How to Setup Paypal

Last edited: 1/25/2008

In order to accept online payments you will need a Paypal account. After you have obtained an account you will need to decide if you want a 'Standard' or 'Pro' account.

Standard

With Standard, the users will be sent to the paypal website to finish payments and then sent back to your site upon completion. Since paypal handles the transaction we are not able to create accounts for users and thus we cannot track transaction history. Certain other features may also be limited or unavailable as well.

  • No monthly fees
  • Transaction fees: 1.9% to 2.9% + $0.30 USD

More info can be found on the paypal website.

Pro

With Pro users will complete payment on your website, never going to the paypal site.

  • $30.00 USD monthly
  • Transaction fees: 2.2% to 2.9% + $0.30 USD

More info can be found on the paypal website.

* Fees are subject to change.  Consult the providers website for current pricing. *

Credentials 

After you have setup your seller account, all we need is your api credentials.

If you are using standard, all we will need is the email address for the account.

If you are using pro, we will need complete api credentials. To find these...

  • Log into your paypal account
  • Click the 'Profile' tab on the far right
  • Click the 'API Access' link in the first column
  • Click the second option 'Request API Credentials'
  • Send us the api Credentials and we will apply them to your account

Troubleshooting

There are several errors that will prevent payment processing from occurring.  If regular PayPal payments are able to be processed, but credit card payments do not go through, check for one of these errors.

Error 10002: Security header is not valid

This error is most commonly caused by an error in the security credentials (Gateway User ID, Gateway Password, or Gateway Signature/Transaction Key).  Confirm that the credentials are from the live site (not a PayPal developer account), and that the strings have been copied exactly, with no leading or trailing spaces/tabs/newlines.

Error 10501: This transaction cannot be processed due to an invalid merchant configuration.

This error indicates that the PayPal Pro Merchant Account has not been fully set up.  In addition to the account creation, there are signatures that need to be sent in.  The virtual terminal page includes a checklist of what needs to be completed.  Complete the full PayPal setup process, then see if transactions process properly.