Best Practice Tips & Tricks- Credit Card Processing

This article includes best practice tips & tricks for credit card payment processing. These practices will keep you "in the know" and on top of your merchant account services!

Merchant Account Management

Account Updates - Organization < Accept Credit Card Payments. This page lands you on the your merchant application information. You can make updates to the details and then Save. The information will be verified, and we’ll let you know if additional information might be requested for confirmation. See Update Bank Account for Payment Processing for more information.

On the topic of bank accounts - It is not possible to link multiple bank accounts to the merchant account. It is suggested that the linked account be a Checking NOT a Savings account. This is because most Savings accounts have limits on debit amounts- which can impact refunds and result in a return on your account.
 

“Account has been closed by Processor”? - The pending application will be closed after several days after initial application submission if requests for additional information didn’t receive a response. We’ll be glad to re-open the prior application to get it going for you! Please reach out to our Support Team to request assistance.

Payments

Card swipers/readers- Card readers are not currently offered. However, you can use a general card reader (not one issued from other payment processors- i.e.- Square). General readers will work if they are connected via USB. Wireless/Bluetooth readers will not work. We refer you to contact the manufacturer of the swiper you purchased for hardware support, as we cannot provide these services at this time. 

Declined Payments- Payments can be declined for various reasons. Most commonly these declines come from the client/cardholder’s bank’s end. If a payment is declined, you will receive a notification with details. See Best Practices for Declines & Common Decline Reasons for a list of common decline reasons. 

Any questions for additional support, feel free to contact our Support team. Best practice is to connect with your client to request them to connect with their bank. 

Client Portal Payments- Clients can make online portal payments. Prior to this- settings must be adjusted to turn on the feature. See Request Payment via Client Portal for more information. 

One-time Payment Link- Send a One-Time Payment Link is a great option for clients who do not have a client portal account.

Quick Tips & Tricks

Chargebacks

• Get educated about Chargebacks! Learn about them and understand they can happen in any business. See Handle a Payment Dispute or Chargeback for more information.
• Process same-day payments to session date- this helps avoid any confusion!
• Be sure to set up your merchant account with a DBA name (does business as name) to a name your clients will recognize.
• Ask clients to come to you before disputing a charge if there is ever a concern! This can help clear up any confusion.
• Be sure to have clients sign any agreements and credit card consent forms before charging client card. See Intake Form Overview for more information. 
• Review your policies on no show and/or cancellation fees with clients. Make sure clients sign and agree to your policies.

Returns

• When updating your linked bank account details- be sure to enter the correct account & routing numbers before submitting. Take a moment to verify the correct info!
• If you close the linked bank account- be sure to update or remove it in your system account under the Set-up Credit Card Page. If you continue to process client card payments and the linked bank account has been closed- a Return will come up.
• If you put in place a Stop Payment request for any transaction with your bank- please update your linked bank account. 
• If you have a return come up we will notify you and help work with you to clear it up please reply as soon as you can to our messages. We want to help get any ‘funds in holding” released as soon as possible. See What does a Return on my Merchant Account mean? for more information. 

Reconciliation

• The Vantage Payments Report/Credit Card Charges Report is the go-to reporting for assistance with reconciling your deposits (and transactions). See Reconcile Bank Statement with Vantage Payments Report for more information. 
• Understanding the timing of transaction settlement vs. disbursement is key! See Payment Processing: Payouts to your Bank Account and Bank Reconciliation for more.
• Disbursement date will always be either 1 or 2 days prior to your deposit date on your bank statement. 
• Weekends & Holidays can impact deposit timing. It depends on your bank. Some banks process over the weekends and some do not. 
• The Payment Methods Report is another helpful tool to see specific credit card payments within a set timeframe.
• All reports in the system can be exported to CSV to use and further work with in Excel.

Did you know... ?

Did you know... that you will receive a 1099k from our partnered payment processor if certain requirements are met? Yes! It's true. It’ll be helpful information for you when tax time rolls around. See How Do I File My 1099 Tax Form? for more information.

Did you know... that you can export a report of credit card transactions to import into QuickBooks? Yes! It’s true! See Export for QuickBooks Online & Other Accounting Software for more information.

Did you know... that the Activity Log Report is a helpful resource for many actions within the last 120 days including those tied to payments? Yes! It’s true! See Activity Log Report for more information. Most searchable Actions are straightforward in title vs. meaning. These are helpful to know regarding payments.