Overview
Digital Documents allow you to collect waivers, rental agreements, acknowledgements, and supporting documents directly within BookingCentral.
Rather than relying on paper forms or third-party software, you can create Digital Documents that are automatically sent to customers before their arrival. Completed documents and uploaded files are stored with the customer's order, making them easy to access during Check-In and throughout the life of the booking.
Most operators will create several Digital Documents and assign them to each rental or activity based on their business requirements.
Planning Your Transition to Digital Documents
If you're an existing BookingCentral customer currently using another digital waiver provider (such as Smartwaiver), it's important to plan your transition carefully.
Digital Documents will become an important part of your customer experience. Since customers will be signing waivers, agreements, and uploading required documents before their reservation, we recommend taking time to fully configure and test the feature before making it part of your daily operations.
Best Practices for Transitioning
To ensure a smooth transition, we recommend the following:
- Transition during your off-season or a slower period. This gives you time to configure and test your documents without impacting a high volume of customers.
- Avoid switching during your busiest season. Making changes while managing a large number of active bookings can increase the risk of customer confusion or missed documentation.
- Complete your document setup before assigning them to rentals or activities. Review each waiver, agreement, and upload document to ensure the content, audience, and required fields are configured correctly.
- Test the complete customer experience. Create a test reservation and walk through the registration process exactly as a customer would. Verify that each document appears correctly, signatures are captured, and any required uploads work as expected.
- Allow time for revisions. You may find that your waivers, agreements, or customer instructions need minor updates after testing. Making these adjustments before going live helps create a smoother experience for your customers.
Need Assistance Getting Started?
If you'd like help creating or configuring your Digital Documents, don't hesitate to contact the BookingCentral Support Team. We're happy to answer questions, review your setup, and help you test your documents before you begin using them with customers. Taking a few extra minutes to verify your configuration can help ensure a smooth experience for both your staff and your customers.
Understanding Digital Document Types
Each Digital Document has a Type, which determines how it functions during the customer registration process.
Waiver
A Waiver is used to collect an electronic signature for liability waivers, releases of liability, assumption of risk forms, or similar legal documents.
Common examples:
- Liability Waiver
- Release of Liability
- Assumption of Risk
Agreement
An Agreement is used when customers need to review information and acknowledge or sign a document before their reservation.
Common examples:
- Rental Agreement
- Area of Operation
- Rental Policies
- Damage Policy
- Safety Rules
Upload
An Upload document allows customers to upload required files before their reservation.
Common examples:
- Driver's License
- Proof of Insurance
- Boater Safety Certificate
- Fishing License
- Government-issued ID
- Other required certifications or permits
Multiple Documents Per Reservation
Digital Documents are designed to be modular. Rather than combining everything into one document, you can assign multiple Digital Documents to a rental or activity.
For example, a boat rental might require customers to complete:
- Liability Waiver (Waiver)
- Rental Agreement (Agreement)
- Driver's License (Upload)
- Boater Safety Certificate (Upload)
When the customer completes their registration, all assigned documents are presented as part of a single registration workflow.
In addition, the required digital documents can be different the participant on an individual booking. The renter may need to sign the rental agreement and upload items, while the participant may only need to sign the liability waiver. The Audience feature allows for this.
Step 1: Create a Digital Document
Navigate to:
Settings → Waivers & Agreements
From here you can:
- Select Add Waiver / Agreement / Document to create a new Digital Document.
- Select an existing document to edit its configuration.
When creating a new document, first choose the appropriate Document Type (Waiver, Agreement, or Upload), then complete the remaining configuration.
Select to Create a new Digital Document
Select to Edit an existing Digital Document
Step 2: Configure the Document
Each Digital Document is configured using several tabs.
Overview
The Overview tab contains the general settings for your document.
Configure:
- Document Name
- Document Type
- Audience
- Button Text
- Customer Instructions
Audience
The Audience determines who must complete the document.
Available audience types include:
Renter / Purchaser
The person who made the reservation.
Driver(s)
Anyone who will operate the rental.
Participant(s)
Every participant included on the reservation.
Parent(s) / Guardian(s)
Required when minors are participating and a parent or legal guardian must complete the document.
Spectator(s)
Anyone attending the activity who is also required to complete documentation.
Selecting the correct audience ensures that the appropriate individuals receive the document during registration.
Document
The Document tab contains the content that customers will review.
You can copy and paste content from:
- Microsoft Word
- Google Docs
- Existing PDFs
- Existing waivers or agreements
After pasting, you may need to make minor formatting adjustments.
You can also include:
- Images
- Company logos
- Instructions
- Rules and policies
See examples below of document options.
Example #1: Liability Waiver
Example #2: Map of Approved Areas
Tip: If you'd like to personalize your documents with reservation information or add interactive fields, see Advanced Digital Document Features.
Required Fields
Required Fields determine what contact information is collected from the person completing the document.
Examples include:
- Name
- Email Address
- Phone Number
- Date of Birth
These fields become part of the completed Digital Document.
Note: Documents such as Driver's Licenses, Insurance Certificates, and Boater Safety Certificates are collected using separate Upload document types—not Required Fields.
Minor Participants
If your activity includes participants under the age of 18, you can enable Minor Participants.
This allows a parent or legal guardian to:
- Add one or more minors
- Enter each minor's information
- Sign documents on their behalf
If you want the minor information to appear within the completed document, additional configuration is required. See Advanced Digital Document Features for details.
Required fields include Minor and Birthdate options
Signature
The Signature tab allows you to:
- Display an acknowledgement statement
- Require acceptance before signing
- Capture the participant's electronic signature
Examples include:
- I have read and agree to the terms above.
- I understand the operating rules.
- I acknowledge receipt of safety instructions.
Include custom acknowledgements along with the signature
By default, BookingCentral emails a copy of completed Waivers and Agreements to the signer after the document has been submitted.
Link
Each Digital Document includes a shareable link.
This is useful if you want to:
- Place the link to digital waiver/agreement on your website
- Email it directly to a customer
- Share it outside of the booking process
Note: Documents completed using the standalone link are not automatically attached to a BookingCentral reservation. If needed, they can later be linked to an order manually.
Next Steps
After creating your Digital Documents, you'll need to assign them to the appropriate rentals or activities so customers receive them automatically after booking.
See Assigning & Managing Digital Documents for the next step.
Related Articles:
Waivers & Agreements (Digital Documents) Overview
Advanced Digital Document Features
Assigning, Managing & Viewing Digital Documents