Guides · for braiders
Braiding deposit and cancellation policy: templates to copy
Take a deposit to book, ask for 48 hours’ notice to move or cancel, and keep the deposit for a late cancel or a no-show. Braids take most of a day and often hair you’ve already bought, so the 24-hour rule hair salons use is usually too short.
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Why braiders need a stricter policy
A cut takes an hour; knotless braids can take six. When a client cancels the night before, that’s a whole day you can’t fill, and often packs of hair you bought for them. A clear policy, agreed before the client books, protects both your time and the client: they know exactly what happens if plans change.
What a good policy says
The deposit
How much it is, that it holds the time, and that it comes off the price on the day.
The notice
How long before the appointment a client can move or cancel and keep the deposit. 48 hours gives you a fair chance to fill the day; a week for styles that take a full day or custom hair.
Running late
How many minutes you wait (15 is fair), and what happens after: a smaller style, a shorter length or a new day.
No-shows
The deposit is kept. Say whether a client who doesn’t show can book again, and on what terms (a full prepayment, for example).
Templates to copy
Change the amounts and times to yours, then put the policy where clients read it before they pay.
A $40 deposit books your appointment and comes off your total.
Need to move it? Tell me 48 hours before and your deposit moves with you.
Less than 48 hours’ notice, or no show: the deposit is kept.
Running more than 15 minutes late, I may need to shorten the style or move you to another day.
Please come with your hair washed, detangled and blow-dried.
A deposit of 25% of your style books your braider’s time and comes off your total.
Cancel or move up to 48 hours before at no cost.
Inside 48 hours, or no show, the deposit is kept so your braider is paid for the day.
If we bought hair for your appointment, its cost is added to the kept deposit.
We wait 15 minutes; after that, we’ll find you a new time.
Bring the packs listed with your style: the brand, the color and how many.
The wrong hair or too few packs and we may need to move your appointment; your deposit moves with it once.
How big should the deposit be?
Enough that a client won’t skip it, and enough to cover any hair you buy ahead. A flat $25 to $50 works for most styles; for long or large styles, 20 to 30% of the price. Always let it count toward the price, so a client who shows up pays nothing extra.
Questions braiders ask
Should the deposit be non-refundable?
Kept for a late cancel or no-show, yes. With enough notice, letting the deposit move to a new date keeps the client and costs you nothing.
What about emergencies?
Decide once and apply it the same way every time: one option is a single free move a year for a real emergency. A rule you bend for one client becomes the rule for all of them.
Where should the policy go?
Where the client reads it before paying: your booking page, the message that confirms the booking, and a pinned post or highlight on Instagram. A policy only in your bio gets missed.
Braid. HAUSBRAID handles the rest.
On your HAUSBRAID page each style can ask a deposit. The client pays it by card to hold the time, it counts toward the price, and a hold that isn’t paid in time lets the time go, so you never wait on a maybe.
7 days free, no card to start. Then $20 a month for your first braider.