Task 7
Batch and Review Credit Card Transactions

This covers Task 7 of learning how to use credit card processing and ACH.

Merely running a credit card transaction through your Retail screen does not mean that the funds will be transferred from your customer's credit card to your business bank account. For that to happen, you must first batch and settle your credit card transactions.

The word "batch" refers to putting a collection of credit card charges into a group. The word "settle" refers to sending the funds off to your bank account. You have the options to either manually or automatically batch and settle transactions. We recommend that you configure your system to automatically batch and settle your transactions using our SmartBatching feature, which is fully explained in the next task. But, if you want to manually batch and settle transactions, this page will show you how.

It is extremely important that if you manually batch and settle transactions, you do it at least every 48 hours. If you wait longer than 48 hours, there is a chance that you will not be able to settle credit card charges. You might even lose the money from the sale. Once again, we strongly recommend that you use our SmartBatching feature, which batches and settles every single night.

Even though we recommend against it, some clients prefer to manually batch and settle transactions. It gives bookkeepers a little more control over when funds are sent to the bank account. For this exercise, you will manually batch and settle two of the transactions. In the next Task we will turn on your SmartBatching.

Step	Comments
Note: If you charged a credit card successfully, the charge has only been approved.	When a transaction is run through point of sale, it appears on the Approved Transactions screen. This means that the processing system did 3 things: 1. It verified the validity of the account 2. It verified that the funds are in the account 3. It moved the funds' status from available to ‘pending' (effectively places a hold on that amount in the customer's account -- the customer will not have access to these funds)
2. Follow this menu path: Payment Processing => Batch & Review	The Batch & Review window is displayed. By default, the Approved Transactions screen is displayed.
3. Note: Look in the Quick Reference Window, you should see your unsettled transactions	These are charges that have been authorized by the credit card company, but not settled. After 10 days you will no longer be able to settle these charges. You'll noticed that the Unsettled Transactions are now hyperlinked. If clicked, the report for the card type that you clicked will be generated.
4. Next to the Generate button, use the drop down box to choose what type of credit card you used for payment.	The three types are: 1) Visa/MasterCard, 2) American Express or 3) Discover The system requires that Visa/MasterCard, Discover and American Express be batched separately because the processing rates are different. The rates shown on each client's merchant account are for Visa/MasterCard only; Amex and Discover process separately, charge different rates and issue separate monthly statements.
5. Next to the Generate button, use the drop down box to choose what location you want to settle.	If you do not choose All Locations, then you must do this task for each location.
6. Next to the Generate button, use the drop down box to choose what transaction type (e.g., swiped transactions or transactions where you manually keyed in the credit card number) that you want to settle. You must also do this for every Card type (e.g., Visa/MasterCard).	If you set your site up for manually batching and settling, then you must do it for every location, cart type, and transaction type.
6. Click Generate	This will generate a list of all unsettled credit card transaction that are either all Visa/MasterCard or all American Express cards.
7. Select every check box in the Batch/Settle column.	This selects the transactions you will manually batch/settle.
8. Click on the button titled Batch and Settle Selected Transactions	This will batch (put all the transactions into a group) and settle (send the group to your bank account) the selected transactions. The funds will reach your business bank account in approximately 2-3 business days.
9. Verify that the funds reached your bank account	After the list has been settled, the funds will be deposited into your bank account within 2 business days. If you refund a client, the money that left your bank account for the refund will appear on your statement at the end of the month. On your business bank statement, deposits appear as: BKCD PROCESSING BKCD DEPST
Note: Pre-Auth Codes Expire in 7-10 Days	Pre-authorization codes are good for only 7-10 calendar days. If approved transactions are not batched and settled within this timeframe, the pre-authorization will expire and if the business attempts to batch and settle the transaction, it will return as Declined. The transaction must be re-run, and the original transaction must be voided from the client's purchase history.
Note: Pre-Auth Codes Must be Manually Cleared In Order to Make Funds Available	Even if a pre-authorized transaction is voided, the pre-authorization will exist for the full 7-10 day period. If the customer needs access to these funds, voiding the pre-authorized transaction will not give them access. The merchant must call in with the pre-authorization code to the customer's bank/credit card company and request that the pre-authorization be cleared from those funds; otherwise, the customer will need to wait for the pre-authorization to clear -- 7-10 days from the time the pre-authorization code was issued (sale date)
Note: Do not click on the link titled "Void Checked Transactions"	This link only voids the money your customer paid for a sale. It does not void the package, series, or contract that was sold. Be warned, if you ever click on this link your customer will not be charged but they will still get the service that they originally purchased.
Note: Settled Transactions	If you click on this link, the screen displays all settled credit card and ACH transactions. You can filter this data by date range, location, card type, and batch number.
Note: Batch Numbers	Batch numbers are not always issued consecutively or in increasing order. Typically, batch numbers will start with 1 and increase consecutively but sometimes they will skip around and can even decrease rather than increase. This is due to processing different types of credit cards and batching under different locations as well as having items in the Approved Transactions screen for multiple days.

Task 7 Batch and Review Credit Card Transactions

Task 7
Batch and Review Credit Card Transactions