Payment with PayPal and PayPal.me

PayPal or PayPal.me – the difference

• PayPal (online): the club connects its PayPal account once in Administration. The member taps "Pay with PayPal" in the WebApp or app, pays on PayPal's page, and the payment is booked to their account automatically – with a PDF receipt by email.
• PayPal.me (payment link): the club only stores an address such as https://paypal.me/club/{amount}EUR. The member gets a button that opens PayPal with the amount filled in. We learn nothing about the payment – the treasurer sees it in PayPal and settles the account by hand.
• Recommendation: PayPal (online) if the treasurer should not have to record anything by hand. PayPal.me if the club does not want to create an app at PayPal Developer and booking by hand is fine.
• Both at the same time is possible. The member then sees both buttons.

What you need

• A PayPal account for the club. For PayPal (online) also access to PayPal Developer to create an app there; which account type PayPal requires for this is up to PayPal.
• An owner or administrator account for the club in Administration (/admin) – only these roles may change payment credentials and the payment link.
• To settle PayPal.me payments: an account that may collect payments in Administration, in the WebApp or in the app.

Connect PayPal (online) to the club

1. Sign in at PayPal Developer and open "Apps & Credentials". Create an app there and copy its Client ID and Secret.
2. Open /admin, choose the club on the left and go to "Contract & payments" → "Online payment".
3. Enter the Client ID and Client Secret in the "PayPal" card. To try it without real money, tick "Sandbox (test environment)" and use the sandbox credentials.
4. Click "Verify and save". We sign in to PayPal with them right away; if that works, the card shows "Ready" (in test also "Test mode"). The credentials are stored encrypted.
5. Later you enter new credentials the same way and click "Replace credentials". "Remove" deletes the credentials; members can then no longer pay with PayPal.

What members do – PayPal (online)

1. The member opens the app on their own phone – no club tablet is needed –, goes to their account and taps "Pay". The button only appears when something is open. If it says “You don’t have a member account in this list yet” instead, their sign-in is not linked to any account of the list: enter their email address on the account in the Administration under "Journals & accounts" → "Accounts".
2. In the "Pay open amount" window they tap "Pay with PayPal". PayPal's page opens – in the WebApp in the same window, in the app on iPhone, iPad and Android in the device's browser (Safari or Chrome).
3. There they sign in to PayPal and confirm the payment. The whole open amount is paid, plus a round-up donation if the club offers one and the member chooses it.
4. Then they return to the app. It says "Thank you! Your payment has been received and booked." and the balance is settled.

When it is booked – PayPal (online)

• Money is only taken when we complete the payment approved at PayPal. Before that we compare amount and currency with the open amount – if anything does not match, nothing is collected.
• This happens immediately when the member returns. If they do not return, a check every five minutes completes the payment. You do not need a webhook for PayPal.
• The payment page is valid for 23 hours. If the member starts a new payment, the old one no longer counts. If they cancel, nothing is booked.
• After booking the member receives the settlement receipt as a PDF by email. In /admin the payment appears under "Journals & accounts" → "Payment journal" with payment method "PayPal" and PayPal's number under "Provider receipt".

Add a PayPal.me link

1. Open /admin, choose the club and go to "Contract & payments" → "Bank details & GiroCode".
2. In the "Payment link (e.g. PayPal.me)" section enter, for example, PayPal under "Label on the button".
3. Enter your link as the address, for example https://paypal.me/club/{amount}EUR. {amount} is required – the open amount is inserted there with a dot (12.50); {currency} inserts the currency. The address must start with https://.
4. Below it an example shows the finished link. Click it to check it.
5. Click "Save payment link". "Remove" takes the button out of the app again.

What members do – PayPal.me

1. The member taps "Pay" in the WebApp or app. The window shows the button "Pay with PayPal" – with the label you entered, or "Pay online" without a label.
2. The button opens PayPal with the open amount. The member pays there.
3. The app adds: "The payment appears once the treasurer has recorded it." Until then the amount stays open.

Book a PayPal.me payment by hand

1. Check in your PayPal account who paid how much.
2. In /admin open the list and go to "Journals & accounts" → "Accounts". Click "Collect payment" in the member's row.
3. Enter the amount PayPal shows. As payment method choose "Bank transfer" – there is no "PayPal" method when collecting by hand – and write, for example, "PayPal.me" under "Note".
4. Click "Settle". The member receives the receipt as a PDF by email. In the WebApp or app it works the same way via "Collect payment" on the account.

Good to know

• The PayPal.me link only contains the amount, no payment reference. You have to match the payment by the payer's name in PayPal.
• The amount in the PayPal.me link is the open amount when the window was opened. Anything added afterwards stays open.
• A refund in PayPal is not reversed here automatically – the member's account stays settled. Sort such cases out with the member.
• You see the PayPal fee in your PayPal account; it is not shown in the "Fee" column under "Payment journal".
• "Payment by e-mail" on the account includes a payment link if an online provider is set up – if SumUp is set up as well, it is SumUp's. The email never contains a PayPal.me link.
• After moving from the old app: a payment link entered there is carried over and is called "PayPal (Altsystem)" – check label and address under "Bank details & GiroCode" ({amount} must be in it). The old app's PayPal connection is not carried over: for PayPal (online) enter Client ID and Secret again.

If you get stuck

• "Verify and save" fails: Client ID and Secret are wrong or belong to the other environment. Sandbox credentials only with "Sandbox (test environment)" ticked, live credentials only without.
• The member does not see "Pay with PayPal": nothing is open, or PayPal is not "Ready" under "Online payment".
• The payment does not appear right away: the member did not return to the app. The check books it within a few minutes.
• Saving the payment link shows "{amount} is missing – the open amount is inserted there" or "Please enter a complete https:// address": enter an address with https:// and {amount}.
• The member paid via PayPal.me and, before you booked it, also online: book the PayPal.me payment anyway – the amount becomes credit on their account.