Understand bar tabs and pre-authorisation for Square customers
About bar tabs and pre-authorisation
Pre-authorisation gives you the ability to temporarily authorise or hold your payment card for a set amount to ensure your card is valid and able to pay for your bill when closing out a tab. Holds typically last 36 hours, but can vary depending on your card network or issuing bank.
Before you begin
Once your card is pre-authorised, you may see a series of pending transactions until the payment is complete. This can take up to 3-5 business days depending on your card network and issuing bank. If you run into an issue with a long hold, please reach out to your bank for additional support.
Understand pre-authorisation charge types
If your card is pre-authorised through Square, you may see 1-3 pending transactions depending on how your card network or bank represents authorisations. The first transaction you see will reflect the standard amount set by the Square seller or the value of your order when your tab was started, whichever is greater.
Once your tab is paid and closed out, the line items you see will depend on how your card network or bank represents pending transactions.
You may see either of the following options:
- The initial line item for the hold updated to the final tab amount.
- 1-2 additional line items representing the incremental value of the tab.