CiviCRM Community Forums (archive)

Thanks for this post and update to the code.  I was running into an upgrade problem, posted here: http://forum.civicrm.org/index.php/topic,18190.0.html, but this solved it.  I upgraded to 3.3.3 from 3.3.2 and all is working again.

bmw:

in principle, i don't think it would be a good idea to use the iats.php from 3.3.5 in 3.2.5. I can't image why you'd want to...

intervals - the plugin code allows for weekly and monthly, that's what the api allows for.

re: how can you test the processor - i'm not sure what the question is, can you rephrase? Testing the recurring stuff is a problem, even with a live account, is an issue because the first payment won't go through til one interval has passed. But IATS gives you a web interface where you should see it sitting. See my notes here:

http://wiki.civicrm.org/confluence/display/CRMDOC33/IATS+Configuration

Hi Bruce:

1. 'User Name' question, okay, those are fields that CiviCRM require but aren't needed/used by IATS, so just recycle the other name type field.
2. Recurring payments. These are a complicated dance between CiviCRM and the payment processor, I don't think I can be clearer than I already have. BUT the documentation is now wrong about the first payment (i.e. 5. IATS will NOT process ..), I fixed this issue by postponing the initial transaction to the day after the payment information is submitted. To attempt another answer your other question - the first transaction will be recorded in CiviCRM, and the fact that it's supposed to recur is also recorded. All subsequent 'recurring' transactions will go through IATS, but CiviCRM won't get information about them, so they won't appear there unless you manually import them.

IATS will provide you with 2 codes, one ending 01, one ending 09. You need to use the 01 code if you want to do recurring payments, this is related to the cvv in a security kind of way.

Hello All!  Thanks for the great work and ongoing support with this module! 

I am wrestling with the IATS integration and was hoping to clarify a few things.  This is my first real Civi deployment and first time working with IATS.

Joomla 2.5.8, Civi v. 4.2.4, LAMP Server, all latest builds

I have IATS processor installed, and it's been successfully running transactions for events and one-time contributions.   

#1 - My first problem is selecting the recurring payments option when building the payment page.  When I select "Credit Card (IATS)" as my contribution page's payment processor, the "allow recurring payments" checkbox goes away.  Perhaps I'm using an outdated iats extension?  It appears as if iats.php contains "CiviCRM version 4.2" in the header of the php.

#1a - If I understand correctly, a pledge is NOT an automated recurring payment, but rather, scheduled reminders that require the end user to come back and make each subsequent payment?  I read a few of the other posts on this. 

#2 - Provided I can get recurring payments to be enabled...

To attempt another answer your other question - the first transaction will be recorded in CiviCRM, and the fact that it's supposed to recur is also recorded.

So this will show that someone's made a contribution and THAT it's recurring...  will this display the recurring schedule, # of occurrences,  with amounts due?  The accounting department would need to know this to project and reconcile future receivables.

All subsequent 'recurring' transactions will go through IATS, but CiviCRM won't get information about them, so they won't appear there unless you manually import them.

Is this a limit of IATS or Civi?  It seems like this is a crucial bit of information that should be coming back and forth for organizations that accept ongoing payments...
Is there a proven export/import process between IATS and Civi?   


#3 - Importing Pledges/Recurring Payments
The client has legacy customer contributions that still have payments left to be made (they were initiated through their previous crm).  Is it possible to import those into Civi, or do we even need to?  If ongoing donations are not recorded back to Civi, will IATS simply remember and continue processing those in future installments?

#4 - Perhaps unrelated to IATS, but is there a way to manually enter someone's credit card payment into Civi to initiate a recurring contribution?  E.g., take a donor phone call, they want to pay by CC  for a recurring donation?  Would that simply be entered in IATS terminal and then again in Civi to indicate that contact has donated?


I fear that my client will not be very flexible about changing either their crm system or payment processor at this point, so I'm very willing to fund possible development work to further evolve this integration.   

Thanks!

Thanks for the reply - I was tempted to start a new thread, sorry!

We do now have this setup and processing recurring payments - I appreciate all the hard work you've put in to this!

A couple notes from our end:
• We had to have IATS create a new account for us using the client code ending with 80 or 88
• When that was added as a new processor in Civi, we now see the option to select "allow recurring options" in the contribution page

#2 - I look forward to seeing the new version - please let me know if we can help! 
I haven't played much, but I understand the IATS portal has some decent reporting functions including all of the details of scheduled payments.  Out IATS rep told me this morning that they're also looking at further evolving the payment history and alternative views of the Customer DB.

#3 & 4 - These can also be added manually through the IATS terminal.  The customer DB allows admins to create new recurring profiles and charge the client's card without the CVV2

Thanks again!

Thanks for this, I hadn't looked through or considered the implications of this code wrt alternative recurring payment models.

Your code looks reasonable, but I really wouldn't have any useful input until I take a look at that file and understand how automatic recurring memberships are supposed work ...