Practical guide · October 14, 2026
Payment terminal outage checklist: protect the sale before you retry
A terminal stops responding halfway through a sale. The customer sees a message on their phone, your till still shows an unpaid order, and another customer is waiting. Before pressing the payment button again, establish what happened to the first attempt. A connection problem and a confirmed decline require different responses.
This practical checklist helps a shop prepare for an interruption and hand useful information to its payment provider. It is a planning tool, not a replacement for the instructions for your terminal, processor and account. For choosing equipment, see the debit machine rental guide. For closing a shift, use the separate reconciliation guide.
First, separate the payment from the connection problem
Keep the order open while a supervisor checks the terminal's transaction history or the provider's approved lookup method. Record the time, amount and order reference. A frozen checkout screen does not prove that authorization failed, and a customer's banking notification does not establish your merchant settlement result. Ask support how to resolve an uncertain payment before collecting it again.
Tell the customer plainly that you are checking the result. Do not ask staff to photograph cards or record card security codes as an outage workaround. Use the provider's approved payment process and keep troubleshooting notes free of unnecessary payment data. If another terminal is available, confirm the original result before moving the same sale to it.
Identify how much of the system is affected
Check whether only one terminal, every terminal or the till itself is affected. Note the exact message rather than describing all problems as “the internet is down.” Look at power, cable connections and the configured communication method using the device's current instructions. Avoid changing several settings at once: a support agent needs to know what changed.
Moneris' communication troubleshooting guidance distinguishes connection methods and directs merchants to check the relevant equipment. Its examples are device-specific. Use your own model's guide for button sequences, resets and connection settings; do not copy an old model's steps into a newer terminal.
Keep a short incident worksheet beside the till
| Check | Information to record | Decision owner |
|---|---|---|
| Original sale | Order reference, amount, time and known status | Shift supervisor |
| Device | Terminal identifier and model | Staff member at affected till |
| Connection | Configured method and exact error | Supervisor or support |
| Scope | One terminal, all terminals or wider till issue | Shift supervisor |
| Changes | Approved checks performed and results | Person making each change |
| Support | Case reference and next instruction | Authorized account contact |
| Recovery | First confirmed result and unresolved orders | Shift supervisor |
The worksheet is your internal operating aid. Keep it accessible to staff without leaving account passwords or sensitive customer information beside the checkout. Name a backup supervisor so an absence does not force a cashier to guess.
Do not assume offline payments are a universal fallback
Ask the provider in advance whether your account and device support offline processing, what transactions are eligible and who may approve its use. Offline acceptance can carry a risk that payment will not settle. It should never be presented to a customer or staff member as a guarantee of successful payment.
For example, Moneris' V400m offline payment documentation describes an optional feature for certain credit purchases, with account conditions and merchant risk; it excludes Interac debit. That description applies to the documented product, not every terminal sold in Canada. Confirm your provider's current rules instead of enabling a feature during a stressful queue.
Plan a support handoff and a controlled return to service
Prepare the authorized support route before an outage. List who can contact the provider, where the terminal identifier is found and which alternative payment methods your business already accepts. Do not promise an automatic connection switch, replacement time or emergency service unless it is actually included in your agreement.
When communication returns, follow support's instructions and check unresolved orders against confirmed transaction records. If an approved offline mode was used, confirm the disposition of stored transactions through the provider's process. Resume normal operation only after the supervisor understands the outstanding results. Record unresolved items for the next shift instead of quietly closing them as paid or failed.
Questions to ask before choosing a terminal
Ask how your specific configuration behaves when the connection fails, whether a second connection is supported, what support coverage costs and how uncertain transactions are traced. Request a demonstration of the support workflow, rather than relying on a general claim about reliability. Include these questions in your quote comparison worksheet.
To discuss your checkout setup, contact PBH Canada through the application page. Describe your till arrangement, connection method and opening hours without including card information. Confirm available equipment, account features, fees and support terms directly before making a decision.