Payments Glossary

Modified on Fri, Apr 24 at 2:43 PM

DealerWorks Payments Glossary

A plain-language reference for every payment term you'll encounter in DealerWorks — from transaction statuses and report columns to payment methods and processing concepts. Use this article when something in the platform or a report isn't immediately clear.

DealerWorks Terms and Features

Term	What It Means
DealerPOS	The tablet application installed on the payment terminal at the dealership. DealerPOS is the interface cashiers and service advisors use to process payments and look up repair orders. It connects to DealerWorks and the payment processor in real time.
Reverse Transaction	The action button used to undo a payment in DealerWorks. What happens when you tap Reverse Transaction depends on timing: if the transaction has not yet settled, it becomes a Void; if it has already settled, it becomes a Refund. See the article Void vs. Refund for more detail on the difference.
Customer Fee	The column label in the transaction list showing the card fee amount, if any, applied to a payment. The Customer Fee is the difference between the Amount (base price) and the Total the customer paid. Whether this fee applies — and to which payment types — depends on your dealership's pricing program configuration. Cash, check, ACH, and money order payments always show $0.00 in this column.
NCO (Non-Cash Offset)	The column label in the Daily Transaction Report (DTR) showing the non-cash fee for a transaction. NCO represents the difference between the Cash Price and the Price (card price) — the additional amount applied when a customer pays by card rather than cash. This is the same charge shown as Customer Fee in the transaction list, labeled differently in the DTR. Whether and how this fee applies depends on your dealership's pricing program. A transaction with NCO of $0.00 means no card fee was applied (cash, check, ACH, or a bypassed fee).
Cash Price	The base price of a transaction — the price associated with cash, check, and ACH payments. This column appears in the DTR and on transaction detail screens. Whether other payment types (such as debit cards) are charged the cash price or the card price depends on your dealership's pricing program configuration.
Price	The card price for a transaction. In the DTR, Price = Cash Price + NCO. This is the amount billed to customers paying by card. Which payment types are charged the card price versus the cash price depends on your dealership's pricing program configuration.
Amount Paid	The actual amount collected from the customer. For most transactions, Amount Paid matches Price. A difference between the two may indicate a partial payment, a surcharge bypass, or a split transaction.
Additional Amount Bypass	A permission-controlled override that allows a manager to process a card transaction without applying the card fee. When used, the Customer Fee and NCO for that transaction will show $0.00. This function requires a specific user permission and is intended for limited, approved situations.
Merchant Fee	The processing cost the dealership pays to the payment processor for each transaction — separate from any card fee (Customer Fee / NCO) collected from the customer. The Merchant Fee is visible in the Transaction Fee section of the Payment Details screen. It is a dealership-side cost and is not charged to the customer.
Integrated Payment	A payment that is linked directly to a repair order or deal pulled from your Dealer Management System (DMS). The invoice number, amount, and customer information are populated automatically. Integrated payments are the standard workflow for service and sales departments.
Standalone Payment	A payment processed manually without a linked repair order or deal. The amount is entered by the cashier. They are useful when an RO is not yet finalized in the DMS or when a quick payment is needed.
Department / Module	The dealership department associated with a transaction. DealerWorks organizes transactions and reports by department: Sales, Service, Parts, Wholesale Parts, Bodyshop, Rental, and Accounting. The DTR breaks totals down by department, and the transaction list can be filtered by department.
Advisor	The DealerWorks user who processed the transaction — typically a service advisor, cashier, or finance manager. The Advisor column in the transaction list and DTR shows the logged-in user at the time of payment. This field is used to run cashier-level reports and to trace individual transactions.
Invoice # / RO #	The repair order number, deal number, or parts invoice number associated with a payment. In the Service department, this is the RO number from your DMS. In Sales, it appears as a deal number. This field appears as Invoice # in the Reporting Transactions view and as RO # in the Process Transactions view — both refer to the same value. Standalone payments show INCOMING because no invoice was linked at the time of payment.
DTR (Daily Transaction Report)	The primary end-of-day report in DealerWorks. The DTR shows all transactions for a selected date, organized by department, with totals broken down by payment method. It includes columns for Cash Price, Price, Amount Paid, and NCO for each transaction. The DTR is the main tool for daily reconciliation.
Payment Request	A digital payment link sent to a customer so they can pay remotely without being present at the dealership. Payment Requests can be sent two ways: as a Text to Pay (sent by SMS) or as a Checkout Link (a URL that can be sent by email or shared directly). The customer clicks the link and pays on a secure payment page. Payment Requests are used for remote service payments, deposits, and situations where the customer has already left the dealership.
Price Calculation Tool	A built-in tool accessible from the top navigation bar in DealerWorks. It calculates the card price from a base amount, or works in reverse to find the base amount from a total. Useful when a customer wants to know the exact card payment total before paying.

Transaction Statuses

These are the five statuses that appear on transactions in the DealerWorks transaction list. You can filter by any status using the buttons at the top of the Transactions screen.

Status	What It Means
Approved	The payment was successfully authorized and captured. Funds are queued for settlement to the dealership's bank account.
Failed	The customer's bank or card network rejected the payment. No funds were collected. Common reasons include insufficient funds, a blocked card, or an incorrect card number. A different payment method should be attempted. The status filter at the top of the Transactions screen labels this filter as Declined, but the status badge on the transaction itself reads Failed.
Pending	The payment has been initiated but is not yet complete. This is common for ACH Direct Debit payments and Payment Requests that have been sent but not yet paid. A Pending transaction should not be considered collected until it moves to Approved.
Voided	The transaction was cancelled before it settled. No funds were moved. A void happens when Reverse Transaction is used on a same-day or pre-settlement transaction. The authorization hold on the customer's card is released — typically within 1–5 business days depending on their bank.
Refunded	Funds were returned to the customer after the transaction had already settled. A refund happens when Reverse Transaction is used on a settled transaction. Refunds typically appear on the customer's statement within 5–10 business days, though this timeline is controlled by the customer's bank and cannot be accelerated.

Payment Methods

Payment Method	What It Is
Credit Card	A payment card where the customer borrows funds from their card issuer and repays them later. Credit card payments may be subject to a card fee (Customer Fee / NCO) depending on your dealership's pricing program configuration. Accepted networks include Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. The card type is identified in the transaction list as (Credit).
Debit Card	A payment card that draws funds directly from the customer's bank account. Whether a debit card payment is subject to a card fee depends on your dealership's pricing program configuration — in some programs, debit is treated the same as cash (no fee); in others, the card price applies. The card type is identified in the transaction list as (Debit). Regional debit networks (such as NYCE, PULSE, STAR, and Maestro) also process as debit. Note: adding a fee specifically labeled as a surcharge to a debit card transaction is not permitted under card network rules, regardless of configuration.
Cash	Physical currency accepted at the dealership. Cash payments are logged in DealerWorks for reporting purposes. No surcharge applies. Cash totals appear in the DTR and are included in the Grand Total Detail.
Check / Cashier's Check	Paper checks accepted at the dealership. Cashier's checks are bank-issued and guaranteed; personal checks are not. No surcharge applies to either. Check payments are logged in DealerWorks and appear in the DTR. Note that DealerWorks records the check for reporting — it does not electronically process or verify check funds.
ACH Direct Debit	A bank-to-bank transfer that pulls funds directly from the customer's checking or savings account using their routing and account numbers. ACH payments process over the banking network, not the card network, and take longer to settle than card payments — typically 3–5 business days. No surcharge applies. ACH transactions will show as Pending until funds are confirmed.
BNPL (Buy Now, Pay Later)	A financing option that allows customers to split a payment into installments. From the dealership's perspective, the BNPL provider pays the full invoice amount upfront and manages the customer's repayment schedule directly. BNPL transactions appear in the DTR and do not carry a surcharge.
Pay by Bank	A payment method that allows customers to pay directly from their bank account using online banking credentials — similar to ACH but processed through an open banking connection rather than traditional ACH rails. Pay by Bank transactions appear in DealerWorks reports and may be subject to a surcharge depending on your dealership's configuration.
Apple Pay / Google Pay	Digital wallet payment methods that allow customers to pay using a saved card stored on their Apple or Android device. These payments process over the card network and are treated identically to a standard card payment of the same type — card fee applicability follows the underlying card (credit or debit) according to your dealership's pricing program configuration.
Money Order	A prepaid paper payment instrument accepted at the dealership. Money orders are logged in DealerWorks for reporting purposes. No surcharge applies. Like checks, DealerWorks records the money order for reporting — it does not electronically verify or process the instrument.

Payment Processing Concepts

These are the underlying payment concepts that explain how transactions move from the terminal to your bank account.

Term	What It Means
Authorization	The bank's approval to hold a specific amount of funds on a customer's card. An authorization confirms the card is valid and the funds are available, but does not yet move money. Think of it as a temporary hold. Authorizations are typically valid for up to 28 days before they expire.
Capture	The step that converts an authorized hold into an actual charge. When a payment is captured, it is confirmed and queued for settlement. For most DealerWorks transactions, authorization and capture happen simultaneously — you do not need to manage them separately.
Settlement	The daily process of batching captured transactions and submitting them to the payment processor to be funded. Settlement happens automatically — you do not trigger it manually. Once a transaction has settled, it can no longer be voided; it must be refunded instead.
Payout / Deposit	The transfer of settled funds to the dealership's bank account. Payouts typically follow a T+2 schedule — meaning transactions that settle on Monday are deposited on Wednesday. Processing fees, refunds, and chargeback amounts are deducted before the payout is sent. ACH payments follow a separate, longer timeline.
Void	Cancelling a transaction before it has settled. A void releases the authorization hold on the customer's card. No funds are ever moved. In DealerWorks, voiding is done using Reverse Transaction. Whether you get a void or a refund depends on the transaction's settlement status at the time of reversal.
Refund	Returning funds to a customer after a transaction has already settled. Unlike a void, a refund requires that money already deposited be sent back. In DealerWorks, refunds are initiated using Reverse Transaction. Refunds typically take 5–10 business days to appear on the customer's statement — this timeline is set by the customer's bank, not DealerWorks.
Surcharge	A specific type of card fee added to credit card transactions to offset the cost of card processing. By definition, surcharges apply to credit cards only — they cannot be applied to debit cards under card network rules, regardless of whether the debit card is run as credit. DealerWorks dealerships may operate under a traditional surcharge program, a cash discount program, or a dual pricing program — each handles card fees differently. Regardless of the program type, the fee appears in DealerWorks as the Customer Fee in the transaction list and as NCO in the DTR. Cash, check, and ACH payments are never subject to a card fee.
Chargeback	A payment dispute filed by a customer directly with their bank or card issuer. The bank reverses the transaction and temporarily withdraws the funds from the dealership's account while the dispute is under review. Chargebacks are managed in DealerWorks under Accounting → Disputes. The dealership has a limited window to submit a defense.
Issuer	The bank or financial institution that issued the customer's credit or debit card. When a payment is declined or a chargeback is filed, the decision comes from the issuer. The dealership cannot contact the issuer directly — customers must call the number on the back of their card.
Card Network	The company that operates the payment rails connecting banks — Visa, Mastercard, and American Express are the major networks. Regional debit networks (NYCE, PULSE, STAR, Maestro) also process transactions through DealerWorks. Card networks set the rules for chargebacks, surcharging, and transaction processing.
Tokenization	A security process that replaces a customer's actual card number with a unique token. Tokenization means that full card numbers are never stored in DealerWorks — only a masked version (e.g., Visa ****6814) is visible. This protects both the dealership and the customer from card data exposure.
Original Payment ID / PSP Reference	A unique identifier assigned to each transaction by the payment processor. This reference appears in two places in DealerWorks under different labels: on the Payment Details screen it is called Original payment id; on the Chargebacks screen (Accounting → Disputes) it appears as PSP Reference. Both refer to the same underlying transaction identifier. Providing either when contacting support allows the team to locate the transaction immediately.

Term not listed here?

If you see something in DealerWorks, a report, or a customer statement that isn't explained in this glossary, contact DealerWorks support. We can clarify the term and update this article if needed.