Understand whether your gateway immediately captures payments or only authorises them so you do not fulfil an order whose funds have not been collected. An authorisation temporarily reserves an amount; capture requests the actual payment through the provider's supported workflow.
IN THIS ARTICLE
01 Choose a supported business workflow
Some businesses authorise first and capture after verifying stock or another condition. Others capture immediately. Availability, expiry windows, partial capture and supported payment methods vary by provider, so use the installed gateway's current documentation rather than applying one gateway's rules to every method.
02 Review and test the configuration
- Open the gateway settings and identify the selected transaction or capture mode.
- Confirm how authorised orders appear in WooCommerce and where the capture action is performed.
- Record the provider's authorisation expiry and who is responsible for acting before it.
- Test authorisation, capture and cancellation in the provider's sandbox.
- Verify the provider record and WooCommerce order notes after each action.
Does an authorisation mean the store has received the money?
No. It can appear to the customer as a pending hold, but it is not the same as a completed captured payment. Confirm the provider's state before treating the order as paid. An expired authorisation may require a new customer payment flow rather than a late capture attempt.
Is cancelling an authorisation the same as refunding?
A void or cancellation releases an uncaptured authorisation through the provider's process. A refund returns a payment that has already been captured. The available action and how quickly the customer's bank reflects it depend on the provider and bank.
Can I capture a different amount?
Only within the gateway's supported rules. Partial captures, multiple captures and increased amounts are not universally available. Do not edit the WooCommerce order total and assume the provider automatically changes the existing authorisation.
03 Operate with a clear record
Monitor authorised orders approaching expiry and reconcile every capture attempt. If a request times out, inspect the provider before repeating it. Keep transaction references and approved amounts in the order history, without exposing card details or API secrets. Train the fulfilment team to distinguish an order awaiting payment confirmation from one ready for dispatch.