Smart Policies Troubleshooting

Scheduled payments (charges, authorizations, or captures) may fail to run for the following reasons:

1. Your payment gateway does not support automation

• CBPay supports all Smart Policy automations.
• Third-party gateways only automate the initial charge or authorization.
• No gateway connected means all actions must be processed manually.

2. A manual override was performed

Any staff-performed financial action disables future automation for that reservation. This includes:

• Manually charging any amount
• Charging earlier or later than scheduled
• Manually authorizing a card
• Manually capturing an authorization

3. The payment method failed

• Card was declined
• Card expired
• Issuing bank blocked the charge
• Authorization reversed by the bank

Staff should update the payment method and retry manually.

4. Reservation changes recalculated scheduled payments

• Stay dates were modified
• Room or rate plan changed
• Total reservation amount updated

This may shift or cancel previously scheduled payments.

5. Automation runs only at midnight

All Smart Policy automations run at 12:00 AM (midnight) local property time. Payments will not run during daytime hours.

Smart Policies calculate cancellation fees, but the charge may not process automatically for these reasons:

1. Your payment gateway does not automate cancellation charges

• Only CBPay automates cancellation fees and no-show penalties.
• Third-party gateway users must process penalties manually.

2. A manual override disabled automation

If any manual payment action occurred earlier in the reservation lifecycle, Smart Policy automation stops entirely. Cancellation charges will not run.

3. Guest canceled through the Guest Portal

Cancellations made in the Guest Portal do not trigger automation. Staff must apply fees manually.

4. The required cancellation fee equals the amount already collected

Example: guest prepaid 50%, cancellation fee is 50% → no additional charge is needed. This is expected behavior.

Smart Policies determine which payment methods appear during checkout.

Digital wallets and bank transfers appear only when:

• The guest pays the full amount at booking, OR
• The policy requires no future automated payments.

These options are hidden when:

• A remaining balance will be charged later
• A future authorization or capture is required
• Cancellation tiers may require new charges

This ensures a payment method capable of supporting future automated charges is provided.

If payment options disappeared unexpectedly:

Check whether the Smart Policy was recently updated to include:

• Additional scheduled payments
• Authorizations
• Cancellation tiers requiring payment collection

Refund automation depends on the gateway and reservation behavior.

1. Guest canceled through the Guest Portal

The Guest Portal does not trigger automated refunds. Staff must manually process them.

2. Third-party gateways do not automate refunds

Refund automation only works with CBPay. For all other gateways, staff must refund manually.

3. Manual overrides disabled automation

Any earlier manual financial action stops all Smart Policy automation, including refunds.

4. The guest had not paid more than the cancellation fee

If the fee equals or exceeds what the guest paid, no refund is required. This is normal behavior.

Manual overrides occur when staff take payment actions that bypass the Smart Policy automation. These actions disable all future automation for the reservation.

What counts as a manual override?

• Charging any amount manually
• Charging earlier or later than scheduled
• Manually authorizing a card
• Manually capturing an authorization
• Manually refunding

What happens after a manual override?

• Scheduled payments will no longer run
• Cancellation fees will not process automatically
• Refunds will not trigger automatically
• Your team must complete all remaining steps manually

How to avoid manual overrides

• Allow the system to run scheduled payments at midnight
• Update the payment method rather than charging early
• Train staff on what actions interrupt automation