Welcome to AppNinjas’ Swipe credit card app for the iPhone!  With it you’ll be able to take credit card payments for goods or services anywhere your business takes you!

 

Swipe has only a few basic requirements: 

• An iPhone either 2G, 3G or 3GS, iTouch 1^st Gen, 2^nd Gen or 3^rd Gen, or an iPad.  With the iTouch or iPad you'll need to be in range of a WiFi network to process transactions..
• An account with one of our supported Gateway partners.  You can find the list on our iTunes app Page at http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/swipe-credit-card-terminal/id309329440?mt=8.  We’re adding support for new gateways daily – if you’d like us to support yours, please let us know.

Once you have these things, you’ll need to setup Swipe on your phone to “talk” to your Merchant account.  Guides for the individual Merchant Providers can be found at:

http://support.appninjas.com/forums/57323-setup-guides/entries

These setup guides will require information which you may need to actually contact your Merchant Provider to obtain if you haven’t received it from them already.

This guide is going to cover from that point forward, briefly introducing you to the various screens and features available.

 

 

Swipe Main Screen

The main screen is where your basic transactions are setup and processed.  Spaces for Credit Card number and expiration date, total amount, customer email, zip code, CC security code and a quick description.

 

The “…more” button allows you to enter additional information for the customer including address, phone, country, customer ID, tax and an invoice number.  All this of course is optional, though SOME merchants may require some of this info.  If you think this is the case contact your merchant provider for details.  From this screen you can also click "+" to access your iPhone's contact list.   As a sidenote, at this point the tax feature isn't fully functional.  If you have questions about specific details feel free to email us.

 

The “Inventory” button allows you to enter a very basic inventory list so if you’re selling 1 single item at a craft fair you don’t have to constantly re-enter it’s name, description and amount.  You simply chose the product off a list and have it already added to the transaction.

 

“Signature” simply allows you to collect a signature from the customer if you like.  The signature is entered with the finger or an iPhone specific stylus and is then displayed on the receipt that goes out to the customer as well as on your online history report.  We’ll cover the signature in a bit more detail, in a bit.

 

“Reset” does just what you expect.  It resets whatever information you’ve put in the main screen.

 

Across the top of Swipe you’ll see a few buttons:  “history” and "settings".

 

Clicking on “history” takes you to concise list of your transactions.  Clicking on one of the transactions will allow you to refund/void the transaction.  Please note that the ability to refund/void is only available to those using authorize.net.  Support for other merchants is forthcoming.

 

From the main screen clicking on “settings” takes you to the general settings for Swipe.

 

Swipe Settings Screen

“Testing Mode” is as it says.  Turning it on allows you to enter transaction information and process it to verify the app is working, but no money is transacted.  You’ll want to make sure that this option is turned off for general use.

 

“Auth-Only Mode” when turned on allows you to process transactions that validate the Credit Card and record the information, but do not actually charge the card.  This can be handy if for some reason you want to simply verify the credit card, capture the customer’s info but not run the charge till a later date.

 

“Currency” obviously allows you to set Swipe to one of the supported currency types.  You’ll typically want this set to whatever country you’re in.

 

“Company name” in simply displayed on the front screen of Swipe.  Advertising if you will

 

“Request Signature” when activated requires a signature be entered before the transaction can be completed.  This is entirely optional, depending whether you wish to capture their signature or not.  Please note that legally this is only a way to have the customer agree to comply with the cardholders terms and conditions.  This signature might not be suitable for determining identity in the same way an official bank signature might.

 

“Geolocation”  simply uses your device’s GPS to capture the location  at which the transaction was processed.  If this option is on you can have a map displayed on receipts sent to the customer.  We’ll cover this feature again in a bit.

 

"Request tips” when active will present you with and easy way to add a gratuity.  Combined with “tips start at %” setting these two place a small box on the signature pad which allows you to adjust the tip up or down starting from the % you specified simply by clicking plus or minus.  It automatically calculates in and adds it into the total.

 

"Support" is a collection of links to various guides and contact information.  They are all pretty self explanatory but definately provide an easy way to access most of the common support options.

 

Lastly at the bottom of this screen you'll see the Device ID and the  App version listed.  Should you ever need to contact support you might be asked for these.

 

Swipe Gateway Screen

Next we come to the “Gateway” screen.  Accessed by clicking “Gateway” at the top of the current screen, the “settings” Screen. 

 

This screen is where you will enter the credentials from your Merchant provider to “connect” them to Swipe.  As mentioned before we have guides for the individual Merchants located at the following address:

 

http://support.appninjas.com/forums/57323-setup-guides/entries

 

Most of this screen is covered by the individual guides on our site, so I’m not going to dwell much on them here.  However at the bottom of this screen are some important things to note.  “Pin Protect” allows you to set a PIN or password which is required every time you open Swipe.  This can provide an extra level of security in case your phone is lost or stolen.

 

You’ll also notice the Version number and Device ID in the bottom right corner.   If you ever need to contact support you may be asked for these pieces of information.

 

AppNinjas Account Page

 

That covers the three main screens that make up Swipe.  Most commonly these are the one’s you’ll be interacting with.   There is however a page on our website that will constitute a large part of your experience with Swipe.  That page is at http://appninjas.com/account .  If you don’t have an account there yet simply sign up for one and add your device.  It’s free and only takes a minute.

 

Once you’ve done this there are several things you can do from this one page.  The links on the right take you to the various sections.

 

First is “Receipts”  This is the section where you get to customize what your receipts look like.  Most spaces are self explanatory.  The receipt intro and footer text spaces allow HTML.  If you’re familiar with HTML this will allow you some basic text formatting:  Line breaks, color, fonts, etc…..  If you’re not familiar with HTML a quick search on Google for “basic html” will get you some good information, but it’s not necessary at all.  You’ll also notice a spot to request a test email be sent so you can see what it looks like after you’ve customized it but before you release it to the world.

 

Next  is “Gateway Settings”.  If you setup your device using guided setup this section should already be filled out.  If however , it’s not you can simply select Your gateway from the dropdown list and then enter the gateway info in the appropriate spaces.  For this gateway info you might need to contact your merchant provider’s support, but they should be able to either email it to you or read it over the phone.  Once you have it entered simply click save.   Any device you add to the account need only be restarted and it’ll get these settings.  If your device is already setup and you don’t have multiple devices than you don’t need to do anything with this section.

 

Next is the “Manage Terminals”, which allows you to view, add or remove devices.  This section also, and more importantly.  Allows you to add additional devices in case you’d like to have several iPhones tied to the same account.  Simply enter  the device ID for the 2^nd (3^rd , etc…) device and it’s added to the account the next time Swipe on that phone is reset.

 

Next is the “transaction list”.  This is where you see the full information from each transaction.  Transaction info and amount, customer name, address, etc…..  Signature and Geolocation if those features are turned on.  This is a complete copy of everything the customer will receive in their email receipt.   From this screen you have the ability to resend receipts if necessary.

 

Last is "Account settings" which is simply a place to change your password.

 

Please note again that Both the "Manage terminals" and "Gateway settings" section of this page are used mainly for initial setup of your account and the management of multiple devices.  Additional information about multiple devices can be found in our HowTo guides on our website.

 

 

This entire collection of pages is fairly new and as such will continue to grow and evolve quickly as will Swipe itself.  If at any point you find a feature not covered here or have a question not covered here our support email is monitored around the clock.  You’ll get a reply in 24 hours or less, MOST in two hours or less. 

 

We release new versions pretty regularly with bug fixes and new features, and upgrading is free, so keep an eye on your iTunes for new versions.  We plan on Swipe continuing to grow and maintain it’s spot as the best card terminal out  there.  Thanks for joining us.   Like all ninja we’re here even if you don’t see  us all the time.