Businesses, nonprofits, schools, youth sports teams, and many other organizations use waivers to protect their well-being and that of their members. However, creating waiver forms and obtaining signatures is a pain point for many organizations, particularly with traditional paper waivers. And if you ever need to find a paper waiver to reference, combing through a file cabinet can be inefficient and time-consuming.
Waiver software mitigates the stress of administering waivers. In this guide, we’ll cover the basics of waiver software and the top features to look for when choosing a provider.
Waivers are legal documents that are typically used to obtain a release of liability from those who sign them. They also make participants more aware of the risks associated with the activity or event they will be participating in. Because the legality of waivers can vary based on local laws, it’s best to work closely with a lawyer when drafting and using waivers.
A digital waiver, also called an online waiver, contains the same key elements as a traditional waiver but can be accessed and signed online. While paper waivers procure “wet signatures” (those made via pen and paper), online waivers obtain electronic signatures (those transmitted electronically).
Online waivers are a more convenient alternative to paper waivers. For example, if your nonprofit is preparing for a large volunteering event, having each volunteer sign a paper waiver on-site could eat into the time they have to work. Instead, you might send each registrant a link to the online waiver beforehand so they can complete it prior to the event.
While it’s common to associate waivers with risky activities like zipline jungle tours or kayaking excursions, they are used every day by many different kinds of organizations. For example, here are some scenarios where an organization would use a waiver:
In addition to securing a liability release, online waiver software has other benefits such as:
Online waivers can even make your organization more sustainable by reducing paper use (and, as a result, printing-related costs). The next step to taking advantage of these benefits is choosing a trusted waiver software provider.
Yes, you can create your own waiver, especially when you have the right digital waiver software to help you out. We do recommend you work with a lawyer to write the waiver. They’ll be the best source of information on local regulations and have the expertise needed to draft legally binding documents.
From there, you just need to make the digital waiver by loading that language into your waiver software of choice. In the upcoming sections, we’ll discuss what you need to look for in the tool, starting with a user-friendly form builder.
Whether you’re converting a paper form into a digital waiver or starting from scratch, an easy-to-use form builder is a must. Ideally, the form builder should allow you to:
Smartwaiver’s Waiver Editor is designed to be user-friendly and adaptable, allowing you to edit the templates at any time. Plus, you can have our team convert your existing waivers into digital Smart Waivers for you, saving your team time.
Your organization will likely need to customize the waiver to its niche, whether you run a summer camp, a boat rental company, or a nonprofit. For example, let’s say a business offers river rafting tours, and families with children make up a significant portion of its customer base. Minors obviously can’t waive liability, so their parents would need to complete the form, but how can the business adapt the form in this scenario?
We recommend looking for these capabilities:
Customization features like these cultivate a more seamless experience for your customers. Rather than reviewing training materials as a separate process, for example, you can integrate custom videos into the waiver.
Your customers’ driver’s licenses contain much of the information needed to complete waivers. Take advantage of this by choosing software with a built-in driver’s license scanning tool. Use a barcode scanner to scan the barcode on the participant’s license, and the feature will automatically fill in the following information:
This speeds up the process and makes completing the waiver more convenient for participants. Plus, responses will be more accurate with less room for human error (e.g., a user accidentally entering their address as 157 Club Court rather than 156 Club Court).
While one of the key benefits of digital waivers is that customers can complete them ahead of time, not everyone will do this. You’ll need to provide an on-site alternative as a backup option.
Waiver kiosks allow you to collect digital waivers in person. Once you’ve set up an account with your digital waiver software provider, the process looks something like this:
Some waiver kiosk apps are able to collect waivers offline. This means that even if your business is in a remote location with a shaky internet connection, you can still safely store signed waivers.
If your organization uses waiver kiosks, you can equip auto photo capture tools. Here’s how Smartwaiver’s auto photo capture tools work:
These photos add an extra layer of security and protection to the waivers, using real-time photos to verify signatures.
Waivers are important legal documents that can contain sensitive data, making data security a top priority. When comparing platforms, review the provider’s commitment to security. Are they practicing these digital security measures?:
Your waiver database should be secure and convenient to use. Look for providers that offer searchable databases so you can easily locate specific waivers by searching the participant’s name, birth date, date of attendance, etc.
Imagine this: your ziplining company is about to head out on a tour, and you’re waiting for the last few participants to submit their waivers via your waiver kiosk. Suddenly, the building loses its internet connection. You end up having to delay the tour until your connection is restored, but what if there were a better way?
As we mentioned earlier, some waiver kiosk apps can collect waivers without an internet connection. This is great for businesses that operate in remote locations or deal with unreliable connections, but let’s face it—internet outages can happen to any business. Choose software with an offline collection to give customers consistent, reliable experiences, ensuring they don’t even notice when your WiFi is on the fritz.
In most cases, all you’ll need to do is update your kiosk app to the latest version, toggle the offline capabilities “on,” and start collecting waivers. Once your device connects to the internet, the waivers collected offline will automatically sync to your database.
Integrating your waiver software with your reservation, ticketing, or email marketing software will further streamline registration processes for your customers. Having an integrated tech stack also keeps your data consolidated, ensuring your database is always complete and up-to-date. Smartwaiver integrates with leading software providers for all kinds of industries—see if yours are included!
Investing in digital waiver software has a host of benefits for any organization that routinely uses waivers. With the help of waiver software and a legal professional, you can provide better experiences for those signing the liability waiver, all while reducing the time and effort you need to spend collecting and organizing.
To learn more about Smartwaiver’s solution and try it for yourself, check out our video demo and sign up for a free trial!
To get the most out of your waiver software, check out these resources: