INTRODUCTION
Feature Summary: CourtReserve does not currently support automatic cancellation or no-show fees. However, clubs can still enforce these rules with manual workarounds. By combining upfront payments, refund rules, and manual fees, admins maintain flexibility and control over cancellations and no-shows.
Use Cases: Cancellation Fee and No-Show Fees Enforcement - Manually charge a member who cancels outside the club’s policy or apply a fee when a member fails to attend a booked reservation or event.
PREREQUISTES
Consider setting up a dedicated Revenue Category for cancellation and no-show fees to make this revenue easier to track.
OVERVIEW
Because cancellation and no-show fees are not automatic, admins must monitor cancellations and apply fees manually based on club policies. Best Practice: Require upfront payment and a saved payment profile at booking so cancellation or no-show fees can be enforced when needed.
Understanding Cancellation vs. No-Show
Cancellation – The member cancels their place in a reservation or event. Depending on club policies, this may or may not trigger a refund.
No-Show – The member does not cancel in advance and also fails to attend the reservation or event. This typically requires staff to identify the absence and apply a manual fee if the club enforces one.
Track Cancellations Using the Cancellations Report
The Cancellations Report (found under REPORTS > CANCELLATIONS) is the primary tool for tracking member cancellations and determining when to manually apply cancellation or no-show fees. Because every club has different policies, the key is learning how to adjust the filters so you can generate the most useful report for your needs.
When setting up the report, consider the following:
Date Ranges – Use the Cancel From / Cancel To fields to focus on cancellations within a specific time window. This helps if you’re only looking at recent activity, such as the last week or month.
Court(s) and Reservation Type(s) – Narrow down results to just the courts or reservation types you care about. For example, if you only want to review tennis court cancellations, select the relevant tennis Reservation Types.
Events – Check Include Events if you want to capture cancellations for events (like clinics or socials), not just court bookings.
Instructor(s) – Filter by instructor if you’re studying cancellations for lessons.
Tags, Resources, and Event Categories – Use these fields to refine your search further if your club organizes reservations with custom tags or categories.
In the report output, you can either use the column sort feature or export to Excel for further analysis. The most useful columns are often Canceled On and Start Date/Time, which help you determine whether the cancellation requires further action or a fee should be charged.
Tip: Experiment with different combinations of filters until you find the setup that matches your cancellation policies. Once you land on a useful configuration, save the report filter for easy reuse later.
How to Find No-Shows
Identifying no-shows to manually charge a no-show fee depends on how your club manages check-ins:
Using Self Check-In Kiosks: If members use a kiosk to check in, a no-show will appear with no (i.e. blank) check-in status. This means the player never checked in.
Staff-Managed Check-Ins: If staff manually check players in, the club can create and apply a “No-Show” status. This can be utilized and seen on the Who’s Here Today screen for tracking.
Check-In Report
The Check-In Report is the most reliable way to review attendance. This can be found under REPORTS > ATTENDANCE > CHECK-IN.For those exclusively using self check-in kiosks: Run the report by NO Status.
For those exclusively doing staff-managed check-ins: Run the report by Staff.
From here, admins can quickly identify members who missed their reservation or event and, if needed, post a manual no-show fee to their account.
Post a Manual Fee for a Cancellation or No-Show
If you'd like to charge a member for a cancellation or a no-show, locate the member’s account and manually add the appropriate cancellation or no-show fee. The below is an example.
In this example the admin can see that a member had a 3:00 PM court reservation on 8/18, which was canceled at 10:41 AM.
If the admin would like to charge the member a cancellation fee, they will:
Find the member – Search for the name listed in the Canceled By column on the report.
Open Billing – Go to the member’s Billing tab.
Post Fee – Click Post Fee.
Enter fee details –
If the member is part of a family, choose Individual or Family and select the correct member.
Select the relevant Revenue Category.
Enter the fee amount, apply a tax rate if applicable, and add any notes. The note entered here will display alongside the fee label—in the below example, Misc. Fee: Late Cancellation Fee.
Save – Click Post Fee.
Charge the member - Once the fee is posted, it appears under the member’s Unpaid Fees tab. To collect payment, click Pay to charge the member.
Enable System Cancellation Notifications
Along with using the Cancellations Report, admins should configure system user notifications to receive email, text, or push alerts whenever a member cancels (found under SETTINGS > NOTIFICATIONS > System User). This ensures staff can act quickly to post a manual fee, if needed.
The most important notifications to enable are:
Reservation Cancellation Notice (Admin/Instructor) – Alerts when a court reservation is canceled.
Lesson Cancellation Notice (Admin/Instructor) – Alerts when a lesson is canceled.
Event Registrant Signup/Withdraw Notice – Alerts when a player cancels an event registration.
With these enabled, admins can have more tools to stay on top of policy enforcement.
Automated Refund Acceptance and Manual Fees
CourtReserve includes an Automated Refund feature, which lets clubs define when refunds should be automatically approved. It's important to make sure your cancellation policy and auto refund policy work together.
Admins can configure auto-refund settings by:
Time Window – Example: Approve refunds if the cancellation is made more than 24 hours in advance.
Dollar Threshold – Example: Do not auto-approve refunds for cancellations greater than $200.
How This Relates to Manual Fees
While auto-refunds simplify refund handling, they do not cover cancellation or no-show fees. Here’s where manual fees may still apply:
Inside the Auto-Refund Window: If a player cancels within the restricted timeframe (e.g., less than 24 hours before start), they won’t receive an automatic refund. If your club policy requires a penalty for late cancellations, an admin must manually post the fee.
Outside the Auto-Refund Window, With Policy Violation: Even if the system blocks refunds, you may still need to enforce a manual cancellation fee if your policies dictate it (e.g., member repeatedly cancels late).
No-Show Scenarios: Auto-refund settings only apply to cancellations. If a player fails to show up and doesn’t cancel at all, admins should apply a manual no-show fee through the member’s account.
Key Takeaway
Automated refund acceptance streamlines refunds but does not replace cancellation or no-show fees. Admins should continue to:
Monitor cancellations and no shows using the Cancellations and Check-In Reports.
Compare against your policies.
Post manual fees whenever cancellations fall outside the configured auto-refund windows or when no-shows occur.