Skip to main content

Credit Card Preauthorization

Preauthorization places a temporary hold on a customer's credit card before you provide service. The hold confirms the card is valid and the funds are there. This guide shows administrators how to run preauthorizations from the Credit Card Preauthorization workspace.

Who Can Access This​

RoleAccess Level
Super AdministratorFull access — review, preauthorize, adjust amounts, change cards, void holds
AdministratorFull access — review, preauthorize, adjust amounts, change cards, void holds
Office ManagerNo access
TechnicianNo access
note

Office Managers do not use this admin workspace. They charge completed jobs through the Invoicing pages instead. See Payments and Credits.

Overview​

A preauthorization is not a charge. It is a hold that reserves the job amount on the customer's card. Running holds before service day tells you two important things early: which cards will decline, and which customers have no card on file. That gives your office time to fix problems before the team arrives at the home.

The workspace lists upcoming jobs that are eligible for preauthorization. You can hold cards one job at a time, select many jobs and run them together, or let Pulse place holds automatically each day.

The KPI Cards​

Six cards across the top of the page summarize where things stand:

CardWhat it shows
Eligible for PreauthJobs that are ready for a card hold
Already AuthorizedJobs that already have a successful hold in place
Missing CardJobs whose customer has no saved card — fix these first
Failed ChargesHolds that were declined and need attention
Total Eligible AmountThe combined dollar value of all eligible jobs
Pending AuthorizationHolds that are still processing

Use the cards as your morning checklist. Your goal is to move every job out of Missing Card and Failed Charges before service day.

1. Open the Preauthorization Workspace​

  1. Go to Invoicing.
  2. Select the Preauthorization tab.

The page title reads Credit Card Preauthorization.

You can also reach the same workspace from Reports & Tools. Open the Card Processing section and choose Pre-Authorization.

note

If the page shows "Credit card preauthorization is not enabled for your account.", an administrator needs to enable the feature before you can use this workspace.

2. Find the Jobs You Want to Hold​

Use the toolbar to narrow the list:

  1. Type in the search box labeled Search customers, homes, services, tags... to find specific customers or jobs.
  2. Use the status filter to focus on one group, such as jobs that failed or jobs missing a card.
  3. Set the date range to match the service days you are preparing for.
  4. Click the refresh control to pull the latest data at any time.

Most offices work a day or two ahead. Filter to tomorrow's jobs, clear the problems, then move on.

3. Review and Fix Individual Jobs​

Each row gives you tools to get a job ready before you run the hold:

  • Adjust the amount. Change the hold amount on the row if the job total needs a correction.
  • Change the card. Pick a different saved card when the customer has more than one on file.
  • Add Card. If the customer has no card saved, click Add Card on the row. This opens the payment methods drawer so you can save a card without leaving the page.

Fixing rows first pays off. A clean list means fewer declines when you run the bulk hold.

4. Preauthorize in Bulk​

  1. Select the rows you want to hold using the checkboxes.
  2. A floating bar appears showing Preauthorize • $X, where $X is the combined total of your selection.
  3. Click the floating bar. The Confirm Preauthorization dialog opens. It warns: "This will place holds on customer credit cards."
  4. Click Preauthorize to start.
  5. A progress dialog shows each hold as it processes. Leave the page open until it finishes.

When the run completes, the KPI cards update. Successful jobs move to Already Authorized. Declines move to Failed Charges.

5. Handle Failed Charges​

Declined holds appear in a sidebar with decline details. Review each failure and take action:

  1. Read the decline reason in the sidebar. It tells you why the card was refused.
  2. Contact the customer to update their card, or select a different saved card on the row.
  3. Run the preauthorization again for that job.

Handle failures the same day you find them. A decline caught two days before service is a phone call. A decline found after service is a collection problem.

6. Void a Hold When Plans Change​

If a job cancels or the amount was wrong, release the hold instead of leaving it on the customer's card. Voiding a preauthorization hold is available on each row. Voiding releases the reserved funds back to the customer. You can place a fresh hold later if the job is rescheduled.

What happens to a hold when the customer pays in the customer portal?​

When a customer pays an invoice in the customer portal and the job already has a hold on their card, Pulse captures that hold instead of charging the card again. The customer sees one charge, not a charge plus an open hold. If the invoice total is higher than the hold, for example because a tip was added or the job ran long, Pulse captures the full hold and charges the difference as a separate charge to the payment method the customer chose to pay with.

What happens if Pulse can't capture a hold?​

When a job with a hold is charged (from the office, the customer portal, or an invoicing run), Pulse captures the hold. If the capture doesn't go through, Pulse never starts a new full charge on the card instead. What you see depends on what the processor said:

What happenedWhat Pulse doesWhat to do
The processor declined the capture, for example because the hold expiredMarks the hold as failed and shows the decline message. Nothing was charged.Charge the job again. With no hold left, Pulse charges the card normally.
Pulse couldn't confirm the capture (a timeout or a processor error)Leaves the hold in place and shows "We could not confirm whether the card hold … was captured."Check the transaction in the processor's portal before charging again. See Charge Status and Safe Retry.
The hold was captured but the extra amount above it failedKeeps the captured amount and shows "Collected $X of $Y; the rest was not charged."Review the job's payments, then collect only the remaining balance.

When the customer pays in the customer portal, they see "This invoice could not be charged. Please contact our office." or "We collected $X of $Y. Please contact our office to pay the remaining $Z." instead. The details are in the job's activity.

A hold that still shows as authorized after a capture attempt is not proof that nothing was captured. Only a processor decline marks a hold as failed; a timeout or processor error leaves it as it was. Check the processor for that transaction before trying again.

7. Place Holds Automatically Before Each Job​

Pulse can place preauthorization holds automatically before each job, once a day, so you don't have to run them by hand. Automatic preauthorization is off until you turn it on, unless your company moved from MaidCentral V2 with it on (see Do I need to set up automatic pre-authorization again after moving to Pulse?).

  1. Go to Invoicing → Preauthorization and click Settings in the toolbar. The Preauthorization Settings drawer opens.
  2. Turn on Auto-preauthorize.
  3. Set Days Before (how many days ahead of service to hold cards) and Run Time (the time of day to run, in your branch's time zone).
  4. Optionally turn on Email on failure and add the addresses that should hear about declines.
  5. Click Save Settings. A badge such as "Auto: 2d prior @ 09:00:00" appears in the toolbar.

Each day, within 15 minutes after Run Time, Pulse holds cards for jobs from today through Days Before days ahead. To run it right away, click Run Automation.

warning

Automation only holds a job when the job is scheduled (not closed or invoiced), the customer's billing terms are Credit Card, a credit card (not ACH) is saved, the job has no hold yet, and the customer hasn't opted out of preauthorization. Hold any other job by hand.

note

While MaidCentral V2 still runs automatic preauthorization for your branch, Pulse's daily run skips the branch, so cards are never held twice. Saving these settings with Auto-preauthorize on usually turns V2's automatic run off so Pulse takes over. Holds placed by V2 show here as already authorized. Run Automation does not run on that branch either; Pulse shows a message that MaidCentral V2 still runs automatic preauthorization, and tells you to save the settings with Auto-preauthorize on so Pulse takes over. If the message comes back after you save, contact support. Automated preauthorization may need to be turned on for your company.

Do I need to set up automatic pre-authorization again after moving to Pulse?​

No. When your company moves from MaidCentral V2 to Pulse, each branch that used automatic preauthorization in V2 keeps it: Pulse turns on Auto-preauthorize with V2's Days Before and Run Time, and V2 stops its automatic run at the same moment, so cards are never held twice. V2 has no failure email list, so turn on Email on failure and add addresses if you want them. Branches that didn't use it in V2 stay off; turn it on as described in Place Holds Automatically Before Each Job.

Tips and Best Practices​

  • Run preauthorizations one to two days before service. That window gives you time to fix declines without holding funds longer than needed.
  • Clear the Missing Card list first. A hold cannot run without a card. Use Add Card on each row to collect card details before service day.
  • Watch the Total Eligible Amount card. A sudden jump usually means a scheduling change added jobs you have not reviewed yet.
  • Adjust amounts before you hold, not after. Changing the row amount first avoids voiding and re-holding later.
  • Void holds for cancelled jobs promptly. Customers notice held funds on their bank statements. Releasing holds quickly keeps trust high.
  • Check the Failed Charges card daily. Declines age badly. The sidebar's decline details tell you exactly what to fix.

Troubleshooting​

IssueSolution
The page shows "Credit card preauthorization is not enabled for your account."An administrator needs to enable the preauthorization feature for your company.
A job does not appear in the listCheck your date range and status filter. The job may fall outside the current filters.
A customer shows under Missing Card but says they gave you a cardThe card may not have saved. Click Add Card on the row and re-enter the card in the payment methods drawer.
A hold was declinedOpen the failed charges sidebar and read the decline details. Contact the customer for an updated card, then retry.
The floating Preauthorize bar does not appearSelect at least one row with the checkboxes. The bar only shows when rows are selected.
The progress dialog stopped partwayClick the refresh control to reload the list. Jobs that completed show as Already Authorized; retry the rest.
A hold shows the wrong amountVoid the hold on the row, adjust the amount, and preauthorize the job again.
Automation is on but no holds appearedThe daily run happens within 15 minutes after Run Time, in your branch's time zone. Check that each job meets the rules in Place Holds Automatically Before Each Job. If MaidCentral V2 still runs automatic preauthorization for your branch, Pulse skips the branch and Run Automation shows a message saying so; save the settings again with Auto-preauthorize on, and contact support if holds still don't appear.