Waivers let you collect legally binding digital signatures from customers before they arrive. Build custom templates with a drag-and-drop editor, assign them to specific locations or inventory items, and view signed copies with timestamps, signature images, and device information.
Template list
The waiver list page shows all templates for the selected location. Each card displays the template title, description, and the location it belongs to. When viewing "All Locations," templates from every location are aggregated and labeled with their respective location names.
Available actions on each template card:
| Action | Description |
|---|---|
| Edit | Open the template in the waiver builder |
| Delete | Permanently remove the template (requires confirmation) |
| Copy to Location | Duplicate the template to one or more other locations |
Building a template
Click + New Template or Edit on an existing template to open the waiver builder. The builder uses a drag-and-drop interface powered by a sortable list. Drag sections to reorder them, click to expand and edit content, or add new sections from the field type palette.
Field types
| Field type | Icon | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Header | Title | Section heading or title text |
| Rich Text | Text | Rich HTML content block for terms, conditions, safety instructions, or any formatted text |
| Signature | Draw | Digital signature pad where the signer draws their signature |
| Checkbox Group | Checkbox | One or more checkboxes for required or optional agreements |
| Radio Group | Radio | Multiple-choice questions where the signer picks one option |
| Text Field | Text | Free-form text input (e.g., emergency contact name, medical conditions) |
| Date | Calendar | Date picker field |
| Number | Numbers | Numeric input field |
| Time | Clock | Time picker field |
| Dependants | People | Section for listing dependants or minors the signer is responsible for |
Section properties
Each section can be configured with:
- Content -- the text or HTML displayed to the signer
- Name -- internal field name for data reference
- Required -- whether the field must be completed before submission
- Placeholder -- hint text shown in empty input fields
- Options -- choices for checkbox groups and radio groups
- Page -- which page of a multi-page waiver this section belongs to
Editing workflow
- Click Add Section and choose a field type from the palette.
- The new section appears at the bottom of the list. Click it to expand.
- Edit the content using the rich text editor (for Rich Text fields) or configure options.
- Drag sections to reorder using the drag handle.
- Use Duplicate to clone a section with the same content and settings.
- Click Save to persist all changes.
Multi-language support
Templates support multiple languages. The system currently supports:
| Language | Code |
|---|---|
| English | en |
| Spanish (Espanol) | es |
| French (Francais) | fr |
Set a primary language on the template, then add translations for the title, description, and each section. The waiver automatically displays in the customer's preferred language when available.
Assigning waivers
Waivers can be assigned at two levels:
- Location-level -- every booking at the location requires the waiver.
- Inventory-level -- only bookings for specific items require the waiver. Select the waiver template during the inventory wizard's "Waiver" step.
When a customer books an item with an assigned waiver, they are prompted to sign during the checkout flow. The waiver can also be signed via:
- A kiosk QR code on-site that pre-fills customer information from the booking
- The pre-arrival check-in link sent in the booking confirmation email
- The Next Steps page accessible from the customer's booking details
Matching signatures to bookings
A waiver signed from a booking link, a QR code or the Next Steps page already knows which reservation it belongs to. A waiver signed from your plain location waiver link does not -- that link belongs to the location, not to any one booking, and guests can skip the "choose your reservation" screen.
Those signatures used to land attached to nothing. The waiver was signed and stored, but the booking's manifest still read 0 signed, and staff at the dock had no way to see the guest had already signed on their phone.
RentalTide now attaches them for you, using what the guest typed:
- It looks at every reservation at that location for today -- the same list the "choose your reservation" screen would have shown.
- It compares the name, email and phone the guest entered against the booker and the participants on each of those reservations.
- If exactly one reservation can be meant, the signature is attached to it and appears on the manifest immediately.
How confident it has to be
Email and phone identify a person, so a match on either is enough on its own. A match on name only is weaker -- two Smith parties on one dock is an ordinary Saturday -- so a name-only match is used only when it is the single match of the whole day.
When one guest has more than one reservation:
- One walk-up covering several units (two kayaks on one ticket) is treated as a single party. The signature attaches to the ticket and applies across it.
- Two genuinely separate visits in one day are separated by the time the guest signed.
When it cannot tell
If two different parties match equally well, or nobody matches at all, the signature is deliberately left unattached rather than guessed at. Attaching a waiver to the wrong party is worse than leaving it for a human -- it puts the wrong name on a manifest and marks a guest as covered who signed nothing.
This works from what is on the booking, so it is only as good as what you collect. A reservation with no email and no phone can only ever be matched by name. If a lot of your signatures are going unattached, check whether your booking flow is capturing a phone number or email for walk-ups.
Attaching still happens automatically when a guest signs from any of the links above, or picks their reservation on the chooser screen -- this only covers the case where they did neither.
Viewing signed waivers
Completed waivers are stored with:
- Customer name and email
- Signature image captured from the signature pad
- Timestamp of when the waiver was signed
- IP address and device information
- The exact template version that was signed
Access signed waivers from the booking detail page or from the customer record.
Copying templates across locations
Use Copy to Location to duplicate a waiver template to one or more locations. The copy operation runs sequentially across selected locations with a progress indicator. Changes to the copy do not affect the original template.
Keep waiver text concise and focused on the essentials -- long waivers reduce completion rates. Use the preview mode to see exactly what the customer will see before publishing. The dependants field type lets group leaders sign on behalf of minors. Multi-page templates help organize longer waivers into logical sections without overwhelming the signer.
Waiver not appearing during checkout -- Confirm the waiver is assigned to the correct location or inventory item. Verify the template has been saved (not left in draft state).
Signature not saving -- The customer must draw a clear mark in the signature field. A blank or nearly blank signature pad will not be accepted.
Template changes were lost -- Waiver templates must be explicitly saved. Click Save after making changes -- navigating away from the builder without saving discards edits.
Rich text formatting looks different -- The builder uses a rich text editor that produces HTML. Complex formatting from external sources (Word, Google Docs) may not translate perfectly. Paste as plain text and reformat within the editor for best results.
Copy to location failed -- Ensure you have admin permissions at the target location. The copy operation requires write access to the destination location's waiver templates.
Guest signed but the manifest still reads 0 -- They most likely used the plain location waiver link and skipped the reservation chooser. See Matching signatures to bookings: the signature attaches automatically when the details they typed point at exactly one of the day's reservations. If the booking has no email or phone on it and another party that day shares their name, it is left unattached on purpose. Attach it by hand from the booking, and consider sending guests the Next Steps link or a QR code instead of the bare location link.
A waiver attached to the wrong reservation -- This means two reservations genuinely matched the same details and the guest signed inside one reservation's window. Detach it from the booking and re-attach it to the correct one.