Two dates are required in the **Terms** step of the proposal builder. Both are stated on the client's proposal, and both have real consequences.

## Expires On

How long your offer stands. Pass the date without a response and the booking moves to **Expired**. You can send a new proposal, but you're starting the decision over.

### Choosing it

**One to two weeks** suits most bookings. Long enough that a client can talk to a partner or check a budget, short enough that it prompts a decision.

**Shorter for a contested date.** If two clients are asking about the same Saturday, a shorter window tells you sooner which one is real.

**Longer for a big event far out.** Someone planning a wedding eighteen months ahead is comparing several DJs and won't be rushed. Three or four weeks is reasonable.

Too short reads as pressure and loses bookings. Too long means holding a date for someone who was never going to book.

## Cancelable Until

The last date the client can cancel and get a full refund. After it, what they've paid may be forfeited — the deposit on a deposit booking, or the full amount on a full-amount one.

**Use My Default** fills this from the **Cancellation Period** on your profile.

### Choosing it

The question to ask: *by what date would it be too late for me to fill this slot?*

**Two to four weeks out** works for most bookings. Enough notice that you could still pick something up.

**Further out for peak dates.** A Saturday in December that cancels ten days ahead is a date you won't refill. A longer window is justified — and clients accept it when it's clear upfront.

**Shorter for quiet periods.** A midweek booking in February is easier to be relaxed about.

### It's not a punishment

The cancellation window exists because you turned down other work. Set it to reflect what you'd actually lose, not to discourage cancelling. A window a client finds unreasonable costs you the booking now, not later.

## Where the client sees them

Both are in **Proposal Terms**, phrased plainly: *This event proposal is valid until [date]* and *If accepted, this event can be canceled until [date], for a full refund*.

## Backing it up

The **Cancellation & Refund Policy** document template puts the same terms in a document the client signs. Worth attaching for anything substantial. See [Adding Documents to a Proposal](/hc/djs/articles/adding-documents-to-proposals).