How Long Does Settlement Take?

Modified on Fri, Apr 24 at 4:40 PM

How Long Does Settlement Take?

When a card payment is approved, the money doesn't arrive in the dealership's bank account immediately. There is a gap between when a transaction is authorized and when funds are actually deposited. This article explains that process, the standard timeline, and how to track payout status in DealerWorks.

Authorization vs. Settlement — What the Difference Means

A card payment goes through two stages before the dealership receives funds:

Stage	What Happens	What It Looks Like in DealerWorks
Authorization	The customer's bank confirms the card is valid and the funds are available. A hold is placed on the customer's account for the transaction amount.	The transaction shows an Approved status in the Payment Event section. The dealership has not yet received the funds.
Settlement	Authorized transactions are grouped into a daily batch and submitted to the payment network. Funds are then transferred from the customer's bank to the dealership's bank account.	The payout appears in Accounting → Payout Report once the batch has been submitted and processed. The deposit arrives in the dealership's bank account separately.

Standard Settlement Timeline

For card payments, the standard settlement timeline is T+2 business days — meaning funds typically arrive in the dealership's bank account two business days after the transaction date.

What T+2 means in practice

T = the transaction date. +2 = two banking business days later. A transaction processed on Monday typically settles by Wednesday. A transaction processed on Friday typically settles by Tuesday of the following week — Saturday and Sunday are not banking days.

Payment Type	Typical Settlement Timeline
Credit Card	T+2 business days from the transaction date. This is the standard for major card networks.
Debit Card	T+2 business days, same as credit card. Debit card transactions are processed through the card network, not directly from the customer's account.
ACH / Pay by Bank	T+3 to T+5 business days. ACH transactions take longer to settle because they are processed through the banking network rather than a card network. Contact DealerWorks support if an ACH settlement appears delayed beyond 5 business days.
Cash / Check / Money Order	Not settled electronically through DealerWorks. These payments are recorded for reporting only and handled at the dealership level according to your store's cash handling and banking procedures.

How Batch Cutoff Affects the Timeline

Approved transactions are not submitted to the payment network one by one — they are grouped into a daily batch and submitted together at a scheduled cutoff time. This cutoff is set as part of the dealership's payment configuration.

The cutoff time matters because:

Transactions processed before the cutoff are included in that day's batch and begin the T+2 clock on that date.
Transactions processed after the cutoff are included in the next day's batch, effectively adding one extra day to the settlement timeline.

Don't assume the cutoff is end of business

Batch cutoff times vary by dealership configuration and may be earlier than you expect — often mid-evening rather than midnight. Transactions run late in the day, particularly after the service drive closes, may roll into the next day's batch. Contact DealerWorks support or your manager if you need to confirm your dealership's specific cutoff time.

Weekends and Holidays

Settlement only moves on banking business days. Weekends and federal bank holidays do not count toward the T+2 timeline. Transactions processed on or just before a holiday weekend can take longer than expected to appear as a deposit.

Transaction Day	Expected Deposit (standard T+2, no holidays)
Monday	Wednesday
Tuesday	Thursday
Wednesday	Friday
Thursday	Monday (the following week)
Friday	Tuesday (the following week)
Saturday / Sunday	Included in Monday's batch — deposit expected Wednesday

How to Check Payout Status in DealerWorks

The Payout Report in DealerWorks shows the status of your settlements, including when batches were created and when payouts were processed.

1 Go to Accounting → Payout Report.
2 Select the tab that corresponds to your payment processor. If your dealership processes through multiple accounts, each will appear as a sub-tab — select the relevant merchant account.
3 Review the payout records. Each entry shows the payout creation date, status, and settlement details. Use this report to confirm whether a batch has been submitted and when the associated deposit should arrive.

DTR vs. Payout Report — which to use

The DTR (Accounting → DTR) shows what was processed each day — total transaction volume broken down by department. It does not reflect settlement timing. The Payout Report (Accounting → Payout Report) shows what has actually been settled and paid out. Use the DTR for daily transaction reconciliation and the Payout Report for bank deposit questions.

Settlement and the Void Window

There is an important operational consequence of settlement timing: once a transaction has settled, it can no longer be voided. A void cancels a transaction before funds move. After settlement, the only option is a refund — which sends money back to the customer's card but is a separate credit transaction, not a cancellation. See the related article on Void vs. Refund for full detail on this distinction.