Arcane Virtual Terminal Setup

by Abigail Leaman - June 18, 2021

The Arcane Virtual Terminal POS is a turn-key, cloud-based digital payment solution. It requires no installation; just purchase a license and register your subdomain, and you’ll be ready to accept in-person credit card payments directly from the Virtual Terminal. We will walk you through each step of the process in this Arcane Virtual Terminal Setup Guide.

Index

• Purchase Your License
• License Your Users
• Register & Setup
• Integrate 3rd Party Applications
• Advanced Configuration

Purchasing an Arcane Virtual Terminal License

 If you have already bought your license, skip to license management, otherwise purchase a license in the Arcane Strategies Store.

1. Go to https://store.arcanestrategies.com/.
2. Under ‘Arcane Virtual Terminal POS,’ select ‘Buy Now.’
3. To continue, enter your information to register for an account with Arcane Strategies. If you are a returning user, you can log in with your e-mail address and password.
4. Follow on-screen instructions to checkout.

License Management

Before you will be able to register a subdomain, there are a few things you will need to do on the Arcane site.

1. Go to https://www.arcanestrategies.com/ and log in with your e-mail address and password.
2. Hover over the profile icon in the upper right-hand corner of the screen and select ‘Manage Subscriptions.’
3. Here, you will be able to view your active Arcane subscriptions. Copy the registration code for your new license.
4. In the last column, you’ll see a link to “Connect with Stripe”.  Click this link to launch the Stripe Connect window and follow the instructions within that window.
   1. If the window does not open, you can access it directly by clicking the button on: https://store.arcanestrategies.com/stripe-connect
   2. Once completed, close the Stripe window and return to the Store tab.
5. Next, hover over the profile icon in the upper right-hand corner of the screen and select ‘Manage Users.’
6. From here, you should enter the e-mail address for each user that will need access to the system. You can return to this page later if you have additional cashier’s you need to license.

*Note: Step 4 is critical, without it your alias registration will throw an error.

Registering a Subdomain for your Arcane Virtual Terminal

Now, you will be able to log in to the Arcane Virtual Terminal and register your subdomain.

1. Go to www.arcanepos.com.
2. From the logic screen, click ‘Switch to Register.’ You’ll be prompted to enter your personal user information.

*Note: Be sure to use the account with which your license subscription was purchased in the Arcane store .  Licensed users will also use this registration form but without admin privileges.

1. Paste the registration code obtained from the ‘Manage Subscriptions’ page of the Arcane website, and then click to submit the form.
2. Next, you’ll be asked to submit an alias. Here you will enter the subdomain you want to use for your application (i.e., entering “johnnysdonuts” will get you the alias “johnnysdonuts.arcanestrategies.com”). Try to keep your subdomain short and unique.
   1. If you are not an administrative user, you can connect to an existing shop by entering the alias you want to connect with and we will try to direct you.  Alternatively, you can visit the alias directly and register there.
3. Click to submit your application.
4. Once your submission is successful, you will be redirected to your subdomain. From here, log in once more.  (You are on a new site at this stage, so this is a new session)
5. Once you are logged in, you will be automatically redirected to your dashboard. If your Stripe account already has locations set up within it, you will be prompted to select the location that you want to access. If not, you will be asked to create a location. Every reader must have a location, so you will need to fill out and submit the form
   1. Locations are for organization, they do not affect charges, taxes, or functionality.

*Note: If you already have locations set up with Stripe but would like to create a new one, you can do so by selecting ‘Manage Locations’ from the left sidebar of the settings panel. To access settings, click on your e-mail address on the top right of the page and select the settings option from the dropdown. On the ‘Manage Locations’ page, click the toggle button to open a new location form.

1. Once you have selected (or created and selected) your location, you will be redirected to the dashboard, where all of your Stripe products, plans, and prices are automatically imported.

If you would like to connect products to your Virtual Terminal from a third-party like WooCommerce, continue to the next section of the article.

If not, then your Arcane Virtual Terminal POS setup procedure is now complete. Once you set up your card reader, you will be ready to start performing in-person credit card transactions in your Virtual Terminal.

If you have not yet purchased your reader, you can purchase it at the following link. Each account will display different readers based on region and each reader is pre-packaged with the native software, so be sure you are purchasing from this link only: https://dashboard.stripe.com/terminal/shop

BBPOS Wise POS EVERIFONE P400BBPOS Chipper reader

Click to learn how to setup and use the Verifone P400 reader with WooCommerce, how to setup and use the BBPOS Wise POS E reader with WooCommerce, and how to setup and use the BBPOS Chipper reader with WooCommerce. All devices are compatible with either version of the plugin.

Connecting Products from a Third-Party Source

With the Arcane Virtual Terminal POS, you can easily import products from your WooCommerce site to your Virtual Terminal storefront:

1. First, log in to your Virtual Terminal using your registered alias subdomain.
2. In the top right corner of the dashboard, click on your e-mail address. In the dropdown, select the ‘Settings’ menu to go to your settings. If you have no products, there will be a direct link to this page in a warning box at the bottom of your dashboard page.
3. Within settings, click ‘Manage Integrations’ on the left sidebar.
4. In the form, select ‘WooCommerce’
5. Now, fill out your WooCommerce integration settings using your website’s API credentials and URL. Be sure that your source URL is formatted the same way as ours (with the corresponding path; you’ll just replace the domain). Instructions on how to retrieve your API keys as well as an example domain will be accessible from this page.
6. Once completed, click ‘Submit.’
7. When you click the dashboard button in the top left of the screen, you will now be able to view your imported products.

The Arcane Virtual Terminal POS setup procedure is now complete. Once you set up your card reader, you will be ready to start performing in-person credit card transactions in your Virtual Terminal. See below for more advanced instructions.

BBPOS Wise POS EVERIFONE P400BBPOS Chipper reader

Click to learn how to setup and use the Verifone P400 reader with WooCommerce, how to setup and use the BBPOS Wise POS E reader with WooCommerce, and how to setup and use the BBPOS Chipper reader with WooCommerce. All devices are compatible with either version of the plugin.

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Advanced Configuration

• Taxes
• Tips
• Managing Locations
• Managing Readers

Taxes

To set taxes, go to “Manage Locations”. On each location, click the edit icon and you’ll find a default tax setting at the bottom. Here you can paste in your preferred tax ID. If you have other stored tax options within this location you’ll see them appear as a dropdown in the cashier during checkout. For example, with a direct Stripe integration, you can find the Tax ID on your Stripe.com dashboard which will be prefixed with “tml_”. Paste the entire ID (including “tml_”) into the field, to adopt that as your default tax.

To default to your platform’s tax settings, leave this field blank and do not select a tax option from the dropdown during checkout. This will allow your platform to set taxes however it wants to. Please note, however, that by doing this you are overriding your “tip after tax” setting and tip entry will be calculated off the subtotal only (since we do not have the platform’s tax amount to use in calculations). Each platform handles tips differently but typically these may be handled as standard taxable line items. Please consult your platform for more information.

This same process can be applied for Stripe integrations as any other 3rd party integration (ie. WooCommerce) unless specified otherwise. This will vary from one platform to another but as an example, WooCommerce stores these as autoincremented integers beginning with 1. You can find the ID from your WordPress database and/or WooCommerce API if they are not immediately visible in your WooCommerce settings table.

Tips

To set your tip settings, go to “Manage Settings” and scroll down to “Shop Options:

• Tip Status (Web only): Here you can choose how the tip section appears on your web UI as (a) disabled, (b) a fixed percentage, or (c) an input field with percentage buttons to assist with input.
• Tip Pct Options (Web and Mobile): Enter the percentage options you want to offer in integer format separated by commas.   You should be able to enter up to 4 double-digit figures.  These will appear on your mobile UI and web UI if tipping is enabled.
• Tip Default: Select which tip percentage value you want to setas your default.  You may have to Save/Update your tip options from bullet 2 before it becomes visible in this dropdown.
• Apply Tip After Tax: If for some reason you need to apply tips to the post-tax total (not standard practice), select this checkbox.

Managing Locations

1. Go to the ‘Settings’ panel and click ‘Manage Locations.’ If you have existing locations you will see them listed here with a button to Edit or Delete accordingly.
2. Click the ‘Toggle New Location’ form.
3. Enter your location address. This is not used for any tax purposes, it is strictly informational and is required by your gateway.
4. For information on the Default Tax ID, see “Taxes” above.
5. Finally, click ‘Submit.’

Managing Readers

1. Go to the ‘Settings’ panel and click ‘Manage Terminals.’ If you have existing terminals you will see them listed here with a button to Edit or Delete accordingly.
2. Click the ‘Toggle New Reader’ form.
3. Enter your registration code, exactly as it appears on your device from the above steps.
4. You’ll be prompted to enter a name for your reader. This will help the reader be identified more easily in a multi-reader environment.
5. Select the location to which you would like to assign the reader. For information on location management, see “Managing Locations” above.
6. Finally, click ‘Submit.’

 

Using the POS

• Miscellaneous Charges
• Storing and Looking Up Customers
• Receipts
• Discounts and Coupons

Miscellaneous Charges

Suppose you have an item on hand which you want to sell but have not stored in your inventory.  This item would not appear on your main dashboard but you want to be able to manually add it to an order.  This is what “Misc Charges” are for.  To create a “Misc Charge”:

1. Open the Misc Charge form (if it s not already open) by clicking the button beside the “Misc Charges” label on the top right of your POS dashboard.
2. Within the “line item” field, enter the text that you want to see appear on your receipt.
3. Within the “unit price” field enter the price.  Depending upon the version of UI you are using, this may be entered as an integer instead of a float (ie. 550 instead of 5.50).  This information will be provided in the field itself.
4. Click the “+” button to add it to the cart.

Storing and Looking Up Customers

In the event you want to retrieve or store new and existing customer’s shipping and/or billing information during checkout, follow these steps:

1. To retrieve and existing customer enter the customer’s Email or ID into the “Customer Lookup” field.  Your integration will determine what type of value can be entered.  For example, Stripe Customers are retrieved by “ID” whereas WooCommerce Customers are retrieved by “Email”.
   1. The search can be executed by clicking the magnifying glass icon or simply by clicking off of the input field.
      1. If a customer was found, the customer’s account will be automatically connected to the order.
         1. To use different billing/shipping information, follow the steps for storing new customers, below.
      2. If a customer was not found, you can create a new customer by following the steps for storing new customers, below.
2. To store or change customer information, click the “Customer Info” button which will open a Customer Info form.  Be sure to leave the email address field filled in order to complete the user account profile.
   1. Within the form, be sure to complete a minimum 5 address points to verify a unique address (zip or city, address 1, first, last, and email; state may also be required).
3. Click “Proceed To Checkout” to store your new or updated data from bullet 2 and connect your new or existing customer to the newly created order.

Receipts

During the checkout procedure there are several ways that a customer can receive a receipt by either (a) email or (b) print.  SMS receipts are not currently available.

1. When storing or connecting a customer to an order (see “Storing and Looking Up Customers”), the customer’s email address will be automatically connected to the order if and when provided.  This means they will get a receipt from either (or both) (a) your gateway (ie. Stripe) and (b) your integration (ie. WooCommerce).
   1. You will notice a message indicating “Receipt will be sent to email@domain.com”
2. If you have not provided an email in the customer form, you will be given another chance in the Checkout Details section with a field which invites you to enter a receipt recipient email.  Simply enter the preferred email and proceed to payment.
3. After payment is completed you will be given the option to print the receipt.  To do so, click the print receipt button and a modal will appear:
   1. In this modal you will see a print preview of the receipt with a button that has a printer icon on it.  Click the printer icon
      1. This will open a new browser tab containing nothing but the receipt and will automatically prompt your computer to print the page.

Discounts and Coupons

The ’21 version of ArcanePOS supports coupon codes on our mobile app but not on our web UI.  This feature is expected by end of Q1 ’22.  In the interim, the simplest solution for providing discounts via the web UI is to use a Miscellaneous Charge with a negative amount.