Summary:
Selecting your default payment method
My Events are Free. Do I need a Payment Method?
Once you have done the initial set up for your organisation, you will need to add one or more payment methods for members to make payments to your organisation. You will find that Cheque has already been added for you. This is just so that you can test the system. Feel free to remove cheque if you don't want it, but you will need to add another one as an alternative, or members will not be able to place orders.
Payment Methods Available
Payment methods with (members) after them can be selected by members during checkout. Payment methods with (admins) are for you to use when placing the order on behalf of the member. For example, you might want to only offer members Paypal as an option, but have cash and cheque configured for admins, because there will often be 1 or 2 members who prefer to carry on paying by cheque.
Payment methods that you can make available to members
Direct debit (members) - This payment method enables members to make one off payments or set up a direct debit to collect subscription renewals. The service is provided via our partner GoCardless and takes only a few minutes to set up. Click here for details on how to set up direct debit as a payment method.
Paypal (members) - For this you need a Paypal Business account with the Paypal Express Checkout service. Your members don't have to have a Paypal account in order to make payments to you. For details on how to set up Paypal as a payment method, click here.
Card (members) - Members can make payments directly into your bank account using a debit or credit card. To use this payment method, you must have an Internet Merchant Account with your bank. These can be quite difficult to get - the Banks require lots of paperwork and charge a significant monthly fee, so is probably not worth considering unless your organisation has a turnover of at least £100k p.a. To process the payments, we use a Payment Service Provider called SagePay If you would like to accept payments by card, please contact us.
Card offline (members) - Process card payment using your offline card facility. Use this method if you have a merchant account, but not an Internet merchant account. The member can select this method in checkout, declaring that they wish to pay offline (eg at the event). You do not need an Internet Merchant Account for this.
Cheque (members) - Members can select cheque as their payment method during the checkout process. Once you receive the cheque, you can mark the order as "Payment Received" to complete the order. Note - only use this option if you want to allow members the choice to pay by cheque.
Cash (members) - Members can select cash as their payment method during the checkout process. Once you receive the cash, you can mark the order as "cash received" to complete the order. Note - only use this option if you want to allow members the choice to pay by cash.
Bank Transfer (members) - Members can select bank transfer as their payment method during the checkout process. They will then receive an order confirmation email with your bank details and a reference number to put on the payment. You can upload your bank statement and the system will do the matching up of payments and orders automatically for you. Click here for full details on the bank transfer payment method.
Payment methods that can be used by Administrators to place orders on a members behalf
Card (admins) - This payment method enables you to accept card payments by telephone and process them via the WebCollect system. To do this, you must have a MOTO (mail order telephone order) merchant account with your bank. Please contact us to arrange setup if you would like to use this payment method. You will need to place the order on the member's behalf.
Card offline (admins) - Use this method if you have a merchant account and can accept card payments but do not have an Internet merchant account. You will need to place the order on the member's behalf.
Cheque (admins) - This option is for administrators to be able to process cheque payments received. You will need to place the order on the member's behalf.
Cash (admins) - This option is for administrators to be able to process cheque payments received. You will need to place the order on the member's behalf.
Bank Transfer (admins) - Once you have placed the order on the member's behalf, they will receive an order confirmation email with your bank details and a reference number to put on the payment. You can upload your bank statement and the system will do the matching up of payments and orders automatically for you. Click here for full details on the bank transfer payment method.
Staged payment offline (admins) - Use this option if you want to allow members to pay by instalments using cheques etc. You will need to place the order on the member's behalf.
Note: All the admin payment methods (other than Card (admins)), essentially do the same thing. If you don't care about keeping a record of how people paid, you can just configure one of these payment methods and put all the payments through on that. If you would like your reporting to show a breakdown by payment method, then configure each of the ones you need.
WebCollect Role
To set up the Direct Debit payment method (or any other payment method), you must have WebCollect role: Creator.
Set-Up Process
In the administration panel, in the Payment Methods section, click on edit (or add one now). Click on Activate to add a payment method. You will then be offered the following options:
- Surcharge %. If you want to add a % surcharge for members using a particular payment method, you can add it here. This is quite useful for passing on the Paypal charge. The % will be calculated, using the order total of the member's payment. So if they were going to pay £100 and you have added a 10% surcharge, they will pay £110.
- Surcharge amount. A fixed amount added to the total payment made by the member for an order. Input the number in pounds, so a surcharge of £1.50 should be added as 1.5. Useful if you want to pass on a flat transaction cost (e.g. cheque processing fee).
- Explanatory text. This text will be displayed on the checkout page. It is useful for explaining to members why you are charging extra for a particular payment method.
- Checkout success text. This is displayed on the checkout success page (after they have completed the order). It is useful for giving members instructions on what to do next (e.g. where to send payment for cheques). It is also displayed in the order confirmation email.
For some payment methods (e.g. card), you will be asked for some additional information:
- Bank transfer. Sort code and account number of your organisation's bank account.
- Direct debit. Details vary depending on whether you are an individual, company, charity or unincorporated association. Click here for details.
- Paypal: Email address in Paypal account. This is the email address you used when setting up your Paypal business account. For more details on how to set up Paypal as a payment method, click here.
- Card (members). Vendor code. This is the code given to you by SagePay. To arrange set-up of your SagePay account, please contact us.
- Card (admins). Vendor code. This is the code given to you by SagePay. To arrange set-up of your SagePay account, please contact us.
Selecting your default payment method
Once you have added the payment methods that you want, choose your preferred payment method and click on "make default". This means that when members get to the checkout, this will be the payment method that is pre-selected. Whilst that won't force them to use it, you will find it encourages more members to use that payment method - you might as well steer them in the right direction ;-)
Changing Your Payment Methods
On the administrator homepage, click on Edit in the Payment Methods section. From here, you can deactivate payment methods that you no longer want to use, or activate new ones. Click on edit to change details like surcharge amount or the explanatory text shown to members.
Removing a payment method will not affect any orders already placed by members using that payment method.
My Events are Free. Do I need a Payment Method?
We ask all organisations to add at least one payment method initially (just in case you add an event or subscription that isn't free later). However if the individual event or subscription is free, your members won't be asked to pay. So if you are not intending to charge for anything, just add cash or cheque as a payment method (it keeps us happy and your members won't even see it..).
