No-show cost calculator: what missed appointments really cost you
One missed session doesn't feel like much. Two a week, every week, is a different story. Enter your session price and how many clients miss or cancel too late to refill the slot, and the calculator shows what that adds up to over a month and a year, and how much of it a deposit would keep.
- Sessions lost per year
- 96 sessions
- Kept with a $25 deposit
- $217 a month · $2,400 a year
That’s 96 empty slots a year.
How the numbers are worked out
The calculator multiplies your session price by the sessions you lose each week, then scales it up: by 52 weeks ÷ 12 for a month, and by the weeks you actually work for a year. It counts late cancellations along with no-shows, because a slot cancelled an hour before is almost always as empty as one nobody turned up for.
The “kept with a deposit” figure assumes the same number of missed sessions, with you keeping the deposit each time. In practice, a deposit usually also means fewer people miss in the first place, so treat it as a floor, not a ceiling.
What a missed session really costs
The fee is only the visible part. A missed slot also costs you:
- The client you turned away. Someone else wanted that time.
- Your preparation. Lesson plans, room setup, travel to a client's home or gym.
- Your rhythm. An unexpected gap is hard to use well, especially in the middle of a busy day.
Three ways to cut the number
- Take a deposit at booking. It's paid before the slot is held, so a no-show still covers part of the hour. Use the deposit calculator to pick an amount.
- Send reminders. A message 24 hours and 1 hour before catches clients who simply forgot. Use our reminder text templates.
- Write a clear cancellation policy. A notice window clients know about turns late cancellations into early ones you can refill. Start from the cancellation policy template.
Not sure which payment option fits? See deposit vs card on file vs no-show fee.
Frequently asked questions
How much do no-shows cost a small business?
Multiply your session price by the sessions you lose each week, then by the weeks you work. Two missed 90-dollar sessions a week over 48 weeks comes to 8,640 dollars a year.
Should late cancellations count as no-shows?
For this calculation, yes. A slot cancelled an hour before is rarely refilled, so it costs you the same as a client who didn't turn up.
How much of that does a deposit recover?
On every missed session, you keep the deposit. A 25-dollar deposit on two missed sessions a week keeps about 2,400 dollars a year, and deposits usually reduce how often clients miss, too.
What's the fastest way to reduce no-shows?
Combine three things: a deposit at booking, reminders 24 hours and 1 hour before, and a clear cancellation policy clients see before they book.
Is my data saved?
No. The calculator runs in your browser, and nothing you enter is stored or sent anywhere.