A COMPLETE Credit Card Transaction is a successful transaction, with the transferal of funds being authorized. An INCOMPLETE Credit Card Transaction indicates that the transfer authorization may not have occurred. Skyware Systems helps facilitate your communication with the Credit Card Gateway provider you utilize. If it appears that this communication has not occurred, Skyware will mark the transaction as incomplete, and you will need to take further action. You will need to MANUALLY VERIFY the transaction with your Gateway provider, and either mark it as complete if it was successful, or delete it if it failed.
The Incomplete Credit Card Transactions screen area displays any Credit Card transactions that are considered incomplete.
EMV is a payment method based upon a technical standard for smart payment cards and for payment terminals and automated teller machines that can accept them. EMV chip cards use an actual computer chip placed on the top part of a Credit Card to communicate with terminals. These chips allow a much more intricate and secure transaction process to occur. Payment cards that comply with the EMV standard are often called Chip and PIN or Chip and Signature cards.
An EMV device is the machine used to make a payment using a Credit Card. See Using EMV Pin Pads for more details. The EMV device should therefore be on the counter or held for the customer to insert their card into it. Any EMV devices for your Property need to be configured into the system before it can be available. Remember it is a physical device that needs to be attached for use. (See Configure PinPad or EMV Stations).
All Payment methods except Credit Cards will post immediately to the statement. Credit Card transactions will first take you to a Credit Card Transaction screen where you will confirm that you are using the correct tokenized credit card and the appropriate authorized amount on that card. The main difference between EMV Pin Pad transactions and swiped or manual entry transactions is that you will begin the transaction by activating the PinPad and finish the transaction on the device itself. You will activate your PinPad/EMV device where your guest can place their card and open a new screen to your Gateway provider (such as Shift 4, Tenerum or USAePay). During this time your Skyware Systems will be “thinking”, waiting on the response from the device. If there is no response, the action will time out with a message in RED on the Skyware Screen. Any other messages (declines, canceled by cardholder, etc.) will display in red as well. If you try to process a credit card but the link to the credit card company is not available, Skyware Systems still allows you to proceed but will display a message that states that there was a communication error. These issues all lead to incomplete transactions.
Note: If you use Shift 4 and you receive the "Unable to activate EMV device" error message, please check the EMV transactions screen to ensure that the transaction was recorded. If the error lies in the communication between Skyware and Shift 4, there will be a record of it in the detailed list for the specific Pin Pad/EMV device, that shows the transaction request was not "picked up" and sent, and instead timed out. This means that the Skyware Local Stand Alone Service is not active and therefore not communicating, and will need to be restarted on-site.
Incomplete Credit Card transactions show up in Folios or Reports in RED. Incomplete Credit Card transactions may also PREVENT YOUR NIGHT AUDIT from completing. Any Incomplete Credit Card transactions therefore need to be followed up on.
To Access the Incomplete Credit Card Transaction screen area:
Select Manager's Screen from the Quick Menu on the left side of the screen, to be taken to the MANAGER'S COMMANDS screen.
The Manager's Command screen menu has two sections, Manager's Configuration and Manager's Maintenance.
Select Incomplete Credit Card Transactions from the Manager's Maintenance section.
To Complete an Incomplete Credit Card Transaction:
If you have any incomplete credit card transactions, you will see them on the Incomplete Credit Card Transaction screen.
The Incomplete Credit Card Transaction screen display is split into two frames, with any Incomplete Credit Card Transactions displayed as a list on the left side of the screen and the right side showing the details of the incomplete transaction, and containing the fields you need to edit the transaction.
Note: The ONLY field you can CHANGE is the “Completed?” check box.
If you have an Incomplete Credit Card transaction listed, you will need to log in to your Credit Card Gateway provider (for example Shift 4 or USAePay) to verify if the transaction has gone through and is now complete, or if the transaction will need to be deleted.
The transaction must be MANUALLY VERIFIED with your Gateway.
Your Property is responsible for this manual verification.
Note: To log in to the credit card gateway will require that you have the authorization to do so. If you do not, you will need someone who does to do so. The transaction needs to be verified before being marked as completed or deleted.
If the transaction made it to the Gateway, you should check the “Completed?” check box and click the Save button (
) in the local tool bar.
This will remove it from the Incomplete Credit Card Transaction screen and mark it in Skyware Systems instead as complete.
Note: If this was the only entry, you will see a message telling you that there are no records to retrieve. This means that there are NO incomplete credit card transactions within Skyware Systems.
When completed, the transaction will no longer be seen in red within Skyware Systems, instead it will be shown as a normal transaction in black on any Folio screens or Reports. The Night Audit may now also be performed.
If the Credit Card transaction did NOT make it to the Gateway provider, then you will need to DELETE the incomplete transaction and re-process the credit card.
Delete the incomplete transaction using the Delete (red X) button in the local tool bar.
A pop-up window from Skyware Systems will appear, asking if you really wish to delete the record.
To remove the transaction, click the blue button OK. You will now need to re-enter the transaction.
Re-run the credit card as you would normally to now complete the transaction.
Night Audit (Z-Out) and Incomplete Credit Card Transactions:
The Night Audit (Z-Out) process CAN be started while there is an incomplete credit card transaction, but the transaction must be corrected (either marked as successful OR deleted and the transaction re-run) before it can be completed. Skyware will give you the opportunity to do so; if you start the Night Audit whilst there is an incomplete credit card transaction, instead of completing successfully, the process will take you directly to the Incomplete Credit Card Transaction screen, with a pop-up message informing you that the process cannot be completed:
"Incomplete Credit Card Postings Exists! Check your credit card gateway. If successfully processed then mark as completed otherwise delete and re-submit. UNABLE TO CHANGE THE SYSTEM DATE!!"
First click the blue button "OK", then you will need to proceed as above to complete the credit card transaction and MANUALLY VERIFY the transaction with your Gateway provider, and either mark it as complete if it was successful, or delete it if it failed. Once the incomplete credit card transaction has been dealt with, the Night Audit (Z-Out) process will now be completed.
Date Updated October 23, 2023