Virtual terminal

Take a card payment

The virtual terminal turns any browser into a card terminal. Use it whenever a customer reads you a card number: phone orders, deposits, the balance on an open order, or a card that will not tap on your countertop reader.

It is live once your card processing is active. Nothing needs to be installed. The page opens on the Card/Check mode with the Credit / Debit card rail selected, and the form reads top to bottom in the order you work: a search for a card the customer already saved, the amount, the prices that amount produces, then the card itself.

A payment is done when the result panel shows Approved with a transaction number and an authorization code. The sale is on Money → Transactions right away, and the receipt goes to the buyer email you entered.

If the charge declines, the reason shows under the form. Confirm the card number, expiration, security code, and billing ZIP with the customer and try once more. A second decline usually means the card issuer is refusing the charge, so ask for a different card instead of keying the same one again.

1. 1Go to Accept Payments → Virtual Terminal.
2. 2Charging a card you already have on file? Use Find a customer's saved card at the top and pick it by name, email, nickname or last four. The card fields disappear and the sale charges the card on file.
3. 3Enter the amount. It fills the full width of the form.
4. 4With dual pricing on, the Card price and Check (ACH) price boxes appear under the amount so the two prices are always in view.
5. 5Read the price panel under them: Sales tax with its amount (only when you switched tax on for card sales; it reads $0.00 until you choose Automatic), the Surcharge when your program applies one to this card, the Tip when you entered one, and the Total.
6. 6Type the card number. The brand chip appears from the first digits, and when you move to the next field the middle digits are masked so nobody looking at your screen sees a full card. Click back into the field to edit it.
7. 7Pick the expiration month and year from the dropdowns and type the security code (three digits, four on American Express).
8. 8Enter the billing ZIP. It is checked against the card's billing address, helps the charge approve, and is the ZIP automatic tax uses.
9. 9Add a description or an invoice or reference number if you want it on the receipt and in your reports, and a buyer email and name to send the receipt automatically.
10. 10Click Charge card. The approval or the decline reason appears in a second or two.

Save a card to the vault

Saving a card lets you charge the same customer again later without asking for the number a second time. Use it for customers who order regularly, for deposits followed by a balance, or before setting up a recurring plan.

The card is stored as a secure token; the full number never sits in your account. Tick the box before you charge. If the customer does not have a customer record yet, saving the card creates one from the name and email on the sale.

You are done when the approval panel confirms the card was saved. The card then appears on Accept Payments → Saved Cards and in every card picker: the Charge a saved card panel in the terminal, invoice auto-charge, recurring plans, and subscriptions.

If the sale approves but the save fails, the sale stands and you simply do not have the card on file. Add it from Saved Cards → Add a card instead, which stores the card with no charge.

1. 1Enter the amount and the card as usual.
2. 2Tick Save this card to vault before clicking Charge card.
3. 3Add the buyer email so the token is tied to the right customer record.
4. 4Click Charge card. The approval panel confirms the sale and that the card was saved.
5. 5Open Accept Payments → Saved Cards to add a nickname, mark it as the default, or archive it later.

Surcharge & tips in the terminal

The terminal applies your pricing program for you. You key the base amount and the total box shows what the card will actually be charged, so there is nothing to calculate by hand.

With a surcharge program, a Surcharge program active banner sits above the form and the Subtotal, Surcharge, and Total lines appear as soon as a credit card is recognized. Debit and prepaid cards are never surcharged; the terminal detects them from the card number and drops the fee.

With dual pricing, two price tiles show the Card price and the Check (ACH) price for the amount you keyed. With Treat debit cards like ACH / cash turned on in Settings, the tiles read Credit price and Debit / ACH / cash price, and a note under the total tells you which price applied to the card you typed.

If your business takes tips, a Tip field appears on eligible sales and is added to the total before you charge. The tip field is hidden when a surcharge applies to that card. Tips can also be added later from the transaction while the batch is open.

If the surcharge or the second price does not appear, the program is not active on your account. Pricing programs are set up with your sales rep, and the dual pricing card is on Accept Payments → Settings.

Sales tax in the terminal

Sales tax on the terminal is a setting, off until you turn it on, so a business that does not collect tax never sees a tax row. Go to Accept Payments → Tax rates and, under Virtual Terminal, tick Sales tax on card sales, Sales tax on bank (ACH) sales, or both.

With a switch on, every sale on that rail offers two choices in the price panel: $0.00 No sales tax, the default on each new sale, and Automatic. Automatic answers from your own TaxJar or Avalara connection first, then from the ZIP lookup when your Tax rates page is set to ZIP lookup only or Both, and otherwise from the default row of your rate table. A ZIP is asked for only when the answer needs one: on the card rail it is the billing ZIP you already type with the card; on the bank rail a small ZIP box appears next to the choice.

Tax is added on top of the amount you entered. A surcharge, when one applies, is calculated on the taxed amount. The result panel and the emailed receipt itemize Subtotal, Sales tax, Surcharge, Tip and Total, the reprinted receipt from Money → Transactions shows the same lines, and the tax rides with the sale to your processor. A charge to a saved card adds the tax to the amount without itemizing it.

If Automatic shows no rate, the ZIP is missing or your rate table has no default row. Enter the ZIP, or add a default rate under Accept Payments → Tax rates. If the tax looks wrong for the area, run Test a ZIP on the Tax rates page to see what the lookup returns for that ZIP.

1. 1Go to Accept Payments → Tax rates and tick the Virtual Terminal switch for card sales, bank sales, or both.
2. 2On a sale, pick Automatic in the Sales tax row of the price panel when tax applies. Leave it on $0.00 No sales tax when it does not.
3. 3Check the Sales tax amount and the Total before you charge.

Gift cards & loyalty in the terminal

When your account has gift cards or loyalty enabled, the mode bar at the top of the terminal adds Gift Card and Loyalty next to Card/Check. Every stored-value and points operation runs from here, with the same keyed entry as a card sale.

Each mode is a row of tabs. Pick the tab, fill in the card number and the amount or points, and submit. The result panel shows the new balance and the transaction number, which you need for a later void, tip adjust, or refund.

You are done when the result panel confirms the operation, for example Redeem approved or Points added, with the new balance. Gift card and loyalty activity is reported in your eGift tools, not on the card Transactions page.

If a tab reports that the transaction is unsupported, that operation is not enabled for your gift program. Activate at the counter and balance checks work for every program; ask your rep about the rest.

Take a bank payment (eCheck)

Use the Check (ACH) rail to move money straight from a bank account instead of a card: larger invoices, business customers who pay by check, vendor payouts, or refunds to a customer's bank. It appears once bank payments are enabled on your account and the ACH Payment Terms are accepted.

The bank rail reads the same way as the card rail: find a saved bank, the amount, the Card and Check (ACH) prices under it when dual pricing is on, then the price panel with Sales tax (when switched on for bank sales) and the Total, then the account fields. The bank rail charges the Check price.

Before you start you need the customer's bank details (account holder name, routing number, account number, and account type) or a bank you already saved for them, and for a debit, the customer's authorization (see the next section).

A bank payment is done when the terminal confirms it was submitted. Money does not move instantly. The customer gets a Payment submitted email at once and a receipt when the payment clears, both itemizing Subtotal and Sales tax when tax was charged. The payment shows on Money → ACH Transactions as Pending, moves to Processing when it is sent to the bank, and to Settled when the funds arrive. The deposit to your own bank follows the schedule in the Bank payments chapter.

If the routing number is not recognized, double-check it with the customer; the terminal looks up the bank name as you type and will not submit an unknown routing number. If the amount is refused, it is above your bank payment limits; split the payment or ask your rep to review your limits.

1. 1Click Check (ACH) under the mode bar.
2. 2Choose the direction. Debit (collect) pulls money from the customer's account into yours. Credit (pay out) sends money from you to them.
3. 3To charge a bank you already stored, use Find a customer's saved bank and pick the account by name or last four. The account fields disappear and the form shows the account on file.
4. 4Enter the amount. If Sales tax on bank sales is switched on, pick $0.00 No sales tax or Automatic in the price panel; Automatic asks for the customer's ZIP in the small box next to it when it needs one.
5. 5Otherwise enter the bank details: Account holder name, Routing Number (the bank name appears once it is recognized), DDA Account Number, and the Account type.
6. 6Add an optional description, complete the authorization step for a debit, then click Submit eCheck. The debit carries the total including tax. The confirmation shows the amount submitted and, for an emailed authorization, that the request went out.
7. 7Follow the payment on Money → ACH Transactions until it settles.

Authorizing a bank debit

Before you pull money from a customer's bank account, bank network rules require their authorization. The terminal builds that step into every debit so you always have a record. Credits (paying someone out) need no authorization and skip the step.

There are two ways to authorize. Authorization on file is for a customer who already signed a form with you: selecting it is your statement that you hold the authorization, and you can attach the signed copy. The attachment is optional under $1,000 and required at or above it. Email the customer to authorize sends the customer a secure approval page; nothing is debited until they approve, and the debit runs by itself the moment they do.

You are done when the terminal confirms the debit was submitted (authorization on file) or that the authorization request was emailed. Emailed requests sit under Awaiting customer authorization on Money → ACH Transactions until the customer approves, declines, or the link expires after 7 days. Every accepted authorization is stored on Accept Payments → ACH Authorizations with its PDF.

If the customer says they did not get the email, check the address on the ACH Transactions row, cancel the request there, and send it again. If a debit at or above $1,000 will not submit, attach the signed authorization; the terminal refuses large debits without the document.

1. 1Choose Debit (collect) and fill in the amount and bank details.
2. 2Under Authorization, pick I have the customer's authorization on file if you hold a signed form. Tick the attestation, then attach the signed PDF or photo when you have it (required at $1,000 and above). Click Submit eCheck.
3. 3Or pick Email the customer to authorize, enter the Customer email, and click Email authorization request. The customer approves on a secure page with no login and the debit runs automatically.
4. 4No signed form yet? Click Print a NACHA-ready authorization form. It is prefilled with your business details so the customer can sign on the spot, and you can attach the signed copy.

Saved cards & charging a card on file

Saved Cards is the one place for every card stored at your business. Add a card with no charge, nickname it, mark one as the default for recurring billing, charge it, or archive it when the customer moves on. The same cards appear wherever you pick a card to charge: the terminal, invoice auto-charge, recurring plans, and subscriptions.

The page has four parts. The Add a card panel at the top. The Active and Archived lists, one row per card with brand and last four, nickname, the customer it belongs to, when it was saved and last used, and how many recurring plans use it. The Expiring cards panel, which lists cards expiring in the next two months with a link you can send the customer to update their card. And the Account Updater panel with the log of what the card networks reported. Cards your customers saved through LeadConnector checkouts appear in their own LeadConnector wallet section.

To charge a card on file, open the Charge a saved card panel on the virtual terminal, search by customer name, email, nickname, or last four, pick the card, and enter the amount. The card-entry fields disappear. The charge is done when the approval shows the amount and the card's brand and last four, and the customer gets the usual receipt.

If a saved card declines, check the Expiring cards panel and send the customer the update link, or run Check now to ask the network for a replacement number. If Add a card says saving is being enabled, card tokenization is not on for your account yet; contact EPI to turn it on.

1. 1Add a card: click Add a card, enter the Card number, Expiry, Billing ZIP, Name on card, an optional Nickname and Email for receipts, tick Make this the default card if it should be the one recurring plans use, and click Save card. No charge is made.
2. 2Charge a card on file from the Virtual Terminal: open Charge a saved card, type the customer's name, email, nickname, or last four, pick the card, enter the Amount and an optional Description or Invoice / reference number, and click Charge saved card.
3. 3Or charge from this page: click Charge… on the card's row, enter the amount, and click Run charge.
4. 4Mark a default with Default, or retire a card with Archive. Archiving a card used by an active subscription warns you first, so cancel or move the subscription on the Recurring page before archiving.
5. 5Handle expiring cards: in the Expiring cards panel click Send update link (or Copy the update link to text it or read it over the phone). The customer enters the new card on a secure page and every plan on the old card moves to the new one.

Void or refund a sale

Voids and refunds run from the sale's transaction, not from the terminal, so there is one clear record of what happened to every payment. Right after an approval the terminal's result panel also offers Void and Refund for that sale, for a mistake you catch on the spot.

Which one you get depends on the batch. Before the batch settles, Void reverses the whole sale and the customer is never charged. After it settles, Refund returns the full amount or a partial amount to the same card. The two are never offered together.

A void is done when the transaction shows Voided. A refund is done when it shows Refunded, or a Partial Refund tag with the running total. The customer receives the refund on the same card in a few business days, and the transaction's detail page lists every refund with its approval code and a Refunded to date / Remaining breakdown.

If neither button appears, the sale was already voided or fully refunded, or it is a bank payment, which is cancelled from Money → ACH Transactions instead. If a large void or refund asks for a texted security code, enter the code sent to your mobile number to finish.

1. 1Go to Money → Transactions and open the sale.
2. 2If the batch has not settled yet, click Void. The whole sale is reversed before any money moves.
3. 3If the sale has settled, click Refund, enter the full amount or a partial amount, and confirm. The money goes back to the same card.
4. 4Use the same page to re-send or print the receipt, email it to a different address, add a tip, or adjust the captured total while the batch is still open.