Instead of processing credit card details yourself, you can integrate the E-Commerce system with PayPal's payment processing system.
In order to be able to do this, you should sign up for a PayPal account. It is recommended that you upgrade to Premier or Business Account status so that you will be able to accept credit card payments online.
Having familiarised yourself with PayPal's terms and conditions, you can then edit your product spreadsheet's Options sheet and, near the bottom, change the PayPal option from "disabled" to your PayPal ID (eg "you@youremailaddress.com").
Next, upload your modified spreadsheet, and return to the E-Commerce menu.
At the bottom of the menu there should now be an option which looks like this:
If you leave this set to "No", then the E-Commerce checkout will continue operating as usual - the customer will be asked for payment, and the payment details will be stored for you to verify.
Once you set this to "Yes" and click on the Store Changes button, however, PayPal will be used to verify payment details.
What this means is that when the customer goes to the checkout, they will be asked for a shipping address as usual, and they will then be shown a summary of their order. If they then confirm their order, they will be taken to PayPal's site and asked to provide payment details.
Once payment has been made, the customer will be brought back to your web site, and their order will appear in your New Orders listing (and you will be emailed a notification as usual). Payment will go to your PayPal account.
Some important things to be aware of:
- When you are viewing an order, pay close attention to the section marked "PayPal transaction history" at the bottom of the order details. There should only be one or two entries, marked as "Pending" or "Completed". If there are any other types of entry, such as "Reversed" or "Failed", read through the history carefully before deciding whether to ship to the customer.
- You will not be able to receive credit card payments unless you have upgraded your PayPal account to "Premier" or "Business" status. This is a fairly simple procedure and is recommended.
- Make sure your shipping cost is calculated correctly. In your PayPal Profile, go to Postage Calculations, and look at the bottom for the "miscellaneous" option Allow transaction-based delivery settings to override profile settings. Ensure the box is ticked so that your E-Commerce shipping calculations override those of PayPal.
- You can test your E-Commerce system by signing up for an additional PayPal account - their terms and conditions allow a Premier or Business account holder to have one additional "normal" account. Submit some test orders with this additional account, and then refund yourself using the PayPal refund system from your primary account - the PayPal fees are also refunded, so it won't cost you anything.
- If the customer clicks on Confirm Order but then does not pay (or their card is refused), you will not see the order and it will "time out" if unpaid after 28 days.
- To give a refund to a customer, whether partially or in full, use the PayPal refund system. To do this, find the relevant transaction in your PayPal account history, view its details, and click on the "Refund payment" link. See the PayPal web site's online help for details.
Finally, make sure your PayPal ID (email address) is correct in the E-Commerce spreadsheet. If it is not, payment will be sent to the wrong person.
