Skip to main content
Empty chairs from no-shows are the most expensive silence in this business. Sable gives you three layers of protection (cards, deposits, fees), rules for how bookings can change, and a waitlist to refill the gaps that happen anyway.

​
Money at booking time

In Settings → Booking Page, the payments section sets what a client commits to when they book online:
  • Require a card to book. The client saves a card to finish booking. No charge yet, but skin in the game, and the card is on file if a no-show fee ever applies.
  • Deposit. Collect real money up front: a fixed amount, a percentage of the service, or full payment. The deposit comes off the final bill at checkout.
  • No-show fee. A fixed amount or a percentage of the service, charged only when someone doesn’t show.
A pattern that works for a lot of salons: require a card on everything, and add deposits only to long or high-value appointments like color, extensions, and bridal. Booking in person? The calendar’s booking panel has Collect deposit right in it, so a phone booking can carry a deposit too. All of this needs payments connected first.

​
Rules for changes and cancellations

In Settings → Scheduling, the Booking Policies tab decides how much control clients have after booking:
  • Allow client cancellations plus a Cancellation window: clients can bow out online, but not inside the window where you can’t refill the spot.
  • Require booking approval: online requests arrive as Requested and only hit the calendar when you approve them. Good for salons where every booking needs a human eye; skip it if you’d rather the calendar fill itself.

​
When the no-show happens anyway

Open the appointment and set its status to No-show. That’s the honest record your reports draw from, and it’s what a no-show fee hangs off. Be consistent about it; a fee policy you only sometimes enforce trains clients to gamble.

​
The waitlist

Clients → Waitlist is where “call me if anything opens up” stops being a sticky note.
  • Add Entry puts a client on the list: who they are, what service they’re waiting for (or any), and a note about what they need.
  • Each entry tracks where things stand: Waiting, Contacted, Booked, or Removed.
  • When a cancellation opens a gap, work the list: contact the client, and book straight from the entry with Book appointment. Mark entries Removed when they’re no longer waiting, so the list stays real.
A short, current waitlist turns a cancelled Tuesday into a full one. A long stale one is just guilt in table form. Still stuck? Visit the Help Center to submit a support ticket.