How-to guide
How to set up late cancellation and no-show penalties
Create fair penalty rules for late cancellations and no-shows, including credit forfeits, fixed fees, grace buffers and class exemptions.
A late cancellation or a no-show is not just an admin annoyance. It leaves an empty spot that still costs you time, rent and an instructor's attention, and it blocks a place someone else would gladly have taken. Penalties give that behaviour a consequence without you having to chase anyone.
In Clovo, a penalty defines what happens when a client cancels too late or fails to turn up without a check-in. This guide shows you how to build a rule, explains exactly when it fires, and helps you keep the policy fair, visible and easy to explain.
Before you start
- Decide what you want the penalty to do before you build the rule — keeping it simple makes it far easier to explain to clients.
- To charge a fixed fee, connect Stripe first, and note that the client also needs a saved default payment method on file.
- If you only want to keep a client's credit or record the outcome, no payment setup is required.
Decide what the penalty should do
Start with the outcome, not the settings. A penalty in Clovo can do one of three things, and the right choice depends on how strict you want to be and whether you take card payments.
- Keep the credit — the client forfeits the credit they booked with. Simple, fair, and needs no payment setup.
- Charge a fixed fee — the client is charged a set amount. This requires Stripe and a saved default payment method on the client's account.
- Record the outcome — no charge or forfeit, just a logged penalty so you can see patterns and have a conversation later.
Set it up, step by step
-
Open the penalties area
In Clovo Studio, go to Setup › Penalties. This is where you create and manage every penalty rule for your studio.
-
Choose what the rule covers
Set whether the rule applies to cancellations, no-shows, or both. Many studios run one rule that covers both so the policy reads as a single, consistent statement.
-
Set the cancellation window
Enter the cancellation window in hours. Cancelling before this cut-off is free; cancelling inside it triggers the penalty. Pick a window that gives you a real chance to fill the spot — often the length of time it takes a waitlisted client to plan their day around it.
-
Add a booking-age grace period
Set a grace period for very new bookings so a client who books and immediately changes their mind isn't penalised. It's a small allowance for honest mistakes that keeps the policy feeling fair.
-
Set the no-show grace buffer
Choose how long after a class ends Clovo waits before marking absent bookings as no-shows. This buffer gives staff time to finish recording attendance, so a client who checked in isn't penalised by accident.
-
Choose the penalty action
Select what happens when the rule fires — keep the credit, charge a fixed fee, or record the outcome. If you've chosen a fixed fee, enter the amount, and make sure Stripe is connected before you rely on it.
How cancellation and no-show penalties fire
It's worth understanding exactly when a penalty applies, because that's the part clients ask about. The logic is straightforward once you see it laid out.
For cancellations: if a client cancels outside the cancellation window, their credit is returned and nothing happens. If they cancel inside the window, Clovo checks the matching penalty rule and applies it. Bookings made as a direct purchase are excluded from penalties entirely.
For no-shows: a booking can become a no-show only after the class has ended, the grace buffer has passed, no check-in exists, and the booking was never cancelled. All four conditions have to be true, which is why the grace buffer matters — it stops a late attendance entry from turning a present client into a penalised one.
Tip
Some sessions shouldn't carry a penalty at all — workshops, community sessions and trial classes. Mark those classes as exempt so cancellation and no-show penalties don't apply, and newcomers get a forgiving first experience.
Make penalties work alongside waitlists
A penalty discourages last-minute drop-outs, but it doesn't refill the spot on its own. Pairing penalties with waitlists closes the loop: when a late cancellation frees a place, a waitlisted client can step straight into it. The result is fewer empty spots and a class that stays full.
If you also use priority booking, your most committed clients get first claim on those recovered places — a quiet reward for the people who show up.
Common questions
Do I need Stripe to use penalties?
Only if you want to charge a fixed fee. Keeping a client's credit or simply recording the outcome works without any payment setup. To charge a fee, connect Stripe and make sure the client has a saved default payment method.
What happens if a client cancels well in advance?
Nothing. If they cancel outside the cancellation window, their credit is returned and no penalty applies. The penalty only comes into play when they cancel inside the window you set.
Will a client be penalised if staff forget to mark them present?
The grace buffer after class is there to prevent exactly that. A booking only becomes a no-show once the buffer has passed with no check-in recorded, so set a buffer long enough for staff to finish attendance.
What to remember
- Decide the outcome first — keep the credit, charge a fixed fee, or record the penalty — then build the rule around it.
- Fixed-fee penalties need Stripe and a saved default payment method; direct-purchase bookings are never penalised.
- Use grace periods and class exemptions to keep the policy fair, and pair it with waitlists so freed spots still fill.
Ready to try it in your studio?
Run bookings, payments and client apps from one place.
Clovo gives boutique fitness studios the operating system behind the tutorial: dashboard setup, branded apps, payments, landing pages and client communication.