Partial payments

[Whistle2016]

We have issues with partial payments being taken when customers are saying they have all the funds. 

I personally just had this situation happen to me at another local bar that used toast. and then my bank is showing 2 charges for different prices.

curious to know if other bars/restaurant are having this same issue.  never had this happen with any previous POS systems i have used.

[josh212]

As per MCC codes 5812 & 5813  Authorization When the Cardholder Adds a Gratuity
In the U.S. Region, the Rule on this subject is modified as follows.
For Mastercard POS Transactions effected at a U.S. Region Merchant with a Mastercard Card
issued in the U.S. Region, any gratuity added by the Cardholder must be included in the
authorization request amount and must not be added after authorization is obtained, when:
• The authorization is identified as a final authorization; or
• The Transaction is a Card-not-present Transaction (with the exception below), Chip/PIN
Transaction, Contactless Transaction, or Mastercard Consumer-Presented Quick Response
(QR) Transaction.
For all other Card-present Transactions, including key-entered, magnetic stripe, and Chip
Transactions completed with signature CVM (with or without physical signature collection), and
for Card-not-present Transactions identified with MCC 5812 (Eating Places, Restaurants) or
MCC 5814 (Fast Food Restaurants), a gratuity may be added after authorization is obtained,
provided:
• The gratuity does not exceed 30 percent of the authorized amount

Basically they allow for tips

[Kirsten_H]

Is this occurring for the customer immediately after the transaction  (same/next day), or is it after the transaction has been 'finalized' through the banking process?

In my experience, if a card is authorized for an amount, then the customer adds to that check (I'm assuming there is a threshold based on the comment by @josh212), a new authorization will be created, and the customer will likely see both of those amounts 'held' in the account until the transaction has been finalized and the  customer's financial institution releases the authorization hold for the 'unused' initial authorization.

How does the transaction appear in your bar's back end?  When a customer calls with an 'I was double charged...' question, some of my first actions are to ask if they added an item to the check after the card was presented, and to look up the transaction in our Toast back end to see what it looks like on our end.  Most of the time, it's an authorization issue that will clear up with time.  Every now and again, the employee makes a mistake and charges the incorrect card.  

We've actually had fewer authorization hold issues with Toast than we had with our previous POS.

[josh212]

@Kirsten_H, I want to provide some clarification regarding the card processing flow. The card authorization process is continuous, remaining active until it's batched and finalized on the following business day. This is particularly noticeable with debit cards, as they often remain in a pending state until the next day. The reason for this is that debit cards directly access the customer's bank account, necessitating the bank to be operational to complete the transaction and release the hold. Credit cards, on the other hand, operate through a card network, essentially borrowing against a line of credit. Regarding tip allowances, many restaurants pre-set an authorization amount, typically reserving 20-30% of the total for gratuity. For example, if a customer has $100 in their account and the bill is $99, the debit card authorization might be for $75 initially, with an additional hold of 25% for the potential tip. These card batches typically process between 4-5 am, leading to cleared transactions by the start of the following business week. This explains why the initial authorization amount might be lower than expected. However I always tell the customer wait until Monday or Tuesday when the card settles and if there is still an issue we will fix it. (you cand file a claim on a pending charge anyway)

[Whistle2016]

I understand all of that but in my situation i was picking up a catering order.  No card on file no items rang in after card was used to pay.  

My first transaction said "partial payment" I had more then enough to cover the cost.

I then used a debit card to pay the rest and 2 charges went to my account, yes pending, but both charges were different amounts .  Back of the house shows 1 charge on my debit for the correct amount.  This all showed on my statement while i was still standing at the host stand. 

I had also had this happen with my customers showing me their bank statement and back of the house shows correct.  

I understand pending charges dont stay and can fall off but why would it be doing this?  This is a headache for us as a business and not a good look.