Authorize.net Settlement

There is a quick additional setup step inside the Authorize.net online interface to allow settlement from within Theatre Manager. Click here for instructions. The Authorize.net settlement process is also a little different because of the authorization process, yet provides some interesting benefits. In general, when you decide to settle your batch:

1. Theatre Manager retrieves all the unsettled 'auth only' transactions from Authorize.net. However, Authorize.net will only send the most recent 1000 transactions back to Theatre Manager. This should be perfectly fine for almost every venue almost every day.
2. Theatre Manager compares those transactions on a one-by-one basis to the payments that have not yet been deposited. In theory, they should match exactly. If they do, Theatre Manager goes on to the next step. If the transactions do not match exactly, then a short list of discrepancies is shown that can only be:

   

   Very important - please read the error message column to see if: The transaction is in Authorize.net and not in Theatre Manager -OR- The transaction is in Theatre Manager and not authorize.net and then take action according to the two options below.

   • Payments in Authorize.net that are not in Theatre Manager.

     This might happen if

     1. You settled the match in Authorize.net manually the previous day and did not settle TM. If this is the case, you will see multiple lines in the list .. and the total should match prior days deposit plus today's business
     2. a user logs in to the Authorize.net online interface using their web browser and authorizes a card independently of Theatre Manager (this in itself is a no-no). In other words, something that should never happen.
     3. there is a communication error after Theatre Manager sends the authorization - and before Authorize.net can send on back. If these happen, then you will probably already know about it and need only void the card in Authorize.net to make both balance.
     4. There is some sort of communication error during end of day and TM settles the batch, but they payments were not marked as 'capture' in Authorize.net. If that happens, you will have a continuing out of balance that is constant day-after-day. To fix it:
        • find the payments in Authorize.net that were part of the batch that had the problem. Conveniently, the eod of day will provide an audit list for you (it things they are missing in TM, but they are not).
        • mark them captured manually in Authorize.net so that the same payments are both captured in auth.net and already previously deposited in TM.
     5. there is a chargeback from visa - in which case it might show up as a discrepancy. The advantage is that you will know about these when they happen and can correct it in Theatre Manager immediately.
   • Payments in Theatre Manager that are not in Authorize.net.

     The only reasons where this would occur is:

     1. refunds processed after end of day and before the daily sweep. (Which you should avoid).
     2. If you have turned on auto-settle in the online authorize.net interface -- which would never be set up that way during the install and you should change Authorize.net to self settle.
3. Once you are satisfied that the payment matches the Authorize.Net batch, you settle Theatre Manager by clicking on the final deposit button on the end of day deposit window. Theatre Manager has to do the EOD a little differently than simply settle:
   1. Theatre Manager will go through each of the payments that match from the step above and tell Authorize.net to 'capture' the card. Capturing the card means that the hold is removed and instantly replaced with a binding authorization
   2. These 'captured' cards sit in the batch at Authorize.net and are 'swept' once a day to move them all into the bank, just like other authorization software.