Card terminal (ZVT)
Automate card payments at the register – the amount is sent directly to the card terminal instead of typing it in there
→ Open card payments in SimpliServ · Open registers in SimpliServ
You can connect a card terminal to SimpliServ so that the invoice amount appears on the terminal automatically at checkout. Your staff no longer type the amount in – that saves time and prevents transposed digits. SimpliServ uses the ZVT register interface for this, the standard widely used in Germany for connecting card terminals to registers.
How it works
SimpliServ runs in the browser and can't establish a direct network connection to a device on the local network from there. This task is handled – just like with direct printing – by the local service SimpliPrint:
Register (browser) → SimpliPrint → network → card terminal
When checking out with the card payment method, SimpliServ sends the amount to the terminal via SimpliPrint. The customer pays at the device, and only after the terminal approves is the sale booked and the receipt printed.
The card terminal and the receipt printer are two separate devices. You can use both independently of each other – a terminal without a receipt printer works just like a receipt printer without a terminal.
Prerequisites
For the connection to work, three things must be met. Experience shows the first point is the most important.
Have ZVT enabled by your payment provider
The register interface is usually not active out of the box on card terminals. It has to be enabled by your payment provider (network operator) for your terminal ID (TID).
Call your provider's service hotline – the number is usually on a sticker on the terminal. You find the TID in the device's standby display. Phrase the request like this:
"Please enable the register connection via the ZVT interface (TCP/IP) for this terminal ID."
While you're at it, ask whether there are costs for this and which IP address and port the terminal will use afterwards.
Switch the terminal to register mode
Many terminals are shipped in standalone mode, in which the amount is typed at the device. For the register connection, the device has to be switched to register mode / ZVT – usually in the menu under Operating mode. A merchant password is usually needed for this.
Additionally, the terminal needs a fixed IP address, so the address doesn't change on every restart. Depending on the provider, the network operator makes these settings.
Network and SimpliPrint
The terminal and the register computer must be on the same network, and the ZVT port must not be blocked by a firewall. SimpliPrint must be installed and running on the register computer.
→ Download SimpliPrint · more on this under Printers & label printing
Create the terminal in SimpliServ
Card terminals are managed under Settings → Documents & POS → Card payments.
→ Open card payments in SimpliServ
Add a terminal
Click Add terminal.
Choose ZVT terminal (LAN)
Pick the ZVT terminal (LAN) card at the top. The second card, SumUp Solo, is for SumUp devices – see SumUp.
Enter the connection details
Enter the details you got from your payment provider:
- Display name – e.g.
Card terminal register 1 - IP address – the terminal's fixed address on the network, e.g.
192.168.1.50 - Port – the terminal's ZVT port, usually
20007(some providers use21000) - Workstation label – only needed if you run several registers (see below)
Test the connection
Click Test connection. If the device responds, Terminal responded – connection works. appears.
The test only sends a ZVT registration to the terminal – no payment is started and nothing is printed. So you can safely repeat it at any time, also later via the action menu in the device list.
Save
Save the device. It must be active for the register to use it.
Card terminals do not appear under printers or in the scenario assignments. A terminal isn't a print target.
Paying at the register
Once an active terminal is stored, a card payment runs like this:
→ Open registers in SimpliServ
Choose the card payment method
Record the sale as usual and choose card as the payment method (shortcut F3).
The amount is sent
The Card payment window opens with the amount and the current status:
- Connecting to the terminal…
- Registering at the terminal…
- Please follow the instructions on the terminal…
The customer pays
Insert/tap the card, enter a PIN if needed – all of it happens at the terminal.
The sale is booked
After approval, Card payment approved. appears, the sale is booked and the receipt is printed – in that order.
For a split payment (several payment methods on one receipt), only the card share is sent to the terminal. The cash share is recorded as usual.
The same applies when you scan an order or invoice at the register and have it paid by card – there too the open amount is sent to the terminal. For a partial payment it's the amount currently being charged, not the total.
When the payment fails
If the card is declined or the terminal isn't reachable, the window shows the reason. You have three options:
| Action | Effect |
|---|---|
| Retry | The amount is sent to the terminal again. |
| Record without a terminal | The sale is booked as a card payment without the terminal being involved. Use this if the amount was charged separately at the terminal or it's currently down. |
| Cancel | The sale is not booked. |
Record without a terminal books the sale but performs no card payment. Only use it if the amount was actually charged another way – otherwise money is missing in the day-end reconciliation.
If you cancel a running payment via Cancel, SimpliServ asks the terminal to abort the transaction. The sale is then not booked.
Without a card terminal
If no payment terminal is stored (or it's set to inactive), nothing changes at the register: card payments are recorded as before, without a terminal window appearing. So the register works unchanged – whether or not a terminal is connected.
The same applies if SimpliPrint isn't running at the workstation: then the connection attempt reports an error, and you can still complete the sale via Record without a terminal.
Several registers and workstations
If you run several registers each with its own terminal, enter a workstation label for each device. SimpliServ then preferentially chooses the terminal whose label matches the current workstation. If there's no match, the first active terminal is used.
Limits
- Supported is the ZVT interface over TCP/IP. Terminals that speak only other protocols (e.g. TIM from Worldline, common in Austria) can't currently be connected. When in doubt, ask your provider whether ZVT is available for your device.
- Only the payment process is triggered via the terminal. Credit notes and cancellations are recorded in SimpliServ but not sent to the terminal automatically – you perform refunds separately at the terminal.
- The day-end (register close) at the terminal is independent of SimpliServ and still runs via the device or your provider.
- For mobile terminals with a Bluetooth base station, the register connection is, depending on the model, only possible via Wi-Fi, not via the base's network port.
Permissions
payment_terminals.view– needed to see the Card payments page.payment_terminals.manage– needed to create, edit, test or delete a terminal.
To check out itself you need no additional permission – card payment works for everyone allowed to sell at the register.
You manage roles and permissions under Users & roles.
Related topics
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