User Guide
Learn how to use Auto Capture to streamline your BigCommerce order management and automate payment processing.
Dashboard Overview
The Dashboard is your central hub for monitoring order automation performance. It provides real-time insights into your order processing and payment capture activities.
Key Metrics
- Total Business Revenue: The total value of all orders processed through your store in the selected time period.
- Auto-Captured Revenue: The total value of payments that were automatically captured by the app.
- Automation Rate: The percentage of orders that had an automated action performed (status update or payment capture).
Time Period Selector
Use the period selector at the top right to view statistics for different time ranges:
- Today
- This Week
- This Month
- This Quarter
- All Time
Automation Features
Auto Order Status Update
Automatically change order status when new orders are created
How It Works
When a new order is placed on your store, Auto Capture can automatically update its status to a target status of your choosing. This is useful for streamlining your workflow and triggering other automations.
Configuration
- Go to Settings in the sidebar
- Find the "Auto Order Status Update" section
- Toggle the switch to enable the feature
- Select your desired Target Status from the dropdown
- Click Save Settings
Common Use Cases
- Move new orders from "Pending" to "Awaiting Fulfillment" automatically
- Set orders to "Awaiting Payment" for manual review before processing
- Standardize incoming order statuses for consistent reporting
Auto Payment Capture (Status-Based)
Capture authorized payments when orders reach a specific status
How It Works
When an order's status is changed to your configured trigger status, Auto Capture will automatically attempt to capture the authorized payment. This is ideal for capturing payments after manual review or when items are ready to ship.
Configuration
- Go to Settings in the sidebar
- Find the "Auto Payment Capture (Status-Based)" section
- Toggle the switch to enable the feature
- Select the Trigger Status that should initiate capture
- Click Save Settings
Important: This feature only works with payment methods that support "Authorize Only" mode. Orders with already-captured payments or payment methods that don't support authorization will be skipped.
Common Use Cases
- Capture payment when order is moved to "Awaiting Shipment"
- Capture payment after manual fraud review (status change to "Awaiting Fulfillment")
- Capture payment when order is marked as "Completed"
Auto Payment Capture (Inventory-Based)
Capture payments for new orders when all items are in stock
How It Works
When a new order is created, Auto Capture checks the inventory levels of all items in the order. If everything is in stock, the payment is automatically captured. If any items are out of stock, the capture is skipped and logged.
Configuration
- Go to Settings in the sidebar
- Find the "Auto Payment Capture (Inventory-Based)" section
- Toggle the switch to enable the feature
- Optionally enable "Treat No-Track as In Stock"
- Click Save Settings
Inventory Tracking Options
- Product-Level Tracking: Checks the product's inventory level against the ordered quantity.
- Variant-Level Tracking: Checks the specific variant's inventory level that was ordered.
- No Tracking: By default, products without inventory tracking are considered out of stock. Enable the sub-option to treat them as in stock.
Email Notifications
Stay informed about your automation activities with email notifications. Configure which team members receive notifications for different events.
Notification Types
- Capture Success: Sent immediately when a payment is successfully captured, including order details and amount.
- Capture Failed: Sent when a capture attempt fails, with details about the reason so you can take manual action.
- Daily Digest: A summary email sent at your preferred time with all automation activities from the past 24 hours.
Managing Recipients
To add or manage email recipients:
- Go to Settings in the sidebar
- Scroll to the Email Notifications section
- Add email addresses and select which notification types each should receive
- For daily digest, configure the preferred delivery time and timezone
- Click Save to update recipients
Billing & Subscription
Manage your subscription, view usage, and update payment information from the Billing page.
Subscription Plans
| Plan | Price | Included Orders | Overage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $29/mo | 300 | $0.12/order |
| Growth | $79/mo | 1,500 | $0.07/order |
| Pro | $179/mo | 5,000 | $0.04/order |
| Enterprise | $299/mo | 15,000 | $0.02/order |
Managing Your Subscription
- View Usage: See your order count for the current billing period and historical trends.
- Change Plan: Upgrade or downgrade your plan based on your needs. Changes take effect immediately.
- Manage Subscription: Click this button to open the Stripe billing portal where you can update payment methods, view invoices, or cancel.
Activity Log
The Activity Log shows a detailed history of all automation events, including successful actions, skipped orders, and any errors encountered.
Event Types
- Success: The automation completed successfully (payment captured or status updated).
- Skipped: The order didn't meet the criteria for automation (e.g., items out of stock, status doesn't match trigger).
- Error: An error occurred during processing. Review the error message and take manual action if needed.
- Ignored: The order was ignored because it's not a real/actionable order (incomplete, cancelled, refunded, etc.).
Use the Activity Log to troubleshoot issues, verify automations are working correctly, and understand why specific orders were or weren't processed.
Orders View
The Orders page displays all orders processed by Auto Capture, with details about what actions were taken on each order.
Order Information
Each order entry shows:
- Order ID
- Order Status
- Order Total
- Customer Email
- Payment Method
- Action Taken
- Captured Amount
- Processing Date
Click on any order to see detailed information about why specific actions were taken or skipped.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will Auto Capture work with my payment gateway?
Auto Capture works with any payment gateway that supports "Authorize Only" mode, including Stripe, Braintree, PayPal (PayPal Powered by Braintree), Authorize.net, and others. If your gateway only supports immediate capture, the payment capture features will not be applicable, but you can still use the auto status update feature.
What happens if a capture fails?
If a capture attempt fails (e.g., card declined, authorization expired), Auto Capture will log the error and optionally send an email notification to your configured recipients. You can then manually capture the payment through BigCommerce or contact the customer.
Can I use multiple automation features together?
Yes! You can enable all three automation features simultaneously. For example, you could have new orders automatically move to "Awaiting Fulfillment," capture payments for in-stock orders immediately, and capture remaining payments when orders are manually moved to "Awaiting Shipment."
What orders are ignored by Auto Capture?
Auto Capture automatically ignores orders with the following statuses, as they are not considered real or actionable orders:
- Incomplete (abandoned checkouts)
- Pending (checkout not completed)
- Refunded
- Cancelled
- Declined
- Disputed
- Partially Refunded
How does the 7-day free trial work?
When you first select a subscription plan, you get full access to all features for 7 days without being charged. At the end of the trial, your subscription automatically begins and your payment method is charged. You can cancel anytime during the trial to avoid charges.
What happens if I exceed my included orders?
If you process more orders than your plan includes, you'll be charged the overage rate for each additional order at the end of your billing period. For example, on the Starter plan ($29/mo with 300 orders), processing 350 orders would add 50 × $0.12 = $6.00 in overage charges to your monthly bill.
Can I change my plan at any time?
Yes, you can upgrade or downgrade your plan at any time from the Billing page. Plan changes take effect immediately. When upgrading, you'll be prorated for the remainder of your billing period. When downgrading, the new rate applies to your next billing period.
Is my data secure?
Yes, we take security seriously:
- All data is encrypted in transit (TLS) and at rest
- OAuth tokens are securely stored and never exposed
- We use minimal API permissions required for functionality
- Webhook signatures are verified for authenticity
- Sessions use secure, HTTP-only cookies
For more details, please read our Privacy Policy.
Need More Help?
Can't find what you're looking for? Our support team is here to help with any questions about Auto Capture.