If at any point you are unsure of the status of a credit or debit transaction, you can search for the transaction from within MerchantTrack. Any transaction that completes successfully will display in MerchantTrack. If it isn't clear within Party Center Software if a charge went through, you can always confirm if it did from within MerchantTrack. Failed transactions will appear as well, so if you need to confirm that a payment or refund did not go through, MerchantTrack will contain that information as well. All of this can be found under "Transaction Search".
Search Fields
By default, running a transaction search will return a list of all transactions made in your facility. To filter the results, you can use any number of these fields to find specific transactions.
Merchant- If you have access to multiple locations, you can select a single location to view results from.
Time Zone- The transaction search will return a list of transactions and the time they occurred at. To ensure that transaction times match up, make sure you're using the correct time zone.
Payment Method- You can filter results based off the type of card used in the transaction: Visa, Mastercard, etc.
Status- Each transaction has a status associated with it. You can filter the type you are searching for here. Here are some common statuses you will see.
- Batched- The payment has been authorized and has been placed in your daily batch. This does not necessarily mean that the payment has been fully processed; most credit transactions take some time to process.
- Failed- The payment did not go through the system for one reason or another. No charge will be made to the card. If a charge is present, it will fall off.
- Voided- The payment was cancelled before it could be collected, essentially cancelling the transaction.
- Refunded- Payment was received for the order and then returned for the full amount.
- Partially Refunded- Payment was received for the order and then refunded for a partial amount.
- Charged back- The card holder issued a charge back on the payment.
Transaction ID- Every payment made in PCS will have a transaction ID associated with it (This is the reference number tied to each payment). If you need the status of a specific transaction, you can enter it here.
Account Holder Name- If you have the card holder's name, you can use that as a search term.
Customer ID- Our software integration with Merchant Track does not utilize this field. It will not affect searches.
Transaction Date Type- Authorization is when permission is made to collect on a payment. Capture is when the process to collect on that payment begins. For all transactions within Party Center Pay, these will be the same.
Date Range Start Date- If you'd like to search for transactions within a certain time frame, this is the date where the search will begin.
Date Range End Date- If you'd like to search for transactions within a certain time frame, this is the date where the search will end.
Invoice Number- Each party order or point of sale order made in PCS will have an order number associated with it. If a payment goes through successfully, it will be associated with that invoice number, which you can search for here. If a payment is marked as failed, it will not be associated with an invoice number.
Account Last 4- You can also search by the last 4 digits of a customer's card.
After you configure your search fields, you'll see a screen like this, with a list of the transactions matching the specified fields. You can click on individual transaction IDs to see more details about the transaction.
If a transaction failed or succeeded, you can see some more information about the outcome here. If there was an error in the transaction, the reason for the error will display here. If a transaction was successful, you can also issue a refund from this screen.
Note: It is always preferred to perform all transactions and refunds through Party Center Software as any actions taken in MerchantTrack are not recorded within Party Center Software.