Nagesh Koritala

Learn Anatomy of a Checkout

Reference

Follow one order.

A $480 order traced day by day: where the money sits, from the first hold to the refund.

By Nagesh Koritala Reference Last verified: November 2026

All 16 pages in this guide
  1. Improve the checkout
  2. The checkout flow
  3. Authorization
  4. Payment states
  5. Capture
  6. Clearing and settlement
  7. Cash capture
  8. Returns and refunds
  9. Disputes
  10. Tokens and stored credentials
  11. Transaction types
  12. Complete reference
  13. Payments compliance
  14. Follow one order
  15. Where it breaks
  16. Payments dictionary

Here is everything at once. Same $480 order as lesson 5. Slide through the days and watch where the money sits. The numbers use a flat 2.5% fee for simplicity.

Where is the money?Day 0
Sources for this guide

Card network rules change. Time limits, fees, and authorization windows here reflect published rules and provider documentation as of late 2026; confirm details with your processor before you build against them.

Sources

Your progress stays on this device.

Next

Where it breaks.

Six common checkout failures, the symptom you will see in support tickets, and the design fix.

Open where it breaksAll lessons

Questions about payments? Email me. I read every note.

Where it breaks: a warning sign over a checkout step, with the fix beside it. ! The fixsymptom, then fix