Entering Orders with Verbal Authorizations

lcs 9-Dec-02
revised 12-Nov-03

Audience: Merchant staff and/or Application Administrators.

Introduction

This page explains how to enter a verbally authorized order into OMARS.

When the automated transaction processing system declines an order, it is sometimes possible to get it approved by having a person call the processing house and ask. This creates a transaction that will deposit money the merchant's account, but it is not known to ClearCommerce so it will not be in ClearCommerce's records or OMARS reports. To prevent a discrepency in the records, this transaction must be forcibly entered into ClearCommerce.

Scenario & Procedure

A verbal auth is usually only necessary when the customer's credit card is declined by the order entry system with a message that includes the word "Referred", or when the customer insists the card is good and asks the merchant to "try harder" to get it authorized.

To obtain a verbal authorization, you (the merchant) must call the credit card processing institution, such as First Data Merchant Services (FDMS), at a contact number they should have previously provided. Give them the parameters of the transaction which was rejected when tried electronically. If they accept the transaction, they will give you a six-digit authorization code -- be sure to record this code carefully, you'll need it in the next step. Normally the authorization code is generated automatically and hidden from your view in the bowels of ClearCommerce and OMARS.

Next, use a special version of the OMARS Order Entry form to create the order in OMARS. It is a standard back-office Order Entry form with the verbalAuth: true attribute in its configuration.

NOTE:Your store should have this configuration set on the Order Entry page used by your order entry staff if you expect to do any verbal authorizations. That way the feature is always there when they need it, and doesn't bother anything if they don't.

To enter a verbally authorized order, select YES in the Verbal Authorization choice box. Then enter the authorization code you received from the processor in the Authorization Code box. Fill in the rest of the information as you would for a normal order, including the transaction type and order classification (if applicable). This order should always be approved.

Once the verbally authorized order has been entered, it is treated the same as a normally entered order. It can be fulfilled, voided, credited, etc.

For normal orders, simply leave the Verbal Authorization choice box set to its default value NO.