There are numerous variations that are available for using PayPal and other methods. Will & Tony & others have described several. I have successfully used another variation for the last year or so. Since I use Outlook as my e-mail client then I downloaded a PayPal applet that places a “Payment Request Wizard” in my Outlook toolbar. I have a standard form I use to generate an e-mail to my client then I use the Wizard to plop in a little icon that has the invoice details embedded. See the example here: .
The client receives the e-mail, reads the instructions and clicks the icon. The page they get looks like this: . You’ll notice, in the middle it says “If you currently do not have a PayPal account Click Here”.
The client does that and gets a page that looks like this to enter their CC (Visa, M/C, Discover, American Express) information but they do not need to open a PayPal account: . Now, of course, I have to have one to make all this work but that’s obvious I think.
Once the CC is accepted the funds are placed into my PayPal account and I receive an e-mail confirming payment has been received. It is my responsibility to check for that e-mail prior to sending the report. I have to admit that it’s harder to explain the process than it is to do it. Anyway, this method has worked very well for me and I’m happy with it. As others have stated, PayPal charges 3% period, no other charges for anything. I transfer my PayPal money to my business account, again no charge, probably about once a week.
PayPal isn’t necessarily 3% period. My rate is lower, probably due to the type of account I have.
I wasn’t able to use any of the links in the previous two posts to test them out, but apparently one can set up an invoicing system that might not require the Client to open an account. However, if one doesn’t use invoices, and just advertises that Clients can pay through PayPal, then they do need to open an account using their email address.
I know.
That’s why I was not able to use any of the links.
So I was unable to confirm that one didn’t need to have a PayPal account to use your system.
The system you have set up does look intriguing, though. I might explore it further and see what happens. Under the current system I’m using (which is PayPal’s default system), the Client would need to open an account using their email address–see the screen shot of PayPal’s “Send Money–1,2,3” that I posted earlier. Note that Step 1 is “Sign up for a PayPal account.” I haven’t discovered any way around Step 1 so far.
Paypal has an online credit card terminal and you can enter the CC info through it. We added a section to our customer information worksheet and the office manager can take the information on the phone when they book or I can take it onsite when they announce they forgot there checkbook.
We just signed up for it and did our first transaction on Friday. Can’t tell you whether its good or bad yet but they do not charge a terminal lease or rental fee which is a big savings in my book.
I use the same as Michael. It has worked well for me. I also just signed up for the virtual terminal (what Rick is speaking of). It has a 20 dollar monthly fee. So far it has worked well. I really like having the payment before leaving home. At my last inspection on Friday the seller decided that he didn’t want to sell the house. The seller paid my cancellation fee by credit card. I probably would not have gotten paid if I was not able to take his card info on site.
I went into my Account page and there is apparently 3 types of accounts. Personal, Premier, and Business. The Personal is pretty basic with very little options or features. The only difference between the Premier and Business feature wise is the Business allows multiple users. I have the Premier account cuz I am the only user, no sense in upgrading to Business.
Bill called me one day after I criticized him and his practices of spamming me…he sounds like a very honest man trying to make a living, I apologized to him for being short w/ him before and I think he was very sincere in his efforts to get these machines in our hands.
I am considering one for my other business…I spend a lot of time in that business in the metropolis instead of the boonies and the cool factor is something to be considered…it is only 4 bucks more per month than my terminal in my office…and the rates are almost exactly the same.
As for the HI business…I will stay w/ what I have because it is integrated with HG and works well for me…
As a comparison, the company I am with currently is a virtual terminal setup. I have been consistantly paying around $26 in fees plus the percentage on the charges. I am unhappy with the fact that the fees are very nondescript and confusing. While the service works and I have had no problems with it, it is very basic and does nothing to go above and beyond.
I have to call and see about getting out of my contract. I was told that I could get out if they raised my percentage rate, which they just did (though they tried to make it hard to tell and did not clearly disclose that they were doing so.)
I think I will give the Paypal thing a try. Even if I upgrade to the $20 virtual terminal option, I still save money. I really like the idea of mainly having people enter their own info and never handling their credit cards numbers. I will definately not leave the money in a Paypal accessible account becasue of my past personal experience with them. But transferring weekly is not a big deal.
Thanks for the input and valuable information on the thread.
I have passed on one check that has been bounced for a small mistake, My credit one account suspended for no reason, I send a formal complaint to credit one bank email and in response, they say that if you hadn’t used the card we can cancel, suspend at any time without any reason. I bet the Credit card machine is best for instant payments as it is also portable and easy to shift around. so a reliable credit card machine to take payments is key to keeping everything running smoothly especially protect against fraud.