Hi! Sorry to bother you but I had a question maybe you would know since you work with paypal and stuff. I'm trying to set up my paypal for commissions but it's being...difficult. Is there a certain way I have to set up my account? Like do I have to change it to a business account or should people just be able to use my email?
Oh boy PayPal, the dark horse of any commissionerās lifeā¦ I will try and be as helpful as possible!
You do not need to have a PayPal business account. I cannot speak for how a business account works, because I do not have one. I use the base account, and thatās it.
My biggest advice is to USE INVOICES. USE INVOICES. USE INVOICES. Donāt just have people send you their payments - instead send them a PayPal invoice for their order! Thatās the best way to protect yourself from PayPal screwing you over. Invoices protect you from losing money or being scammed.
Hereās how to set up and use PayPal invoices for art commission work:
1) Log in to PayPal, then from your account summary page find the button that saysĀ āCreate an invoiceā. You can find it in the āMoreā drop-down menu next to theĀ āSendā andĀ āRequestā buttons.
You can also find āManage Invoicesā underĀ āSeller Toolsā, which should be on the right and below theĀ āSendāĀ āRequestāĀ āMoreā andĀ āSend againā menus. It looks like this:
2) Welcome to the Manage Invoices page, where you can keep track of all your invoices. Donāt be intimidated by how it looks, itās very simple to use!
Click theĀ ā+Create Invoiceā button!
Weāre going to make a template for sending commission invoices, so you wonāt need to do this over and over again.
3) Create an invoice.
YourĀ āCreate Invoiceā page probably looks something like this:
Weāre going to make a template so you donāt have to fill all this information out every time you need to send a new invoice. This is what I do for the type of commissions I do.
A) Set the type of invoice toĀ āAmount onlyā. This will send the client a bill for a set amount agreed upon via correspondence, like through email or DMs. You can also set the type toĀ āHoursā, which allows you to charge your client an hourly rate for the amount of work you do. I do not use this, so I cannot speak on how well it works or on how useful it is. Iād say just calculate your prices to be fair for the amount of work you put into them, and use Amount Only invoices.
B) You can set a little logo here if you want to personalize the invoices you send out. This is cute, I recommend it if you have a brand or logo you use for your work. This is optional and not required, though!
C) Set the Type of goods toĀ āGoods: Digital goodsā. You are not physically sending the client a commission - you are drawing them a picture and sending them the finished product through the internet.Ā
D) Ask your client what their PayPal email address is, and put that email here! You can also add returning or regular clients to your address book, and PayPal will remember their preferred email address for you!
*NOTE*: You donāt need a PayPal account to pay a PayPal invoice. You can simply put the clientās email address here (regardless of whether you know itās their PayPal email or not), and it will send the invoice to that email. They can choose how to pay the invoice when they receive it. Some clients who do commissions often might have a dedicated account for PayPal, and it would be easier for them to pay with a PayPal balance, etc etc. I always askĀ āWhat email would you prefer I send the invoice to?ā. It usually streamlines the process a lot. You can also just note in your commission post to have clients include their PayPal email with their inquires.
E) Here you can choose what currency youāll be charging your clients in. Mine is set to US Dollars, but you can choose whatever currency you use.
*NOTE*: If a client sends you payment without an invoice and they use a different currency than you, you have to pay the exchange rate. If your client pays an invoice, however, PayPal will convert the currency before you get payment, which means you donāt eat the conversion fee and get closer to your full amount. Just another reason why theyāre a life-saver!
While weāre here, hit the drop-down menu that says āAdd/remove detailā and check the box that says ādetailed descriptionā
Description Box - describe the commission! (Warning: be a little vague with how you title your commissions. NSFW language will probably get you flagged or banned.) Here is an example of how I fill this out:
You can choose to add another line item if your client is getting more than one commission from you at a time! You can cut down on the amount of invoices you send this way, which will help with preventing invoices from falling through the cracks! PayPal will calculate the total amount for all items being commissioned automatically.
F) Allow partial payment: Check this box if you want your client to be able to pay in installments. Iāve had plenty of clients who were unable to pay all at once because their bank only allows them to spend a certain amount at a time. I check this box for those clients, but usually it is safer to have the clients pay all at once up-front.
Allow customer to add a tip: CHECK THIS BOX. Give your customers an option to toss you something extra for your hard work! It hurts no one and is an easy way to let your clients show their appreciation for what you do! You deserve it!
G) Note to recipient: You can put any additional notes or thoughts in this spot! I just put a nice little platitude here, likeĀ āThank you for your business!ā
H) Terms and conditions: Clarify your policies on commissions here. This is just another way of covering your back if your client decides to back out or something goes awry with the order. Hereās what I put in mine:
āCommission will not be started until payment is received in full. Please give two weeks for completion of your commission. If you need to cancel your commission, please contact me as soon as possible via email so I donāt get too far in the process! Finished product is sent digitally to specified email. No shipping required.ā
And thatās everything! Hover over theĀ āSafe as draftā button and chooseĀ āSave as templateā. Enter a name for it (i.e. āCommissionsā), and checkĀ āMake this my default templateā so you donāt have to remember to choose the template every time you make a new invoice.
One more note: PayPal takes a percentage from your total Invoice payment as a service fee. The higher the amount youāre being paid, the bigger chunk they end up taking (thatās math for you!). Do not be surprised if you lose between $5-$10 on a large commission. This is why itās nice to include the tip option! Tips from clients will usually cover this fee. (You can write these service fees off on your Taxes, also!)
I donāt know if this helps with the problems youāve been having, but this is how I use PayPal, and I have had zero problems with them in my 4-5 years of using PayPal for commission work. (I highly recommend connecting your PayPal to whatever Bank you use, for easy access and transferring of your money!)
If this doesnāt help, feel free to send me a follow-up about the problem youāre having and Iāll see if I can figure out why PayPalās giving you the run-around.
I actually never used the digital goods kind of thingā¦Iāve learned something new today.
