How do refunds and cancellation fees work for paid bookings?

Cancelling a paid booking doesn't refund it automatically. Refund clients from Stripe or PayPal, and charge a cancellation or no-show fee on Stripe bookings.

Overview

TidyCal handles the booking; the money stays with your payment provider. Here is what happens in each situation:

You decide your own refund policy. Tell your clients what it is, for example in the booking type description.

Free Plan: clients can always cancel before the start time, and the cancellation controls and fee are not available.

Refunding a Paid Booking

TidyCal does not refund booking payments for you — not when you cancel, and not when your client cancels. To give money back:

1. Refund the payment from your Stripe Dashboard or your PayPal account.
2. If the booking should no longer happen, cancel it in TidyCal too: go to Bookings, open the booking and click Cancel booking. A refund in Stripe does not cancel the booking.

• The platform fee comes back automatically. When you refund a Stripe payment, TidyCal returns its 1% platform fee. A partial refund returns a matching share of it.
• Recurring and package sessions paid per session are charged shortly before each session, so upcoming sessions you cancel are never charged and there is nothing to refund for them.
• Subscription bookings: cancelling a booking made with a subscription credit returns the credit to your client.
• PayPal: if a client's PayPal payment goes through but the booking can't be created, TidyCal refunds that payment automatically.

Allow or Prevent Client Cancellations

1. Go to Booking types and open the booking type you want to edit.
2. Open the Restrictions tab.
3. Leave Allow cancellations on (the default) to let clients cancel, or turn it off to prevent self-service cancellation.
4. Click Save.

When cancellations are on, clients can cancel any time before the booking starts, using the link in their confirmation or reminder email, or from the confirmation page right after booking. When they are off, the cancel option is removed from the client's confirmation page, their booking emails and the reschedule page. You can still cancel on their behalf from the Bookings page.

Set a Cancellation or No-Show Fee

Add the fee

1. Open the booking type and go to the Restrictions tab. Make sure Allow cancellations is on.
2. Confirm the booking type has a price and collects payment through Stripe.
3. In Charge a cancellation or no-show fee of, enter the amount in the booking type's currency. Leave it at 0 for no fee.
4. Click Save.

The fee field only appears when the booking type has a price and uses Stripe. Without a price, TidyCal shows "Set a price to charge a cancellation or no-show fee." On a PayPal booking type it shows "Cancellation and no-show fees are only available for Stripe payments."

How the fee is charged

• The client's card is saved when they pay for the booking, so the fee can be charged later without them present.
• The fee is charged when your client cancels or when you mark them as a no-show. Cancelling the booking yourself never charges it.
• The same fee covers both, and a booking is charged at most once.
• Rescheduling never triggers a fee.
• If the charge fails (for example, a declined card), the cancellation still goes through.
• No TidyCal platform fee is added: the client is charged exactly the amount you set. Stripe's processing fees still apply.
• Stripe emails your client a receipt for the fee.
• Fees are not counted as part of your booking earnings.

What your client sees

• A notice in their confirmation email and next to the Cancel button on their confirmation page, for example: "A $20.00 cancellation or no-show fee applies if you cancel or don't show up."
• If they cancel from their confirmation page, the cancel dialog repeats the warning before they confirm.
• After they confirm, the booking is cancelled and the fee is charged to the card on file.

Mark a Booking as a No-Show

1. Go to Bookings and open the booking.
2. Click Mark as no-show.
3. Review the confirmation. If a fee applies, it reads "This will charge a $20.00 no-show fee to their card on file."
4. Confirm. The booking's status changes to No-show.

You can only mark a no-show after the booking has started, and a cancelled booking cannot be marked as a no-show. On team booking types, only the team owner or a team admin can mark one. To reverse it, open the booking and click Unmark no-show.

Refunding a Cancellation or No-Show Fee

Fees are not refunded automatically — including when you unmark a no-show. To return a fee, refund it from your Stripe Dashboard.

Troubleshooting

I refunded my client in Stripe, but the booking is still on my calendar

• A refund in Stripe doesn't cancel the booking. Go to Bookings, open it and click Cancel booking.

I don't see the cancellation fee field

• Open the Restrictions tab and make sure Allow cancellations is turned on.
• The booking type must have a price and collect payment through Stripe. PayPal booking types don't support the fee.
• On the Free Plan, cancellation controls are locked. They are included with Individual Lifetime, Pro and Agency Lifetime.

The fee wasn't charged

• Only paid Stripe bookings with a saved card are charged. Free bookings, PayPal bookings and $0 bookings never are.
• A fee set to 0 means no charge, and cancelling as the host never charges one.
• If the card was declined, the cancellation still completed without the fee.

A client couldn't cancel

• If your client sees "To reschedule or cancel, use the link in your confirmation email.", they opened their booking without that link, for example from a bookmark. Ask them to use the link in their confirmation or reminder email, or cancel the booking for them from the Bookings page.
• If Allow cancellations is off, the cancel option is hidden from clients. Turn it on, or cancel on their behalf from the Bookings page.
• Bookings can only be cancelled before they start.
• Still stuck? Email support@tidycal.com with the booking details.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does cancelling a paid booking refund my client?

No. Cancelling only cancels the booking. Refund the payment yourself from your Stripe Dashboard or PayPal account.

Does rescheduling trigger a cancellation fee?

No. Only a client cancellation or a no-show you mark charges the fee.

If a client cancels and I also mark them as a no-show, are they charged twice?

No. The cancellation and no-show fee is shared, and a booking is charged at most once.

Can I charge a fee on free or PayPal bookings?

No. The fee needs a paid booking type that collects payment through Stripe, because only those bookings have a saved card to charge. See How to Charge for Appointments with Paid Bookings.

Set Up Cancellations in TidyCal

➜ Open Booking types, choose a booking type and go to the Restrictions tab to set cancellations and fees. To cancel a booking or mark a no-show, open Bookings.