Taking a card at the counter
/app/billingPairing a Stripe reader so a member can tap a card in the pro shop, what it can't do, and the one fee we don't cap.
A member standing at the counter with dues to pay can tap a card on a reader instead of writing a cheque. The invoice settles on this page the moment the card goes through, and the money lands in your own Stripe account like every other payment here.
What it is not
It is not a point of sale, and we would rather say so twice than have you find out in month two. There is no till, no cash drawer, no item list, no barcode, no inventory, no item-level tax and no end-of-day report. A reader here can charge exactly one thing: an invoice Fairway already holds. Ringing up a sleeve of balls or closing out a bar tab is your POS's job and stays your POS's job.
Getting a reader
- 1Buy one from Stripe. It has to be an internet-connected smart reader — the WisePOS E or the Stripe Reader S700. A Bluetooth mobile reader won't work here, because Fairway drives the reader from the server rather than from an app on a phone.
- 2Plug it in and put it on your Wi-Fi. Ask it to pair; it shows three words on its screen.
- 3On Dues & invoices, type a name for it and those three words, and pair it. Nothing is charged by pairing.
- 4The reader appears in the panel with its status. Online means it's awake and ready.
You buy the reader from Stripe at Stripe's price and it's yours. We take nothing on it, we don't mark it up, and we can't ship you one.
Taking a payment
- 1Find the invoice in Outstanding.
- 2Press 'At the counter'. If you have more than one reader, pick which.
- 3The amount appears on the reader. Hand it over; they tap, insert or swipe.
- 4The invoice moves to paid on its own. You don't have to come back and mark anything.
If somebody changes their mind, or the wrong amount went across, press Clear on the reader and it goes back to its idle screen. A declined card leaves the invoice exactly as it was — open — so you can simply try again.
What it costs
- Stripe's own card-present rate, which is between you and Stripe. In the US it has historically been lower than the online rate; check Stripe's pricing page for today's number.
- The same 0.9% platform fee as everything else — and this is the one that is not capped.
The cap exists so a heavy season of dues can't cost more than the flat tier. A till is a different shape of volume — a busy course could put an order of magnitude more across a counter than it ever collects in dues — and capping that would mean pricing a card reader into everybody's base, including the courses that never buy one. So counter takings sit outside the cap in both directions: never capped, and never counted against the headroom on your dues.
When it won't work
- The reader is offline. It needs the internet — this isn't a local connection between the reader and the computer you're standing at.
- Stripe isn't connected, or is still waiting on details. There's nowhere for the money to go.
- The invoice is already paid. Fairway won't charge for the same thing twice.
- Somebody unpaired the reader in the Stripe dashboard. It'll show here as unpaired at Stripe rather than quietly vanishing.
Questions
Can I take a payment that isn't against an invoice?
No. Raise the invoice first — it takes a few seconds and it means the ledger and the takings can never disagree.
Can I use Tap to Pay on a phone instead of buying a reader?
Not today. Tap to Pay needs a native app on the phone and Fairway is a web app, so it's genuinely out of reach rather than just unbuilt.
Does a counter payment eat my fee cap?
No — that's the point of the asterisk. It's neither capped itself nor counted toward the cap on dues and invoices.
Can several counters share one reader?
Pair as many readers as you like and give each one a name. When you charge an invoice you pick which reader it goes to.
What if the card is declined?
Nothing happens. The invoice stays open and you can send it to the reader again, or take a cheque, or send a payment link instead.
Tell us what's missing and we'll write it. Help that doesn't cover the thing you came for isn't help.