If you have a PayPal Premier or Business account you can accept online payments from your clients using Express Checkout and, with API access enabled, automatically sync PayPal with your FreeAgent account.
Once fully set-up invoices can be automatically marked as paid and FreeAgent will show status updates for any invoices paid online using PayPal. If your clients don't have a PayPal account themselves, they'll be able to pay using a credit or debit card online.
If you have a PayPal Personal account you can still include a PayPal link in your invoice emails. PayPal Personal accounts can be upgraded to Premier or Business – visit PayPal for further details and information about fees.
Alternatively, you can also receive invoice payments online using GoCardless.
Paypal Integration Screencast
Setting up Automatic Feeds and Express Checkout
Step 1. Add your PayPal account in FreeAgent
- In the 'Banking' section select 'Add New' - 'Paypal Account'
- When adding your PayPal details check the 'This is a PayPal Business Account' option
Step 2. Grant FreeAgent API access through Paypal
Step 3. Select from the options in 'Advanced Set-up for PayPal Premier or Business Accounts'
- Select 'Enable Automatic Feeds' and 'Enable Express Checkout'
- Optionally select 'Guess Bank Transactions' if you want FreeAgent to add explanations to transactions as they’re imported
- Save the changes to your PayPal Account
Setting up your invoice
Step 1. Create an invoice
When you create an invoice you'll see the option to accept online payments using PayPal.
- When adding the invoice details select ‘Online payment options - PayPal’ and then create the rest of your invoice as normal
Step 2. Embed a payment link in your invoice
- When preparing to email your invoice include an [online_payment_link] tag in the body of the email. This will embed a payment link in the email that your client will receive.
How this works for your clients
When your client receives your invoice via email, they can follow the online payment link you previously added to your email copy. This will show them your invoice, along with the option to pay by PayPal.
If your client selects the PayPal button, they will be taken to PayPal where they can make a payment. They can either login and use their PayPal account, but can also pay through PayPal without an account using a credit/debit card.
Receiving payments
With API access/Express Checkout enabled, payments made to you are automatically reflected in your FreeAgent PayPal account, and your invoices will be automatically marked as paid once the payment has been received.
While payments are pending or being processed, FreeAgent will stop sending late payment reminders.
PayPal Invoice Payment Status
Once your client has made a payment using PayPal, viewing your invoice will show a payment status of 'Payment Processing'.
Once PayPal has processed the payment you'll see a 'Payment Received' status. If you’ve set up synchronization for your PayPal account your payment will be shown the next time your accounts are synced.
In the event that the payment fails you will see a 'Payment Failed' status. In this instance your client hasn't been charged and you need to get back in touch to ask them to attempt another payment.
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