An uncharged order is an order that was sent to the POS but whose payment was authorized rather than captured, so the customer has not actually been charged. This article explains what causes uncharged orders, where to find them, how team members are notified, what happens in the restaurant, and how to retry the charge.

What Uncharged Orders Are

What Causes an Uncharged Order

An uncharged order typically arises from a temporary outage with a payment processor, where the capture step fails after the initial authorization. For an explanation of how authorization and capture work, see How Credit Card Payments Work.

A failed capture can also be specific to the card. For example, the customer may have canceled the original authorization directly with the card issuer, or may have exceeded their credit limit between placing the order and the attempt to close and charge it. This is most common with catering orders, since customers often order days or weeks in advance.

Where to Find Uncharged Orders

On the rare occasion an uncharged order occurs, it appears on the Uncharged Orders page in the Direct Ordering Admin Panel.

How Team Members Are Notified

An uncharged order falls under the Notification category for internal email communications, which can be configured at the brand level, the store level, or both. When an uncharged order occurs, all designated notification email recipients are notified in real time.

What Happens in the Restaurant

The system still sends the order to the POS even though it is not paid for at that moment. Because an uncharged order is usually caused by a temporary payment processor issue, it can typically be recharged or resolved with the customer right away, so the risk to the restaurant is small. Sending the order through also ensures the customer receives it within the expected timeframe.

In the example below, two uncharged orders appear on the Orders Review & Search page. Both orders are CLOSED and their POS Status is SUCCESS, which indicates the orders were sent to the POS successfully. The Payment Status, however, is still AUTHORIZED rather than the expected PAID, which indicates the orders are uncharged.

How to Retry Charging an Uncharged Order

When a notification for an uncharged order is received, the charge can be retried from the Uncharged Orders page:

1. In the Direct Ordering Admin Panel, go to Orders > Uncharged Orders.
2. Select the checkbox for the order or orders to retry. Multiple orders can be selected at once.
3. Click the Retry Charges button and confirm the success notification.

If the retry does not work, log in to the payment processor's website and attempt to reprocess the charge there. If that also fails, contact the customer to request a different payment method. Recharging the original card from scratch creates a fresh authorization that may bypass the original error. In most cases that reach this point, resolution happens directly with the customer.