What does a "linked" customer profile mean?
Every customer profile you create in Dockwa — from a new reservation, a waitlist signup, or a contract — lives in your customer list. Separately, boaters can create their own free Dockwa account to manage reservations, contracts, and payments.
When the email on a customer profile matches the email on a boater's Dockwa account, Dockwa connects the two records. Once connected:
The boater can log in and see their reservations, contracts, and invoices with your marina.
Their name, phone number, and boat details stay up to date on their customer profile.
Any payment methods they've saved to their Dockwa account become available for you to use on their customer record.
Why profile linking matters
When a customer profile isn't linked to the boater's own account, the boater won't be able to see any information for your marina, including their reservation, contract, or invoices.
This mismatch can happen when:
A customer profile was created before the boater had a Dockwa account (for example, during a contract billing takeover).
A boater joined a long-term waitlist or signed a contract in person before creating their own account.
A staff-run point-of-sale sale was rung up under a customer profile that was never connected to that boater's account.
How to check if a profile is linked
You can see a customer profile's linked status directly in Dockwa, in three places:
Customer profile: hover over the tooltip near the customer's name to see if it's linked to a Dockwa account.
Customers page: linked status shows in your customer list, so you can spot unlinked customers at a glance.
Contract status page: linked status also appears here for boaters with contracts.
If a customer profile shows as not linked, that means the boater either hasn't created a Dockwa account yet, or the email on their customer profile doesn't match the email on their Dockwa account.
How the connection works
Linking happens when a boater's account email matches the email on their customer profile. There's no button to click — it happens in the background.
Linking is triggered by boater activity — making a reservation request, joining a waitlist, or signing a contract. A matching email isn't enough on its own; the boater generally needs to take one of these actions, or you need to save or update their customer profile, for the connection to form.
Once linked, the email is locked on your end. See below for what to do if a linked customer profile needs an email update.
Can I edit the customer's email on file within their contact record?
Not linked yet: Yes. If the customer profile isn't connected to a Dockwa account, you can update the email on file directly.
Already linked: No. Once a customer profile is linked to a boater's Dockwa account, you can't change the email from the contact record. The boater needs to update their email on their own Dockwa account first — once they do, the change will carry over to their customer profile.
How to fix an unlinked profile where a boater can't see their information
Check the customer profile's linked status using one of the locations above.
If it's not linked, confirm the email on the customer profile matches the email the boater uses to log in to their personal Dockwa account.
If the emails don't match, have the boater log in (or create an account) using the same email you have on file for them — or update their customer profile to match their Dockwa login email.
If the emails already match and the customer profile still shows as not linked, or the boater still can't see their invoice or contract, send the boater your Customer Invite Link.
Navigate to your Customers page to get the Invite Link.
Copy the link and send it to your boater via email or Dockwa messaging.
Once the boater clicks the Invite Link, they'll be prompted to log in or create an account.
Last Step: Once the boater is logged in, they'll need to formally connect with your marina by clicking the "Connect" button on this screen. This step is important and ensures that the connection happens correctly.
For boaters who haven't created a Dockwa account yet, sending a Customer Invite Link is the fastest way to get them connected — see Build better records in Dockwa with the Customer Invite feature.