If you’ve ever felt that familiar ball of dread when two customers want to split a tab, you know – having a simple way to manage split payments is a make-or-break part of your winery’s transaction process.
Your customers are looking for a smooth, effortless payment process each time that they check out – and your employees want to be able to handle each sale with ease, without worrying about making a mistake due to a confusing process or having the hassle of getting help from a manager every time a situation arises that’s a little out of the ordinary.
Managing split payments doesn’t have to be a nightmare. With the right point-of-sale (POS) system, it’s a breeze – and at OrderPort, we’re happy to help your winery run as easily and efficiently as possible.
Ready to dive into the world of split payments? Keep reading for everything you need to know.
What Are Split Payments?
A split payment is exactly what it sounds like – a payment split between multiple people or payment methods. Whether two friends want to split a bottle of wine or a customer needs to divide an order between two credit cards or debit cards, there will always be times that you will need to be able to manage multiple payment sources for a single transaction.
Why Are Split Payments Complicated?
A standard payment is pretty simple. A customer pays their bill via one of your winery’s accepted payment methods, then moves on with their day. Checkout is quick and easy, and your employees are so familiar with the process they can complete transactions in their sleep.
A purchase with multiple payment methods, however, requires a few extra steps, and is not always quite so straightforward.
Instead of running a single transaction, you’ll need to split the payment into two or more portions, depending on the customer’s needs. You’ll then need to settle each portion of the bill, completing partial payments with the multiple payment methods provided.
While managing split payments isn’t impossible, it is complicated. You have to make sure that the full bill is paid, and that each payment amount is fulfilled with the customer’s preferred payment method, whether credit, check, or debit card. It takes extra attention to detail, and the last thing you want to do is have to worry about handling it all manually.
Ways to Split Payments Through Your Winery POS
Depending on your customer’s request, there are a few different ways you can split bills within your winery POS. Here are a few common ways that OrderPort’s software allows your winery to divide a purchase amount across multiple cards or methods.
Even and Custom Splits
One of the most common types of split payments is an even split – a check being split between two customers or two payment types. Through OrderPort’s software, you can easily increase the number of splits by adding additional tickets to the sale. That means that if you have four tickets, the total at checkout will be split evenly four ways with no remaining balance.
Automatic Splits
Automatic splits happen when a single customer is trying to pay their balance and the initial payment method used has insufficient funds. For example, if a customer is paying with a gift card that’s less than the final price, or wants to put a $20 bill toward a $40 purchase, the POS software will automatically split the sale in order for the customer to pay their remaining balance with a different payment method, such as a credit card.
Split by Guest
Let’s say that you have a table of guests at your winery’s tasting room, and they’re all ordering different things – but they want to keep the check separate. How do you keep track of each guest’s bill?
It’s easier than you might think. Within your POS software, choose to split the sale by guest, specifying how many guests are at the table. Then, as you add items to the sale, you’ll be able to select which guest each product belongs to. At checkout, each guest will have their own tab, and payment can proceed as normal.
If something gets misassigned or two guests want to split the cost of a bottle of wine, no worries – you can easily reassign items or split item costs between tickets within your software.
FAQs: Everything You Need to Know About Split Payments
Still trying to wrap your head around split payments? Here are a few of our most frequently asked questions.
Can I split payments between credit cards and debit cards?
Yes! When processing split payments, you can choose to split between different methods of payment, such as credit cards, debit cards, cash, check, or any other accepted forms of payment.
When would my winery need to process a split payment?
Split payments occur when a bill needs to be divided between multiple parties or types of payment. For example, this can occur if two guests decide to split the cost of an order or a person requests their bill be distributed between two credit cards or other multiple payment types.
Is there a fee for processing split payments?
No, there is no fee for processing split payments – it’s simply a feature of a good winery POS system that businesses want to take advantage of. As with any other type of payment, standard transaction fees still apply.
Make Your Winery Transactions Simple With OrderPort
Prioritizing a simple, effective checkout system is key to creating a great customer experience that keeps your guests coming back – and at OrderPort, we’re determined to make the payment process a breeze for merchants and customers alike.
Split payments can be complicated, but they don’t have to be difficult. Whether you’re splitting a sale across multiple cards or processing a sale with both cash and a debit card, there are more ways than one to ring through a transaction – and no matter what you need, we want to make split payments feel as easy as any other checkout.
Available for iOS and Android, the new OrderPort POS features a modern interface and adapts to your workflow, allowing you to deliver an exceptional customer experience everywhere you do business. Say goodbye to split payment stress, and hello to an effortless checkout every time.
Request a demo to see the difference for yourself today.
