Chapter 5: Recording Transactions and Processing Payments

Welcome: Accurate payment processing is a core part of every shift. This chapter covers the three payment streams you will encounter daily — card transactions, cash, and loyalty or fleet card programmes — and how to handle each one correctly and securely.

What You Will Cover

• Topic 1 — POS and Card Payments: Operating the point-of-sale terminal, processing debit and credit card transactions, and handling declined cards professionally.
• Topic 2 — Cash Handling and Safety: Counting cash accurately, giving correct change, identifying counterfeit notes, and following cash security protocols.
• Topic 3 — Loyalty and Fleet Cards: How loyalty programmes and fleet accounts work, how to swipe and process them, and what to do when a card or account is rejected.
• Video Lecture: A Chapter 5 demonstration of POS operations and cash handling best practices at the pump.

What to Watch For

• ⚠️ Overcharging and undercharging are both serious errors — the POS topic walks through double-checking the amount before confirming every transaction.
• ⚠️ Cash shortages come out of your till — watch closely how the cash handling topic demonstrates the “count twice, hand once” principle.
• ⚠️ Fleet cards have specific authorisation steps — note the difference between a personal loyalty swipe and a fleet account transaction that requires a PIN or odometer reading.