A payment failed or seems stuck

The most important rule: never charge a customer again until you know the first payment did not go through. A payment can complete on the terminal even when the till lost contact for a moment.

The card was declined

The till says The card was declined. The bank said no, and nothing was charged. Ask for another card or another way to pay, and press Try again.

Cancelled on the terminal

The customer or cashier cancelled on the terminal. Nothing was charged. Press Try again to start over.

Stuck, or timed out

While the till says Connection problem, retrying, it keeps asking. Look at the terminal: it often shows the answer first.

If the till says Timed out waiting for the terminal, do not press Try again straight away:

1. Look at the terminal's screen. Did it say approved?
2. Go to Reports, find the sale in Transactions (search for the amount), and tap it.
3. Press Check with Surfboard. If the status is Paid, the customer has paid and the sale is recorded. Do not charge again: press Back to sale and Clear the ticket.
4. Only if it is Failed or Cancelled, take the payment again.

The sale updates itself if the answer arrives later, so a sale shown as not paid can turn into Paid a little after.

You can also ask the assistant in Help "was this payment charged?". It can look up the payment for you.

The customer was charged twice

Find both sales in Transactions. Void the extra one the same day if the till offers Void: then nothing reaches the customer's statement. Later than that, use Refund and pick the reason Charged twice. See Refunds and voids.

Demo payments

If the till shows Demo payments, the payments are simulated and nothing is charged. See Demo payments and going live.

Still not sure?

Ask the assistant in Help with the time and the amount. If it needs a person, it can draft a support ticket for you. See Get help and support.