PayTrace Odoo Integration: Our New Card Payment Module

The module is for companies that sell in the United States and take payments in US dollars with a PayTrace account. This article explains what the PayTrace module for Odoo does, the Odoo flows we tested one by one, and how to get started.

Why connect PayTrace to Odoo

PayTrace is widely used by US companies that bill other businesses: distributors, manufacturers, service providers. Their customers often pay with a business card, and PayTrace can pass on the order details that lower the processing fees on those cards.

Until now, taking PayTrace payments with Odoo meant keying them into the PayTrace Virtual Terminal, then recording them again in Odoo. With the module, everything happens in Odoo.

PayTrace card checkout in Odoo

The card number never goes through your Odoo database: it is typed at PayTrace. Your scope under PCI DSS, the card data security standard, stays as small as it can be.

The cards we tested are Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover. Diners Club and JCB are recognised too, if your PayTrace account accepts them.

Capture and refunds from Odoo

• Charge when you ship: the card is only authorized at order, and you collect the amount when the goods leave, in one click. You can also release the authorization if the order is cancelled.
• Refund in full or in part, from the payment in Odoo, without logging into PayTrace. The refund is linked to the original payment, which makes reconciliation easy.
• Charge a saved card: your accountant pays an invoice with the card the customer saved, without ever typing a card number.
• Send order details to PayTrace for business cards (tax, order lines, shipping), known as Level 2 and Level 3 data, if your PayTrace account is enabled for them. This is what earns lower fees on those cards.

One PayTrace rule worth knowing: until a payment is settled, usually on the next business day, it can only be cancelled in full. Odoo does it for you and explains why a partial refund has to wait.

Every Odoo payment flow, tested with PayTrace

A payment module is not only for the online shop. Odoo takes payments in many apps, and each one has its own flow. We tested all of them end to end, with real card payments in the PayTrace test environment:

• the online shop, for guests and signed-in customers;
• payment links sent from a quotation or an invoice, for all or part of the amount;
• the customer portal, even without the Website app: quotation sign and pay, down payments, invoices;
• invoice installments and paying all overdue invoices at once;
• subscription renewals charged on the saved card;
• the donation form, online payment of Point of Sale orders and paid appointments.

A PayTrace module built to never charge twice

With card payments, the worst cases are a double charge, or a payment the bank approved but Odoo never recorded. The module was written for exactly those cases:

• a double click or a second form submission never charges the card twice;
• if PayTrace does not answer in time, the payment is not sent again: Odoo looks it up at PayTrace and updates the order on its own;
• every approval is checked against the Odoo amount: if the bank approves only part of it, the payment is cancelled and nothing is charged;
• PayTrace credentials are visible to administrators only and never written to the logs.

Install the PayTrace module in Odoo

The module is available for Odoo Community and Enterprise, on the Odoo Apps Store. Setup takes a few minutes:

1. install the module from the Apps menu;
2. in PayTrace, create a user dedicated to Odoo and note its credentials;
3. in Odoo, open the PayTrace payment provider, enter the credentials and test the connection;
4. run your trials in test mode, then go live;
5. choose whether customers can save their card, whether payments are collected at shipping and whether order details are sent.

PayTrace and Odoo: frequently asked questions

Can I take payments in euros with PayTrace?

No. PayTrace processes payments in US dollars. The module is only offered on price lists and websites in dollars. To sell in euros in France, look at the bank solutions we compare in Monetico, CAWL or Axepta.

Does the module work on Odoo Online?

No. It is a third-party module, which Odoo Online does not accept. It runs on Odoo.sh or on your own server.

Are subscriptions supported?

Yes. With the Odoo Subscriptions app, each renewal is charged on the card the customer saved, with nothing to do on your side.

Can you set it up for us?

Yes. We install the module, connect it to your PayTrace account and run a full payment with you, from order to refund, before going live.