About the Credit Card Interface

Use the Credit Card Interface to bill a customer's credit card through a third-party credit card processing service and to accept credit cards for payment. The credit card is authorized for validity when an order is placed, but it is not charged until the invoice is generated. The interface communicates with a gateway provider such as CenPOS, which in turn communicates with the credit card processing company such as Visa or Master Card. To preserve security, this application does not store any credit card information; it only stores a transaction number or token that links to the gateway provider's application.

System Setup

Use the Credit Card Interface Parameters form and the Credit Card Systems form to set up the interface after it is installed.

For more information, see Setting up the Credit Card Interface.

Collecting,Viewing, and Reusing Credit Card Information

Click the Pay with Credit Card button on these forms to display the Credit Card Payments form, where you can specify the credit card details and quickly check that the card is valid:

Customer Orders
Service Orders
(This applies if Service is licensed.)
A/R Posted Transaction Summary
A/R Posted Transaction Detail

You can also access the Credit Card Payments form from the main menu, to set up payment information for customers at any time.

Service Mobile users can collect credit card information and signatures using their mobile devices.

Customer Portal users can enter credit card information through the portal.

If you select Store for Future Orders on the Credit Card Payments form, a record of the customer's credit card information is saved.

This reduces the time to enter subsequent orders and provides a better experience for repeat customers. If you do not select Store for Future Orders, the credit card information is used only for the current order and cannot be retrieved for future orders.

Note: The application does not store the actual credit card number for legal reasons. It stores a reference into the third-party credit card processing software where the encrypted credit card information is stored.

You can associate more than one card with the same customer number.

Use the Customer Credit Cards form to look for credit cards on file or to remove stored credit card information from the system. You cannot edit the information on this form.

Use the Credit Card Payments form to update or add credit card information for a customer.

For security reasons, only the last four digits of the credit card number are displayed. The card type and expiration date are displayed for each customer Ship To number, to distinguish between multiple cards on file for that customer.

Note: If you use the CenPOS or BridgePay gateway, you do not specify the credit card information directly in the Credit Card Payments form. Instead, click Authorize in that form to display the Credit Card Web Payment form, which calls the CenPOS or BridgePay virtual terminal. You enter and submit the customer's credit card information in the virtual terminal and click Submit. A token is returned and stored in SyteLine.

Pre-Authorizing the Card

When you take an order using a credit card, the system can pre-authorize the card for a percentage of the sale amount, or for a specific default amount, or just verify that the card is valid and authorize the actual amount later. This is a system setting that must be handled the same way for all customers. See Pre-authorizing Credit Card Amounts or Percentages.

Authorizing (or Reauthorizing) the Card When the Order Ships

Use the Credit Card Shipping Authorization utility to reauthorize the customer's credit card prior to physically shipping the item, to validate that the card is still valid and funds are available.

See Reauthorizing a Credit Card upon Shipment.

Credit Card Transactions

All credit card transactions that are sent through the interface are stored in the application database to allow auditing. Each transaction is stamped with the date and time so you can track daily transaction volume through the Credit Card Transactions form. The actual credit card number is stored in a separate third-party database that is encrypted and certified to record such information.

Handling Multiple Currencies through Gateways

You can set up multiple credit card processing gateways within one site. Each gateway is associated with a bank code. A currency code is associated with the bank.

When you enter a customer's credit card information as part of a transaction, the customer's currency is compared to the currencies of banks associated with gateways. One Default Credit Card System can be defined for each currency on the Credit Card Systems form. On credit card transactions, the default gateway that matches the customer's currency is used. You can select a different gateway for the transaction. If that gateway uses a different currency than the customer's currency, the Total Amount that is displayed for the transaction is adjusted to match the gateway currency, so customers see the actual amount that will be charged on their card. The posting of the A/R payment is also adjusted to match the currency of the A/R invoice.

Reversing Credit Card Transactions

You can reverse a transaction against the original credit card.

See Processing Customer Credits/Returns on Credit Cards.

Invoicing and Credit Cards

During order invoicing, if the order is associated with a credit card, the system calculates the amount of the invoice and executes a transaction through a third-party application to charge the credit card. The amount charged to the credit card is displayed on the invoice. The invoice also indicates whether credit card processing was successful or failed.

Accounts Receivable

You can accept a credit card for an invoice during collection calls with customers and initiate a transaction through a third-party application to charge the credit card. Upon successful completion of the credit card transaction, the payment is applied to the specific invoice. Partial and overpayments are supported.

If there are multiple invoices, you can accept a credit card to apply an Open payment during collection calls with customers and initiate a transaction through a third-party application to charge the credit card. Upon successful completion of the credit card transaction, the payment is created, and you can use the Quick Pay feature to associate multiple outstanding invoices with the payment.

Note: Partial payments and over-payments are permitted from A/R Posted Transactions.

Debugging

If transactions are not processing correctly, select Debug on the Credit Card Interface Parameters form. This creates entries in the Application Debug Log table. You can view these entries on the Application Debug Log Listing form.

Caution:

Because this feature can cause performance issues in your live system, it should not be used unless you are trying to troubleshoot an issue while working with support.