Union + VCCP

Category: Union

  • How Union Helps Protect Your Team’s Tips During an Internet Outage

    How Union Helps Protect Your Team’s Tips During an Internet Outage

    Internet outages frustrate every restaurant.

    Orders may slow down, payments may need extra attention, and managers have to keep the operation moving while waiting for service to return. But one concern deserves special attention: making sure employees receive proper credit for tips entered while the system is offline.

    Union’s Offline Tip Reconciliation report helps managers identify tips entered during an internet outage that may need a second review.

    What happens when the internet goes down?

    When a restaurant temporarily loses internet access, certain payment activity may be handled offline and synchronized later. During that period, a tip may be entered but require additional verification after the system reconnects.

    Without a clear report, managers may have to search through transactions manually or rely on handwritten notes and memory.

    Union gives managers a dedicated place to review these situations.

    Review offline tips from one report

    The Offline Tip Reconciliation report flags tips entered during an outage that may need attention.

    From the report, a manager can:

    • Identify tips entered while the system was offline
    • Review the related transaction
    • Determine whether a correction is needed
    • Rekey an eligible tip directly from the report
    • Complete the review within the available seven-day period

    This gives managers a more organized way to reconcile tip information after service is restored.

    Use “Hold Offline Transactions” during an outage

    Union also recommends turning on Hold Offline Transactions in the Payments settings during an internet outage.

    This setting gives tips an opportunity to synchronize before the transaction is finalized. It can help managers review the information while the details are still current.

    As with any outage procedure, managers should follow their restaurant’s operating policies and review the transaction carefully before making corrections.

    Important rekeying details

    Managers should understand how different payment types are handled.

    For credit-card transactions, a rekeyed amount is processed as a new charge. This means you should review the original transaction and the replacement charge carefully to avoid confusion or duplication.

    Apple Pay, Google Pay, and cash transactions are not eligible for this particular rekeying process.

    If you are unsure how to handle a transaction, contact Union support before making a correction.

    Why tip reconciliation matters

    Tips are not simply another line on a report. They represent the work and service your team provides.

    A reliable reconciliation process helps managers:

    • Reduce manual tracking
    • Identify transactions that need review
    • Correct eligible tip amounts promptly
    • Give staff greater confidence in the payment system
    • Maintain better records after an outage

    The goal is simple: make sure the tip information entered during service is reviewed and handled correctly after the system comes back online.

    A simple outage checklist for managers

    If your restaurant loses internet service:

    1. Follow your restaurant’s outage procedures.
    2. Consider enabling Hold Offline Transactions in Payments settings.
    3. Continue recording important operational information.
    4. When service returns, open the Offline Tip Reconciliation report.
    5. Review any flagged tips.
    6. Rekey eligible credit-card tips within the permitted seven-day period.
    7. Check the transaction history carefully because a credit-card rekey creates a new charge.
    8. Contact Union support if a transaction is unclear.

    Union helps managers stay organized when service is disrupted

    No restaurant can prevent every internet outage. But you can prepare for what happens next.

    Union’s Offline Tip Reconciliation report gives managers a more practical way to review tip activity after an outage and helps keep an unexpected technical problem from becoming a payroll or staff-trust problem.

    When your restaurant is busy, your team should focus on serving guests—not reconstructing tip information from memory.

    Have questions about Offline Tip Reconciliation or Union’s payment settings? Request a demo or contact Alan directly at (213) 841-9988.

  • Hello UNION. Nice to Meet You!

    Hello, my name is Alan, aka TofuAlan, and I love Merchant Processing! I know that’s a strange thing to be passionate about, but when you manage a boutique merchant services company, it’s a bonus when you LOVE your business!

    Since 2009, I have run a nonprofit that helps feed the homeless and hungry in Los Angeles. We are a bootstrapped volunteer organization, and every penny goes into creating resources, gathering socks and blankets, as well as making our signature product from scratch, a delicious vegan burrito. After all, our name is The Burrito Project!

    In the early days, I was appalled by the fees we were paying to accept credit card donations for The Burrito Project. Most companies were charging us upwards of 5% for the privilege of using their service. When we received a $100 donation, over $5 was gone in fees. Do you know how many more mouths I could feed with that extra $5??

    Knowing that I am a serial entrepreneur, one of the volunteers jokingly suggested that I start my own merchant service company and give The Burrito Project a better deal. That’s how Vegan Credit Card Processing was born.

    We have since rebranded to VCCP.biz, but our core values remain rooted in helping nonprofits thrive by creating symbiotic partnerships with our core business partners, restaurants, and bars.

    When I put on my other business hat, I specialize in designing restaurants and bars, helping them obtain their beer & wine, as well as full liquor licenses. I also provide them with their point-of-sale system and devices.

    When I visited many of my friends and business owners who owned restaurants and bars, I could see firsthand the challenges they faced in running their businesses. I made it my mission to find a POS that could solve as many of those challenges as possible.

    In February 2025, at the CardConnect Roadshow in San Diego, I met representatives from UNION for the first time. I was intrigued enough by their offerings that I accepted a bottle opener and their business card. I tossed both of them into my SWAG bag.

    Almost 6 months later, my wife asked if I had a bottle opener we could take to a picnic in the park. I dug through the swag bag, found the bottle opener, and my eyes settled on the UNION business card.

    I designed a basement bar in downtown LA, and just that week, the owner and I had a conversation about life, but we also had a quick chat about his business and a few growing pains he was having with his POS system. I booked a UNION demo for him, and he was blown away!

    As the agent, I sat in on the demo and could see firsthand the responses this frazzled bar owner had to the Union VOS and its numerous features. I realized right then, I had found the solution I was looking for.

    YES, it took me over 6 months to realize the answer I was looking for was already in my bag. I was like Dumbo looking for my magic feather when I had the power to fly all along. I don’t want you to waste any time either. Let’s schedule a demo for you so you can experience the MAGIC of the UNION Venue Operating System and see how it can revolutionize your customer engagement.

    You are the HERO in this story! I am your humble guide who found a solution that may work perfectly for you. A UNION EXPERT is standing by to show you the POWER your business holds.

    Thank you for reading this far, and I hope to learn more about you and your business. With a quick text, I can connect you with an expert who can answer all your questions.

    Cheers!

    Alan – (213) 841-9988