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Pre-Authorize a Credit Card

Place an authorization hold, void an expired authorization, and add an extra cover

Stephen Kuhn avatar
Written by Stephen Kuhn
Updated over a year ago

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Watch the brief instructional video below:


Pre-Authorize a Card

  1. Click to edit an Order.

  2. Make sure the Order is set to be paid by payment gateway in the Payment Methods.

  3. Click to the Payments Tab.

  4. Under 'Authorize Outstanding Amount' on the bottom left, add a credit card using the plus button. If a card is already saved with the Contact, it will automatically display in the payment method box. If multiple cards are saved for that Contact, click the box to switch between cards.

  5. Once chosen, click 'Authorize Outstanding'.

  6. Once Pre-Authorized, the card payment information shows up under Order Payments.

    1. You can view the:

      1. Transaction ID

      2. Type of transaction made

      3. Last 4-digits of credit card

      4. Date the Validation was made

      5. How much was due

      6. Amount Validated

  7. Pre-Auth will Authorize and place a hold of the full amount currently due on the order. If you've set up an Extra Cover percentage amount to account for gratuity and order changes, the extra percentage is included in the Authorization Hold until final payment is taken.

  8. The Amount Due now says $0. The Total Order Amount has been held on the card until the Authorization expires. However, you need to click 'Charge Card' to finalize this payment.

Pre-Authorization Expiration Windows

Authorizations expire after a set amount of days depending on which Payment Gateway you use

  • Stripe: 7 days

  • Square: 7 days

  • Authorize.net: 30 days

  • FreedomPay: 30 days

  • SagePay // Opayo : 30 days


Take Final Payment

If the Authorization Expired, you need to first Void the Authorization and re-authorize the credit card.

  1. Under Take Final Payment, select Charge Card.

  2. Select Yes.

  3. The page will now show the Type as Payment, rather than Authorization, indicating the Order Payment was finalized.


Confirm and Send Receipt to Customer

Select Reconfirm to send a Confirmation Email of the payment to the Customer. This acts as the 'receipt". A copy of this message is found in the Messages Tab.

That's how you Pre-Authorize a credit card and take Final Payment for an Order!


Further Reading for Taking Card Payments

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