Credit Card Processing Setup

Credit Card Processing Setup

Top

This section primarily applies if you plan to process credit cards directly through the software when making payments, instead of using a separate credit card terminal. This Processing Setup dialog is accessed through Maintenance / Credit Cards.

Processing credit cards through the software helps keeps a record of credit card information, avoids duplicate entry into a separate terminal (and possible mistakes), and assures that credit card payments can't be recorded without the credit card charge being approved.

Note: There is one option on this dialog that can apply even if you don't process credit cards through Campground Master. This is the option for setting the number of tracks supported by a credit card mag-stripe reader, in case you're using one for convenience.

IMPORTANT: If you're entering credit card information in Campground Master, even if you're not processing them, be sure to set the Credit Card Security options to limit your company's risk and liability!

Processing Software

Credit card processing is supported through 3rd-party authorization processing software. The processing software is required to handle the actual communication with the merchant bank, which is only possible with certain licensed providers.

Note: If you're outside the U.S., this may not be available depending on the software and your merchant account. This is only guaranteed to work in the U.S. at this time, although Canada merchants may be supported in some cases.

Campground Master is currently compatible with two different products:

X-charge -- This is our provider of choice, and integrates seamlessly with Campground Master. There is no charge for this integration no matter how many workstations you have, and it works in conjunction with their own merchant services (so support for both the software and the merchant services are provided by the same company). Their discount rates are very competitive (they can provide you with a detailed comparison to your existing merchant statement), and it's simple to get set up. Contact us to find out more. (U.S. only at this time.)

ICVerify -- This software is sold separately from merchant services and can be used with most existing U.S. merchant processors. While we do support its format, we only recommend this option if you don't have the ability to change your merchant provider. Important -- if you're using more than one workstation (networking), then you must use the Multi-user version of IC Verify. If you have more workstations than the multi-user version supports, you may have to buy multiple copies of the software (and have multiple phone lines) to support all of your workstations.

Whichever processing software you use must be installed and running at the same time as Campground Master. This must be on the same computer or a computer that is accessible through a mapped network drive. In a networked environment, this only needs to be running on one computer, which should either be the Master workstation or one that the master can see through a mapped drive.

Campground Master communicates with the processing software using a "request/answer file". Essentially this means that an authorization request is written to a file, the processing software picks it up, processes it, and puts the response back in another file that Campground Master reads. All you need to do is tell Campground Master where this directory is located (which is determined by the processing software).

Hardware

The computer with the processing software will also need to have a dial-up modem. We recommend an external serial-port modem for ease of support and safety (lightning strikes to telephone lines can destroy a computer if the modem is internal, because the wire goes straight into the computer with no isolation). We recommend US Robotics serial-interface modems.

You will also probably want a mag-stripe reader for swiping credit cards -- not only does this save a lot of time and eliminates mistakes, most merchant services also offer a much lower discount rate for swiped cards. Keyboard-wedge interfaced readers work best (these connect in-line with your keyboard and don't occupy other ports), although a USB reader that simulates keystrokes can be used. The reader must support Track 1&2 reading. MagTek and ID Tech make mini-mag readers that you can stick onto your keyboard or monitor. Note that the reader should be set to either include a CR/LF after each track or the "sentinel" characters, or both. (Do not use the Tab character as a delimiter.) These settings are usually set with dip switches on the bottom of the reader, or possibly configuration software.

It's also a good idea to use a 3" receipt printer, especially for printing the credit card signature slips. These can be set up to print automatically on the receipt printer when the credit card payment is processed, separately from the customer's receipt. A normal full-size printer can also be used for the credit card slips, but it's not as convenient.

Any receipt printer with a Windows driver can be used, or any printer connected directly to the parallel or serial port. We recommend either a serial or parallel interface so that the "Direct to port" interface option can be used, depending on what ports your computer has available. Examples of receipt printers that work well are:

TMU220PD-103 Epson U200 series, a basic impact printer

SP512MC42-120 STAR SP500, a fast impact printer

TMT-88III Epson TM-88III, a fast thermal printer

Before printing credit card slips, you should go to File / Printer Setup to configure the printer (especially if using a 3" receipt printer). See the chapter "Setting up your Campground Database" for details. Also, go to Maintenance / Printing Options / Credit Cards to choose a default credit card slip format and other applicable settings.

Basic Integration Setup

There are just a few steps required to set up Campground Master for integration with IC Verify or X-Charge. Below are the steps for setting up a single-user setup or the master workstation in a networked setup. Note that the defaults are set for the typical X-Charge integration, so you may simply need to check the Enable box. (In a networked configuration, you'll also need to change each client workstation's settings as indicated below.)

X-Charge Setup:

1.   Make sure the "X-Charge server" is running (you should see the icon in the taskbar tray). This should already be running if you've gone through their configuration process.
2.   In Campground Master, go to Maintenance / Credit Cards / Processing Setup, and check the "Enable..." box
3.   Enter a user number, using 1 for the master, or a unique number greater than 1 for other workstations.
4.   Enter the paths to use for the request/answer files, or use the Browse option to locate them. This is usually "C:\Program Files\X-Charge\LocalTran\" for both swiped and typed cards, but may be different in a networked configuration. If you have separate accounts, e.g. one to use for swiped cards and one for typed cards (cards not present, e.g. deposits by phone), then you should have X-Charge configured so each account uses a separate path and then select the appropriate paths here.
5.   Select "X-Charge" for the type of processing software used.
6.   Select other options as desired (see below).

ICVerify Setup:

1.   Make sure the "ICVerify Multiuser" process is running and configured appropriately. This may require the following steps:
a. Click on "Start", "Programs", "IC Verify", "IC Verify Multi-user" to start it.
b. Leave "Init" string blank.
c. Browse for the data folder, which is usually under a folder like ICWIN40, and select the "Datadir" folder.
d. Select & Copy that folder path (or make a note of the path for later).
e. Click "Initialize" to start the Multiuser task.
Note: You should add the ICVerify Multi-user shortcut to the "Startup" group so that it runs automatically when your computer starts, since it must be running in order for processing to work with Campground Master. If you're not sure how to do this, please contact your computer administrator.
2.   In Campground Master, go to Maintenance / Credit Cards / Processing Setup, and check the "Enable..." box
3.   Enter a user number, using 1 for the master, or a unique number greater than 1 for other workstations.

Enter the data folder path from step 1d above into both of the "Path to files..." fields (or use Browse to select it). If you have separate accounts, e.g. one to use for swiped cards and one for typed cards (cards not present, e.g. deposits by phone), then you should have ICVerify configured so each account uses a separate path (which may require two separate installations of ICVerify), and then select the appropriate paths here.

5.	Select "IC Verify" for the type of processing software used.

6.	Select other options as desired (see below).

For networked setups where X-Charge or ICVerify is running on the Campground Master "master" workstation, there are only a couple steps for setting up the Campground Master clients, which is the same for either processing software:

1.	Go to Maintenance / Credit Cards / Processing Setup, check "Enable...",

2.	Enter a unique user number (starting at 2 for the first client, since the master will be 1),

3.	Select "Send processing requests to the Master workstation".

4.	Select any other options desired.

If you're using a 3" receipt printer to print credit card slips, you should also go to File / Printer Setup to configure the printer, and configure Printing Options. See the chapter "Setting up your Campground Database" for details. There are also section in this chapter which detail Receipt Printer settings for either Direct-to-Port or USB/Driver configurations.

Also, go to Maintenance / Printing Options / Credit Cards to choose a default credit card slip format and other applicable settings for printing credit card information and signature slips.

IMPORTANT -- We recommend setting X-Charge or IC Verify to dial just 1 time (no retries), to minimize the time it takes to give up -- you can always retry from Campground Master if necessary. If Campground Master times out while the processing software is still trying to connect, this will result in duplicate charges to the customer's credit card! If you ever get a time-out message in Campground Master while the processing software is still attempting to connect, increase the time-out setting. (And be sure to void the extra charge through the processing software's interface.) You can also eliminate the risk of duplicate charges by setting the option in the X-Charge Server to reject duplicate charges -- but then if you have a legitimate duplicate charge you would have to work around this.

Setup Option Details

These options are primarily related to the actual processing software and mag-stripe reader. See Maintenance / Printing Options / Credit Cards for options related to what information is printed on receipts, and File / Printer Setup to configure the appropriate printer (e.g. if using a 3" receipt printer).

Enable credit card processing -- This option must be enabled to set any other options, and to enable the "Process" function on the payment entry dialogs.

This workstation's "User" number -- This determines the file name used for the request/answer file. This is normally 1, but if you have multiple workstations then each one will have to have a different number. Note that the lowest user number for the processing software is 1, not 0 -- so don't use 0 like you do for the networking ID.

Send processing requests to the Master workstation -- If you're using multiple workstations, and if this is not the master workstation, you can choose this option if only the Master workstation has access to the processing software's request/answer file directory. This allows you to use multiple workstations even if you're going through the internet, and it also eliminates the need to have mapped network drives between all computers. It does add a slight delay, however, so if you are able to access the master's drive directly then it may be better to use the direct path instead. Note that the credit card information is scrambled when sent between workstations for security (as well as in database and log files).

Process using request/answer protocol in a path on this workstation (or a network path visible to it) -- This is the only option for single workstations or the master workstation. If it's a networked workstation, then you could still use this option for slightly faster processing if the required path is visible to this computer. The path for swiped cards and typed cards are usually the same, unless you have set up separate merchant accounts to handle swiped cards separately from typed cards.

Path to use for swiped cards -- If this field is enabled, you must designate the path where the processing software expects to find the request/answer files for swiped (present) cards. You can use the Browse to select the appropriate folder, or type it in manually.

Path to use for keyed-in cards -- As the path above, but this may be a different path than for swiped cards. Normally you must select the same path here as you selected for swiped cards. This should only be different if you have set up two separate merchant ID's with your merchant provider, one for swiped cards ("card-present" transactions) and one for keyed-in cards (also known as a "MOTO" account, for mail-order/telephone-order accounts where the card is not present). This also requires that you have the processing software set up accordingly to handle the different merchant ID's under separate request/answer file folders.

Processing software used -- Select the brand of processing software being used, so Campground Master knows the proper format needed to communicate with it.

Time-out for processing -- Enter how many seconds to wait for a response. This should allow enough time for the processing software to dial, process, and return a response. This only applies if using the path option to directly communicate with the processing software. If it's sending requests to the master workstation, the master's time-out value is used. Note that in a multiple-workstation environment, you should allow extra time in case it's busy with another workstation's request.

WARNING -- The time-out value is only intended as a fail-safe in case the processing software fails or is not running. Make sure the time-out value is sufficient for the processing software to give up before Campground Master times out. We recommend setting X-Charge or IC Verify to dial just 1 time (no retries), to minimize the time it takes to give up -- you can always retry from Campground Master if necessary. If Campground Master times out while the processing software is still trying to connect, this will result in duplicate charges to the customer's credit card!

AVS enabled -- You can set this if you want to use (and your processor supports) Address Verification. The Zip code and Address information will be included in the authorization request if it's available, and the response will show the AVS response. Due to differences in processing software responses, you also need to indicate whether the AVS response is included when the authorization is not approved, and if the response is included when there was no address information sent. These are pre-set according to the processing software selected above, but if you see responses with extra or missing letters in them, then these setting can be adjusted as needed.

CVV2/CVC enabled -- You can set this if you want to enter a CVV2/CVC code for credit card payments (the extra 3-digit code on the back of some credit cards, or the 4-digit CID code on the front of American Express cards). If your credit card processor supports CVV2, the response will be shown for this also. As with AVS, the responses expected from the processing software may be adjusted as needed.

Void transactions must be done directly with the processing software -- Normally you can do Voids directly in Campground Master by deleting the payment (or refund) transaction, and it will be processed accordingly. However, in some cases the processing software may not allow voids to be handled through Campground Master, so this option would be checked to allow voids to be deleted without processing. Do not check this option unless you always get an error message when trying to Void a transaction!

Forced Sales enabled -- If your processor enables forced sales (entering an approval code obtained by voice authorization), and you want your clerks to be able to do this, then check this option. An extra "Forced" button will appear on the payment entry dialog allowing you to do a forced sale.

Process swiped cards automatically -- This option saves a step when swiping cards -- as soon as the card is read (successfully), it will submit the payment for processing so you don't have to click the Process button. Note that if you select this option, you must enter CVV2/CVC code and/or address information before swiping the card! Also note that it might start processing automatically even without this option enabled, if you don't have either AVS or CVV2 enabled -- this can happen if the card swipe you're using sends an extra carriage return at the end of the swiped data, causing the "Process" button to be pressed. Enabling AVS or CVV2 will prevent this by putting an extra input field on the dialog so the carriage return doesn't go to the "Process" button.

Automatically close payment dialog if the transaction is approved -- This option can save yet another step. As long as the transaction is approved, the dialog will immediately close without requiring you to "OK" the approval message. The only drawback is that you won't be able to see the AVS or CVV2/CVC response codes.

Include billing address entry fields if AVS is enabled -- If you use AVS, Campground Master will automatically get the address information from a customer's record whenever possible. However if the customer record is not filled out yet, or if you're entering unbound/POS transactions with no customer information, you may want to enter this information manually. This option adds Zip/address entry fields that can be filled in when needed. You can also verify/change the information before processing as needed.

Card reader supports 2 tracks of data -- if you're using a magnetic strip reader and it's a Track 1&2 reader, this option should be selected so that the program knows to expect 2 tracks of data before processing it. If you want to submit both tracks of data to the processing software, you can select that option also (it's not always required, but in some cases will help the authorizations go through).

Page URL http://CampgroundMaster.com/snews/creditcardprocessingsetup.html

Campground Master Home