Card Pre-Authorization FAQ

Toast has implemented a change for all customers, where guests’ cards with smart chips (i.e. Europay/Mastercard/Visa [EMV]) will need to be dipped or tapped for running bar tabs instead of swiping magnetic strips.

To save time, we recommend dipping instead of tapping when initiating a bar tab. Dipping will automatically populate the cardholder’s name as the tab name. However, tapping will not, due to limitations set by the card networks. If you choose to tap, the tab name will need to be manually updated to avoid confusion or potential disputes.

Turn EMV on for all terminals to ensure that this dip/tap functionality will be automatically accepted on all running bar tabs once the functionality is available. Setup takes 30 seconds with these step-by-step instructions: EMV Payments FAQ. Your staff will be informed on their displays, but be sure to let them know of this change in advance.

Note: Dip/tap tabs are not yet available for dual reader setups (including some guest-facing displays). To utilize pre-authorization on a dual reader setup, you must first remove the MSR reader, and then use the Toast Tap to pre-authorize the card. MSR swiping will only add the tab name to the order.

In this Article:

Card Pre-Authorization Overview
Frequently Asked Questions

Card Pre-Authorization Overview

Pre-Authorization is not currently available in Canada, Ireland and the UK.

Credit/debit card pre-authorization is a feature commonly used in high-volume bars and nightclubs. This feature allows bartenders and waitstaff to swipe a card on a customer’s order, save that information as their bar tab, and verify the validity of the customer’s bank account while also checking for funds.

To learn more about how to configure your Toast terminals with pre-authorization, please review the FAQ, then refer to this article:

To learn more about how Toast defines pre-authorization, how it relates to your POS system, and how it benefits bars and nightclubs, check out our .

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does the check get pre-authorized for?

When read, the card will either get pre-authorized for the configured pre-authorized amount as set within the Payment options in Toast Web, or it will run as payment for whatever items have been added to the check.

Pre-authorizing a card does not guarantee that the customer will have sufficient funds to cover the entire check.

Can I set a minimum amount for each pre-authorization?

Yes. In Toast Web you can configure a minimum pre-authorization amount. If a card is pre-authorized on a check that doesn’t contain any or enough items to meet the minimum pre-authorization amount, it will be pre-authorized for the amount of your choosing (see configuration). If the guest's check is greater than the minimum pre-authorization amount, Toast will pre-authorize the card for the greater amount by default.

What is a typical minimum pre-authorization amount?

Many restaurants will set their minimum to be the average price of an alcoholic beverage.

Can I set a $0 minimum?

No. You must have a pre-authorization minimum of at least $0.01.

What does preauthorization look like on a guest-facing receipt?

What if a guest has enough funds for the pre-authorization, but does not have enough funds to complete the actual transaction? What happens when a card only has funds to cover a partial balance?

If a guest doesn't have enough funds to complete the actual transaction, the payment will be declined at close-out. If a guest has insufficient funds for the pre-authorization itself, then the transaction should be declined outright.

Why would I take a card without any items on the check?

In addition to starting a tab for the customer, taking a card before any items have been added to a check will still verify the customer’s bank account and save the card information to be used as a form of payment when closing the check. It will not check the customer’s bank account for sufficient funds unless you’ve set a minimum pre-authorization amount.

Can I key in a card number to pre-authorize it?

No. Cards must be present and read on the order screen for pre-authorization to take place.

Is it possible to allow only some of my Toast devices to pre-authorize credit cards?

Yes. While the ability to pre-authorize cards is a global setting in Toast Web, individual devices can be configured to disable pre-authorization in Device Setup (see ). This means that if a credit card is read on the order screen on a device that has pre-authorization turned off, that credit card will be charged.

Can a check be paid for with a payment that is different from the pre-authorized card?

Yes. A check that has a pre-authorized card attached to it can still be paid for with another form of payment. A pre-authorized card is simply an additional payment option. For example, if a check has a saved card attached to it, but another guest wishes to pay for the balance of the check on a different credit card, the new credit card can be taken on the payment screen as the form of payment. There will not be an impact on the pre-authorized cardholder’s bank account. Checks with pre-authorized cards can also be closed to cash, gift cards, or any other forms of payment accepted.

Can a saved card be used to pay for only part of a check?

Yes. As with any transaction, a partial amount can be entered on the payment screen, and Saved CC can be selected for the partial amount (see workflow). A prompt will appear to confirm with the employee that the amount being paid is less than the balance of the entire check.

Does pre-authorizing a credit card put a hold on a guest's funds?

Yes. Although Toast immediately voids the pre-authorized amount, the way card pre-authorizations appear in online bank statements will vary depending on the cardholder’s bank. It’s common to see what appears to be more than one charge on the account when pre-authorization takes place, though only one charge for the final amount will remain after credit card batching has occurred. The holds typically disappear one to two business days after the transaction; however, guests may see a charge pending for five or more days depending on their financial institution.

The guest will likely see a pending charge for the amount that was pre-authorized. If a card is taken on a check with a balance that is less than the minimum pre-authorization amount, the pending charge will be the minimum amount. This will be accompanied by a voided transaction for the pre-authorized amount. Both the hold transaction and the void transaction will disappear the following day.

Another indicator of a pre-authorization is a pending $0 charge, which disappears the next day. Likely, the guest will also see a second pending charge for the final amount of the check. However, the guest will only see one charge on their account for the final amount once batching has occurred (the following day). See examples of online bank statements below.

Does pre-authorizing a card start a tab for the customer?

Yes. Taking a card on the order screen in Quick Order and Table Service mode will start a tab for the guest, saving the cardholder’s name and credit card information. Guest tabs can be looked up using the Lookup function where the card can then be swiped to pull up any checks associated with the cardholder (see workflow below).

How do pre-authorizing cards impact my end-of-day process?

It doesn’t. Checks that contain a pre-authorized card are “open checks” in Toast’s payment terminal until they are closed out. If you don’t use digital receipts, closing a check to the pre-authorized card, or “Saved CC,” moves the check to “Paid checks” in the payment terminal so it can be adjusted to add a tip before it is closed out. Just like any credit card payment, a pre-authorized card must be closed out in an employee’s Shift Review before ending a shift.

Will pre-authorized cards appear differently in reporting

No. Pre-authorized credit cards will not affect reporting in any way. They will appear as regular credit card payments.

Can I adjust and void checks that have been paid for with a pre-authorized card?

Yes. If a check is closed out using a Saved CC, you may go back into the check and void or adjust the payment as if it were an ordinary credit card payment. Keep in mind that adjustments and voids can only be made once the check has been closed out using the Saved CC.

Can I pre-authorize more than one card on a check?

No. Each check can contain only one pre-authorized card.

Can I initiate a pre-authorization on one terminal and close the check on a different terminal?

Yes. A check can be closed to a Saved CC regardless of which terminal pre-authorized the card.

What happens when a split check contains a pre-authorized card?

The first check will keep the pre-authorized payment on it. You may add a pre-authorized card to the additional split checks once they have been split from the original.

Does pre-authorization work in Offline Mode?

If Toast or your internet service provider goes offline, Toast is unable to communicate with credit card payment processors. This means that cards cannot be pre-authorized when Toast is in Offline Mode. However, if a card was pre-authorized before going into Offline Mode, the card information is preserved and can be used as a form of payment when connectivity returns. As with any credit card payment, if you close a check using a Saved CC in Offline Mode that was pre-authorized before going offline, it will be added to the queue and processed in the background after the device comes back online. See for more information.

Pre-authorizing a card does not guarantee sufficient funds to cover the entire cost of the check.
When using handheld devices in Table Service mode, pre-authorization may decrease the battery life of your card reader at a slightly accelerated rate. This is because pre-authorization requires that the reader is always awake on the order screen. Before pre-authorization, operating in Table Service required the card reader to be awake and on the payment screen only. The additional usage of the card reader to be ready on the order screen requires more battery power. Because of this, it is recommended that handheld devices be plugged in and fully charged on a daily basis.