Payments basics

Batch settlement: how to batch out a credit card machine

What a batch is, automatic versus manual batch close, how to batch out a credit card machine at the end of the day, and what to do if settlement fails.

Applies to
All payment terminals
Last reviewed
Oct 27, 2026 by Abdul Rashid

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Check first

  • Does your terminal close the batch automatically, or does someone close it by hand?
  • Is the terminal online when the batch close runs?
  • Do the batch totals match your sales for the day?

A batch is the group of card sales a terminal has approved since it last settled. Settling (batching out) sends that group to the processor so the money is deposited. Many terminals do it automatically at a set time; if yours does not, someone has to run the settle option at the end of each day.

Before you start

  • Visa's dispute guide tells terminal merchants to set the terminal to settle automatically every day, or to settle by hand at the end of each business day. Late settlement can make an approval expire or confuse customers.
  • Visa's authorization guide notes that an approval that is never settled keeps holding the cardholder's funds.
  • On Dejavoo terminals, for example, batch settings offer an automatic close at a set time with retries, an automatic close without dialing, or off (manual only).

Steps

  1. Find out whether your terminal closes the batch automatically and when. Check the batch settings menu or ask Allstar support. Expected: you know whether you must batch out by hand.
  2. Print the day's totals or batch report and compare it with your sales. Expected: totals match. Void or refund any wrong sale before closing.
  3. Make sure the terminal is online, then run the settle or batch close option from its settlement menu. Expected: the terminal connects, shows the host response and prints a batch report.
  4. Read the response and keep the batch report. Expected: the batch is accepted or approved.
  5. If settlement fails, do not clear or delete the batch. Fix the connection and run settle again. Expected: the batch closes on the retry.
  6. Settle at least once a day, at the end of each business day. Expected: sales reach your account promptly.
  7. If the batch still will not close, or the totals do not match, contact your processor or Allstar support with the batch report. Expected: the open batch is investigated before data is lost.

If that did not work

Never use a clear, purge or delete-batch option unless your processor tells you to. If the terminal asks for a password, or the batch keeps failing, contact Allstar support with the model, serial number, payment application, processor and the exact message on screen.

Sources

Stop and contact support if

  • Do not use any clear, purge or delete-batch option unless your processor tells you to. Clearing an unsent batch can mean those sales are never deposited.
  • The terminal asks for a password you do not have: contact Allstar support.

Contact Allstar support (support@allstarterminals.com, 888-403-7066, Monday to Friday 9 AM to 5 PM Central) with the model, serial number, payment application, processor and the exact message on screen.

Contact support about this

Notes

  • Menu names differ by terminal and payment application (Settle, Batch, Close Batch, End of Day). The Dejavoo manual is used as a worked example of the three automatic options: dial out at a set time, close without dialing (when the processor settles on its own), or off.
  • Some processors settle on their side (host capture) and some rely on the terminal to send the batch (terminal capture), as Worldpay's interface guide describes. Ask your processor which applies before changing batch settings.
  • Deposit timing after settlement is set by your processor and bank, not the terminal.

Sources

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