Square & WooCommerce: Finding Credit Card Authorizations – A Newbie-Friendly Guide
So, you’re using the powerful combination of WooCommerce for your online store and Square for payment processing? Excellent choice! It’s a popular setup. But sometimes, things get a little tricky, especially when it comes to understanding authorizations. Don’t worry, this guide will walk you through how to see credit card authorizations in Square when using WooCommerce.
Why is this important? Understanding authorizations is crucial for managing your business effectively. Authorizations are not actual payments. They are *holds* placed on a customer’s credit card to ensure funds are available. Let’s say a customer places an order for $50. When the order is placed, you authorize their card for $50. The money isn’t taken yet, it’s just reserved. You then *capture* the authorization to complete the transaction and move the funds. If you don’t capture the funds, the authorization will eventually expire (usually within 3-7 days, depending on the card issuer).
Real-life Example: Imagine you run a flower shop using WooCommerce and Square. A customer pre-orders a bouquet for Valentine’s Day for $80. When they place the order, you authorize their card for $80. You *don’t* capture the payment right away because you won’t actually make the bouquet until February 14th. This is a common practice for pre-orders or for orders that require some time to fulfill. If you forget to capture the authorization on February 14th, it will expire, and you won’t get paid!
Where to Find Credit Card Authorizations
The key is to understand that authorizations are primarily managed within your Square Dashboard, *not* directly within WooCommerce. WooCommerce primarily passes the transaction information to Square and receives updates.
Here’s how to find the information you need:
1. Log in to your Square Dashboard: Go to squareup.com and log in with your credentials.
2. Navigate to Transactions: Click on “Transactions” in the left-hand navigation menu.
3. Filter by Status (Important!): This is where the magic happens. Look for a filter option, usually a dropdown menu, labeled something like “Status” or “Transaction Type.” Select “Authorizations.” (Sometimes, the filter might be labeled as “Pending” – this can also indicate an authorization.)
4. Review the List: This will show you a list of all transactions currently authorized but not yet captured.
5. Details for Each Authorization: Click on a specific transaction in the list to view its details, including:
- The amount authorized.
- The customer’s name (if available).
- The card type used.
- Most importantly: the authorization date and time. Knowing this is vital for understanding when the authorization will expire.
- Capture the Payment: This is the most common action. This completes the transaction, and the funds are transferred from the customer’s account to yours.
- Void the Authorization: If you need to cancel the order or for some other reason don’t want to charge the customer, you can void the authorization. This releases the hold on their card.
- Authorization Only: This setting determines if the initial transaction should be an authorization or a direct charge.
- Automatic Capture: If enabled, Square will automatically capture the authorization after a certain period (usually immediately after order placement).
- Check the Date Range: Make sure you are searching for authorizations within the correct date range in your Square Dashboard.
- Verify WooCommerce Order Status: The order in WooCommerce needs to be in a status that triggers the authorization (usually “Processing” or similar).
- Plugin Conflicts: Rarely, other plugins can interfere with the Square plugin. Try deactivating other plugins temporarily to see if that resolves the issue.
- Void the Authorization Immediately: Make sure to void the authorization promptly after cancelling an order. Explain to the customer that the hold will be released within a few days, depending on their bank.
Reasoning: Square is the payment processor. WooCommerce sends the initial authorization request to Square. Square holds the actual record of that authorization. This is why you need to go to Square’s platform to see and manage them.
Understanding Authorization Expiration
As mentioned before, authorizations expire. Square doesn’t explicitly display the exact expiration date, but you can *calculate* it based on the authorization date. Remember, the typical authorization period is 3-7 days. Check with your card processor for the exact time frame.
Example: An authorization was created on January 25th at 10:00 AM. Assuming a 7-day expiration period, it will expire on approximately February 1st at 10:00 AM.
What to do Before Expiration: Before an authorization expires, you have two options:
How WooCommerce & Square Communicate About Authorizations
The WooCommerce Square plugin is what handles the communication between your WooCommerce store and your Square account. When you set up the plugin, you chose how you wanted to handle payments. One setting related to Check out this post: Woocommerce How To Do A Shipping Upgrade authorizations is whether or not you want to automatically capture the payment immediately or authorize only and capture later.
You can usually find these settings in your WooCommerce admin area under:
`WooCommerce > Settings > Payments > Square`
Key Settings to Check:
Important Note: Double-check your settings to ensure they align with your business practices. Misconfigured settings can lead to missed payments or unnecessary holds on customer cards.
Troubleshooting Common Issues
* Authorization Not Showing Up in Square:
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* Customer Complains About a Hold on Their Card After Cancellation:
Advanced Tip: Using Code to Check Transaction Status (For Developers)
While the Square dashboard is your primary tool, you can also use the Square API for more advanced tasks. If you’re comfortable with PHP, you can use the Square API to programmatically check the status of transactions and manage authorizations.
<?php // This is a VERY simplified example. You'll need to configure the Square SDK properly. // This requires the Square PHP SDK which you should install via Discover insights on How To Create Shipping Method In Woocommerce Composer: composer require square/square
require_once ‘vendor/autoload.php’;
use SquareSquareClient;
use SquareEnvironment;
use SquareExceptionsApiException;
// Replace with your Square application ID and access token
$accessToken = ‘YOUR_SQUARE_ACCESS_TOKEN’;
$applicationId = ‘YOUR_SQUARE_APPLICATION_ID’;
$client = new SquareClient([
‘accessToken’ => $accessToken,
‘environment’ => Environment::SANDBOX, // or Environment::PRODUCTION,
]);
$transactionsApi = $client->getTransactionsApi();
$locationId = ‘YOUR_LOCATION_ID’; // Your Square Location ID
$transactionId = ‘THE_TRANSACTION_ID_YOU_WANT_TO_CHECK’; // The ID of the transaction you want to inspect
try {
$response = $transactionsApi->retrieveTransaction(
$locationId,
$transactionId
);
if ($response->isSuccess()) {
$transaction = $response->getResult()->getTransaction();
echo “Transaction ID: ” . $transaction->getId() . “n”;
echo “Transaction Status: ” . $transaction->getState() . “n”; // Check the ‘state’ to see if it’s AUTHORIZED, COMPLETED, VOIDED, etc.
// You can then programmatically handle the authorization based on its status.
} else {
$errors = $response->getErrors();
echo “Error retrieving transaction:n”;
foreach ($errors as $error) {
echo $error->getCode() . “: ” . $error->getDetail() . “n”;
}
}
} catch (ApiException $e) {
echo “API Exception: ” . $e->getMessage() . “n”;
}
?>
Important Considerations:
* This code snippet is a simplified example. You’ll need to:
* Install the Square PHP SDK.
* Replace the placeholder values with your actual Square application ID, access token, location ID, and the transaction ID you want to check.
* Handle errors and exceptions appropriately.
* Security: Never hardcode your Square API credentials directly into your code. Use environment variables or a secure configuration system to store your credentials.
* API Limits: Be aware of Square API rate limits.
Conclusion
Finding and understanding credit card authorizations in Square when using WooCommerce is crucial for running your business smoothly. By following these steps, you can effectively manage your transactions and ensure you get paid for your hard work. Remember to regularly check your Square dashboard for pending authorizations and capture or void them as needed. Happy selling!
