Basic Setup - X-Charge

(If you're getting an error when processing, see the Troubleshooting section at the bottom)

If using X-Charge (by OpenEdge) for your processing software, you should use their "XpressLink" interface method (now also known as EdgeLink). The "X-Charge (legacy)" option is available if needed for old installations, but this does not meet PCI compliance standards. XpressLink MUST be used if you are processing debit cards with a PIN pad or have a terminal with EMV/chip card support, and is also required for processing in Canada. Some other unique features when using XpressLink are:

•Supports Verifone PIN pads and combination swipe/PIN pads for debit card processing.

•Allows swiping the card after clicking the "Process" button, which adds a layer of security by keeping the full card information outside of Campground Master. This also means you can't view the card information, however you can still add additional charges to the same card later if needed.

A few new options have been added for better support of the new EMV terminals as well as tighter PCI security measures. X-Charge recommends that credit card numbers not be stored in Campground Master at all, and in fact won't process cards directly from Campground Master. This does NOT mean you can't store and retrieve cards, since X-Charge has the Vault function to store cards. It just means that you won't be able to see the full card number in Campground Master even if you're an Administrator.

The settings recommended for using X-Charge with an EMV reader are detailed below. These should be the only thing you need to change or verify when switching to an EMV terminal (other than the configuration of X-Charge itself).

Allow "Process" before swiping/keying in credit card -- This must be checked, since you can't swipe a card through Campground Master any more.

Allow swiping credit card before "Process" -- This must not be checked, since you can't swipe a card through Campground Master any more.

Allow keying in credit card before "Process" -- This should be checked for smoother operation. While you could uncheck this and always click Process first, this requires several extra steps in X-Charge that can get awkward. Feel free to try it either way to see which you prefer.

'Vault' keyed cards before processing -- This must be checked, if the above option is checked (see below for details).

Also, we recommend that you select (check) the "Never save credit card numbers" option in Credit Card Security Setup. Also leave the "Don't retrieve previous card information" option unchecked, since this will not pose any security risk if you're not saving cards in Campground Master. It will be able to retrieve them securely from X-Charge.

IMPORTANT: If you are not yet using an EMV card reader and want to swipe cards directly in Campground Master, then you must use the "Open Integration" version of X-Charge, not the "Secure" version -- otherwise, you will get an "invalid card" error when you try to process cards. (The Secure version does not accept credit cards from outside applications to maintain security, however since Campground Master is PCI compliant then it's safe to use the Open Integration version.) If you're not sure which one you have installed, contact X-Charge. Also, if you open X-Charge and check Help / About..., it should show "X-Charge Open Integration" above the version number. If it just shows "X-Charge", then it's probably not the Open Integration version.

Network users: Note that settings are workstation-specific, so this must be done on each computer. However if you set it up and get it working on the Master computer first, then on the others you can use the "Copy settings from the Master workstation" button to auto-copy all of the applicable settings in one step. Then the only things you may need to adjust are the X-Charge Executable path and the Result File Path.

1.	In Campground Master, go to Maintenance / Credit Cards / Processing Setup, and check the "Enable..." box

2.	Make sure "Processing software is installed on this computer" is selected.

5.	If you're using an EMV chip card reader, make sure the first option is enabled (Allow "Process" before swiping). You will also need to disable the 2nd option (Allow cards to be swiped before "Process"), and possibly also the "Allow keying in..." option for maximum security.

6.	If "Allow keying in..." is checked and you're using an EMV reader, then check "Vault keyed cards before processing".

Check the User ID needed and Password needed boxes, and enter a valid X-Charge user ID and password. Remember that this will need to be changed here any time you change it in X-Charge (usually every 90 days). Important: Avoid using special characters like quotes ( " or ' ) or slashes ( / or \ ) in the username or password, as those are not compatible with the XpressLink protocol.

8.	Verify the X-Charge Executable file setting. This is usually "C:\Program Files\X-Charge\XCharge.exe" (or "C:\Program Files (x86)\X-Charge\XCharge.exe" in later versions of Windows), but in rare cases it may be different.

9.	The Result File Path should be blank so it uses the default path (database path). If you have a specific need to change this we recommend that you contact support for details. Under no circumstances should it be a path shared by multiple workstations, e.g. on a network mapped drive.

10.	The other options in XpressLink Options should be left as the defaults. Click Save to return to Processing Setup.

12.	Set other options as desired in the Credit Card Processing Setup dialog (see Processing Setup Options).

Important: When using XpressLink, the X-Charge terminal window (sometimes called the X-Charge "client", or just "X-Charge") cannot be running -- otherwise it will block Campground Master's interface. If you get a time-out when trying to process cards, check to make sure that the X-Charge Server is running but not the X-Charge terminal window.

Note: Avoid using special characters like quotes ( " or ' ) or slashes ( / or \ ) in the X-Charge username or password, as those are not compatible with the XpressLink protocol.

Chip reader terminal usage: If you're using a chip reader terminal instead of a simple mag swipe, remember that you must click the "Process card" button in order to activate the terminal and have it prompt to insert or swipe a card.

Various XpressLink options are accessed through Maintenance / Credit Cards / Processing Setup, and clicking the "XpressLink Processing Options" button (only available if "X-Charge XpressLink" is selected as the processing software used).

Reset to Defaults -- Clicking this will reset all settings on this page to the defaults, except for critical entries like the merchant ID's, User ID,and Password.

Allow "Process" before swiping/keying in credit card -- If this option is enabled, then you can click the Process button without entering card information or swiping a credit card first. This is more secure in general, however this also means that Campground Master will never see the full card number or expiration date. That information is stored in X-Charge. You will still be able to process additional charges to the same card later (an X-Charge ID is used to reference the card information).

Allow swiping credit card before "Process" -- This is enabled by default for normal operation. If you disable this, then swiping a card in Campground Master directly will show an error message, instead of attempting to process it (because this causes an error if you're using the Secure version of X-Charge). This forces you to click the "Process Card" button before swiping the card into X-Charge directly. This does not prevent entering a card number manually.

Allow keying in credit card before "Process" -- This is enabled by default for normal operation. If you disable this, then typing in a card number in Campground Master directly will show an error message, instead of attempting to process it. This forces you to click the "Process Card" button before typing the card into X-Charge directly. This does not prevent swiping a card.

'Vault' keyed cards before processing -- If you're using an EMV/chip terminal instead of a simple mag swipe, then this must be checked if you're allowing keyed cards before "Process". X-Charge won't accept cards directly from Campground Master if configured for an EMV reader, but as a workaround it can vault the card and then use the vaulted card immediately.

Note: If both the "Allow swiping" and "Allow keying" options are disabled, the credit card entry fields will always be disabled (but will still show previous card information if those retrieval options are enabled). Thus the "Process Card" button must be used.

X-Charge Executable file -- See step 3 above in the setup -- this needs to point to the XCharge.exe file on the local computer.

User ID needed / Password ID needed -- For the newer versions, these must both be checked and the ID and password entered. Be sure that you're not still using the default login. Also note that this needs to be set (and updated periodically) on every workstation.

*** Reminder -- X-Charge may require you to change the password for the User login every 90 days. This mean you also need to go into Campground Master and update the password.

Merchant ID's -- These should be left blank, unless you've specifically set up separate merchant accounts with CAM Commerce for swiped vs. non-swiped cards. Note that if ID's are entered in X-Charge's own setup, these ID's will be ignored.

Result File Path -- This should normally be left blank, to use the same path as the local database. If you change it to anything else, make sure it's on the local hard drive for this workstation, and unique for this database (if you have any need to load more than one database at a time on this workstation).

*** WARNING -- If the Result File Path for two instances of Campground Master is the same, transactions can become interchanged if charges are attempted simultaneously. For this reason, a network path is not allowed here.

Other settings -- The remainder of the settings on this dialog should only be changed if directed by support staff. Changing them may keep the processing from functioning properly!

Using the X-Charge Secure Vault for storing credit cards -- If you don't want Campground Master to store cards at all, then you can use X-Charge's secure "vault" for storing the card for guarantees and transactions. This is fully secure and does not store the card on your computer. You will still be able to see the last 4 digits of the card and expiration date, but will not be able to see the full card information. The card can then be used for a payment transactions if needed, depending on your Credit Card Security Settings. In order to use this function, you also must select the "Never save credit card numbers" option in Credit Card Security Setup, and be using the XpressLink interface for credit card processing. You will then have a button on the Guarantee dialog to Enter card information to secure vault. Click that button and X-Charge will prompt for the card information. You can also add or remove the secure vault information from the Edit Guarantee dialog (on Customer Details or Reservation Details, click the "..." button next to the Guarantee information). Payments will work as usual, with the exception that the full card number will no longer be stored with the transaction -- only the masked card number, expiration date, and the secure vault ID so it can be used for further transactions.

Note: If you're using a chip reader terminal, remember that you must click the "Process card" button in order to activate the terminal and have it prompt to insert or swipe a card.

Here are some common error messages when processing with X-Charge, and their cause or remedy:

X-Charge requiring log-in - If it asks you for a login every time you process a card, then you need to enter the User ID and Password (and check the "needed" boxes) in the XpressLink settings.

"Invalid card" when swiping a card rather then typing it in -- this usually indicates that you have the "Secure" version of X-Charge installed. They must install the "Open Integration" version, not the Secure version.

"Internal error executing X-Charge" -- Either X-Charge has not been installed on this computer, or the X-Charge terminal is already running (outside of Campground Master), or the path to X-Charge is not correct in the XpressLink settings.

"Cannot Exceed Sales Cap" (or similar) processing error for refunds -- This means the payment selected for the refund does not have enough to cover the refund. See Refund Transactions Documentation for details.

"Invalid Private Key" - This is an error coming from X-Charge, and may indicate a communication error, X-Charge installation issue, mismatch between the X-Charge client and X-Charge server installations, or an account number (or Merchant ID) change that is preventing it from being able to retrieve cards stored in the Vault. Contact X-Charge support.