Important. Contract-specific terms may override the platform defaults below. Kalinklo records an advisory consequence for counterparty review; it does not provide legal advice or move money automatically.
What "cancellation" means here
Cancellation is the ending of an engagement after a Contract has been issued. Before a Contract exists, a request can be declined, a hold can be released, and a quote can be revoked or expired — none of those are cancellations.
A Contract that has been signed is the live commitment. Cancelling it is a deliberate act with consequences for both sides.
The defaults
In the absence of contract-specific wording, the platform applies a conservative default tier structure:
- More than 90 days before the engagement — cancellation by either side releases the booking with no platform-mediated penalty. The presenter's deposit, if any, is refunded.
- 30 to 90 days before — cancellation by the presenter forfeits the deposit. Cancellation by the artist obliges them to assist in arranging a replacement of comparable standing where possible.
- Less than 30 days before — cancellation by the presenter pays out the deposit and any agreed cancellation fee. Cancellation by the artist obliges them to arrange a replacement or pay an equivalent cancellation fee.
- Day-of and post-engagement — full payment is due to the artist unless the artist did not perform, in which case the matter is opened as a dispute.
These are defaults, not legal commitments. Every Contract may override them — and often should, especially for institutional engagements with their own procurement language.
How a cancellation happens on the platform
From any signed Booking, the action Cancel engagement opens a form requiring:
- The cancelling party (presenter or artist/agency)
- The reason category (force majeure, scheduling conflict, illness, no longer required, other)
- A short free-text explanation that both sides will see
- Acknowledgement of the financial implications under the active cancellation policy
The cancellation and its advisory consequence are recorded atomically against the engagement chain. The counterparty is notified immediately. Pure receivable invoices that have collected no money are voided; any invoice with collected money is preserved and flagged for a manual refund decision. Kalinklo never guesses a fee from free-text contract wording.
Each authorized counterparty records one immutable decision: accept the recommendation, dispute it, or waive the consequence. Matching decisions confirm or waive the record; any disagreement fails closed to a dispute. One person cannot decide for both sides, even if they hold access on both workspaces. No decision charges, refunds, or transfers money automatically.
The audit log captures everything.
Force majeure
If the engagement is prevented by an event outside either party's control — public-health restriction, venue catastrophe, travel embargo — either side can mark the cancellation as force majeure. The default treatment is:
- No party pays a cancellation fee
- The deposit is returned in full (or held against a rescheduled date by mutual consent)
- The platform records the event without charging a fee
Force-majeure invocations are reviewable by an admin if the counterparty disputes the classification.
Disputes
If you and the counterparty disagree on whether a cancellation applies, whether force majeure is valid, or what the financial consequence should be, open a dispute. See Dispute process.
Where to next
- Dispute process — how disputes are opened and resolved
- Billing — how cancellation affects fees and settlement
- Request and hold, step by step — the lifecycle before a Contract exists