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Card readers

Types​

  • Attached readers pair to a till and are driven by it.
  • Terminals are semi-independent devices on the store network that the till sends an amount to.

Which you have affects where to look when something fails: an attached reader is a till problem, a terminal is usually a network problem.

Pairing​

  1. Put the reader on the store network or pair it to the till.
  2. Register it in Management → Devices.
  3. Run a test transaction — a small sale you then void — before service.

Live vs test processing​

A restaurant processes either live or in test mode. Test mode uses the processor's certification environment, which returns approvals — so a till in test mode looks entirely normal and settles nothing.

A test-mode approval is not money

If sales are approving on the floor but nothing is arriving in the bank, check the processing mode before anything else. Approvals are exactly what test mode is designed to produce.

When a card will not take​

  1. Is the reader online? Check the device list.
  2. Is the till online? A till that cannot reach the network cannot authorise.
  3. Is the card the problem? Try another card before escalating.
  4. Is the batch open? A closed batch can refuse new authorisations until the next one opens. See End of day.

Gift cards are different​

House gift cards are processed by OrderUp directly and never reach the card processor. A gift card that will not swipe is not a card-reader-to-processor problem. See Gift cards.