Overview

Batch Upload is a feature in Authorize.net that allows you to upload multiple transactions at once, rather than manually entering each transaction individually.

Batch Upload supports both charge and refund (credit) transactions, depending on the format and information provided in the uploaded file. Files must be in a .txt or .csv (comma-delimited) format.

This article applies to merchants using Authorize.net who need to configure, prepare, upload, and track batch transaction files. It also covers how to submit refund transactions via Batch Upload, troubleshoot common issues, and avoid file upload failures. For new experience (2.0) see: 

This article does not apply to transaction processing methods outside of the Batch Upload feature in the Authorize.net Merchant Interface.

Configuring Batch Upload Settings

Before uploading a batch file, configure your Batch Upload settings in the Merchant Interface to ensure your file format aligns with system expectations.

1. Sign in to the Merchant Interface.
2. Be on or switched to New Experience (2.0).
3. Click Payments in the left navigation.
4. Click Upload Transactions.
5. Click View/Edit Upload Settings.
6. Configure the following Upload Processing Information settings:
   • Email Customer — Indicate whether the payment gateway should send receipt email confirmations to customers for transactions submitted via an uploaded transaction file. Select Yes or No from the Email Customer drop-down list. If set to Yes, the payment gateway uses the customer email address provided with the transaction. If set to No, an email is not sent.
   • Apply Address Verification Service (AVS) Filter — Indicate whether the AVS filter should be applied to transactions submitted via upload. Select Yes or No from the Apply AVS Filter drop-down list. If set to Yes, AVS rules are applied to all transactions submitted via the upload file, and transactions that fail AVS validation are not sent for settlement. If set to No, the AVS filter is not applied.
   • Apply Card Code Filter — Indicate whether to apply Card Code Verification (CCV) to transactions submitted via upload. Select Yes or No from the Apply Card Code Filter drop-down list. If set to Yes, CCV is applied to all transactions submitted via upload, and transactions that fail CCV are not sent for settlement. If set to No, CCV is not applied.
   • Default Field Separator — Select the character that separates each piece of data in the upload file, marking where one field ends and the next begins. Select the delimiting character from the Default Field Separator drop-down list. To use a custom field separator, leave the drop-down list empty and enter the desired character in the text field.
   • Field Encapsulation Character — Select the character that encloses each field on both sides. This prevents issues where the Default Field Separator character appears within a field value (for example, when a comma is both the separator and a character used in an address). Select the default encapsulation character from the Default Encapsulation Character drop-down list. To use a custom encapsulation character, leave the drop-down list empty and enter the desired character in the text field.
   • Field Inclusion and Order — Select which fields to exclude from the upload file. Re-order fields as needed if the software generating the batch file has its own format requirements.
7. Click Save at the bottom of the page to save your settings.

Preparing Your Batch Upload File

Create a file of transactions to upload by exporting transactions from another program, such as a database or a spreadsheet application like Microsoft Excel, or by writing a program to construct the file. The file must be in a .txt or .csv (comma-delimited) format.

Handling Empty Fields

When constructing a batch file, fields that have no information for a particular transaction must still be represented with the delimiting characters, with no characters between the delimiters. For example, if a file requires three fields but information is only available for the first and third fields, assemble the transaction as:

field1,,field3

Do not omit the field entirely, as this will cause formatting errors.

Avoiding Credit Card Number Rounding in Excel

Excel may round credit card numbers, which causes invalid credit card number errors. If you are using Excel to assemble a batch upload file, designate the credit card number column as text before importing data:

1. Right-click the credit card number column before importing.
2. Select Format Cells.
3. Choose Text.

Once the file is assembled and stored on your local machine, it can be given any file name and extension that is meaningful to you.

Transaction Format Codes

Use the correct transaction format codes when constructing your file:

Uploading Your Batch File

Once your file is prepared and saved on your local machine, upload it through the Merchant Interface:

1. Sign in to the Merchant Interface.
2. Be on or switched to New Experience (2.0).
3. Click Payments in the left navigation.
4. Click Upload Transactions.
5. Click Upload Transaction File.
6. In the pop-up window, click Browse.
7. Navigate to and select the file to upload, then click Open.
8. Verify the file is listed in the pop-up window.
9. Click Upload to start processing the upload.

Tracking Your Batch File Status

To find status information for batch files that have been uploaded, navigate to the Upload Transactions section of your Merchant Interface and click View Status of Uploaded Transaction Files.

The status screen displays:

• The system internal file ID for the file
• The date and time the file was uploaded
• The number of transactions in the file
• The current status of each of the four phases of processing: File Upload, Data Formatting, Transaction Processing, and Receipt Emailing
• The elapsed time of file processing

Submitting Refund (Credit) Transactions via Batch Upload

Batch Upload supports refund (credit) transactions. For more information, see: How to Use Batch Upload to Submit Credit Transactions? – Classic Experience (1.0)

Troubleshooting Batch Upload

If you encounter issues with a batch upload, follow these steps:

1. Ensure the field order and field separator in your settings match those used in the batch upload file.
2. Confirm you accept all card types included in the upload.
3. Verify there is a field separator between each transaction.
4. Use a carriage return to indicate a new transaction. This is one of the few non-printable characters allowed in a batch upload file.
5. Submit fields in the order designated in your transaction batch upload settings once the format is correctly configured.

Allowed Non-Printable Characters

The only non-printable characters allowed in a batch upload file are:

• Backspaces
• Tabs
• Newlines
• Carriage returns

Any non-printable characters other than those listed will cause an error when attempting to upload your file.

What Causes Upload Files to Fail

When constructing your batch file, ensure you do not include any non-printable characters beyond the four allowed types. Avoid including any of the following:

• Executable file extensions
• Structured Query Language Injection (SQLi) characters, such as < or >
• Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) content

Error Messages

The following table describes common error messages, their causes, and recommended resolutions: