you will use Slotward as it works. A client cancellation outside the window is refunded, and a cancellation by the shop is refunded. A policy that denies those refunds would not match the charge the client just made.
Questions
Can the policy say every deposit is non-refundable?
Only if that is what will happen. Slotward refunds a client cancellation outside the saved window, and refunds the deposit when the shop cancels. Write the cases you actually refund. The FTC statement linked above treats a misleading claim about a material term as the kind of practice that can be deceptive.
How many hours should the window be?
The salon and barber presets start at 24 hours, and the field accepts 0 to 168. This page does not have a study that names a best window for a chair. Pick the notice you need in order to refill the time.
Does the client get the wording again after they pay?
They read it before they pay. After they pay they get a manage link. The window stored on that appointment is the one that applies, even if you edit the shop policy later.
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