Also called: Tx, Sale, Transaction Data, Transaction Date, Capture Date, Transaction Status, Transaction Type
What a transaction is
A transaction is a payment event between your business and a customer. It can be a card payment at your register, an online checkout, or an electronic payment through another payment method. The transaction includes more than the money changing hands: it also generates records and messages that track whether the payment was approved, submitted for processing, and settled.
Terms such as transaction date, capture date, status, and type describe details or stages associated with a transaction. They are not interchangeable. For example, an approval means the issuer authorized the payment, while settlement is the later transfer of funds between financial institutions.
An approved transaction is not a deposit. Track approval, submission, and settlement as separate events.
How a card transaction moves
At checkout, your business sends the payment details through its payment system to the issuer, the bank that provided the customer’s card. The issuer checks the card and available funds or credit, then approves or declines the request. An approval is not the same as money in your bank account. Your business must submit the approved payment for processing before it can be cleared and settled.
For example, a $100 card sale (illustrative) can be approved at the register and included in a later batch for settlement. The customer sees a pending charge while the transaction is being completed. Your deposit follows settlement, and processing fees can make the deposited amount lower than the original sale amount.
What a transaction means for your costs
Each card transaction can contribute to your processing costs. Those costs have three layers: interchange paid to the issuing bank, network fees paid to the card network, and your processor’s markup. You cannot negotiate interchange or network fees, but you can negotiate the markup. Some network fees are charged per authorization, so the number of transactions can matter even when your sales total stays the same.
Your payment method and processing setup affect which charges apply. A card payment, an ACH payment, and a cash sale do not travel through the same payment systems or carry the same fee structure. Compare the fees charged with your transaction volume and payment mix, rather than relying only on the headline rate.
What to track in your records
Keep the transaction identifier, amount, date, payment method, and status together with the related order or invoice. Track authorization, submission, settlement, and reconciliation as separate events. That separation helps you find a sale that was approved but never submitted, match a deposit to the right batch, and spot duplicate or missing entries.
The word “sale” can refer to a purchase transaction or to a transaction type in your system. Read it alongside the status and amount. If a customer disputes a settled card payment, the original transaction record and proof of the sale help you identify the charge and respond to the dispute.
What you can actually change
- Match sales to deposits. Reconcile transaction records against settlement and bank deposits. Investigate approved payments that do not appear in a settled batch.
- Review fee layers. Separate interchange and network fees from processor markup on your statement. The markup is the negotiable part of card processing costs.
- Keep payment evidence. Store the transaction identifier, receipt, order details, and delivery or service records together. Those records help with reconciliation and card disputes.
Frequently asked questions
Is an authorization the same as a completed transaction?
No. Authorization means the issuer approved the payment request, but funds have not necessarily been transferred to your business. The payment still needs to be submitted for processing and settled before it appears in your funding records.
What is the difference between a transaction date and a settlement date?
The transaction date identifies when the payment event took place. The settlement date identifies when the funds transfer is processed between financial institutions. They can fall on different dates, so track both when matching sales to deposits.
Does every transaction have the same processing fee?
No. Card fees depend on factors including the payment method and the card transaction’s applicable interchange and network charges, plus your processor’s markup. ACH and other payment methods use different payment systems and fee structures.
Where can I find transaction details?
Look in your point-of-sale or payment system’s transaction report for the identifier, amount, date, payment method, and status. Use those details to match individual sales to settlement reports, batches, and deposits.