Authorize.Net
Audience:
Low-code EngineersSkill Prerequisites:
Actions,Tokens,Authorize.Net account
The Authorize.Net add-on takes payments through the Authorize.Net payment gateway. Its actions charge a credit card or a bank account once, set up and change recurring subscriptions, refund payments, and send the user to a payment page that Authorize.Net hosts.
The add-on is installed separately as the DnnSharp.Authorize.Net package, and needs the AUTHORIZE feature in your license. If it isn't licensed, the actions fail with a "not licensed" error. If you don't see the Authorize Net actions, the add-on isn't installed.
Choosing an action
| Action | What it does | Use it to |
|---|---|---|
| Make a payment with Credit Card | Charges a card once from your server, then runs actions for approved, declined, held for review or error. | Charge an order total when a form is submitted, or authorize now and capture later. |
| Make a payment with Electronic Check | Debits a checking or savings account once through Authorize.Net eCheck, with the same four outcomes. | Let customers pay an invoice from their bank account. |
| Add a Simple Checkout to a button | Redirects the browser to an Authorize.Net Simple Checkout page for a fixed-price item. | Add a Buy Now button without card data ever reaching your site. |
| Create Subscription | Creates a recurring card subscription (Automated Recurring Billing) and returns its subscription ID. It can also run actions when Authorize.Net sends webhook notifications. | Start a monthly or yearly membership, optionally with a trial period. |
| Update Subscription | Changes the amount, card, billing details or number of payments of an existing subscription. | Replace an expired card or move a member to a different plan. |
| Refund a Transaction | Refunds all or part of a settled card or eCheck payment by its transaction ID. | Refund an order from an admin listing, form or API endpoint. |
On your site or on Authorize.Net?
- On Authorize.Net (Add a Simple Checkout to a button). The user pays on a page hosted by Authorize.Net. Card details never reach your site, but the price is fixed on the button in your Authorize.Net account, and nothing comes back to your site after the payment, so no actions run. It's only available in Forms and Listings.
- On your site (all the others). Your site collects the card or bank details and sends them from the server to Authorize.Net. You can charge any amount and run actions based on the result, but your site is in scope for PCI DSS. Use HTTPS, and don't save or log the card fields.
Credentials and the sandbox
- API Login ID and Transaction Key. Every action except Add a Simple Checkout to a button needs the API Login ID and Transaction Key of your Authorize.Net account. The parameters support tokens, so you can keep the keys in one place, such as tokens set earlier in the action list, instead of typing them into every action.
- Go Live. With Go Live off, requests go to the Authorize.Net sandbox, which only accepts sandbox credentials and test card numbers such as
4111111111111111. Turn it on, with your production credentials, only when you're ready to take real payments. Refunds and subscription updates must use the same environment as the original payment or subscription.
Saving IDs for later
The actions are linked by the IDs Authorize.Net returns, so save them with the order or user record:
- The transaction ID from the two payment actions is what Refund a Transaction needs.
- The subscription ID from Create Subscription is what Update Subscription needs.
What isn't covered
- Cancelling a subscription or voiding an unsettled payment. There are no actions for these. Do them in the Authorize.Net Merchant Interface.
- Recurring bank payments. Subscriptions only accept credit cards.
- Changing a subscription's billing interval. Authorize.Net doesn't allow it. Create a new subscription instead.
For other payment providers, see the Stripe and PayPal add-ons. For all add-ons, see Add-ons.
Revised 10/02/2026