What to Do When a Transaction Looks Wrong

Modified on Fri, Mar 6 at 2:30 PM

Use this guide when a transaction in DealerWorks doesn't look right — wrong amount, unexpected status, missing from the list, or a customer is questioning a charge. Find your situation below and follow the steps.

Before taking any corrective action, always confirm what happened first. Reversing the wrong transaction, or reversing a transaction twice, creates accounting problems that are difficult to untangle.

Where to look first: Go to Transactions in DealerWorks. Search by customer name, invoice number, or date. Click any transaction row to open its detail view and see the full status, amount, payment type, and any error message.

The transaction shows yellow — payment isn't finishing

Statuses: Pending, Challenged, Waiting for Customer, Initiated

Yellow means the transaction is still in progress. Nothing has gone wrong yet, but the payment is not complete.

If the status is Challenged

The customer's bank has triggered a 3D Secure verification step. The customer must complete this on their own phone or browser — you cannot do it for them.

Ask the customer to check their phone for a bank notification or authentication prompt.
Ask them to stay on the payment page until the verification completes.
Once they finish, the status updates automatically. Refresh your screen.
If they cannot complete the verification, ask them to contact their bank or use a different payment method.

Do not close the RO until the status turns green.

If the status is Waiting for Customer (terminal payment)

The terminal is waiting for the customer to tap, insert, or swipe. If the terminal isn't responding:

Confirm the terminal screen is awake and showing the payment prompt.
If the terminal is frozen or blank, see Terminal Screen is Black, Frozen, or Not Responding.
If the terminal appears offline in DealerWorks, see Terminal Offline: Relaunch DealerPOS.

If the status is Pending (ACH)

This is expected behavior. ACH bank transfers take one to two business days to settle. The balance in DealerWorks may show as posted but not yet fully cleared. Do not reprocess. Check back after two business days. If still pending after that, contact DealerWorks support with the invoice number and posted date.

The transaction shows red — it was declined or failed

Statuses: Declined, Failed

A red transaction means the payment did not go through. The customer has not been charged. No correction is needed — you simply need to collect payment another way.

Click the transaction row to see the decline reason. Note the exact reason before navigating away.
Do not retry the same card multiple times — repeated declines can trigger fraud holds on the customer's account.
Ask the customer to use a different card, or offer an alternate payment method (cash, check, ACH).
If the decline reason is Suspected Fraud or Refer to Card Issuer, the customer needs to call the number on the back of their card before retrying.

For a full list of decline reasons and what each means, see Understanding Transaction States in DealerWorks.

The wrong amount was charged

Before doing anything, confirm the exact situation:

Was this a same-day error, or did it happen on a previous day?
Is the payment showing as Approved (green)?
Has the daily batch closed? (Ask your accounting manager if unsure.)

Same-day error, before batch close

Use Reverse Transaction on the incorrect charge. A same-day reversal processes as a void — the customer is not charged and no refund is issued. Then reprocess the correct amount. Involve accounting before reversing if you are unsure whether the batch has closed.

Previous-day error, after batch close

Use Reverse Transaction, which will now process as a refund — the amount returns to the customer's card. This typically takes two to five business days to appear in their account. Involve accounting before processing. You will need a Credit Memo number to complete the refund.

For a full explanation of the difference between voids and refunds, see Void vs Refund (and what "Reverse Transaction" actually does).

The customer says they were charged twice

Before taking any action, verify whether two completed charges actually exist.

Go to Transactions and search by customer name or invoice number.
Look for two transactions showing the same amount, same date, and both showing Approved (green). That confirms a true duplicate.
If one transaction is Declined, Failed, or Challenged, the customer was only charged once. Explain this to the customer — a failed attempt is not a charge.
If two green Approved transactions exist for the same amount, use Reverse Transaction on the duplicate. Involve accounting before proceeding.

Do not reverse a transaction based on the customer's report alone. Always confirm the duplicate in DealerWorks first. If the customer has already filed a dispute with their bank, contact DealerWorks support before taking action — see Dispute and Chargeback Resolution.

The invoice still shows an open balance after payment was posted

Refresh the page. Brief sync delays between DealerWorks and your DMS are normal — allow a minute or two.
Go to Transactions and confirm the payment shows Approved (green) with the correct amount.
If the amount on the transaction is less than the invoice total, a partial amount was posted. Process the remaining balance using the same or a different payment method.
If the transaction shows Approved but the balance still hasn't cleared after a few minutes, contact DealerWorks support with the invoice number and the exact amount posted.

ACH note: ACH payments show as posted immediately but do not settle for one to two business days. The invoice balance may remain open during this window. Do not reprocess — check back after settlement clears.

A transaction can't be found

Go to Transactions and clear all active filters — the default view may be filtered to specific statuses only.
Search by invoice number, customer name, or the approximate amount.
Expand the date range filter if the transaction may have been posted on a different day than expected.
Try filtering by payment type if you know how the customer paid.
If the transaction is still not found after clearing filters and widening the date range, contact DealerWorks support. Do not reprocess until you have confirmed no prior payment exists.

Tip: The Transactions list defaults to showing Approved, Pending, Voided, and Refunded statuses. If you are looking for a declined attempt, make sure Declined or All is selected in the status filter.

A refund or void was processed in error

Refunds and voids cannot be undone in DealerWorks.

If a void was processed in error (same-day), the customer was never charged. You can simply reprocess the correct payment.
If a refund was processed in error (post-settlement), the funds are being returned to the customer's card. You will need to collect payment again using your normal payment flow. Notify accounting immediately.
Do not attempt any further reversals on a transaction that has already been voided or refunded — this creates duplicate correction entries. Contact DealerWorks support if you are unsure what happened.

When to Contact Support

Contact DealerWorks support before taking action if any of the following are true:

You cannot tell whether the batch has closed and need to correct a same-day charge
The customer has already filed a dispute or chargeback with their bank
A transaction shows Approved but the amount doesn't match what the customer was quoted
A transaction has already been reversed once and something still looks wrong
You see an error message you don't recognize in the transaction detail

When contacting support, have ready:

The invoice number
The transaction amount and date
The exact status showing in DealerWorks
Any error message text (screenshot if possible)