Technical Triage
Purpose: When a payment is failing, start here. You pick how this site takes payments (its mode of operation), then work the issues that are common to that mode.
When to use this: A payment failed, a reader won't respond, a check won't close, or you just need a starting point. This page routes you to the right fixes faster than reading a whole runbook.
Two things make every triage below faster. Do them once per site.
- Filter Event Viewer to the VitaPay logs so you can read only the payment service's entries around the time of a failure.
- Understand IP reservations: the Order & pay with a pinpad mode (Mobile Terminal) depends on the reader keeping the same address.
What mode of operation are you using?
Pick the row that matches how this site rings and takes a payment. Each page lists the issues that hit that mode, then links to the issues that can happen in any mode.
| You are... | Go here |
|---|---|
| Ringing the order on a counter till, customer pays on a pinpad reader (fixed, or a handheld acting as the counter's reader) | Order & pay with a pinpad |
| Taking the order and the payment on the same handheld | Order & pay with a handheld |
| Pulling up an already-rung check on a handheld and paying it at the table | Pull & pay with a handheld |
| Not sure which of these you're running | Help me figure it out |
This list covers the most common setups today and will grow as more are added. If none fit, start with Help me figure it out or the issues that can happen in any mode.
Issues that can happen in any mode
Some problems show up no matter how you take payment:
See Issues in any mode for all of them.
Decline and error codes
A card declined with a number? See Error codes for what the code means, why the same decline differs by processor, and the virtual-wallet increment declines.
