Merchant Account Service

Transcription

1 QuickBooks Online Edition Feature Guide Merchant Account Service C o n t e n t s Introduction What is a merchant account? What types of credit cards can I charge? Getting started Apply Set up How it works Recurring credit card charges Fraud protection Address Verification Service Card Verification Value What it will not do

2 Introduction Accepting Visa, MasterCard, American Express and other credit card types can attract new customers, help you get paid faster, and save you time in collecting payments. This ability to accept credit card payments is called a merchant account service. This document will provide you will important information about the QuickBooks Merchant Account Service. It will show you how it works within QuickBooks Online Edition and provide tips for making the most of your merchant account. What is a merchant account? A merchant account is an agreement between you and a financial institution (merchant account service provider) that allows you to accept funds from credit card payments from your customers. In this relationship, the financial institution agrees to pay you the money for credit card purchases in exchange for the ability to collect on the debt owed by your customer. The financial institution, through this merchant account service, will provide you a system through which you can validate which customer credit card transactions are valid and which ones are not. Typically you will pay the merchant account service provider a one-time setup fee, a per-transaction fee, and a monthly fee. Usually businesses use merchant account service providers that work outside of their accounting software. After the credit card payments have been processed, they must be recorded again in the accounting program. However with the QuickBooks Merchant Service, you can collect

3 F i g u r e 1 Credit card transaction process credit card payments directly through QuickBooks Online Edition. You will not need to re-enter them. What types of credit cards can I charge? When you initially sign up for the QuickBooks Merchant Service, you will be approved to charge Visa and Master- Card credit cards only. To be able to take American Express and Discover cards, you will need to call the Quick- Books Merchant Services group at Getting started Apply You must first apply for a merchant account through your QuickBooks Online Edition company. This will ensure that your merchant account is connected to your QuickBooks Online Edition company. Start by going to the Company menu and selecting Preferences. Click on the Accept Credit Cards link on the left and then click the Learn More button. This will direct you to an online application. You will need to provide your business s Federal Tax ID number, or your Social Security

4 Number if you do not have a Tax ID number. You will also need your bank account number and routing number. You will be notified by regarding your approval between 2 and 5 business days. Once you receive the from QuickBooks Merchant Services, you can begin processing credit cards within QuickBooks Online Edition. F i g u r e 2 Setting the merchant account Preferences Set up Once you have been approved and notified that your merchant account is ready, you need to log into your QuickBooks Online Edition company and set up the Preferences for accepting credit cards. Go to the Company menu and select Preferences. Then click on the Accept Credit Cards link at the left. You will also need to create a Visa and MasterCard payment method in your Payment Method List. Go to the Company menu and select All Lists (List Overview). Click on the Payment Method link. Click New and add a new payment method called Visa. Be sure to check the Credit Card check box.

5 F i g u r e 3 Create credit card Payment Methods How it works F i g u r e 4 Charging your customer s credit card To charge your customers credit cards, use the same screens that you normally would when recording payments or giving refunds. At the bottom of the Sales Receipt, Received Payment, Invoice with a deposit, and Refund Receipt screens you will be able to select the credit card type. If you have already entered in the customer s credit card information through the Customer Information screen, their credit card information will appear. If you have not, click the Edit button to enter in the credit card number, expiration date, etc. Upon saving the transaction, QuickBooks Online Edition will verify that the credit card information is valid and that

6 F i g u r e 5 Credit card approval status customer s address that they have provided you matches with the billing address that their credit card issuer has. You will see a status screen indicating whether or not the transaction has been approved. Your merchant account transactions for the day will be processed late that same night. If there are any transactions that were declined, you will be notified with an alert in the Thing To Do section of your QuickBooks Online Edition homepage. Click on the Correct card processing errors link and follow the instructions for handling these transactions. Funds from your credit card transactions will be deposited into your bank account in as little as 1 day, but this time can vary depending on your bank account. There may be times when you need to give a customer a refund on their credit card. If you are refunding the customer on the same day that they made the purchase, you can simply void that original charge. 1. Find the original transaction (Sales Receipt, Received Payment, or Invoice with a deposit).

7 Click the Payment has been processed link at the bottom left. Click Void Payment. Follow the instructions in the pink box. Either void the entire transaction or change the payment method to check, cash or a different credit card. This will cause this charge to not go through in the nightly batch. The charge will never appear on the customer s card. If you need to process a refund and it is not the same day as the original charge, use the Refund Receipt screen Go to the Customers menu and select Give Refund or Credit. Select Refund for goods or services that didn t satisfy the customer, even if this description doesn t fit your scenario. Fill out the Refund Receipt and then check the box at the bottom for Process Credit Card. Click Save. Upon saving the transaction an authorization box will appear, confirming the refund. This will also go through during the nightly batch. Recurring credit card charges One of the most powerful features of QuickBooks Online Edition is the ability to charge your customers automatically on a recurring basis. If you charge your customers the same amount on a recurring basis, you can create Sales Receipts paid with your customers credit cards as

8 Recurring Templates. You set the schedule for how often you want to charge their cards Choose Recurring Templates from the Company menu. Click New. Select Sales Receipt in the Transaction Type field and click OK. Fill out the Template Name and schedule. Fill out the Sales Receipt as you normally would and be sure to check the Process credit card payment checkbox. Click Save Template. To comply with Visa and MasterCard guidelines, you must have written authorization from your customers before setting them up for recurring credit card billing. Quick- Books Online has an authorization form that you can use or you can create one yourself Click Help on the top right side of the screen. Type authorize in the Index. Select authorizing merchant service transactions. Click the Click to show topic button. Click the Open the authorization form link. Scroll to the bottom of the authorization form and click Print. (This form cannot be filled out on your computer. It will need to be filled out by hand.)

9 F i g u r e 6 Recurring Authorization Form Fraud protection The QuickBooks Merchant Service has tools that can help you avoid fraudulent charges. It is not mandatory that you use these tools, but it is recommended. Address Verification Service Whenever you process a credit card transaction, Quick- Books Online verifies the cardholder s address by comparing the address you enter with the customer s credit card

10 F i g u r e 7 Approval status with AVS check bank records. The Credit Card Transaction Status authorization box will tell you if these addresses matched or not. This check is carried out using the Address Verification Service (AVS). Address verification helps you avoid credit card fraud and chargebacks (a credit card payment that is later rejected) for transactions in which the credit card is not physically present at the time of the sale. You can still process the credit card payment even if the address does not match. The results of the Address Verification Service check are for your information only. You can still continue on with the charge if the AVS does not match. Card Verification Value A credit card verification value (CVV) is a unique three- or four- digit number found on a credit card. It is different from the actual card number. You can use this as added security when the credit card is not physically present, such as when paying on the Internet or over the phone. 10

11 F i g u r e 8 Card verification value box This can help to prove that your customers really do have their credit cards. You can choose to use CVV when accepting credit card payments by setting the Preference to remind you to enter in this number with every credit card payment. Upon saving the credit card transaction, you will have the option of entering the CVV number to verify this credit card. It will not be required. QuickBooks Online does not save the CVV numbers, since it is important that you ask for it every time you take a payment over the Internet or by phone. What it will not do QuickBooks Online Edition s merchant account service will not work with a terminal (card swiper). There is a QuickBooks Merchant Account terminal, however it will not integrate with QuickBooks Online Edition. 11

12 Your customers will not be able to pay an invoice from you on their own. You can send your customers their invoice by , but they will not be able to pay their invoices over the internet with a credit card. You will need to enter in your customers credit card information the first time and process the transaction through Quick- Books Online Edition. The QuickBooks Online Edition s merchant account service cannot accept and integrate credit card payments through an e-commerce web site. It is only for processing credit card payments when your customers pay by phone, fax, mail or in person. 12