Overview
WaveRez Admin gives you two ways to create a new order: using the plus icon in the top navigation bar, or clicking directly on a time slot in the Daily Matrix, Weekly Matrix, or Monthly Matrix calendar views. Both methods take you through the same four-step form — Basic Info, Tickets/Options, Contact/Payment Info, and Billing Info — and result in a completed order that appears in your Orders list and Manifest. Use the plus icon when you know the trip and date you need. Use the Matrix views when you want to see availability at a glance before booking.
Method 1: Create an Order Using the + Icon
Step 1 — Open the New Booking Form
Click the + (plus) icon in the top-right corner of WaveRez Admin, next to the messaging icon and your user profile. The New Booking form opens and displays four tabs across the top: Basic Info, Tickets/Options, Contact/Payment Info, and Billing Info. You start on the Basic Info tab.
Step 2 — Select the Trip and Date
Click the Activity dropdown, labeled Choose trip, and select the trip you want to book (for example, "Jet Ski Rental" or "Dolphin Watching Cruise"). Once you select a trip, a calendar appears on the left side of the form showing the current month. Click the date you want to book. Only dates with available capacity are selectable — dates with no availability appear grayed out. Use the month navigation arrows to move forward to future dates if needed.
Booking a past date? If you need to create an order for a date that has already passed, for example, a walk-up from earlier today that wasn't recorded, toggle the Past Reservation checkbox at the top of the form before selecting a date. This unlocks past dates in the calendar.
Step 3 — Select a Start Time
After selecting a date, available time slots appear on the right side of the form. Each time slot displays the start time, the ticket price, and the number of spots remaining (for example, "9:00am — $100.00 — 4 left"). Click the time slot you want. WaveRez automatically advances you to the Tickets/Options tab.
Configure Tickets and Options
You are now on the Tickets/Options tab. This is where you select ticket types, assign equipment, choose any add-ons, and add internal notes.
Step 4 — Review the Trip Summary
At the top of the tab, a summary shows the trip name, the selected date and day of the week, and the selected start time. A Change time button appears next to the start time if you need to go back and select a different slot. Below the summary, the subtotal, tax amount, and order total update automatically as you make selections.
Step 5 — Set Ticket Type, Equipment, and Quantity
The Tickets section displays one ticket row by default. Each ticket row contains three fields:
Ticket — a dropdown showing the available ticket types for this trip (for example, "1 Hour Rental — $100.00" or "Adult — $150.00"). Select the ticket type that matches what the customer is booking.
Equipment — a dropdown showing the specific equipment available for that ticket (for example, "Jet Ski 1" or "Jet Ski 2"). Select the equipment you want to assign.
Amount — the quantity of tickets for this equipment. How this field works depends on the trip type:
For tour-type trips (such as a Dolphin Watching Cruise), multiple customers can share one piece of equipment, so you can increase the Amount field directly on the ticket row to reflect the number of guests. For example, if four guests are joining the same cruise departure on the same boat, set Amount to 4 on a single ticket row.
For rental-type trips (such as a Jet Ski Rental or Pontoon Boat Rental), each piece of equipment holds one ticket. You cannot increase the Amount field on a single rental ticket row to book multiple units. Instead, click Add new tickets to add a separate ticket row for each additional piece of rental equipment. For example, to book three jet skis, you would have three separate ticket rows — one for Jet Ski 1, one for Jet Ski 2, and one for Jet Ski 3.
Each ticket row also displays a short description beneath it with the ticket description (for example, "1 Hour Rental for up to 2 passengers, 250 lb combined weight limit").
Step 6 — Select Any Add-On Options
Below the ticket rows, the Options section lists available add-ons for this trip (for example, "Damage Protection" or "Driver's Age"). Click the Options dropdown to see all available add-ons and select any that apply. If an option has a cost, the order total updates automatically to reflect it.
Step 7 — Add Internal Notes
The Comments field at the bottom of this tab is for internal staff notes only — customers never see this. Use it to record special requests, mobility needs, or anything your team should know before the trip (for example, "Customer requested Jet Ski 1 specifically" or "Guest needs boarding assistance"). Click the ⓘ icon next to the field to confirm that comments are not visible to customers.
Click Next to advance to the Contact/Payment Info tab.
Enter Customer Information and Select Payment
You are now on the Contact/Payment Info tab. Before entering any customer information, read the important note below about the cart.
⚠️ Complete all cart changes before entering customer information. Once you reach this tab, a cart icon becomes visible in the top navigation bar. The cart — labeled Manage Order Items when opened — is the only place where you can add a second trip type to this order (for example, adding a Pontoon Boat Rental to an order that already contains a Jet Ski Rental). You can also use the cart to adjust ticket pricing, toggle Sales Tax on or off, toggle the Booking Fee on or off, or apply a Promo Code. Any time you click Update Cart to save a change, WaveRez refreshes the form and clears everything you have typed in the contact fields. Enter all customer contact information only after you have finalized the cart. If you update the cart after entering contact details, you will need to re-enter that information.
Step 8 — Add Additional Trips to the Cart (If Applicable)
If the customer is booking more than one trip type — for example, a Jet Ski Rental and a Pontoon Boat Rental in the same order — click the cart icon in the top navigation bar. The Manage Order Items modal opens. Click Add Trip to select the additional trip, configure its ticket and equipment, then click Update Cart to save. Repeat for any additional trip types. When the cart reflects everything the customer is booking, close the modal and proceed.
Step 9 — Apply Promos or Adjust Pricing in the Cart (If Applicable)
If you need to apply a promo code, change the ticket price, or toggle Sales Tax or the Booking Fee, do this now — before entering customer contact information. Open the cart, make your changes, click Update Cart, then close the modal and proceed. Once you have clicked Update Cart for the last time and the order total is correct, you are ready to enter customer information.
Step 10 — Find or Create the Customer Record
Use the Search customer field to look up the customer by name, phone number, or email. If a matching record is found, their information auto-fills the contact fields below. If the customer is new, fill in the fields directly. If you are creating a walk-up reservation and do not need to record customer information, click Walk up — WaveRez fills the name fields with "Walk" and "Up" and enters a generic phone number so you can complete the booking quickly.
Walk Up and required email: If your account requires an email address for internal orders, the Walk Up button does not auto-fill the email field. You will need to enter an email address manually before proceeding.
Step 11 — Enter Contact Information
Fill in the customer's contact details:
First name (required)
Last name (required)
Phone (required) — the country code defaults to United States (+1). A second phone number field is available if needed.
Email (required)
Address, City, State/Province, Country, and ZIP/Postal code (optional) — these fields build a complete customer profile but are not required to complete the booking.
Step 12 — Set Communication Preferences
Two checkboxes appear below the contact fields: Send a text confirmation and Send email confirmation. Both are checked by default. Uncheck either one if the customer does not want that type of confirmation sent.
Step 13 — Add an Emergency Contact (Optional)
For water sports and excursions, you can record an emergency contact for the guest. The fields — Emergency contact name, Emergency contact address, and Emergency contact phone — are optional but recommended for safety and liability purposes.
Step 14 — Select a Payment Method
The payment method defaults to WR Credit Card. To change it, click the Change button. The Change payment option window opens and displays the following options:
WR Credit Card — The customer will need to provide their billing and card details on the next screen.
Card Hold — WaveRez holds the customer's card information but does not charge it. The charge is processed manually on arrival, or the payment method can be switched to a different option when the customer arrives.
Card/Cash — for customers paying part cash and part credit card.
Cash — for customers paying entirely in cash.
Gift Certificate — for customers using a gift certificate issued by your business.
Comp Ticket — marks the order as complimentary. The order total is set to zero, no payment is collected, and no charge is created. Comp Ticket orders do not appear as revenue in your reports. Use this for staff, guests, or any situation where the trip is provided at no cost.
Select the payment method that applies and click Next to process the Credit card or Complete Order to complete the order.
Create an Order from the Daily Matrix
The Daily Matrix view lets you see your full schedule — every trip, every piece of equipment, and every time slot — in a single grid. Clicking directly on an available cell is the fastest way to create a booking when you are already working in the matrix.
Step 1 — Open the Daily Matrix
In the left navigation menu, click Calendar, then click Daily (Matrix). The matrix opens showing today's date by default. Use the Prev day and Next day buttons at the top to navigate to the date you want to book. Alternatively, you can click on the date itself to bring up a calendar selection tool.
Step 2 — Read the Matrix Grid
The matrix displays your trips and equipment as rows, and time slots as columns. Each cell in the grid represents one piece of equipment at one specific time. Cell colors and labels tell you what is available:
A cell showing a number (for example, "5 Available") is open and can be booked.
A cell showing a guest name (for example, "Smith") is already booked.
A red or pink cell labeled "Unavailable" is closed or fully booked.
Step 3 — Click an Available Time Slot
Click the green cell for the equipment and time you want to book. The New Booking form opens with the trip, date, equipment, and time already filled in from your selection.
Step 4 — Complete the Booking Form
With the trip and time pre-filled, continue from Step 4 in the plus icon method above: configure tickets and quantities on the Tickets/Options tab, enter customer information on the Contact/Payment Info tab, and complete the booking on the Billing Info tab.
When you click Complete Booking, the matrix cell updates immediately to show the guest name, confirming the booking is recorded.
Troubleshooting
The Activity dropdown is empty and no trips appear. This happens when no trips are active in your account or your user role does not have permission to view them. Confirm that at least one trip is active under Resources > Trips. If trips exist but still do not appear, contact WaveRez support to review your user permissions.
A date in the calendar is grayed out and cannot be selected. Grayed-out dates have no available capacity for the selected trip. Open the Daily Matrix and navigate to that date to see which time slots are closed or fully booked. If the date should be open, check the trip's schedule settings under Resources > Trips.
The time slot I need is not showing. The trip may not be scheduled to run at that time, or all equipment for that slot is fully booked. Navigate to the Daily Matrix to confirm availability. If the time slot should exist, review the trip's schedule configuration under Resources > Trips.
The order was created but shows as unpaid. If you selected any payment method other than WR Credit Card, the order remains unpaid until payment is recorded. Open the order from the Orders list and update the payment status manually once payment is collected.
I selected Walk Up but the form still requires an email address. Your account is configured to require an email address for internal orders. The Walk Up button does not bypass this requirement. Enter any valid email address to complete the booking.