The User Portal Payments feature allows end-users to securely pay for permits, violations, and other services directly from their account. Its primary purpose is to provide a self-service checkout experience, streamlining revenue collection and offering flexible payment methods like online credit cards or in-person promises to pay. This article is intended for OPS-COM administrators to help them understand and support the user-facing payment workflow.
## Setup and Configuration This feature is a core component of the user portal's financial tracking and checkout system. **Admin Side:** Administrators must ensure that payment gateways (e.g., credit card processors) are properly integrated and active within the global system settings. Additionally, administrators control whether alternative offline payment methods, such as Cash or Cheque (Promise to Pay), are enabled and visible for users to select during checkout. **User Side:** Users access the payment module directly from their dashboard and must have pending items in their cart, outstanding violations, or active subscriptions to initiate a transaction. ## Using this Feature Administrators can use the following instructions to guide users through initiating a checkout and completing a transaction using their preferred payment method. ### Initiating a Payment 1. Log in to the User Profile and navigate to the **Payments** tab. 2. Enable the checkboxes next to the specific items you intend to pay for. To select or deselect all items at once, hold the Shift key and click a checkbox. 3. Click the **Continue to Checkout** button to proceed to the payment method screen.If a user has a violation that is currently under appeal or review, they should not select the checkbox for it. Users should only pay for a violation after the appeal review process is completely finalized.
### Paying with a Credit Card This method allows users to complete their payment online immediately. 1. Select the **Credit Card** option on the payment method screen. 2. Follow the secure redirect to the payment provider's website. 3. Enter all required payment details into the provided fields, including the credit card number, expiration date, CVV code, and billing address. 4. Click the **Process Transaction** or **Pay Now** button to finalize the payment on the provider's portal. 5. Review the generated receipt page upon automatically returning to the system, confirming the transaction is complete.If a user experiences issues with credit card payments failing to load on the web version, it is frequently caused by the Safari browser's pop-up blocker preventing the payment window from opening. Advise the user to adjust their Safari settings to turn off "Block Pop-ups" and try again.
### Paying with Cash or Cheque (Promise to Pay) This method allows users to indicate their intent to pay in person at the parking services office. 1. Select the **Cash or Cheque** option on the payment method screen. 2. Click the **Submit Payment** button. 3. Review the selected items, which will now automatically update to a status of Paid but not Processed. 4. Visit the parking provider's physical office to supply the cash or cheque to administrative staff to finalize the process. --- ## Best Practices and Considerations - **Communicate available payment options clearly:** **Ensure users understand which payment methods are accepted by your organization.** If your parking operation does not support in-person cash or cheque payments, ensure the Promise to Pay option is disabled in the system settings so users are exclusively routed to the credit card gateway. - **Establish a reconciliation process:** **Administrators must actively monitor and reconcile Promise to Pay transactions.** Because these items are marked as "Paid but not Processed" until the user physically visits the office, staff must promptly update the transaction status in the system upon receiving the physical funds to maintain accurate financial records and prevent revenue loss.