Your cancellation policy is the most important piece of customer-facing legal-ish copy you'll write. Make it clear, make it fair, and make it visible at checkout, and you'll lose fewer chargeback disputes.
The bracket editor
Find it at Settings → Policies → Cancellation.
A policy is a set of time-based brackets. Each bracket says: "If the guest cancels X hours/days before the experience, refund Y percent." You can have as many brackets as you want. Most venues use 2–3.
A common starter policy for public classes:
| Cancel by | Refund |
|---|---|
| More than 7 days out | 100% |
| 2–7 days out | 50% credit (no cash refund) |
| Less than 48 hours | 0% |
For private events, the math typically pulls in tighter:
| Cancel by | Refund |
|---|---|
| More than 14 days out | Full deposit refunded |
| Less than 14 days | Deposit forfeited |
You set these brackets once at the venue level. Individual experiences can override the default if needed.
How it appears to the guest
At checkout, before the guest pays, we show a plain-English summary:
Cancellation policy: Full refund if you cancel more than 7 days before your booking. 50% credit if you cancel 2–7 days before. No refund less than 48 hours before.
They have to acknowledge it (click a checkbox) before they can complete payment. The acknowledgment is timestamped and stored with the booking.
No-show handling
For card-on-file bookings, the no-show fee runs automatically. Configure it at Settings → Policies → No-show:
- Charge amount. Flat or percentage of the experience price.
- Mark as no-show after. Typically 15 minutes after start time.
The run sheet has a "Mark no-show" button next to each guest. When you click it, the fee is charged via the card on file. We send the guest a notification email explaining the charge with a link to your policy.
For full prepayment bookings, no-shows don't generate a charge. The guest has already paid. You just mark them as no-show for your own records.
For deposit + balance bookings, the deposit is forfeit by default. The balance isn't charged because the guest didn't show up to authorize it.
What happens during a dispute
If a guest disputes a no-show charge through their bank, Square will ask for documentation. From the booking detail page you can download a one-click dispute packet that includes:
- The booking confirmation
- The cancellation policy the guest acknowledged at checkout
- The timestamped acknowledgment
- Any communication between you and the guest
- The no-show timestamp and staff member who marked it
Most disputes with proper documentation are decided in the venue's favor. We've never seen one lost where the policy was clear and the acknowledgment was stored.
Editing the policy mid-booking-cycle
If you change the policy, existing bookings keep the policy they agreed to at the time of booking. New bookings see the new policy. This is a legal protection for the guest. You can't retroactively tighten cancellation terms.
If you need an existing guest to acknowledge a new policy (rare), reach out to them directly and email a new confirmation with the updated terms.