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Cancellation Policy Template

A cancellation and no-show policy for tutoring businesses, in 24-hour and 48-hour versions, with charging rules your scheduling software can actually enforce.

5 min read·Updated August 6, 2026

Every tutoring business ends up with a cancellation policy. The only question is whether you write it calmly in advance or improvise it one apologetic text at a time, while a tutor sits in an empty meeting room you are still paying for.

A written policy does two jobs. It sets the rules: how much notice a family owes you, what a late cancellation costs, what happens when a student simply does not show. And it gives you a script, so that charging for a no-show is "applying the policy we both signed" instead of a personal confrontation you will avoid until it costs you a tutor.

Choosing Between 24 and 48 Hours

The template ships both versions; keep one and delete the other. A 24-hour window is the easier sell to families and works fine if your tutors have flexible schedules or your slots refill quickly. A 48-hour window gives you a realistic chance to move another student into the vacated time, which matters more as your calendar fills up.

The honest tiebreaker: pick the window you will actually enforce. A 48-hour policy you waive every time is worth less than a 24-hour policy applied consistently, because families learn from what you do, not what the document says. Whichever you pick, set the same number in your scheduling software so the system delivers the news instead of you.

cancellation-policy-template.txt
Download .txt
CANCELLATION AND NO-SHOW POLICY

[Company name]
Effective date: ___________

This template includes a 24-hour and a 48-hour version of the notice
rule. Keep one, delete the other, and make sure the number you keep
matches your contract and your scheduling software's settings.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. NOTICE WINDOW

Version A (24 hours):
Sessions may be cancelled or rescheduled without charge up to 24 hours
before the scheduled start time.

Version B (48 hours):
Sessions may be cancelled or rescheduled without charge up to 48 hours
before the scheduled start time.


2. HOW TO CANCEL OR RESCHEDULE

Cancel or reschedule through [the parent portal / email to __________ /
phone at __________]. A cancellation counts from the time we receive it,
not the time you decided. Telling the tutor in person or by text does not
cancel a session unless your tutor confirms it in the system.


3. LATE CANCELLATIONS

A cancellation inside the notice window is a late cancellation. Late
cancellations are charged in full: the session's fee is due, or one
session's hours are deducted from your prepaid package. Your tutor is
paid for the reserved time either way, which is why the charge applies.


4. STUDENT NO-SHOWS

If a student does not join or arrive within __________ minutes of the
start time, the session is recorded as a no-show and charged in full,
the same as a late cancellation. The tutor will wait and remain available
for the full booked time.


5. TUTOR CANCELLATIONS AND NO-SHOWS

If we cancel a session, or a tutor fails to attend, you are not charged.
No hours are deducted from your package, and we will offer a make-up
session at the earliest time that works for you. This applies regardless
of notice.


6. MAKE-UP SESSIONS

Late-cancelled and no-show sessions are not entitled to a make-up.
Sessions cancelled with proper notice do not need one: the hour simply
stays in your package or goes unbilled.

At our discretion, we may offer a courtesy make-up for a first late
cancellation or a documented emergency. Courtesy make-ups must be
scheduled within __________ days and do not carry over.


7. ILLNESS AND EMERGENCIES

If a student is ill or a genuine emergency comes up, contact us as early
as you can. We will waive the late-cancellation charge for
[the first __________ occurrence(s) per term / documented emergencies],
at our discretion. Repeated same-day illness cancellations may be treated
as late cancellations.


8. RECURRING LATENESS AND REPEATED NO-SHOWS

Sessions start and end at the scheduled time; a late arrival shortens the
session rather than extending it. After __________ no-shows or late
cancellations in __________ weeks, we may ask to move your standing slot
or require prepayment before booking further sessions.


9. WHERE THIS POLICY LIVES

This policy is part of your service agreement. We may update it with
__________ days' written notice; the version in effect on the session
date applies.

Questions: __________ [email / phone]

Written to Match What Software Can Enforce

The charging rules in Sections 3 through 5 are shaped the way they are because they map to what scheduling systems can do automatically, without anyone keeping a grudge ledger.

In Gigpie, reporting a student no-show or late cancellation deducts the session from the family's prepaid hours and still pays the tutor for the reserved time. Reporting a tutor no-show reverses both: the family keeps the hour and the tutor forfeits the pay. That is exactly the deal Sections 3, 4, and 5 describe, which means the policy is not a promise you have to remember to keep. The software keeps it.

The same goes for prevention. Gigpie emails session reminders 28 hours and 1 hour before each session by default, which handles most of the "we completely forgot" category before it ever becomes a charge conversation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I really charge for a family's first late cancellation?

The policy states the rule; you decide the grace. Section 6 builds in room for a courtesy make-up on a first offense, which lets you be generous without being vague. The order matters: waiving a stated charge reads as a gift, while inventing a charge that was never stated reads as a betrayal. Write the strict version, then waive deliberately.

Why does the tutor still get paid when a student no-shows?

Because the tutor's hour was spent either way. They reserved the time, turned down other work, and showed up prepared. If tutors eat the cost of no-shows, your most reliable people quietly absorb the behavior of your least reliable families until they leave. Paying for reserved time is also how Gigpie records a student no-show by default, so the policy and the payroll agree.

How do I introduce this policy to existing families?

Written notice with a clear effective date, a few weeks out. Section 9 of the template anticipates updates with notice, so if you already have some version of a policy this is an amendment, not a new demand. Most families accept a fair rule announced in advance; what they resent is a rule discovered on an invoice.

What about genuine emergencies and sick kids?

Section 7 carves them out at your discretion, and discretion is the point. A policy that charges a family for a stomach flu at 6am reads as heartless; a policy with no illness rule at all turns every Tuesday conflict into a sudden fever. Naming a limited number of waived occurrences per term keeps compassion from becoming a loophole.

Do make-up sessions need an expiration date?

Yes. Open-ended make-up debt compounds: after a year you can owe dozens of unscheduled hours that all want the same after-school slots. The template requires courtesy make-ups to be scheduled within a set number of days, which keeps the gesture generous and the calendar solvent.

Stop being the enforcement mechanism

In Gigpie, a reported no-show deducts the hour and still pays your tutor, exactly what this policy promises. Reminders go out 28 hours and 1 hour before every session.

See how scheduling works

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