What do no-shows actually cost a practice?
The short answer: your appointments, times your no-show rate, times your slot value, with lead time as the driver
A book of 80 appointments a month at €150 a slot with a quarter of them at long-lead risk carries about €3,000 a month, of which roughly €1,800 is recoverable. Reminders help at the margin. Lead time does the work: practitioner-reported curves run about 7% same-day to about 33% two weeks out, which is why a build shortens the gap before it adds another text message. Change any band and the model below recalculates.
≈ €1,200 a month walks away.
Estimate. Model: practitioner-reported no-show curves run 7% same-day to ~33% at two weeks out. Latency drives it, not reminders. Your real numbers replace it on the call.
The methodology
Every assumption on this page is editable. Change the bands, the model recalculates. The defaults come from published studies and worked models, each one cited below.
The math, step by step
- Empty slots a month80 × 10% = 8.0
- Value of those slots8.0 × €150 = €1,200
- Recoverable in the model€1,200 × 60% = €700
Sources: HBR lead-response audit (2,241 firms) · practitioner-reported no-show curves (labelled model) · industry answer-rate studies · our own worked models, stated openly. Where a number is a model, it says so next to the number.
The calculator shows the leak. The analysis shows the fix.
Where do the default numbers come from?
Published studies and worked models, each cited under the calculator. Every assumption is editable, so your numbers replace ours in seconds.
Is this a quote?
No. It's the size of the leak, not the price of the fix. The fix gets a fixed quote after a free analysis.
Can I save the result?
The exit file has the same math for your industry, and the free Inefficiency Scan emails you a full report.