Operation Educate is part of a ongoing effort from Ensign Systems Inc., to help better educate POS•IM users with some of the basic features of POS•IM software.

In the event that internet access or Authorize.net is unavailable, NowCharge will no longer function, all sales will “time out.” The following steps help you record the sale in POS•IM and process it later.

1. Confirm that internet access or Authorize.Net is down. Open your internet browser, if you are unable to open your browser, your internet may be down. If you can open your browser go to the following link: https://account.authorize.net/ and enter your log in ID and password. If the page won’t display, Authorize.net is down. If the page displays and you are able to log in, but your credit card sales are timing out, call POS•IM Technical Support.
   
   
If your internet or Authorize.net is down continue with the following steps.


2. In Sales Point or Sales Client; at the Credit Card Authorization screen (the screen that requests the credit card number) swipe the card and complete the sale by clicking “Bypass” in the credit card window. This allows you to print a receipt without actually processing the sale. Note; the credit card has not been processed!





3. Have the customer sign the printed receipt.
   
   
4. If you own an imprinter,* make an imprint of the credit card. If not, write down the full credit card number and expiration date on the store’s receipt copy. Also make sure to write down the customer’s name and phone number on the receipt. (See step b.)

a) If time permits or the sale is large call for a voice approval.
American Express 1-800-528-2121
Discover 1-800-347-2000
MasterCard & Visa 1-800-944-1111 (Your bank ID is 0886.)

You will need your merchant account number when you call. When entering your Visa or MasterCard merchant ID number most merchants will have to omit the first two numbers (87) or they will receive a voice message stating that the merchant ID number is incorrect. Write down the approval number on your copy of the receipt. Note; the credit card has not been processed, it is only authorized!

b) If you are unable to obtain a voice approval, write down the customer’s phone number in case the credit card is declined while processing it later through Authorize.Net.

5. Once you have access to Authorize.Net again, log in and click on Virtual Terminal to process the sales that were bypassed.
   
   If you obtained voice approvals, select “Capture Only” in the virtual terminal options. If you did not obtain voice approvals, select “Authorize and Capture.”

You do not need to complete every field (blank box). You must complete the fields with an asterisk to the right of the field: credit card number, amount, and expiration date. The full credit card number, expiration date and even a list of which sales were bypassed may be retrieved from the credit card audit report, see below. You can often “invent” an expiration date as long as you choose a date in the future.

We recommend that you enter the invoice ID number although it isn’t required, so that these sales can be properly matched to the correct invoice. We also recommend that you enter some information in the description field that will note why you had to “hand-key” the sale. For example, “the internet was down on Friday November 11.” For any assistance please use the appropriate numbers below.

POS•IM / NowCharge: 1-800-553-9314
Authorize.Net: 1-877-447-3938

*Imprinters or “knuckle busters” as they are often called, are available from Ensign Systems. Please contact Pat at 1-800-409-7678.

NowCharge Credit Card Audit Report

Windows

The information will only be stored if you have swiped the credit card and if these options are available on your version of POS•IM.