What do Payment Method Groups actually do?
I see where they are set up in TR_PMT_METHOD_GROUP and I see where they are associated to specific payment methods, but what are they functionally doing? Where else do they show up and why?
Speaking only for how we use them, we currently have 3 internal payment method groups and then groups for our resident companies (sub-licensees). We have one group of payment methods for our Box Office/Development (e.g. the "in person" payment methods), another group for our payment methods that are processed online, and a third group of payment methods for our "billing" payment methods for the regular billing things we need to do (which is honestly not that much). And, just like Heath Wilder, I am sure part of this is also related to our use of multiple Merchant IDs. We then also have additionals for each of our sub-licensees, just to keep them separate.
We will be moving to TMS in the next 3-6 months, and it is likely many of our payment method decisions will be re-evaluated (e.g. the multiple merchant IDs), but this is where we are right now.
I am not sure that having all the groups has been specifically NECESSARY, but it HAS helped in reporting and troubleshooting. We have a custom report for reconciliation of resident company and rental events that includes credit card processing fees which are different for different organizations. Additionally, when trying to figure out chargeback nonsense (death to chargebacks!), it has been helpful to be able to compare online transactions to in person transactions. But all of this is probably academic at best.
John A. Moskal II
Yep of course. It's necessary for reconciliation. Here we have 4 (Credit Card, Cash/Cheque, Gift Voucher, EFT) with only Credit Card having a Merchant ID as it's the only one taking actual transaction dollars through it. If our EFT (EMV) was integrated, then it would also need a Merch ID.