No-show and late cancellation charges

Empty spots from no-shows and same-day cancellations cost real money. WagDay can charge the customer's saved card automatically when it happens, using a policy you control.

Setting your policy

Under Settings → Policies (Admins only) you'll find the cancellation, no-show and card-on-file settings:

• Cancellation notice period — how many hours before the booking counts as "on time" (0–168 hours, i.e. up to a week; the default is 24). Cancellations inside the window incur the fee; set 0 to disable the policy.
• Late cancellation fee — the percentage of the booking value charged for a cancellation inside the notice period, on a 0–100% slider in 5% steps (the default is 50%). Set 0% for no fee.
• No-show charge — the percentage charged when a customer simply doesn't turn up, also 0–100% in 5% steps (the default is 100%).
• Charge fees automatically — separate toggles for late cancellations and no-shows. When on, the customer's saved card is charged immediately. When off, the fee is held as Pending for staff to review and issue from the Fees tab in Billing.
• Require card on file — when on, customers must save a payment method before they can book through the portal, so there's always a card to charge.

The Policy Preview card at the bottom shows the exact wording customers will see, and updates as you change the numbers.

What happens automatically

When you mark a booking as a no-show, WagDay raises the configured percentage as a fee against the customer. With auto-charge on, their saved card is charged straight away; with it off, the fee waits as Pending for you to issue or waive from the Fees tab. Either way the customer gets an email with the amount, the reason and a receipt link — nobody likes a silent charge.

When a late cancellation is approved, the late-cancel fee is raised instead of refunding the full amount (again, charged immediately or held for review, per your toggle). Cancellations made with proper notice refund normally, with no fee.

A charge is only ever applied once per booking, so toggling a booking's status back and forth can't double-charge anyone.

If the card fails

Sometimes the saved card has expired or has insufficient funds. WagDay records the failed charge and adds it to the customer's outstanding balance so you can follow it up — it never blocks you from updating the booking itself.

Keeping it fair (and keeping customers)

• Put the policy in your terms and on your portal so customers know before they book — an unexpected fee costs you goodwill faster than a no-show costs you money.
• Many operators waive the first offence and enforce from the second. You can always refund a charge from the payment record if a regular has a genuine emergency.
• The fees only work if customers have a card on file — turn on require card on file for the strongest protection, or encourage it at check-in.