This FAQ details how Americart works with Authorizenet to process charges in "realtime" over the internet. If setting up Authorizenet, be sure to read this entire page!

UPDATED SETUP INSTRUCTIONS TO COMPLY WITH AUTHORIZENET
SECURITY POLICY UPDATES ARE FURTHER DOWN THIS PAGE.

Q:
What is authorizenet and what can it do for me?

A:
Americart in normal mode acts strictly as a shopping cart and order forwarding system, orders from which you then process on your existing merchant charge terminal. For many merchants, this is just what you want. A great system, and you review each order as it comes in, running a charge only after you've verified inventory, the legitimacy of the order, and so-forth.

There also exists another case, when you get a lot of orders, you know the products are available, and you want the convenience of charging the orders and getting approval on the cards before you even see them. That's where the Authorizenet payment processing gateway comes in. Americart sends billing information directly to them for approval and charge processing. Only after receiving order approval do you even have to look at the orders!

Q:
Is there an extra charge for using Authorizenet?

A:
We charge nothing extra, but you must have an account with Authorizenet. They do not sell directly to the end user (merchant), preferring to sell via the merchant account provider. In most cases, your existing merchant account provider can set you up with Authorizenet, enabling you to keep your present merchant account.

If you don't have a merchant account, you can get both a merchant account and an Authorizenet account for one low charge at Advanced Merchant Services

Let us stress that if you already have a merchant account and a method you prefer to run charges, you can continue to use that account/method with Americart. You do not need to switch merchant accounts or to use "realtime" processing via Authorizenet at all.

Q:
I want to use authorizenet, can I set-up and test Americart before I get an account with them?

A:
Yes. If you don't yet have an account with them, you can add it at any time, and redirect Americart to use it at that time. There's no need to wait for that to be set-up if you can process normal charges at your location. Just use our usual non-realtime forms, and key the charges as if you've received a phone order.

Q:
I've got my authorizenet account. How do I make it work with Americart?

A:
We use the Authorizenet AIM (Advanced Integration Method), "Direct Response" to connect to the Authorizenet Gateway. This is the most secure and robust method they offer.

Setup at Americart:

1) Load the Americart account configuration form.

2) In the "Mode Select" section of the configuration form, select "RECONFIGURE EXISTING CART", enter your cart-id and password, and click "Reconfigure My Cart!" to call up your present account settings. (Note that this assumes you have filled out the form once and have an account already).

3) Scroll to the "Checkout/Payment Options" section of the configuration form and check the checkbox for "By Credit Card Online. (AuthorizeNet 3.0)". Note: If you are using Order Manager or otherwise using custom checkout forms, it is possible that this checkbox will NOT be checked. If that is the case, LEAVE IT UNCHECKED TO AVOID HAVING TWO AUTHORIZENET CHECKOUT FORMS OFFERED TO SHOPPERS.

4) In the text box to the right of the checkbox in #3 above, enter your "Authorizenet LoginID" (the one you use at secure.authorize.net). Be careful to make it match EXACTLY between Americart and Authorizenet.

5) In the next text box, enter your "AuthorizeNet Password", which must also match EXACTLY with your Authorizenet Password. In the future, if you change your Authorizenet password, be sure to update your Americart configuration as well.

6) If you have any "non-realtime" checkout with credit card forms "checked" at Americart, uncheck those. They are named "By Credit Card Online using your own transaction equipment".

7) Scroll to the bottom of the page and submit the form to commit the changes.

Setup at Authorizenet:

1) Login to Authorizenet: https://secure.authorize.net/

Note: If this is your first login to Authorizenet, you will probably see a page where you must fill out some identity confirmation information. If so, complete that page, then resume these instructions.

2) Click on "Settings and Profile" on the left column, then make sure that the "Settings" tab is one selected, not the "Profile".

3) Under "Transaction Submission", click "Password-Required Mode".

4) Check the box that says "Require Password for ALL Transactions" and click "Submit". When submitted, click the "settings main menu" link.

5) Under "Transaction Response", click on "Direct Response".

6) Set the "Delimited Response" Radio button to: Yes

7) Insure that "Default Field Separator" is set to: , (comma)

8) Insure that "Field Encapsulation Character" is set to be blank.

9) Click "Submit".

10) Click on "Settings and Profile" on the left column.

11) Optional: By default, Authorizenet sends an email payment receipt to the shopper. Since Americart sends a more detailed email receipt, you may wish to disable this. Under "Transaction Response", select "Email Receipts", UNcheck the "Email transaction receipt to customer" box and hit "submit", then return to Settings.

12) Optional: By default, Authorizenet's AVS (Address Verification System) settings are quite restrictive. You may wish to select "Address Verification", then review/adjust settings to your liking.

12b) ** Authorize.net has recently instituted a multiple user feature. **

If you are a new user, or you have been using Authorize.net but just recently changed your settings (password changes in particular) then you will need to:

Click on the 'Settings' link

Click the 'Generate API login & transaction key' link.

Provide the answer to your secret question.

An API login and transaction key will be generated, you will need to use these instead of your Authorize.net login and password in the cart configuration.

13) Logout of Authorizenet.

Place an order via the cart and be sure it comes through. You should get an invoice copy from Authorizenet (if you set your authnet account that way), and an emailed order from Americart. The Americart order should contain the authorization and AVS codes for the order. If you got ????? marks in the order, you have done something wrong above, or typed your authorizenet name incorrectly in the Americart configuration.

Q:
Is there anything I need to do to my site besides inserting my Authorizenet login name and password in my Americart configuration?. They say on their web page that I need to have some lines of HTML added to my site, is this true if I'm using Americart, or is this an automatic process?

A:
You may disregard their comments about adding html code to your website. Americart handles all the interface to Authorizenet. All you need to do is follow the instructions in the question above.

Q:
What do you recommend we do as far as "realtime" vs. "non-realtime" charge processing goes?

A:
We think you should get set-up and run your site for a while without realtime processing to get a feel for how things are going. When your order volume goes up enough, you can add realtime then.

Q:
Can I customize my Authorizenet checkout form?

A:
Yes. See the Creating Your Own Checkout Forms FAQ. Be sure you use the Authorizenet template files so the variable names will be correct. Look for the Authorizenet template links in the custom form documentation with the standard templates. Don't try this until you're more familiar with the system.

Q:
What do the Authorizenet AVS codes (Address Verification Codes) stand for?

A:

Here is the full description of the AVS codes
A	Address (Street) matches, ZIP does not
E	AVS error
N	No Match on Address (Street) or ZIP
P	AVS not applicable for this transaction
R	Retry - System unavailable or timed out
S	Service not supported by issuer
U	Address information is unavailable
W	9 digit ZIP matches, Address (Street) does not
Y	Address (Street) and 5 digit ZIP match
Z	5 digit ZIP matches, Address (Street) does not