I’m trying to collect the payment from the customer paying over the phone, but it’s not letting me accept credit cards

It's good to see you here, Billy.

Let's ensure you can accept your customer's payments via credit card.

The declined customer payment through credit cards is caused by many common issues, such as authorization problems or missing info. 

These are the things we'll need to check if you enter the credit card info manually:

• Ensure the credit card number and verification code are correct. Most credit card numbers are 16 digits long. Americal Express (AMEX) cards are 15 digits long.
• Cards like Visa, Mastercard, and Discover cards, have 3 digit code on the back of the card. For AMEX, it has a 4-digit code on the front of the card.
• Ensure there are no special characters or spaces in the credit card number or other data fields. 
• Use the customer's address from the US USPS website.

If you have a payments account and your customer is utilizing special commercial codes for credit cards, update your industry type from the Merchant Service Center. This allows you to process commercial codes.

Here's how:

1. Sign in to the Merchant Service Center. From the homepage, click the Account-Account Profile.
2. Select Edit in the Account Holder/Business Information section.
3. Type in the last 4 digits of your business Tax ID number or SSN and pick Submit.
4. Change the Industry Type.
5. After choosing a Reason for the account change, click Submit.

Check out this article for more info: Fix customer's declined credit card payments.

If you want to learn how to input credit card payments, feel free to read this article: Record your payments to credit cards in QuickBooks Online.

For additional questions about processing payments through credit cards, leave a reply below. We'll be willing to lend a hand. Keep safe. and have a good one.