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, along with your fees. Pick numbers you'll actually stick to: a rule you waive 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 or emergencies: 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 term 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 rub out a cancelled lesson. 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 timetable 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've had three cancellations this half-term’.
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 card needed.
Questions and answers
Should I charge for a missed tutoring lesson?
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 in the UK?
A common one: cancel at least 24 hours ahead and pay nothing; cancel later or don't turn 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 cancellations?
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 UK tutors to track payments: one balance per student, prepaid blocks and termly fees, who owes you and how much. Paper, Excel or an app.
Tutoring income
How a UK private tutor can see real monthly income: what's earned, what's still due, what's planned and what cancellations cost. A simple method and an app.
Group lessons
How to price and track small group tutoring and GCSE revision groups: a price per student, who's paid, who missed, cancelling for one or the whole group.
Music teachers
Piano, guitar, violin and singing teachers: weekly lessons, termly or monthly fees from parents, ABRSM exam terms 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.
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