Theatre Manager Online Help

Creating a Payment

Creating a Payment

The payment window is used to record the payment method, enter a reason why the patron purchased the tickets, initiate invoicing, print tickets, and record detailed order notes. Each time tickets are sold, a donation is made or a membership purchase a unique Order Number is created. This number is displayed on the title bar of the Payment Window.

  1. Selecting the Payment button in the Order window.

    The order window can be accessed through the:

    Click for a detailed description of the Order Window and it's functions.

     

  2. Verify the overall value of the order.

    There is a summary of the value of items contained in the order to the lower left of the order window (example to the right). If you wish, you can add, change or remove items from the order by:

    • Clicking on the Fees button.
    • Passes, Gift Certificates and Memberships items can be changed by clicking on the Memberships button.
    • Donations can be added by clicking on the Donation button.

     

  3. Select the Reason The Patron Bought

    "Why did the Patron buy?" is used to record how the patron heard about the performances and why they are purchasing tickets.

    This field is useful for analyzing customer purchase behavior. Refer to

    Type the first letter of an item in the list, or scroll to select it. For example, if you type the letter N, the value in the field changes to "Newspapers". Entering a letter will make the first matching value from the list appear. If more than one value matches your entry, you can type enough letters to find the required value.

     

  4. Select the payment or refund method.

    Ticket orders may be fully paid, partially paid, or not paid at all. Click in the Payment Method field. A list payment methods opens. Each payment option causes applicable data entry fields to be displayed.
    Refer to the Payment Method Variation help topic to see how each payment method affects the central part of the payment window.
    Payment Types can be changed in the Payment Code Tables.
    On Account means no payment received at this time. You will need to pay for the order later.

     

  5. Enter any specific notes about this order

    There are 3 comments that you can enter. These are:

    • Ticket Comment which is intended to be printed on hard ticket stock. It might be used for things like 'birthday party for ...' if the patron is celebrating something special or 'tickets compliments of ' if the person buying many tickets is intending on giving them away to others and would like a little recognition
    • Order Notes (internal) which are for anything you want to note about the order for future reference
    • Order Notes (external) which can be printed on reports and displayed the web and are purely for customer reference. Customers who enter notes when buying online cause this to be filled in as well.

     

  6. Select Send Invoice, if an invoice is requested to be sent.

     

  7. Click Print Tickets button to print tickets and receipts or click the Accept Payment button to accept the payment without printing tickets.

Payment Method Variations

Payment Method Variations

Changing the payment method will change the area on this window to be specific to the needs of the payment method. For example, credit card payments need a credit card. Cash payments have different needs.

refer to the following sub windows to see how things changed for some key payment methods

  • Cash
  • Check or Cheque if in Canada
  • Credit Cards
  • Coupons that might be applied to create a discount (like a 50% off coupon)
  • Electronic Funds Transfer which helps setup up a special file to send to banks to cause direct deposit.
  • Passes, Gift Certificates, or Membership Redemptions. This payment method is used to redeem Passes and Gift Certificates that have been sold to other patrons in the past and have been presented for redemption at the box office (or online).
  • Gift In Kind which means that the patron is paying for their order using an item like a desk, advertising, sheep, donuts, lunch credits, etc - anything that the bank will not process
  • On account which means no payment method is being taken now - it will be applied later
  • Other which is representative of
    • any of the other 'custom' payment methods you may have created in your payment method code table.
    • Promissory Note is used to mark an order with a payment flag indicating that you have received a copy of a voucher promising payment from a customer and may have to refer to that in a future billing. Could be used for concierge orders from hotels
    • The word 'other' might be replaced by your choice of words like Purchase Order, Stock Gift, etc

Payment Method Cash

Payment Method Cash

Payment Method Description and instructions on use
Cash
  1. Select Cash from the Payment Method drop down.

  2. Verify the Payment Amount. If this will be a partial payment, change the payment amount.

  3. Click the tab key on the keyboard. The Payment Amount will reflect the new amount due.

  4. Enter the cash tendered from the patron and click the tab key.

    The amount of change due to the patron will be calculated and displayed.

  5. If foreign currency is tendered from the patron, enter this amount in the second Cash Tendered line.

    The amount of change due to the patron will be calculated and displayed. This amount will be in the local currency, not the foreign currency. The value of the foreign currency is determined from the exchange rate in the Currency Exchange code table.

Payment Method Check/Cheque

Payment Method Check/Cheque

Payment Method Description and instructions on use
Cheque
  1. Select Cheque or Check from the Payment Method drop down.

  2. Verify the Payment Amount. If this will be a partial payment, change the payment amount.
  3. Enter the cheque number.

    This can be made a mandatory field by a master user in the Payment Methods section of the Code Tables.

  4. Enter the employee’s name or initials who approved the cheque for accuracy.

Payment Method Credit Card (EMV Pin Pad)

Payment Method Credit Card (EMV Pin Pad)

EMV Pin Pads are only valid for Moneris at this time.
You can verify the correct communication steps are occurring with the pin pad device by looking at the web listener log for EMV devices
If you expect to do a lot of manual card entries into the pin pad machine from phone sales, then please make sure your Authorization Timeout is 90 seconds - or at least sufficiently long enough to handle the process of manually putting the card number into the pinpad and getting an authorization.
Moneris does not allow voiding payments taken via a pin pad. Instead, you must create a REFUND payment

 

Payment Method Description and instructions on use
Credit Card (EMV Pin Pad)
  1. Select ANY credit card type from the Payment Method drop down.

    It doesn't matter which card you pick if all are being processed by the pin pad. The EMV device will determine that card automatically and send that back to Theatre Manager. It allows the customer to use debit, credit, apple pay or any other approved device without needing to tell you.

  2. Verify the Payment Amount

    If this will be a partial payment, change the payment amount

  3. Card Entry Option

    • Patron taps, inserts or swipes the card on the EMV device. The default usage for an EMV device taking a payment (or doing a refund) is to enable the pin pad so that the patron taps, inserts, or swipes their card on the device and selects options as appropriate for Visa, INTERAC, etc.
    • Employee enters credit card manually into the EMV device. ONLY CLICK THIS if you are doing a phone or mail order and you need to manually type in the credit card and expiry date on the EMV device.

      Do not use this optionif the customer is present and they will be tapping, inserting chip card, swiping the credit card, or using something like Apple-Pay.

  4. Click the Accept Payment button:
    • The EMV device will activate and a message will appear on screen.
    • If a card is accepted successfully, the payment window will close.
    • If there is an issue with card acceptance, to start over you may need to:
      • use the red cancel button on the on the pinpad. This may also close the wait screen in TM.
      • if not, click cancel on the Theatre Manager screen as well
You many see a button on the lower left that says Type Card if you have been given permission to bypass use of the EMV device for manual card entry in employee security setup

This feature allows you to type the card, expiry, cvv2 into Theatre Manager and select a billing address. Payments taken this way allow future linked refunds, yet increase your PCI audit scope to Schedule 'C' or 'D'

Payment Method Credit Card (USB SWIPE or Manual)

Payment Method Credit Card (USB SWIPE or Manual)

Payment Method Description and instructions on use
Credit Card (manually entered or USB Swipe)
  1. Select the Credit Card type from the Payment Method drop down.

    Refer to the Payment Methods section of the Code Tables for defining the credit card types.

  2. Verify the Payment Amount.

    • If this will be a PARTIAL PAYMENT, change the payment amount.
    • If this is a REFUND, then type the payment as a negative number
  3. The Payment Amount will reflect the new amount due.
  4. Enter the credit card number.

    Theatre Manager checks the credit card number entered to ensure it is a valid sequence of numbers. This helps prevents card numbers from being typed in wrong.

    If your Workstation is equipped with a credit card swipe device, swipe the card and Theatre Manager will insert the number, card type and expiry date automatically. In addition if the card swipe is setup to read "track 2" of the card the name of the card owner will be placed in the order notes section of the Payment Window.
  5. Enter the credit card expiry date in the mm/yy format.

    Example: 321, 0321, and 03/21 all mean March 2021. You can enter any format you wish and Theatre Manager will convert it to display 03/21

  6. Enter the CID/CVV2 number.

    This is the number on he back of the card and is generally required for all purchases.

  7. Select the Address Verification System (AVS) address

    If the patron has multiple addresses, the field AVS will appear with all addresses known to the patron. You may need to select the patrons credit card billing address from the popup. If this field is not present and the card is declined because of address verification, you can add the credit card address to the patrons record and then redo the payment.

  8. Click the Accept Payment button

    Theatre Manager will send the card data to the Merchant provider to be authorized.

    • If accepted, you will see the authorization number in a popup window
    • If rejected, you will see a message about the rejection. Contact your merchant provider about the rejection if you have any questions about it. Theatre Manager does not approve a credit card charge - it just conveys the information to the bank. Only the merchant provider can accept a card
  9. (Optional and Rare) Enter the credit card authorization number.

    Normally, you NEVER enter the authorization number as that is collected by Theatre Manager automatically when the charge is approved.

    In rare cases, after pressing the accept payment button when attempting to authorize a credit card charge, you might get a message like 'call centre'. That means

    • you need to contact the merchant provider pertaining to this use of this card.
    • Depending on what they say on the phone, you might get given a manual authorization number over the phone that you would type in this field.
    • The authorization number becomes a one-time code to accept this card this time only

Payment Method Credit Card (Linked Refund)

Payment Method Credit Card (Linked Refund)

There are two types of credit refunds:

  • Linked Refunds: preferred by credit card providers to avert fraud as it only refunds to the card used on the original order
  • Independent Refunds: return money to any card you wish. You may need permission from the credit card provider to use this type

Linked Refunds - Always attempt these First

The system assumes that all credit card refunds are linked. The process of doing a refund occurs when the payment amount for a credit card is negative. Theatre Manager:

  • displays the list of prior cards showing original authorized amount and refunded amount so far
  • allows you to select a card for the refund. The amount you refund should be no more than the original authorization less any prior refunds. For example, if the original authorization is $100 and there are cumulative refunds of $75, then the maximum refund should be $25 for that card
  • allows you to pick another card or another authorization to refund if there is more than one card option

Independent Refunds - Attempt Last

What if you need to refund to a completely different card from one in the list? If your merchant provider setup allows independent refunds, then the Independent Refund Button appears.

Click the button, the screen will change, and you will be able to refund to any card that you enter, or if using EMV device, put into the system.

 

Only credit cards authorized within the TIME limit set in your merchant setup will show up in the list.

The time limit should match that given by your credit card provider (typically between 120 and 400 days, depending on provider). Only extend the limit to see older cards after contacting your merchant provider.

If you are working in an outlet situation, you cannot do linked refund to a credit acrd taken at another outlet. You can only refund to credit cards your outlet has taken
If the Refund Payment is disabled, check the error message at the bottom of the window. Likely the card has not been deposited yet. That means you must either:
  • Void the payment by exiting the window and looking for the payment in the payment list. If you void, you will need to ask the patron for their credit card again and reauthorize for the new amount. -or-
  • Settle the credit card batch to send the money to bank. Afterwards, you can do a linked refund for a lesser amount. This is because merchant providers do not let you alter the amount of a prior authorization before settling it.
If you get a weird message from your merchant provider or still cannot refund after contacting them to adjust the limit, you can:
  • Try an independent refund (see below). You will need the entire card, expiry date and possibly CVV2
  • Refund to the EMV device, if using EMV machines.
  • Refund to a cheque, if refunding to a card does not work. Normally you always refund to the same method as payment was made, so this represents a risk on your part.
  • Refund to a gift certificate, if the patron thinks that acceptable

 

Payment Method On Account

Payment Method On Account

Payment Method Description and instructions on use
On Account
  1. Select On Account from the Payment Method drop down.

    No payment will be received at this time, so the amount due on the order will be placed as an outstanding balance due on the patron's account. You will be able to exit the order, but you will still need to deal with the non-zero order balance later in order to clear your books.

    In addition to leaving an outstanding balance for an order, there are two sub options. You can:

    • allow the order to appear under the patrons account so that they can pay for the balance online. It may be useful for corporate accounts, tour groups or even pre-booked subscriptions if you want to encourage the patron to pay for them without needing to call the box office.
If you enable the payment of the balance online, we suggest entering a useful comment in the order's external notes. eg. Course registration for 'Bob' or 'fundraising trip to London for Meg & Harry'. or 'subscriptions for the entire family'.
We suggest putting some recognizable comment in the external order notes.
  • mark the order as reservation only - which means that the order will sit in the system without creating any accounting entries until a payment is made. This feature must have been enabled in company preferences accounting tab and is not a recommended setting.

    • Payment Method Other

    Payment Method Other

    Payment Method Description and instructions on use
    Other
    1. Select Other from the Payment Method drop down.

    2. Verify the Payment Amount. If this will be a partial payment, change the payment amount.
    3. The Payment Amount will reflect the new amount due.
    4. Enter a description for the other form of payment.
    5. Enter the employee’s name or initials who approved the payment.

    Payment Method Promissory Note / Voucher

    Payment Method Promissory Note / Voucher

    A Promissory Note/Voucher is a payment method used to record a voucher or pass purchased elsewhere, another outlet, another Vendor or sold not using Theatre Manager's Membership/Pass system.

    To add a Promissory Note/Voucher payment you would perform the following steps:

    1. Selecting the Payment button in the Order window.

      The order window can be accessed through the Orders Tab or when Purchasing tickets. Click here for a detailed description of this window and it's functions.

    2. Select Promissory Note/Voucher from the Payment Method drop down list.

    3. Fill in the Voucher Number or reference.

      This can be a number or text or a combination up to 16 Characters including spaces.

    4. Fill in an order note to reference the origin of the Promissory Note/ Voucher.

      This note is referenced on reports generated based on orders.

    5. Click the Accept Payment button to complete the payment.

    This does not pay for the order, you will be prompted for another payment. Respond No. The order balance will be on account as a receivable.

    Payment Method Gift In Kind

    Payment Method Gift In Kind

    Gift In Kind payments have some variations that are described in more detail.

    It is especially important to fill all fields the Gift in Kind payment is for a donation since the data prints on tax receipts

    A gift in kind payment is used when you receive a material item ( i.e. non cash/card/check payments) like a donated desk, advertising, etc that needs to be allocated to a specific GL account. In all cases, you will need to provide a description, appraiser and address.
    A gift in kind payment is a specialty payment method. It ALWAYS exists in the database (like cash or check). if you don't see it in your payment list, please enable it in code tables. It's short code will be ~GIFT.
    Payment Method Description and instructions on use
    Gift In Kind
    1. Select Gift In Kind from the Payment Method drop down.

    2. Verify the Payment Amount. If this will be a partial payment, change the payment amount. The Payment Amount will reflect the new amount due.
    3. Select the GL account for the payment method, normally an expense or asset account
    4. Enter a description of the Gift In Kind that you will be receiving as the payment. IT will be a tangible item and can be printed on the tax receipt if this is for a donation.
    5. Enter the Appraiser's name which is the proof of the value of the item. This can be a physical person, a company (in case of stock valuation), a web site you looked up, or an actual receipt provided by the patron.
    6. Appraisers Address is the means by which you can contact the person again for the valuation. It could be the physical street address, web site, or location of the actual receipt

    Gift In Kind Payment

    Gift In Kind Payment

    A gift in kind payment is used when you receive a material item ( i.e. non cash/card/check payments) like a donated desk, advertising, etc that needs to be allocated to a specific GL account. In all cases, you will need to provide a description, appraiser and address.

    If a Gift in Kind payment is used to pay for a donation, it is important to fill out the description and appraiser because they will appear on the tax receipts. Refer to your tax accountant/government rules as to appraiser requirements. Some places allow self appraisal and others only allow that to a certain dollar amount. In some cases cash receipt or internet page showing current price is valid.

    To add a Gift In Kind payment, you perform the following steps:

    1. Selecting the Payment button in the Order window.

      The Order window can be accessed through the Orders Tab or when Purchasing tickets. Click here for a detailed description of this window and it's functions.

    2. Select Gift in Kind from the Payment Method pull down menu.

    3. Fill in the Gift in Kind field with a brief description of what the gift is.
    4. Select the G/L account you wish to charge the item to.

      A G/L number can be typed directly into the field or the Account Lookup button to select the account from the list of GL accounts. Double click the account or click the Select button to accept the account.

    5. Fill in the appraiser's name.

      This may be required for audit purposes or for printing on tax receipts if the payment is for a donation.

    6. Click the Accept Payment button to complete the payment.
    For Quick Reference Information on Gifts In Kind, You can download a Screencast (online video demonstrations of the functions with narration).

    Flash ScreenCast

    MP4 ScreenCast

    Payment Method Coupon

    Payment Method Coupon

    Entering a coupon codes could cause a reduction in price for items that are in the patrons order. An analogy is the supermarket. After scanning all groceries, you provide the coupons to the cashier and prices are adjusted retroactively according to rules.

    You only need to enter:

    • the coupon code (you can look one up)
    • the number of coupons of the same type to apply and TM will adjust the price
    • repeat for as many coupon codes as you wish
    Coupon codes are described in detail in coupon setup.

    Please refer that section to see how payments are applied.

    Accepting Multiple Payments

    Accepting Multiple Payments

    Multiple payments can generally be applied in any order that you want. There are a couple of exceptions. Anything that affects the actual price of the ticket must be applied first. For example, use these payment types before accepting any others:

    After that, use any other payment method to reduce the balance outstanding, including monetary dollar value gift certificates.

    1. Open the Payment window.

      Click here to learn how to access the payment window.

      Click here for a detailed description of this window and it's functions.

    2. Select the payment method

    3. Enter the amount of this payment method the patron would like to pay into the Payment Amount field.

    4. Enter the amount of payment received into the Cash Tendered field.

      Pressing the tab key on the keyboard will display the change owed to the patrons for the amount tendered. A patron may choose to pay with multiple payment methods and still require change for one or more of those methods.

    5. Fill in any other necessary information and click the Accept Payment button.

      A confirmation window opens and asks you to confirm the partial payment.

    6. Click the Yes button to accept the partial payment.

      The Process Another Payment window opens.

    7. Click the Yes button.
    8. Select the second payment type.

      The remaining balance may be paid for in one or more payments. Repeat steps 2 through 6 above with the remaining payment methods as needed. If the payment is put On Account refer to Later Payments to learn how to add future payment to the order.

    Adding Payments later - after the order is complete

    Adding Payments later - after the order is complete

    Later Payments are used to perform a number of important functions such as:

    • Enter payments after the initial sale has been completed
    • Enter additional payments for an order
    • Enter reversing payments
    • Enter post-dated payments
    • Add/Edit order and exchange fees
    1. Open the Patron Order Window by clicking on the Order Tab from the Patron Window.

      Click Here for a detailed description of this window and it's functions.

    2. Select the order you want to add a payment to.

    3. Click the Payment button
    4. Change any data as needed.

      Click here for a detailed description of this window and it's functions.

      Refer to Creating Payments for more information.

    5. Click the Accept Payment button.

      The payment is accepted and added to the order.

    Force Duplicate Payment

    Force Duplicate Payment

    A duplicate transaction is defined as a transaction that contains the same account number, the same expiration date, and the same amount on the same day.

    Having the Force Duplicate option de-activated by default ensures that patrons are not double charged because of errors (either human error, an error between Theatre Manager and the credit card application, or an error between the credit card application and the merchant provider).

    If the transaction is legitimate, check the box to have the patron’s credit card charged again for the same amount.

    Creating Offsetting Payments to Clear A/R Balance

    Creating Offsetting Payments to Clear A/R Balance

    Theatre Manager uses a process called "Invoice Matching" in its accounting. This means each invoice (order) needs to balance to itself.

    If you refunded tickets on one order (creating a credit balance to the patron), but purchased tickets in another order (creating a debit balance from the patron), then the orders are unbalanced. The patron account may appear good, but the orders within the patron record are unbalanced. This is why it is important to keep edits to an order within the order itself, and not create a separate order.


    In this example, the patron has two orders. One with a balance due to the patron of $85, and one with a balance owing from the patron for $85. Note the Balance column on the right side of the image below.


    To repair this, you need to make a CASH refund to the credit balance order, and a CASH payment to the debit balance order.

    To take care of the credit balance, you perform the following steps:

    1. Return to the patron record, and click the tab.

      Select the credit balance order (the one in blue).

    2. Click the button.
    3. In the Payment window, create a REFUND (negative payment) for the full value of the order.

      Choose CASH as the payment method.

    4. Click button.

    To apply the credit to the debit balance, you perform the following steps:
    1. Return to the patron record, and click on the tab

      Highlight the debit balance order (the one in red).

    2. Click the button.

      Make a payment for the full value of the order and use CASH as the payment method.

    3. Click button.

    At your End Of Day, the GL Journal Entry Summary by Account will show a net effect to CASH of $0.

    The GL Journal Entry DETAIL by Account will show $85 CASH in, and $85 CASH out.

    Partial Payments

    Partial Payments

    1. Selecting the Payment button in the Order window.

      The order window can be accessed through the Orders Tab or when Purchasing tickets. Click here for a detailed description of this window and it's functions.

    2. Select the payment method from the drop down list.

    3. Enter the amount for the payment method in the Payment Amount field.

    4. Enter the amount of payment received into the Cash Tendered field.

      Pressing the tab key on the keyboard will display the change owed to the patrons for the amount tendered. A patron may choose to pay with multiple payment methods and still require change for one or more of those methods.

    5. Fill in any other necessary information and click the Accept Payment button.

      A confirmation dialog opens, asking you to confirm the partial payment.

    6. Click the Yes button to accept the partial payment.

      The Process Another Payment window opens.

    7. Click the Yes button.
    8. Select the 'On Account' as the second payment type.

      If the payment is put On Account refer to Later Payments to learn how to add future payments to the order.