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If you decide to use PayPal to sell items from your web site, then here is what you must do, so I can add the PayPal buttons and shopping cart to your web site.

1. Open, or upgrade to, a “Business” account at PayPal. A “Personal”, or “Premier” account is not sufficient.

New to PayPal? I strongly recommend that you carefully read all of their Terms of Service and other agreements, as these are legal and binding agreements between you and PayPal, and can have a big effect on your bank account.

I also suggest that you download and at least look through PayPal’s “Website Payments Standard Integration Guide” (in PDF format). There is a lot of information in the Guide. Some of the information is intended specifically for the person(s) building your web site, so it might not make sense to you. Just skip that part.

PayPal offers two levels of service - the free “Website Payments Standard” and the extra cost “Website Payments Pro”. The “Standard” service is probably the one most likely to suit you. Did I mention that “Standard” is free?

2. After you have opened your PayPal Business account, you must set the various options for payment options, currency types, tax calculations, shipping costs, shipping methods, etc.

You are solely responsible for setting up the many
features and options in your PayPal account.
 

• To set the many features and options, log-in to your account, then click on the “My Account” tab, then click on the “Profile” sub-tab, then start clicking on ALL of the available options, and fill in the information as appropriate to you and your business.
• These options are all very important decisions that will affect your business and your income and your costs, so please don’t ask me to decide for you. I have no idea what your business plan is, or what your marketing strategy is, or what your product pricing and markup is, or what your shipping methods or costs are, etc. I can’t make these decisions for you, because I have no basis on which to make the decisions.
• If you have a question about WHAT an option is for, or whether it applies to you, first, review the PayPal “Help” section. Then, if you still can’t figure it out, please contact me.
• I also strongly urge you to obtain the PayPal Security Key - a pocket-sized device that generates a unique access code for your account. The Key has a one-time setup fee of $5 for Personal and Premiere accounts, and is free for business accounts. There are no ongoing fees for usage.

3. Add me to your account as an “additional user”. Here’s how:

• Log in to your account, then click on the “My Account” tab, then click on the ”Profile” sub-tab.
• Look for the column titled: “Account Information”, then look for, and click on “Multi-user Access”. If “Multi-user Access” is not in the list, then you are not logged in to PayPal with a “Business” account. Upgrade your account from “Personal” or “Premier”, or switch to your “Business” account, then try this again.
• Click on the “Add User” button.
• In the box labeled “User’s Name:” enter my name of  Jim B This is so you will know who your additional user(s) is (are).
• In the box labeled “User ID:” make up any user ID of 10 - 16 characters, and write it down. Enter the same user ID in the second box.
• In the box labeled “Password:” make up any password of 8 - 10 characters, and write it down. Enter the same password in the second box.
• In the section titled “Multi-user Access”, look for and click on “Add Funds” so there IS a check in the box. This is the ONLY item in the entire list that should have a check in the box. Click once on every other box that does have a check, to remove the check.
• Click on the “Save” button.
• Send the user ID and the password to me. This is what I will use to log in to your account.

Why add me as an “additional user” to your account? Mostly, to ensure the security of your PayPal account. With me added to your account as an “additional user”, you don’t have to tell me what your “main” user ID or password is. As an “additional user”, I can log in to your PayPal account to create the buttons and shopping cart for your web site, but because you checked ONLY the box next to “Add funds”, the only other thing I can to to/with your account is... er... add funds.

revised: March 22, 2007

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