[BETA] Take card pre-authorization for tabs at POS – Help Center

This feature is currently in beta with a limited intake. If you'd like to be involved, please contact our support team.

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.

You should also be aware of local laws and legislation surrounding card pre-authorization and the risks you take when using pre-authorization at your venue.

How to 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. Follow the steps below.

From Venue Manager, go to Apps > Point of Sale > Settings. Then scroll down to Tabs. Check the box for Enable pre-auth.

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Now, you’re ready to start taking card pre-authorizations at POS!

How to capture card pre-authorization at POS

There are no role permissions or limitations for which staff can charge a 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 current cart total (eg if there are items in the cart totalling $10 the default pre-authorization amount will be $10). You can change this amount to whatever you want, or whatever your venue has stipulated as a pre-authorization amount. But, it must be more than $0, otherwise you won’t be able to confirm the pre-authorization.
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.

When a card pre-authorization is approved and attached to a tab, this information is also sent to the booking’s activity stream in Venue Manager. You can also view the pre-authorization in the booking’s payments tab.

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Adjustments

When a guest wants to add more to their tab and the new tab total exceeds the current pre-authorization amount, an adjustment is made to this amount. This is to make sure that the card attached to the tab can cover the new total. This happens every time a guest adds to their tab and exceeds the pre-authorization amount. This adjustment will also display in the bookings activity stream.

If the pre-authorized card doesn’t have sufficient funds to cover the tab, then you’ll get an error at POS when you try to add more to the tab. You have the option to authorize a new card.

preauth adjustment in booking activity stream.png

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 in full, 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.

Card pre-authorizations will only last 24 hours before they expire and the funds are released back to the guest. Once this happens, you cannot use the pre-authorized card to settle the tab and the funds are lost. You’ll have to follow up with the guest and take payment manually. When you go to close the till session at the end of the day, and there are unpaid tabs with a pre-authorised card attached, you’ll get a prompt to settle these tabs before they expire.

Tipping

Adding in a tip is the same as making an adjustment if the tip amount exceeds the current pre-authorization amount.

Fees associated with card pre-authorization

Using card pre-authorizations will incur fees.

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.