Whitewatr vs spreadsheets: take bookings while you're on the river
Spreadsheets and phone calls cost nothing until you count the bookings you never got. Whitewatr has no monthly fee, charges 2% plus Stripe processing on online bookings, and nothing on the cash and check bookings you record.
Pricing checked September 2026.
Booking tools are opening to outfitters by invitation while we set each one up personally. Claiming your listing is free.
Tools made for river days
User-day and fee reports for your land-agency permits. Group waiver links with minimum-age checks and reminders for guests who haven't signed. A daily manifest with headcounts, waiver status and balances. A guide roster with certifications, and a check that enough boats and vans are free for each new departure.
Pricing side by side
| Whitewatr | Spreadsheets and phone | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly fee | $0 | $0 |
| Online booking | 24/7, paid in full or by deposit | Phone and email only |
| Fees on online bookings | 2% + Stripe processing | None (no online bookings) |
| Cash and check bookings | Recorded free | Recorded by hand |
| Waivers | Signed online before arrival | Paper at the put-in |
Switching before next season
The offseason is the time to switch. Import your trips from a screenshot, a spreadsheet or a pasted list, and we'll import your booking history for you. We set up each outfitter personally, so you're not migrating alone.
Worth knowing
Bookings happen when you're on the river
If guests can only call during business hours, the ones who find you at night can book with whoever has an online calendar.
Capacity lives in someone's head
One mistyped number in a spreadsheet and a departure is overbooked. Online booking stops taking reservations when a departure is full.
Paper waivers go missing
Clipboards at the put-in get wet, lost or skipped. Digital waivers are signed before arrival, and each guest's waiver status shows on the manifest.
Guests forget details
Meeting points, what to bring, the balance due. Automated emails send them without anyone remembering to.
What Whitewatr includes
Everything below is live today. The roadmap is listed separately so you know exactly what you're getting.
Online booking
Guests pick a trip and departure and pay online. Capacity updates as bookings come in. Take full payment or a deposit, with the balance paid later.
Digital waivers
Individual and group signing links, minimum-age checks, email verification and an audit trail. Guests who haven't signed get a reminder.
Manifest and check-in
A run sheet for each day with headcounts, waiver status and balances. Check guests in and export to CSV.
Walk-ins and phone bookings
Record bookings taken in person or by phone, including cash and check. No Whitewatr fee on payments you collect yourself.
Guest emails
Booking confirmation, pre-trip details 48 hours out, waiver and balance-due reminders, and a review request after the trip.
Departure cancellations
Cancel a departure and every guest on it gets an email with a link to rebook on another date or request a refund.
Groups, contracts and invoices
Group quotes with agreements and deposits, contracts with e-signature, and invoices your customers pay online.
Guides
A guide roster with certifications, a personal schedule link for each guide, and payroll tracking by departure or by guest.
Boats and vehicles
Track your boats, vans and gear. A new departure checks that enough of each is free at that time.
Permit reporting
Assign trips to a land-agency permit, generate user-day and fee reports for the period, and export them to CSV.
Gift cards and promo codes
Sell gift cards that redeem against bookings, and run promo codes for your own campaigns.
Your listing and your website
Your Whitewatr listing gets a Book Now button, and a booking widget embeds on your own site.
On the roadmap
- Automatic guide assignment by certification and hours
- Guide-to-guest ratio enforcement
- Rafts, duckies and kayaks in a single booking
- One-click weather cancellation for a whole day, with automatic refunds
- Text-message and weather-aware reminders
- Stored PDF copies of signed waivers
- Full booking and customer export, and an API
- OTA distribution, point of sale and dynamic pricing
Competitor pricing comes from each company's published pricing or terms, a checkout we observed, or a third-party report labeled as reported, checked September 2026. Where a company doesn't publish a rate, we say so. Sources: Stripe pricing.
Start taking bookings online
Spreadsheets are free until they cost you bookings. Whitewatr takes online bookings while you're on the water, with no monthly fee: 2% of online bookings plus Stripe's standard processing, nothing on cash or check.
Booking tools are opening to outfitters by invitation while we set each one up personally. Claiming your listing is free.