Will credit cards re-attempt to clear more than on...

ob1 · ‎09-18-2016

I own a small Cafe and have been using Square for nearly a year. I love it! However, I am a little alarmed. We run credit cards, a lot. We sometimes lose connectivity with the Internet during high peak times but then the cards appear to run as soon as Connectivity is re-established. In the Sales/Reports/Transaction Status I see a few Credit Cards, that are presented IN PERSON, ALL are signed for, get Declined. Will they attempt to run anymore than the ONE time, and if they do not CLEAR, how am I notified that they did NOT clear? They also appear if the customer suddenly decides to add a cookie or something, we then stop the process and re-run it with the new total. This is difficult to see that it did clear under a new total, it just appears as Cancelled, then I have to look at the Daily Transactions to see if it was run & cleared at the higher amount. This is a frequent occurence.

VanKalkerFarms · ‎09-18-2016

Canceled transactions and declined transactions will be described as such on the report. We don't use offline mode, so I'm not sure how you'd be notified if a transaction was declined once you go online again. Unfortunately, if a credit card is declined when you reconnect to the internet, there's no way to run it again. If you can't contact the customer to resolve the issue, you're out that money. Is there a way to improve your internet connection? Your Square usage shouldn't be "using up" your internet, so your "peak time" issue must be related to something else. I recommend never using Offline mode unless you know you'll be able to contact the customer if there is a problem.

Bob Van Kalker
My Van Kalker Farms Garden Center website
My Rise'n Roll Bakery Schererville Indiana Facebook Page
My Rise'n Roll Bakery Cedar Lake Facebook Page

ob1 · ‎09-20-2016

Was this not an option before? I thought I remember this happening about a year ago and there was an option to try to re-submit for 72 hours after initial purchase. We are a small shop and I will attempt to contact the customer, as they placed their bakery order online. Luckily, I remember the Customer and order. I used to be able to actually VIEW the order with a button on the bottom for resubmission.

I am working on the Internet option, adding an ipad with cellular as well as wi-fi. It should arrive tomorrow. In a few months I will be in a new location with hard wired Internet. I'm hoping Square will still be a viable option for my Register system.

ob1 · ‎09-20-2016

Also, it would be nice to see the "cleared" tranaction in the same location as the Declined transactions, so you can track when/if it does clear (customer pays cash, another card, etc...)

Sean · ‎09-22-2016

@ob1 - Great suggestion! I'll be sure to pass it along! Let us know if you need any help getting your new iPad set up and going.

Sean
he/him/his
Product Manager | Square, Inc.

Will credit cards re-attempt to clear more than once?