Two situations, two rules
A missed lesson is when the student didn't come and didn't let you know in time. You kept the hour free, so most tutors charge for it. A cancelled lesson is when the student, or you, called it off with enough notice. Usually it isn't charged, and any money paid for it stays with the student.
Keeping these two apart is what makes a policy feel fair. Parents accept paying for a no-show far more easily when they know a timely cancellation costs nothing.
How to write a cancellation policy for private lessons
Keep it short enough to fit in one message and send it before the first lesson. Pick numbers you'll actually enforce: a rule you skip every time teaches students that it doesn't exist.
- Notice period: for example, cancel at least 24 hours before the lesson
- Late cancellation or no-show: the lesson is charged in full
- Cancelled in time: no charge, prepaid money moves to the next lesson
- If you cancel: the student is never charged
- Illness, emergencies, snow days: your call — many tutors allow one free exception per term
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Track it, or the policy means nothing
Write down every missed and cancelled lesson, not only the ones you charge for. After a month you'll see who cancels often, and how much income regular cancellations take away. That number tells you whether your notice period is too generous.
Don't simply erase a cancelled lesson from your notes. If it disappears, you lose the record of income that was planned and didn't happen.
Missed lessons in Squool: charged
Open the lesson and turn on “Missed” — the app explains it as “Student gave no notice — lesson is charged.” The lesson stays paid, or becomes a debt if the student had no balance, and it's counted in the student's statistics as missed.
In a group lesson the miss is marked for one student only; the others aren't affected.
Cancelled lessons in Squool: not charged, shown as lost
Tap “Cancel Lesson.” The student isn't charged, and if the lesson was prepaid, the money goes back to their balance and pays for the next lesson. The cancelled lesson stays in your statistics as “Lost” income, so you can see each week and month how much cancellations cost you.
If a lesson was entered by mistake, use “Delete Lesson” instead: it disappears from the schedule and from the statistics completely. Cancel keeps a record, delete leaves no trace.
See the pattern per student
Each student has a month calendar with every lesson in colour: paid, owed, prepaid, missed and cancelled, with totals for earned, due and lost. It makes a calm, factual conversation possible: “we had three cancellations this month.”
Squool runs on iPhone, iPad and Mac, and on Apple Watch you can mark a miss or cancel right from your wrist. Data stays on your device and in your own iCloud. Try it free for 14 days, no credit card needed.
Questions and answers
Should I charge for a missed tutoring session?
Most tutors charge for a no-show or a late cancellation, because the hour was reserved. What matters is that the rule is written down and applied every time.
What's a fair cancellation policy for tutoring?
A common one: cancel at least 24 hours ahead and pay nothing; cancel later or don't show up and the lesson is charged. If the tutor cancels, the student never pays.
What's the difference between a missed and a cancelled lesson in Squool?
Missed means the student gave no notice, so the lesson is charged. Cancelled means it isn't charged, prepaid money returns to the balance, and the lesson shows as lost income.
How do I track income lost to cancelled lessons?
Keep cancelled lessons in your records instead of deleting them. In Squool they appear as “Lost” in the weekly and monthly statistics.
Does a cancelled prepaid lesson lose the student's money?
No. In Squool the money goes back to the student's balance and covers their next lesson.
Read also
Tracking payments
A simple way for tutors in Canada to track payments: one balance per student, prepaid lessons, e-Transfers, who owes you. On paper, in a sheet or an app.
Tutoring income
How a private tutor in Canada can see real monthly income: what's earned, what's still due, what's planned and what cancellations cost. A method and an app.
Group lessons
How to price and track small group tutoring: an individual price per student, who paid, who missed, cancelling for one student or the whole group.
Music teachers
Piano, guitar, violin and voice teachers: weekly lessons, monthly fees from parents, RCM exam prep and missed lessons on iPhone, iPad and Mac.
Try it free for 14 days
No card required. Subscribe only once the app has proven it's worth it to you.
Download on the App Store