Update the PayPal connection

This article explains how to update to the latest version of our PayPal connection if you previously connected FreeAgent to PayPal before 25th November 2024.

Navigate to the 'Banking' tab at the top of the screen and select 'Bank Accounts' from the drop-down menu.

If your PayPal bank account(s) are able to be updated, you’ll see a notice at the top of the Bank Accounts Summary page asking you to update to the latest version of the PayPal connection. You’ll also see this notice at the top of each PayPal bank account that you’ve added to FreeAgent.

Please note that if you have multiple PayPal accounts added to FreeAgent that are registered to different email addresses, you’ll need to complete the setup for each one individually. If you have PayPal accounts added to FreeAgent registered against the same email address, which may be for different currencies held for example, they can be updated together.

If you have a PayPal bank account(s) that you don't want updated, you can hide the bank account before following the steps below.

If your PayPal bank account(s) are unable to be updated to the latest version, you'll see a notice asking you to set up a new PayPal connection.

PayPal bank accounts able to be updated

If your PayPal bank account(s) is able to be updated, select ‘Update now’.

Next, enter your PayPal credentials.

Once you’ve signed in to PayPal, select ‘Complete setup’ next to the PayPal bank account you’d like to update.

Please note that if you have multiple PayPal bank accounts added to FreeAgent, you’ll need to complete the setup for each one individually. If you have multiple currencies for the same account, they'll be updated together.

The steps to take to complete the set up depend on whether you enter an email address registered to a PayPal bank account in FreeAgent or not registered.

Email address registered to a PayPal bank account

If the email address you connect to PayPal with is an email address registered to a PayPal bank account in FreeAgent, review the account details and select which currencies you’d like to import into FreeAgent by ticking the box to the left of each currency. These are the currencies that you’ll already have enabled in your PayPal account and added to FreeAgent previously.

During the update, existing currency bank accounts linked to the PayPal account you're updating will be shown with links to the existing bank account. These will be updated to the new connection even if you choose not to enable automatic imports. Please confirm these are correct before proceeding with the update. If you would prefer not to update a particular account, you can hide it first. You can then return to this page and select that currency to create a brand new bank account instead.

Please note that if you receive payments in a foreign currency, you'll need to ensure transactions in that currency are importing into a PayPal bank account for that specific currency in order to account for the fees in that currency.

If foreign currency transactions aren't importing into a PayPal bank account for that currency, you'll need to record the fees manually instead by splitting the bank transaction.

If you have additional PayPal currency accounts that weren’t added to FreeAgent previously or didn't have automatic feeds enabled, you can add these to FreeAgent by ticking the box to the left of each currency. A new PayPal bank account will be created in FreeAgent for each additional currency selected and transactions in those currencies will be imported into the PayPal bank account(s).

Please note that any extra currencies you enable at the time of migration will only start syncing from the date you complete the migration. It's not possible to backdate transactions for extra currencies prior to the migration date.

Existing PayPal bank accounts will continue to import bank transactions as normal after the update. If any existing PayPal bank accounts didn't have automatic feeds enabled, these will continue to not automatically import bank transactions unless the checkbox is ticked above.

Enter the balance of the additional PayPal currency bank account(s) as at the start of the day on your FreeAgent start date. This will be the same as the balance at the end of the previous day. So if your FreeAgent start date is 6th April 2023, you'd put in the balance from your PayPal statement as at the end of 5th April 2023.

If you opened this account after the FreeAgent start date, this will be zero.

Select ‘Complete setup’ at the bottom of the screen to complete the process of updating your PayPal connection.

Email address not registered to a PayPal bank account

If the email address you connect to PayPal with is not an email address registered to a PayPal bank account in FreeAgent, you can set up a new PayPal bank account in FreeAgent registered to that address. Alternatively, if you expected this email to link to any active accounts in FreeAgent, edit the bank account details and update the email address before proceeding to update the connection.

Adding a new PayPal bank account

Use the date picker in the ‘Bank feed’ section to select the date that you’d like transactions to import into FreeAgent from. You can backdate transactions from a maximum of 12 months. Please note that you won’t be able to choose a date that is in a locked accounting period or before your FreeAgent start date.

Select which currencies you’d like to import into FreeAgent by ticking the box to the left of each currency. These are the currencies that you’ll already have enabled in your PayPal bank account.

Please note that if you receive payments in a foreign currency, you'll need to ensure transactions in that currency are importing into a PayPal bank account for that specific currency in order to account for the fees in that currency.

If foreign currency transactions aren't importing into a PayPal bank account for that currency, you'll need to record the fees manually instead by splitting the bank transaction.

Enter the balance of the different currencies as at the start of the day on your FreeAgent start date. This will be the same as the balance at the end of the previous day. So if your FreeAgent start date is 6th April 2025, you'd put in the balance from your PayPal statement as at the end of 5th April 2025.

If you opened this account after the FreeAgent start date, this will be zero.

Select ‘Complete setup’ at the bottom of the screen to complete the process of updating your PayPal connection.

What happens next?

Once your PayPal bank accounts in FreeAgent have been updated to the new connection and you’ve added any new PayPal accounts if applicable, you can manage the PayPal integration from the Connections & Add-ons area.

You can also edit the individual PayPal bank accounts in FreeAgent as normal.

The PayPal integration can make it easier for your customers to pay for your invoices and helps you get paid faster. Find out more about taking invoice payments with PayPal.

If you use the PayPal integration to take invoice payments and your invoice relates to the sale and delivery of a shipped product, FreeAgent will not provide a shipping address to PayPal when creating a payment link on your invoice. Therefore, PayPal will not be able to provide buyer/seller protections in these circumstances.

If you use the PayPal integration to take invoice payments and you need to refund an invoice payment obtained via PayPal, this cannot be processed via FreeAgent. Therefore, if you wish to process a refund, the refund payment will need to be processed via PayPal directly.

PayPal bank accounts unable to be updated

If any of your PayPal bank accounts are unable to be updated, select 'Set up a new PayPal connection' and follow the steps to set up a new connection.

If you don't set up a new connection or upgrade an existing connection that is able to be updated, the existing PayPal connection will be disconnected on 18th August 2025.

After this date, you'll still be able to upload bank statements from PayPal, but bank transactions will no longer be automatically imported and you'll no longer be able to use PayPal to take payments for your FreeAgent invoices.