# Authorize now, capture what you deliver

[Charge now or authorize first](https://devportal.qa.winkpg.io/docs/decide/charge-now-or-authorize-first.md): Whether to take the money in the same request as the approval, or hold the funds and capture them when you deliver.

Hold the funds when the customer orders, and take only what you actually shipped.

**Your answers so far**

- When do you deliver what the customer paid for? Within a few days of the order.
- Can the final amount change before you deliver? It stays the same, or it can only go down.

**What to build**

Create the transaction with the Authorization type when the customer orders. When you ship, send a Capture on the operations endpoint for the amount you delivered. A capture for less than the authorization releases the rest of the hold, so an out-of-stock line never reaches the customer's statement as a charge followed by a refund.

**Worth knowing**

- An authorization is captured once. Capturing less than you authorized releases the rest of the hold, and a second capture for the remainder is refused.
- A hold expires on its own if nothing captures it. The card networks and the issuer set how long it lasts, and it's days rather than weeks, so capture as soon as you deliver.
- To cancel an order you haven't shipped, cancel the authorization rather than capturing and refunding it.

**Where to go next**

- [Authorize now, capture later](https://devportal.qa.winkpg.io/docs/blueprints/authorize-now-capture-later.md)
- [Transaction lifecycle and settlement](https://devportal.qa.winkpg.io/docs/guides/transaction-lifecycle-and-settlement.md)
- [Run an operation on a transaction](https://devportal.qa.winkpg.io/docs/api/transactionOperationsExecuteOperation.md)

- [Start over](https://devportal.qa.winkpg.io/docs/decide/charge-now-or-authorize-first.md): go back to the first question.

## See also

- [All documentation](https://devportal.qa.winkpg.io/llms.txt): the machine-readable index of every public page on this site.