Credit Card Processing

SAM integrates with Authorize.net to process credit cards online.

Credit cards can be accepted from an Invoice or a Public Form. Application and donation forms that require a fee for processing are a good example of Public forms to enable credit card processing. 

Steps to Setup

1. Obtain a Merchant Account 
2. Signup for Authorize.net
3. Retrieve your API Login ID and Transaction Key
4. Add your API Login ID and Transaction Key to SAM

Setup Authorize.Net 

Clients need an Authorize.net account and Merchant Account prior to setup to enable credit card processing in SAM.

We recommend contacting your bank and comparison shopping to find a Merchant Account provider with the best rates for your organization. Merchant accounts may come bundled with Authorize.net. Be sure to specify Authorize.net as the Payment Gateway when setting up your Merchant Account. 

Retrieve your API Login ID and Transaction Key

1. Log into your Authorize.net account at: https://secure.authorize.net.
2. Click on Settings under Account in the main menu on the left.
3. From the Security Settings section, click "API Credentials & Keys".
4. The "API Login ID" is shown on the page but the Transaction Key is hidden so you have to click on "New Transaction Key" and then Submit
5. It will prompt you for a security question or to enter a PIN which is emailed to you
6. Click Submit.

Your Transaction Key is reset every time you obtain it from Authorize.net. When the Transaction Key is reset, it has to be updated in all the places that it is used. Only obtain your Transaction Key once and save it in a safe spot.

Add your API Login ID and Transaction Key to SAM 

Once you have setup a Merchant Account and an Authorize.net account, add them to SAM. 

Issues?

Most likely a new merchant key was generated, making the old key invalid. Start over. Generate a new key and enter into SAM. Don't generate another key after that.

American Express / Discover Cards

By default, American Express and Discover credit cards are not accepted because they typically need to be specially enabled with your Merchant Account.

To accept these credit cards, first make sure your Merchant Account has American Express and/or Discover credit card processing enabled. 

Testing your Account

Once you have entered your API Login ID and Transaction Key, test to ensure credit card processing is working properly.

• Enable Credit Card processing on your test form and set the amount to be charged as $1.
• Submit the form with a working credit card number.
• In SAM, review the payment was received by entering:
  • Amount received
  • Received Date 
  • Credit Card Transaction details should be entered automatically
• Check the Authorize.net website to verify the transactions are posting to your account properly. The transaction should appear instantly in the Authorize.net website. 
• Test your Merchant Account by waiting a few days to make sure that the funds from your test charges are deposited in your linked bank account.

Note: If your public forms are already being used, you should Create New Form from Existing, so that testing can be done on a form that is not live.

Error Messages 

Your Credit Card could not be charged: Try a different card if the first one doesn't work.  

Accepting Credit Cards on Invoices

If you are accepting credit cards as a method of payment for invoices, then you will need to enable that setting in SAM.

This is not a retroactive setting, so existing invoices won't have this enabled.

Update existing invoices to accept credit cards

Receiving Payments 

After a credit card payment has been processed, SAM stores the Transaction ID/Code and/or Authorization Code, which can be used to reference the transaction. SAM does not store credit card information. 

Automatic Receipts 

In this Accounting Settings section, you can also enable automatic receipts from SAM.