PayPal Here: taking payments and explaining transactions

This article explains how to use FreeAgent to take payments with PayPal Here and then explain the transactions in your account.

Taking payments with the PayPal Here mobile card reader

Getting started

FreeAgent links with PayPal Here to allow you to take payments from customers in person. To get started you’ll need a PayPal Here mobile chip and PIN card reader, which allows you to accept debit and credit card payments. While there are no monthly charges to use the reader, PayPal does charge a fee per transaction.

Once you’ve received the card reader, download the free PayPal Here app, which is available for iPhone, iPad or Android.

If you haven’t done so already, add your PayPal account to FreeAgent and select the ‘Enable PayPal Here’ option on the ‘New PayPal Account’ page.

If you’ve already added your PayPal account to FreeAgent, simply navigate to the account, choose ‘Edit details’ and select the ‘Enable PayPal Here’ option.

Using the PayPal Here card reader

To take a payment through PayPal Here, select the ‘PayPal Here’ option on the appropriate invoice in FreeAgent. You can either do this when you set an invoice up or when you edit an existing invoice.

Select 'Mark as sent' on the invoice and then show it to the customer on your mobile device. When the customer is ready to make the payment, select the ‘PayPal Here Payment’ button. This will open up the PayPal Here app on your smartphone or tablet and will connect it to your card reader.

Please note that once you’ve enabled PayPal Here on an invoice, the ‘PayPal Here Payment’ button will appear when you view the invoice on your desktop or laptop. However, the button will only be available on a smartphone or tablet that has the PayPal Here app installed.

Ask the customer to either insert their credit or debit card into the card reader or to swipe the card if it doesn’t have a chip. Once the customer has entered their details, the payment will be processed. On your smartphone or tablet, you’ll be redirected back to FreeAgent, where you’ll see the invoice marked as ‘Processing’.

When the payment has been accepted by PayPal, the invoice will be marked as ‘Paid’ in FreeAgent. In the event that the payment fails, you’ll see a 'Payment Failed' status. Your customer won’t have been charged and you’ll need to ask them to attempt another payment.

PayPal Here’s fees for using the mobile card reader

PayPal Here charges a 2.75% fee per Chip and PIN transaction made with the mobile card reader and 3.40% + 20p per transaction made by swiping the card's magnetic stripe or by manually keying in the card details. Further information on fees and other terms and conditions is available on the PayPal Here website.

Other ways to use PayPal Here with FreeAgent

Once you have downloaded the PayPal Here app for iPhone, iPad or Android, you can also use PayPal Here with FreeAgent to:

• record cash payments (see below for further details)
• accept mobile PayPal payments (see below for further details)

Explaining PayPal Here transactions in FreeAgent

Explaining payments taken with the mobile card reader

If you have a PayPal Premier or Business account and have set it up to synchronise with your FreeAgent account, your PayPal Here card transactions will be automatically imported into FreeAgent. Alternatively, navigate to the 'Banking' tab at the top of the screen and select 'Bank Accounts' from the drop-down menu.

Choose your PayPal account from the list of accounts.

Then either enter these transactions manually or upload them to your PayPal account in FreeAgent. You can then explain each transaction by matching the payment to the invoice.

Explaining cash payments recorded with PayPal Here

To explain cash payments that you record with PayPal Here, simply create a manual bank transaction to record the payment in FreeAgent and then match the payment to the appropriate invoice. Alternatively, if you deposit the cash in a bank account and you either have a bank feed set up for that account or you upload your bank statements manually, the transaction will appear in your bank account in FreeAgent. In this case, simply explain the bank transaction as normal by matching the payment to the invoice.

Explaining mobile PayPal transactions

You can also use PayPal Here to accept mobile PayPal payments from your customers with FreeAgent. These transactions will also be automatically imported into FreeAgent if you have a PayPal Premier or Business account that’s set up to synchronise with your FreeAgent account. Alternatively, you can either enter these transactions manually or upload them to your PayPal account in FreeAgent. You can then explain each transaction by matching the payment to the invoice.