As a business owner, you can now set up automatic charging for late cancellations and no-shows. Automating the penalty charging process eliminates the need for manual intervention. It saves time and resources that can be redirected toward bigger and better things ⭐️
Go to Settings --> No Show/Late Cancel Fees
Add New Policy
Fill out the details about your policy and click "save changes"
Each day you will receive an email with the list of customers who are going to be automatically charged
Customers will be charged two days after the original event at 12:00 PM ET (9:00 AM PST).
If you would like to waive customers or charge them before the automatic penalty, navigate to Settings > No Show/Late Cancel Fees and click View Report in the top-right corner.
Note: You can also go to Settings > General Business Settings and toggle on "Remember Late Cancel Policy Agreement" so clients only need to agree to the cancellation policy once. After agreeing, they checkbox will be hidden on future check outs.
Dropdowns | Options | Definition |
What is this penalty for | Late Cancel No Show | Allows you to collect data based on penalty type |
Services applied to | All Classes Livestream Classes In-Person Classes Private Sessions | Allows you to choose if the penalty applies to all services or specific services |
Specific packages and subscriptions | 5 Package 10 Package VIP Membership Standard Membership | By default, the penalty applies to all pricing options. This allows you to charge a penalty based on the pricing option. |
Specific class types | Yoga Flow 60 Yoga Flow 45 Special Soundbath
| By default, the penalty applies to all class types. This allows you to charge a penalty based on the class template. |
Specific locations | Downtown Location Uptown Location Highlands Location | By default, the policy applies to all locations. You can choose specific locations each policy applies to be more specific. |
You can also create separate policies for private sessions and group sessions. For example, update your current policy to apply only to group sessions (e.g., in-person classes) and add a new no-show/late-cancel policy specifically for private sessions. This ensures tailored fee structures for different session types. Ensure that booking windows are properly configured for each class type to avoid triggering unnecessary fees.
Configuring Late Cancellation Policies for Memberships
To ensure that late cancellation policies apply to the correct customers:
Add all relevant memberships to the policy’s applicable scope.
Review the policy’s membership assignments to confirm that every membership that should be covered is included.
Ensure all relevant classes are included in the late-cancel policy to avoid missed fees.
Timeframe of charges for late cancel/no show:
System runs a check every day at 9:00 AM PST (12:00 PM ET) to calculate the cancel/no show fees for the previous day.
There is a 1-day waiting period to decide if the business would want to waive those fees.
The system runs another process every day at 9:00 AM PST (12:00 PM ET) that checks for the fees that were calculated on step 1, 2 days ago and charges the ones th
Using Reports for Fee Management
User Roles and Permissions
Permissions for accessing reports and managing policies can be configured based on user roles.
Instructors (Guest role) cannot view the Late Cancel/No Show report.
Front Desk users may have limited access to operational reports, including the Late Cancel/No Show report, depending on their assigned permissions.
To manage access, go to Roles & Permissions and adjust the user’s role (e.g., Front Desk) to grant access to necessary operational reports without providing full financial or analytics access.
Navigate to Analytics > Reports > Late Cancel / No-Show.
Apply filters to view specific time frames or classes.
Use the "To-Do" tab to see pending charges or waivers.
Use the "Done" tab to view processed fees and export data if needed.at were not waived.
Note: Late cancellation fees and no-shows are not included in the "Sales by Pricing Option" report. Instead, you can find this data in the Successful Payments report.
Resolving Unpaid Reservations to Avoid No-Show Fees
Clients may incur no-show fees if their reservations remain unpaid and unresolved. To address this:
Why This Happens
If a reservation is marked as unpaid and your settings prevent check-in for unpaid reservations, the system will not allow instructors to complete the check-in. This leaves the client in a "Pending" status, which can trigger a no-show fee.
Solutions
Resolve Payment During Check-In:
On the reservation, click the three dots to the right and select Resolve Payment.
Complete the check-in process.
Enable the Unpaid Reservation Resolver:
This feature automatically resolves unpaid reservations 12–36 hours before class.
Activate it in Settings > General Business Settings.
Allow Check-In for Unpaid Reservations:
Turn on the toggle in Settings > General Business Settings to permit instructors to check in unpaid reservations.
Regularly review unpaid reservations to ensure clients have sufficient credits to cover their classes.
Troubleshooting Common Issues
Fees Not Applying: Verify that the class has a late-cancel policy assigned and that the booking window allows for late cancellations.
Membership Mismatches: Update the policy’s advanced settings to include all relevant memberships.
Report Visibility: If late cancels do not appear in the report, ensure the policy is correctly assigned to the class type.
Incorrect No-Show Charges: Clients are marked as no-shows if they are not checked in before the class ends. Late check-ins (after the class ends) may still trigger the fee. To prevent this, ensure clients are checked in before the class ends.
Managing No-Show and Late Cancellation Fees for ClassPass Bookings
Fees for no-shows and late cancellations for bookings made through ClassPass are managed directly by ClassPass. Arketa does not have control over these settings, so you must adjust them within your ClassPass account. Late cancellation fees for ClassPass bookings cannot be waived from within Arketa, as these fees are governed by ClassPass policies.### Handling Guest Pass Scenarios Late cancellation and no-show fees for guest bookings depend on how your policies are configured:
If guest passes are included as pricing options in your late cancel/no-show policy and the guest does not have a pricing option on file, no fee is charged.
If guest passes are configured as add-ons or bonuses (not pricing options), fees cannot be enforced, and no charge occurs.
In these cases, the no-show is recorded on the guest’s profile, but neither the member nor the guest is charged.
If the policy is set to not charge and not refund, the member loses the guest pass credit for a no-show.### Member Penalties for Guest No-Shows Members are not charged a late cancel/no-show fee if their guest (booked via a guest pass) late cancels or no-shows. However, the guest pass credit may be forfeited if the policy is set to not refund the credit for a no-show.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if I want to not charge for a late cancel and simply have the customer lose the item on the package
You can do this. Simply update your booking windows and the package will not be refunded upon late cancel.
If I manually waive or charge a customer before the system automatically charges them, will it charge them twice?
No, it will not! The system will recognize this and not charge them twice.
Can I waive late cancellation fees for ClassPass bookings?
No, these fees are managed by ClassPass and cannot be waived in Arketa.
What happens if a guest pass is used and the guest no-shows?
Fees are not charged unless explicitly configured, but the guest pass credit may be forfeited.
What happens if a customer's reservation is unpaid and they get a no-show fee? If a reservation is unpaid and remains unresolved, the system may trigger a no-show fee. You can resolve this by enabling the Unpaid Reservation Resolver or allowing check-ins for unpaid reservations. Will a processing fee be charged alongside the no-show fee? Yes, if your settings pass processing fees on to customers, they will be charged in addition to the no-show fee. Ensure this is communicated clearly in your policies. Can I set different policies for private sessions? Yes, you can create separate no-show/late-cancel policies for private sessions and group sessions to ensure tailored fee structures. How can I waive fees manually? Use the Late Cancel/No-Show report to locate the client entry and select "Waive Fee" to remove the charge. How can I charge fees manually? Turn off the automatic policy and use the report to identify cases for manual charging. What happens during a manual cancellation? When canceling a client manually, you can choose whether to charge them and remove their credit during the cancellation process. How do booking windows affect late-cancel fee triggering? Ensure each class has a properly configured cancellation window to avoid triggering unnecessary fees. Where can I find late cancellation fee data in reports? Late cancellation fees and no-shows are not included in the "Sales by Pricing Option" report. Instead, you can find this data in the Successful Payments report. Can instructors view the Late Cancel/No Show report? No, instructors (Guest role) cannot view this report. Permissions can be managed via Roles & Permissions. How does Arketa determine if a client is a no-show? Clients are marked as no-shows if they are not checked in before the class ends. Late check-ins (after the class ends) may still trigger the fee.