✨ Please note: Online payments are available on the Lite plan or above.
We’ve updated our PayPal integration. From 22nd January 2025, the new integration will apply to new users and those who haven’t used PayPal as their payment gateway before. If you currently use the older PayPal gateway, you’ll be migrated to the updated version.
This article covers:
Creating a PayPal business account
💡 You need a PayPal business account to accept online payments via Bookwhen.
There are two ways to create a PayPal business account:
Via Bookwhen
To create a new account via Bookwhen:
Select Settings, then Payments from the left-hand menu on your account.
Select Manage next to the PayPal option, then the Connect with PayPal button:
You will then be redirected to PayPal to create your new account.
You will need to submit information regarding your business and bank account. Once this information is submitted and verified, you can connect your PayPal with your Bookwhen account.
💡 To note: PayPal doesn't allow multiple Bookwhen accounts to be connected to the same PayPal account.
Updating your personal PayPal account into a business account
If you have an existing PayPal personal account that you wish to use, you can upgrade your personal account to a business account.
To do this:
Log in to your PayPal account and select the settings icon ⚙️ in the top right.
Select the Convert to a Business account option at the bottom.
Enter your Business Information and select Agree and Convert Account.
Updating the integration after the change
If you've already tried connecting a PayPal personal account, you'll need to upgrade it to a business account.
To do this:
Select Settings, then Payments from the left-hand menu on your account
Select the Manage button next to PayPal to open the integration settings.
Select Re-authenticate PayPal:
Once finished, select Done.
💡 To note: We will pull through the business/organisation name used within PayPal in Account details, and this is the name that shows on the emails sent to customers:
Connecting your PayPal account with Bookwhen
✨ Please note: You will need to be an Account Owner to access the payment page.
To connect your Paypal account with your Bookwhen account:
Log in to PayPal in a separate tab or browser.
Log in to your Bookwhen account and select Settings, then Payments from the left-hand menu.
Select Manage next to the PayPal option to open the integration settings, then Connect with PayPal button:
Once finished, select Done.
Adding a refund policy
Select Settings, then Payments from the left-hand menu on your account.
Select Edit to the right of currency:
Add your policy in the Refund policy field, then select Save:
This will then appear in the footer of your public page.
Adding online payment fees
To add online payment fees to your PayPal settings:
Select Settings, then Payments from the left-hand menu on your account.
Select Manage next to PayPal, then Edit next to Online payment fee:
You can add a Fixed fee and/or a Percentage fee, using the Add an online payment fee to bookings checkbox to include the fee on bookings paid online:
Select Save when finished.
💡 Please note:
If you are a European company, please be aware of the surcharge ban laws.
✅ Apple Pay and Google Pay are available on the new PayPal integration.
❌ Pay later/Venmo aren't currently available on either PayPal version.
Verifying your PayPal account
If your PayPal account appears as 'Unverified' after integrating, please follow these verification directions.
Using PayPal in an iframe
PayPal checkout may not always work in an iframe due to security updates made by PayPal, which are not always shared with Bookwhen. If errors occur, direct customers to your Bookwhen public page to complete their booking.
Guest checkout
Even if Guest Checkout is enabled on your PayPal account, some customers may still be asked to sign up for PayPal based on their previous usage. PayPal controls this to prevent excessive Guest Checkouts, and it is beyond our control at Bookwhen.
If this causes issues, you may want to switch to Stripe, which offers lower fees and allows card payments without requiring an account.
💬 Any questions or feedback? There are two ways to get in touch:
For a quicker response, please contact us via live chat on our homepage or your account.
Or send us an email
Thank you! 🕺
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