Fewer no-shows,
without scaring clients off.

How do you stop no-shows?

Send reminders, because they cost next to nothing. Put a written cancellation policy where clients see it before they book. Then take a deposit only on the appointments a no-show would really hurt: long treatments, first visits and anything you buy in for that client. For regulars you don’t want to charge up front, keep a card on file instead. Published UK averages for beauty run from about 3 to 7 in every 100, so in our view a blanket deposit on everything is often more than you need.

We make Covered Beauty, which sells deposits and reminders like everyone else quoted here, so read our conclusions with that in mind. Every figure links to where it came from, with the day it was published.

How often do clients really not turn up?

Published UK rates run from under 3% to over 9%, and the headline losses from £1.2 billion to £1.6 billion. They don’t agree because they don’t measure the same thing, and every one comes from a company selling bookings or payments. Here they are side by side.

What does that come to for one person?

Take 40 appointments a month at £45. At the nail salon rate of 3.55% that’s about 1.4 no-shows and £63.90 of empty time. At the brows and lashes rate of 6.55% it’s about 2.6 and £117.90.

That’s worth fixing, but it’s a sum to hold every fix against. A fix that costs more than the time it saves isn’t a fix.

Why do clients miss appointments?

In Fresha’s survey of 500 clients in December 2025, the reasons they gave for cancelling or missing were illness (47%), a change at work (38%), a change of social plans (25%) and forgetting (22%). They could give more than one, and 62% said they give less than 24 hours’ notice.

So reminders alone won’t do it. Most people who miss don’t forget. Something comes up, and what you’re really after is notice, so you can fill the time.

What does each fix cost, and when is it overkill?

Are deposits worth it?

Probably on your longest appointments. Here’s everything we could find on what they do:

• Up to 49% fewer no-shows. Phorest’s own blog, October 2026.
• Halved, at the 17% of salons that require pre-payment. Treatwell, March 2025.
• From 5.4% down to 1.9%. A feature sponsored by Phorest, August 2021.
• 47% lower, with variable deposits. Phorest, June 2021.

They point the same way, at about half. But all of them come from companies that sell deposits, none gives a sample or a comparison, and salons that choose deposits may be the ones with fewer no-shows to begin with. Nobody has published how many bookings a deposit puts off.

If deposits on all 40 bookings do halve no-shows, you’d be about £25.05 a month better off at the nail salon rate and £58.05 at the brows and lashes rate, after Stripe’s fee. One first-time client a month put off at £45 wipes out the first of those and most of the second. That’s why we’d start with the appointments that hurt, and leave regulars alone.

For the amount, the notice and what to do if a client asks for it back, read How to take deposits for beauty appointments in the UK.

What order should you do it in?

1. Turn on reminders. Today. They’re the cheapest thing on this page.
2. Write your policy. Our free cancellation policy writer gives you the words. Say how much notice you need, what happens without it, and put it where clients see it before they book.
3. Make cancelling easy. A client who can cancel on their phone gives you the time back. One who has to ring you may just not come. Ask for the notice you need, which for most salons means more than 24 hours: that’s the point at which 62% of clients in Fresha’s survey are already too late.
4. Take a deposit on what would hurt. Long appointments, first visits, and anything you order in for that client.
5. Keep a card on file for the rest. Nothing leaves their account unless they break the policy they agreed to.
6. Follow through, kindly. A policy you never use teaches clients it isn’t real. A first slip from a good regular is your call, and a repeat one is what the fee is for.

Can you legally charge for a no-show?

Yes, if the client knew before they booked and the charge is fair. The Competition and Markets Authority’s unfair contract terms guidance (CMA37, paragraph 6.62) says a genuine deposit may be kept if the circumstances are clear and narrow, and that it won’t normally be more than a small percentage of the price. Its guide to writing a fair contract says what you keep must take into account what your business will actually lose. If you’re the one who cancels, give it back.

This is general information, not legal advice. Our deposits guide goes through the rules for online bookings.

How does Covered Beauty handle no-shows?

• Reminders. A confirmation, then reminder emails three days before, the day before and two hours before. Texts come from the ones included each month (50 texts a month on Solo, 150 on Pro and 300 on the Team plan).
• Deposits. Set per treatment: a fixed amount, a percentage or none, so a patch test can have none while a full set takes one. They go straight into your own Stripe account, with no commission from us. Stripe’s fee applies.
• A card on file. The card a client pays a deposit with is saved, with their agreement. For bookings you make yourself, set a no-show fee and their confirmation email asks them to add a card. Nothing is charged automatically: you charge it from the appointment.
• Cancelling. Clients cancel from the link in their confirmation, and they’re told what that means for their deposit before they do.
• Filling the gap. Clients can join a waitlist when a day is full.
• After a no-show. Marking one sends nothing. You choose whether to email the client, with a line of your own if you want one.

All of this is on every plan, from £9 a month, with no commission. Try it free for a week, no card needed.

Sources

Each page was read on 1 November 2026.

• Professional Beauty: Beauty pros lost £2.6m to no-shows in the last four months
• Scratch: UK locations with the highest beauty salon no-show rates
• Professional Beauty: 1 in 3 clients have never considered the impact of cancelling
• Estetica: Phorest reveals UK's worst areas for salon ghosting
• HJ: What’s new in the world of salon software? (sponsored by Phorest)
• Phorest: What a “simple” payment really costs a salon or aesthetic clinic
• HJ: The shocking amount hair salons lose every year because of no shows
• Unfair contract terms guidance (CMA37), Competition and Markets Authority (GOV.UK)
• Writing a fair contract for customers, Competition and Markets Authority (GOV.UK)
• Stripe UK pricing