Process A Terminal Payment (Card Reader)
This is the standard way to take an in-person card payment: you send the amount to the card reader, and the customer taps, inserts, or swipes their card.
Step 1 — Open the order
Go to General → Process Transactions and click the tab for the department you are taking payment for — Sales, Service, Parts, or Accounting.
- If your orders come from your DMS: search for the order, check the balance, and open the payment window.
- If you enter payments yourself: fill in the customer and the amount, then click Receive Payment.
Can't find the order? Check you are on the right department tab first — see Repair order not showing up.
Step 2 — Send the amount to the terminal
- 1In the payment window, select the Terminal tab.
- 2Under Terminal Payment, choose the terminal you are using, then click Process with the amount shown on it.
- 3Check the confirmation screen. It shows the amount, any additional amount, and the final total the customer will pay.
- 4Click Confirm. DealerWorks sends the amount to the reader and shows Processing on Terminal.
- 5Ask the customer to tap, insert, or swipe their card. The screen updates on its own when the payment finishes.
Note: If your dealership allows it, you can switch off the additional amount before you confirm — see How to Bypass Additional Amount.
If it does not go through
| What you see | What to do |
|---|---|
| The terminal you want is not in the list | The terminal is probably offline. See Terminal Showing Offline? |
| Nothing appears on the card reader | The reader may be asleep or frozen. See Terminal Is Off or Frozen? Restart It |
| The card is declined | The reason is shown on the transaction. See Payment Decline Reason Reference |
| The payment turns yellow / says Challenged | It is not approved yet. See Understanding Transaction States |
Do not retry a payment you are unsure about
If you are not certain whether a payment went through, check the transaction list before trying again — retrying can charge the customer twice. If it is unclear, contact DealerWorks Support.
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