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Author: Kristenson, Joel
Last Updated: 2017-02-15
Overview
This article walks through the steps to put your database merchant gateway into TEST MODE so that you can run test donations, memberships, and ticket/product sales with a fake credit card number to verify everything is in place i.e. auto-responder emails, redirect pages, email notifications, etc.
Tip: Don’t have a merchant gateway setup yet with your Trail Blazer database? Click here to view the full list of merchants that we integrate with. Contact us if you have questions on which one will best suit your organizations needs and budget (1-866-909-8700).
Steps
Here’s an example of a donation page that’s currently active (no red warning at the top):
Here’s an example donation page in test mode (red warning text at the top):
To put your merchant gateway into test mode you’ll start by navigating Payment Gateway under the Application Menu. This requires security clearance.
Select the radio button for (No Gateway) Enable For Testing and then [Save and Close].
Navigate to Website Configuration under the Application Menu.
Click the blue link in the upper-right for ‘Click here to refresh your web pages using updated specifications’.
Click [OK] to proceed if you’re %100 sure you want to put your merchant gateway into test mode.
Click [OK] again once you’re prompted.
You can now run a test donation or membership/event purchase with a fake credit card. In my example I ran a test donation as shown below.
Some of things you can verify through this process are:
- The redirect page
- Email notifications to your database users
- That the email auto-responder looks how you want
- That data posts your database correctly
- The auto-responder email and receipt are coming from the email address that you want
The example donation I did is below after it posted to the database:
Whether you tested a purchase on the event/membership system or a test donation you’ll likely want to purge the data afterwards:
- Delete a purchase order
- To delete a donation, open it and click the red [x] at the top (if using the nonprofit version) OR highlight the row within the contributor’s record card and click the [Delete] button (if using the political version)
Once you’ve thoroughly tested your transactions you can turn the merchant gateway back on in the Payment Gateway area.
Select your merchant option and save-and-close.
Navigate to Website Configuration and click the blue hyperlink in the top-right to refresh your settings.
The related resources below provide links to many other articles and videos related to this topic.
Related Resources
Article: How to Create a Custom Redirect Thank-You Page for your Donation Form(s) that Automatically Populates the Donor’s First Name and the Donation Amount they Gave – Advanced Feature
Article: Custom Donation Amounts for Non-Primary Donation Pages – List of All Configurable Donation Page URL Options
Article: How to Configure Recurring Donation Options for your Trail Blazer Donation Form (must be using either Vanco Services or Authorize.Net as your Merchant Gateway)
Article: How to Enable ACH (E-Check) Payments with the Vanco Merchant Gateway on Trail Blazer’s Donation Form
Article: Modify your Donation Form – Change the Amounts – Add Descriptions – Add & Remove which Amounts Display
Article: Linking your Website to your Database with Configurable iFrame Forms
Article: Configure Website (iFrames)
Article: How to Put your Trail Blazer Donation Form on your Facebook Page
Article: Email Notification of Web Occurrences
Article: Iframe tags for stylesheets
Article: Web site signup < iframe >
Article: Configure Website – Legacy Article
Article: How to Activate your Anedot Merchant Gateway with Trail Blazer – Configuring the API Credentials Correctly
Video: Donation Auto Responders with Merge Fields
Video: iFrames
Video: Contribution Online – Change Default $ Donation Amounts
Video: Attributes – Add To Donation Page
Website: List of Trail Blazer Merchant Gateway Options
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