Card pre-authorization lets you place a hold on the funds required by guests to settle their tab at the end of their visit, without adding friction during the ordering experience. Later, the pre-authorization can be used to quickly settle the tab, improving staff efficiency and reducing payment risks.
This guide walks through how to enable and take card pre-authorization for tabs at POS.
Key use case
Card pre-authorization reduces your risk when managing open tabs. When you place a hold on the funds needed to pay for a tab, you have a reliable way of making sure guests can pay for their tabs, while also giving your guests a seamless payment experience by reducing friction when it comes to adding to their tabs and settling up at the end of a visit.
Requirements
To enable card pre-authorization at POS, you must be using ROLLER Payments.
Enable card pre-authorization in Venue Manager
To start taking card pre-authorization for tabs, you’ll need to enable this feature in your global POS settings. This means that card pre-authorization will be available from all POS devices at your venue.
Consider setting a minimum value to use when the cart total is less that this set amount. This allows venues to decide what their default minimum should be for all tabs and reduces manual input and decision making for the POS operator.
Follow the steps below to enable pre-authorization and set a minimum value.
- From Venue Manager, go to Apps > Point of Sale > Settings.
- Then scroll down to the Tabs section.
- Check the box for Enable pre-authorization.
- Enter a value in the Minimum card pre-authorization amount field.
- Select Save.
Now, you’re ready to start taking card pre-authorizations at POS!
How to capture card pre-authorization at POS
To start, you create a new tab at POS and then add a card pre-authorization to the tab. Follow the steps below.
- After adding items to the cart at POS, select Add to tab.
- Select Create new tab.
- Enter in the Tab reference number, Guest name and Email (optional).
- Then select Pre-authorize credit/debit card.
The pre-authorization amount on the card will default to the venue's set pre-authorization minimum. - Then the guest inserts or taps their card using the card terminal. When the card is approved, the tab is created with a card pre-authorization attached.
Settling a tab with a pre-authorized card
To settle a tab with a card pre-authorization, follow the steps below.
- From POS, select Search from the left-hand menu.
- Go to Unpaid tabs and search for an existing tab using the Tab reference number or Guest name.
- Then select Charge at the bottom of the POS screen.
- Choose the pre-authorized card as your payment method and complete the transaction.
When you charge the pre-authorized card and pay for the booking, the card is removed from the tab and can no longer be used.
If a guest decides to pay for their tab via a different method, cash for example, then the pre-authorized card will be removed from the tab and the held funds will be released back to the guest.
Tipping
When a tab is being settled, the option for a guest to add a tip is embedded into the payment process. When the POS operator selects the pre-authorized card and payment is sent to the terminal:
- The pre-defined tip options display which they can select from, or they can opt to use the Custom tip.
- The guest can also select No tip.
- The guest's selected tip amount adds to the total amount in POS .
- The operator can charge the card for payment.
Update the pre-authorized card
If necessary, you can replace the pre-authorized card directly in POS.
In the tab, in the menu on the left select Replace pre-authorized card and enter new card details.
Fees associated with card pre-authorization
Fees are accrued when funds are initially held from a card (when a card pre-authorization is added to a tab) or when making an adjustment to the hold amount (if the tab exceeds the initial hold and the amount is adjusted to reflect the new tab amount). These fees will appear in your transactional invoices under Network fees.
Service fees will not be added to tabs with card pre-authorizations. Flat fees will be added to the tab as soon as the pre-authorization is added to the tab. Percentage fees will be added as the pre-authorization is created and adjusted.
Learn more
Still have questions? Check out our card pre-authorization FAQ page.