Batch Auto-Settle vs Actual Settle Time in Lighthouse Transaction Manager

Description: Learn about the difference between the Batch Auto-Settle and the time it actually settles. The auto-settle time configured in Lighthouse Transaction Manager (LTM) is based on your local time zone and indicates whether the batch is placed in the auto-settle queue - it does NOT indicate an exact settlement time.

Note: Depending on the size of the queue and traffic, the actual settlement time may vary.

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If your account is set to the wrong time zone, this can cause the Auto-Settle to trigger at an unexpected or different time. Verify the Auto-Settle configuration by:

1. Log in to LTM (Account Administrator). 
2. Navigate to Settings > Auto Settle Settings.
3. Review the Auto Close Time, Second Close Time, Close Days, and Next Scheduled Run. 
   • Please note that batches will only settle on the days selected by checkmark. 
   • There should be no days unselected, unless specified by the verified owner of the account. 
4. Adjust fields as needed.
5. To apply the next scheduled run, check Recalc > Apply to register the next run time, then automatically update the next run time each time it processes a batch.
   

Internal Note:

The time set in LTM is when the batch is placed in the auto settle queue.  We stagger when the batch starts its preparation across the 23 servers that run the auto settle process in order to not overload the data center.  The server a particular merchant uses can be found by running a query in Splunk.  The following table can then be referenced to see what minute of the hour configured above that the batch preparation time will start.  

Server	Start time
S7-CF01	0:00
S7-CF02	0:06
S7-CF03	0:03
S7-CF04	0:18
S7-CF05	0:24
S7-CF06	0:30
S7-CF07	0:36
S7-CF08	0:42
S7-CF09	0:48
S7-CF10	0:54
S7-LTM-V01	0:25
S7-LTM-V02	0:25
S7-LTM-V03	0:30
S7-LTM-V04	0:30
S7-LTM-V05	0:35
S7-LTM-V06	0:35
S7-LTM-V07	0:40
S7-LTM-V08	0:40
S7-LTM-V09	0:45
S7-LTM-V10	0:45
S7-LTM-V11	0:50
S7-LTM-V12	0:50
S7-LTM-V13	0:55
S7-LTM-V14	0:00
S7-LTM-V15	0:05

We have 23 servers that run the autoclose process and to prevent them from causing a data centre outage by performing the very database heavy work of batch prep all at 00 minutes we stagger them across the hour

Further, that's when it does PREP, not when it actually closes. The prep process can take up to 55 minutes for an individual batch prep server to finish prepping all batches assigned to it for that hour.