Payments, Deposits and Refunds are all entered exactly the same way. The only difference you will notice is the default in the Amount field when the dialog opens.
Enter Payment Information
First you should select a Payment Method from the list. If a payment method was already selected for transactions (or if a previous payment transaction was entered), the previous payment method will already be selected. In addition, if credit card information was previously entered for any of this customer's transactions, or if you enter or swipe a credit card first, then the payment method type may be selected automatically. In that case, just press Enter or Tab to go to the Description field. Otherwise, use the up/down arrow keys or the mouse to select a payment method first.
Note that the Description will automatically default to the name of the payment method you selected. You can leave it at this or change it to whatever you like. It's recommended to keep descriptions fairly short so that they fit on the receipts, since there is a limited amount of room. Note that the description will always be preceded by "Payment : " on the receipt, so you don't need to repeat that. (Likewise, Deposits and Refunds will be prefixed by the transaction type on receipts.)
The Quantity field is usually left blank, but you may enter a quantity if you prefer. This might make sense for special types of payment like Traveler's Checks or campground membership coupons. Note that depending on the payment method, the Qty field may be disabled (this is configured in the Payment Methods Pick List). For instance, Cash, Check and Credit Card payments don't normally have a Qty, just an Amount. One notable exception is for coupon-type payments, which can be configured so that each coupon has a set value and only a Qty is entered.
The Amount to pay field will usually be automatically set to the customer's current balance (or credit balance if you're doing a refund), since most of the time the balance will be paid in full. Be sure to change this if needed.
If you are accepting cash or a traveller's check that's not exactly the amount due, you can use the Amount Tendered field to enter the amount actually received. This will calculate the change due and show it on the dialog. If the amount tendered is entered, it will also appear on receipts along with the change due, and is saved with the transaction (in the Reference field). If the option is enabled to show a change-due prompt, then a pop-up message will also be shown when the receipt is printed. (See Maintenance / Program Options / Functions).
The Ref / Check # field can be used for anything you like (or left blank). Most often this is used for a check number. If it's a Check payment type (as configured in the Payment Methods Pick List), then the number entered here will automatically be added to the description for the receipt. If you don't want it there, then you can go back to the description field and change it before clicking Save.
Note that the Ref / Check # field does not show on receipts, so it is private. You can view it later by checking the "Details" box on the Transactions dialog, and it will also appear in the Detailed Transaction reports. Also note that this field is enabled according to the flag for each payment method, set up in the Payment Methods Pick List. So if it's not enabled and you think it should be, check the pick list settings.
Applying Payments to Categories
If the option to allow category allocation for payments is enabled (Maintenance / Program Options / Prompts), then a list of categories will appear in the lower left of the payment dialog. This functionality is useful if you use the Receipts by Category report and need to manually allocate categories to overcome interpolation issues (for instance when payments are made in advance, or if monthly reservations are not paid in full each month).
You can leave the default "<AUTOMATIC>" option selected in most cases, e.g. whenever a bill is paid in full, since it will automatically split the payment among the appropriate Charge transactions. However if you need to manually apply the payment to one or more specific categories, rather than letting it divide it proportionally among all unpaid charges, then you can either select a single category for the payment or click the "Split Categories..." button to enter multiple categories with an amount to allocate into each category.
If you need to change the allocation later, then you do so by selecting the payment in the Transactions dialog -- an "Edit Category Allocation" button will appear to allow editing the allocations.
Note that Deposits cannot be allocated to categories -- they are always reported separately from payments. If the customer makes an advance payment that you want to report in specific categories at this time (e.g. as realized income), then it should be entered as a Payment, not a Deposit. However, once the deposit is applied (a Dep Applied transaction automatically added), then the Dep Applied transaction can be categorized manually if needed using the Edit Category Allocation function. Likewise, Payment Transfers can be manually allocated after a transfer is done.
Credit Card Information
If the payment type is a credit card, you can enter the information here. If you have a credit card reader attached, you can simply swipe the card and the fields will be filled in automatically (sometimes you need to put the text cursor in the Credit Card # field before swiping the card -- Alt-C is a shortcut to jump to that field).
Note that if you do use a credit card reader, you may need to adjust its "termination" or "Sentinel" settings and make sure the credit card processing settings match the number of tracks that the reader will read.
Even if you don't have Campground Master set up to process credit card authorizations, having the credit card information in the system can save time later, for instance the next time a customer calls to make a reservation and you need the credit card information to guarantee it. In fact, your operator access level may require you to enter credit card information for any appropriate payment methods.
Normally it will check any previous transactions or guarantees for existing credit card information, and automatically fill in the fields with the last credit card used. If they need to use a different card or if you want to swipe a card to make sure it's correct, you can click the "Re-do swipe" button to clear the fields. You can also disable this automatic lookup through the option in Maintenance / Program Options / Functions.
Also note that the credit card information can be shown on the customer's receipts, with an optional signature line. You can also have it print a special credit card signature slip automatically when a credit card payment is entered. See Maintenance / Printing Options / Credit Cards.
Processing Credit Cards
If you have enabled credit card processing (and assuming that you have the required 3rd-party processing software installed, etc.), then you can process the credit card right here on the payment dialog. This also assumes that your operator access level is sufficient for credit card processing.
After entering the credit card number, expiration date and optional name (or swiping the card successfully), press the "Process" button to request authorization.
The program will not let you Save a credit card sale unless it's processed and approved successfully. If you find that it's not possible to get a payment approved, perhaps due to phone lines being down, then you should save the information and enter it later (or request that they come back, or pay with an alternate payment method).
After you press the "Process" button, all other controls will be disabled except the Process button, which will now be an "Abort" button. Abort can be used (and should only be used) if you decide that the processing will not be completed due to a phone line problem or processing software problem. Note that the Abort will actually just "request" that the process be aborted. If it appears that the processing software has already picked up the request and is in process, it cannot be aborted. It will eventually time out and return an error if the processing software does not respond. Not that it's still possible that the transaction goes through, in which case you need to adjust the time-out settings to allow for a longer delay.
Once processed, a response will be shown. If it's approved, clicking OK on the response will immediately close the Payment dialog. (There's also an option to skip showing the approved message so the dialog closes automatically.)
You may see additional CVV2/CVC, Zip and Address fields below the credit card entry fields, depending on the processing options. These can be entered after swiping the card or before -- except that if the option is selected to immediately process the card after swiping, then you need to enter these before swiping the card. While these are always optional, you often save money on processing charges if this information is entered. If the transaction is for a customer with address information already entered, those fields will be filled in already. You can verify these with the customer and/or change them if necessary.
Debit Cards
At this time, Campground Master doesn't directly support debit cards with PIN# entry and cash-back. If it's a Visa or MasterCard type debit card, then it can be processed just like a credit card if you like. Otherwise, you will have to use the processing software's own interface to process the debit card outside of Campground Master, then enter the payment in Campground Master separately.
Important: If you give them cash back, you should change the Amount Paid to be the total amount for the debit card payment, and then do a Refund transaction for the cash back (with a payment method of Cash selected) -- this way the amount of cash in the drawer and the total debit card charges will balance with the reports at the end of the day.
Forced Sales
There may also be a Force Salebutton shown next to the Process button, which will allow you to force the authorization of the credit card sale. This should only be used if you have already received an approval card from a voice authorization. After pressing this, you will be asked to enter the approval code you received for the transaction. It will then submit the transaction to the processing software as a forced sale. This will usually be approved as long as there are no errors in the card number, etc.
Voiding credit card payments and refunds
After a credit card payment (or refund) has been processed and approved, it cannot be deleted without voiding the credit card transaction. To do this, you simply highlight it on the Transactions dialog and click Delete Selected Transactions as you would for any other payment. After a warning, a Void dialog will open with the credit card information, and you can submit the void transaction for processing. See "Voiding credit card transactions" for more details.
Enter Deposit Information
Deposits are entered the same way as payments, except that the Amount will not have a default value. Just select a payment type and enter an amount, and click Save.
Note that when you add a deposit, it's not "Applied" yet -- while it does show up on the customer's balance due (as a credit), it won't affect the overall A/R balance. It's added to the overall Deposits balance until it's applied. When a charge transaction is entered after a deposit, then a separate Deposit Applied transaction will be inserted to show that this deposit has been applied and is now earned income.
Splitting the deposit among multiple reservations
If the reservation is linked to other non-synchronized reservations (for separate billing), then a special Split payment among group members option will be present when entering the deposit. (This option appears as a checkbox next to the "Amount of deposit" entry field.) For instance, if one person is making a deposit for a group of 4 parties, select this option to automatically split the deposit (transfer 1/4 of it to each of the other 3 reservations). This adds all of the appropriate "Deposit Transfer" transactions, saving you the trouble of doing the transfers manually.
Enter Refund Information
Refunds are entered the same way as payments, except that the Amount will default to negative balance due. This is because the balance due itself should be negative at the time you enter the refund, indicating that a balance is due the customer. Thus the Amount should actually be a positive value, equal to the amount to be refunded. (Make sure you enter a positive amount here if you enter it manually.)
Reminder: If you need to issue a refund to a customer, there's a recommended procedure to keep things in balance. You must first enter "negative" charges to offset the charges for which you want to give a refund (e.g. for days not stayed or merchandise returned), and then enter a Refund transaction. This will allow the transactions to balance out. Entering a negative charge can be done either manually (use the Charge function and enter a negative Quantity, not a negative amount), or by using Select Rates if it's a rental adjustment. After entering the negative charge transactions, then you can use this Refund function to enter the amount refunded.