Merchant Warehouse Credit Card Process, New

Credit Card Swiping #

To enhance your credit card processing and to lower your credit card processing fees, you can also use a USB credit card reader. The card reader connects direct to the USB port of your computer, and can be used to swipe a credit card, eliminating the need to manually key in a credit card number.  

Two types of credit card readers can be used – encrypted and non-encrypted. In the past, many StudioPlus clients received a standard non-encrypted reader. Those readers will continue to function with the new credit card processing methods provided in Spectra 2012. However, all new card readers provided by Merchant Warehouse will be encrypted. Encrypted readers will encrypt the sensitive card details immediately in the reader hardware before the data ever reaches the computer, providing an additional level of security for your business. To order your credit card readers, contact Merchant Warehouse.

Getting Started with Merchant Warehouse #

To get started using Merchant Warehouse credit card processing with your Spectra software, follow these simple steps.

1. Create a Merchant Warehouse account. Click here to receive a no-obligation quote from Merchant Warehouse, which is the first step in establishing your account. Once your account is established, Merchant Warehouse will email you your unique account credentials.

2. Using your account credentials, log into the Merchant Warehouse gateway and process a payment for $1. Doing so will ensure the account credentials are valid and that your account is set up properly. You can then void the test transaction.

3. Enter your account credentials in the Studio Preferences > Credit Card page in Spectra. Read more about this setup page in the Studio Preferences – Credit Cards topic in “Spectra Maintenance” chapter.

4. Use Data Entry Validation to make sure all credit card payments are successfully authorized before saving.

   1. Go to Maintenance > Studio > Data Entry Validations.

   2. Scroll down to Payment – Credit Card Auth Code.

   3. Make it required so the user cannot save a payment without a code.

   4. For more information read the Data Entry Validation  topic.

5. Create a test client and invoice, and then process a test payment in Spectra. See the section below for additional details on processing credit card payments in Spectra.

Processing Credit Cards in Spectra Using Merchant Warehouse #

When creating a payment record in Spectra, and after selecting a credit card payment method from the Payment Methods list, you will be presented with two additional buttons – Get Swiped Card and Get Keyed Card.

Swiped Cards #

Click Get Swiped Card if your client is with you and you have the ability to swipe their credit card. When clicked, you will be presented with a window provided by Merchant Warehouse. Once open, you can proceed to swipe the card using a card reader, either encrypted or non-encrypted, purchased from Merchant Warehouse.

Keyed Cards #

Click Get Keyed Card if your client is not with you and you are taking the card details over the phone. When clicked, you will be presented with a window provided by Merchant Warehouse. Once open, you can proceed to manually enter the card details and then click Submit.

Once the card has been submitted (either by swiping or keying it in) you will be presented with a message box telling you if the transaction was approved or declined. If the transaction was approved, the payment record will be saved automatically to prevent the user from exiting out and not saving the record.

Note: Once a credit card is approved, the payment amount will be locked by default. Only users with the appropriate security clearance will be able to unlock the payment amount, authorization code, and authorization date by clicking the padlock.

Processing Refunds #

When processing a refund, Merchant Warehouse and Spectra will force the user to select the payment record that should be refunded. You can refund any amount up to the amount of the original payment. If you have multiple payments that you want refunded, then you’ll need to create a separate refund for each payment.

Settling your Credit Card Batches with Merchant Warehouse #

Your account with Merchant Warehouse should be set to automatically settle at the end of each day. If not, you may contact Merchant Warehouse and request automatic settlement. You can also request the time of day that the automatic settlement occurs.

Even though the settlement occurs automatically, it is highly recommended that you verify each of your batches in Spectra to ensure that the payments in Spectra are in balance with Merchant Warehouse. Here is the recommended procedure:

1. Customize your End of Day Wizard so that similar payment methods are grouped and posted together. For example, if your MasterCard and Visa transactions are deposited into your bank account as a single deposit, then group them to appear on the same page. If American Express is deposited into your bank as its own deposit, then set American Express to appear on its own page. Click here for more information on customizing your End of Day Wizard.

2. Either at the end of your business day or at the beginning of your next day, perform an End of Day Posting. Click Tools > Accounting Link > End of Day Wizard. If you are posting before you receive your settlement email you’ll need to open the Merchant Warehouse Gateway to get your totals for the day. If you are posting after receiving your settlement email you can use that. Either way, compare the totals showing in the Spectra End of Day Wizard with the batch totals provided by Merchant Warehouse. Ensure that all totals match. If not, you have an opportunity to correct your mistakes before completing the posting wizard.