PayPal is the one of the premier systems for sending and receiving online payments. Many online businesses use the website as a resource for secure payment transfers, and, more recently, small companies use PayPal as their primary method of invoicing. This tutorial will walk you through creating and sending invoices using PayPal’s website with your personal account, and through its business mobile app, PayPal Here, with your business account.
Sending invoices online
To send an invoice using PayPal’s online system, sign into your account and navigate to the “Send & Request” page. This page can be accessed from the home “Account Details” page, on the top navigation bar. Once on the “Send & Request” page, click the link for “Create an Invoice” which will appear in the box labeled “Request Money.”
This will take you to a page titled, “Manage Invoices,” where you’ll be able to see the invoices you’ve created.
Business information setup
Before creating a new invoice, hover over “Settings” in the page’s secondary navigation bar, and select “Business Information.” Here, you’ll be able to add a company logo, and change the name, address, and phone number that will appear on all invoices. If you’re sending invoices from your personal account, complete this step first; otherwise, the personal contact information you’ve provided PayPal will be used.
Template creation
One of the best features of PayPal Invoice is that you’re able to create templates. This is especially helpful if you have multiple businesses, or if you have common orders. To create a template for your order, select “Templates” from the “Settings” dropdown menu, then click the “Create a New Template” button.
Here, you can add a company logo, define the net payment terms, list the terms and conditions and add a note to the recipient. If your company accepts tips or partial payments, it’d be best to select those options here, as these sections are usually uniform for all orders. If your company has a best-selling item or is hosting a promotion, adding these items to custom templates saves time in the invoice-creation process. Name your invoice and remember to select the template you plan to use most as your default.
Create the invoice
Once you’ve saved your template, navigate to the “Create Invoice” page, then select the appropriate template from the dropdown. Now, you can enter the unique details of your invoice: the bill-to email address, an invoice number for accounting purposes, and the items and descriptions.
Before sending your invoice, be sure to select “Preview” to review the information. Pay special attention to your business information, and ensure that your company’s information (not your personal contact information) is listed. Verify the customer address, item descriptions, and total amount, then select “Send.” You’ll be taken back to the “Manage Invoices” pages, where you can view the status of the invoice, and send reminders to the customer.
Sending invoices from your phone
If you’re interested in accepting payments using the PayPal Here Mobile Card Reader and its accompanying PayPal Here app–not to be confused with the PayPal mobile app–you’ll need a business account. Download the app on your phone and sign in. If you don’t already have a business account with PayPal, the app will ask you to agree to the terms and conditions for a free upgrade. Once your account is set up, login.
Create an item catalog
Like the templating system for web invoices, PayPal Here allows users to create an item catalog for faster item selection. To create the item catalog, navigate to the menu bar by clicking the icon with the three horizontal lines. Select “Item Catalog” then select “Items.” Click the “+” button in the upper-right corner. Enter an image of the item, its name, price and tax rate, and select type and variation options. Complete this step for the most popular of your items to expedite your invoice-creation process.
Enter the items
Once you’ve created your item catalog, navigate back to the homepage, where you’ll see a calculator charge screen. Here, you can enter order information. To access your item catalog, select “Add an Item” then select the bulleted list icon in the bottom right corner. Click on the item or items, and they’ll be automatically added to the order.
To manually add an item, first, add the price of the item, then, when entering the name, you’ll have the option of adding a discount or tax-rate to be applied that specific item. Select “Add” to add the item to the invoice. Under the total order amount, you’ll see a grayed line that lists the total number of the items in the invoice.
Send the invoice
Once you’ve entered all items, click the “Charge” button. A popup will appear listing several options for accepting payments. Select “Invoice.” You’ll be taken to a page that requests the customer’s email address and name, as well as the payment terms related to the purchase. Enter all necessary information, then click “Send.” The invoice will be sent to the customer’s email as if it was sent from the website.