Pre-Authorization Completion

Pre-Authorization completion is most commonly used in a cart damage situation or running tabs. Any pre-auths done in table service are completed in table service. The pre-authorization in table service do not use the default pre-authorization amount set, but instead the amount of the transaction before the tip.

It is common to set the default pre-authorization to $1. This will be used when doing a pre-authorization for a cart damage waiver or opening a new tab. You are unlikely to set this to a higher amount because that will reserve available credit on the customers card until the pre-authorization expires (set by card processor and is usually multiple days). For example, if a customer had available credit of $600 on his credit card and you pre-authorized it for $500, he would only be able to charge up to $100 before it started declining due to unavailable credit. Your customer would not appreciate that.

It is against the rules to complete a pre-authorization for more than 10% above the pre-authorized amount. This is obviously not practical in cart damage situations. For this reason, you should not complete the pre-authorization for cart damage through the point of sale because the customer could simply call the credit card processor (e.g. Moneris, ETS) and have the charge reversed and it may be difficult for you to get the money from the customer. 

You should perform the following steps when completing a cart damage pre-authorization:

1. Get a written estimate to repair the damage to the cart.
2. Call the credit card processor and explain the situation, give them the pre-auth number and tell them you have a signed cart damage waiver form.
3. The processor should give you the credit card number and expiry date.
4. Contact the customer if you want to let them know that you will be charging their card.
5. Log in to your processor account (for Moneris this is e-select) and complete a new transaction for that amount.