Order not wanting to pay by credit card

[cjt_7]

I am a newbie & this is only my 3rd order. I'm still trying to figure out how the ordering/billing process works and I received the following email yesterday:

Is it possible to order with an invoice rather than a credit card? This is a purchase for an employee, and we'd like to invoice. Please let me know fi this is possible. Thank you.

I emailed her back & told her we could invoice her (although at the time I'm not sure exactly how to do that but was talking with other friends of mine in a business that is not over the internet to get ideas on this) but wanted to know what form of payment they were planning on using. I am setting up with paypal but really unsure of how this works & how to add this as a payment option on our site!

Today she emailed me back the following:

Can you please email me an invoice? I will send it through our finance department and they will send a check or do an electronic payment, I believe.
She told me what product she was wanting & asked if I could just order it or if she needed to do it online & if that was the case, how does she get through the payment process. She gave me a shipping address also.

My questions are: 1) Is her listing the product that she wants & the shipping address enough of a confirmation from her that she really wants the product. The price isn't listed anywhere (it will not have sales tax or shipping charges). Do I need to make an order form of some kind for her to review and accept?
2) Is the payment option they are wanting acceptable & good business for us? If it is ok then how do I accept a check or electronic payment? Do I send an invoice with terms and do we ship the product before receiving payment?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[cameraplus]

Connie,
You can send invoices from Paypal to any email address - there's a link for that in the Request Payment tab section. The recipient doesn't have to have a Paypal account, though that would probably make things easier. You can include your business address, items ordered and quantity, and shipping charges on the invoice.

When the payment against the invoice is received by Paypal it'll show up in your account and you can ship the order.

That sounds like it may suit both you and the customer, but probably worth checking with the customer before going ahead.

[Richard]

I know you already know this Connie, but don't ship till PayPal inform you that payment has been received. (just something inside me wanted to voice that - hope you don't mind)

[NPC73]

Connie,

You will find most Government departments and large corporations will require a copy of a formal Invoice before they make payment. These customers have internal processes in place to which their management are required to approve such purchases before they actually make payment.

In these cases I generally process their orders manually and do not use the shopping cart facilities. I gather their details, create an Invoice in PDF (which includes shipping charges and all other charges) and email the customer their requested Invoice. I also stipulate our terms of the ordering process by providing direct links to our Payment Policy, Shipping Policy, Return Policy & Privacy Policy.

Hope this helps...

[cjt_7]

Thank you for your responses. I seem to still not be able to wrap my brain around how this all works. If I have ECI as my gateway & want to use paypal do I keep ECI to accept Visa, Mastercard & Discover? It looks like there are additional charges with ECI that paypal doesn't have so I'm not sure if I should use both or just paypal? Also, I am waiting to confirm my bank account so do I need to wait to add the paypal option of payment to my site? How exactly do I add the option of using paypal as a form of payment to my site (Is there something extensive I need to do in the builder?)

I'm sorry I don't understand this part of it very well!

[Bethers]

Connie, you can bill them and use paypal OR ECI - ECI is the gateway for your merchant account. Paypal would be ANOTHER payment method.

I really recommend that you figure out a way to make your own invoices when needed - as stated above, many companies require it - and I do them all the time. I simply state on the invoice for them to contact me when they are ready to pay. At that time, you could actually put the order through the store - OR you could manually put the order through ECI by using them without going through the store - OR you could use paypal if you set that up.

Personally, I won't use Paypal to invoice big companies - but that's just me. I make up my own invoices. And, if they are companies I know I have allowed some to write checks. But for most - make sure you have the cc and that you either have the approval with ECI or the money with Paypal.

As to charges - ECI has the monthly fees - but in the long run, if you're getting regular orders will be cheaper than Paypal (whose per transaction fees are higher).

I do recommend that you look at changing from ECI to Auth.net - in Karen's signature.

[cjt_7]

If I make an invoice then can I use paypal to collect their money? If I don't use paypal is there another way for me to accept an electronic payment because they don't want to use a credit card?

[ritarobi_cwo]

Connie,

You could make a simple invoice quickly in word or excel or even the SOL. If paypal is not your avenue for payment, why not let them do a bank direct deposit or credit card.

It is very simple, just customize it for yourself.

-Rita

[Bethers]

Yes, you could use paypal to collect their money - but find out HOW they want to pay. It sounds to me like they want you to invoice them and they'll choose how they pay. Which would probably be by check. You could let them pay by check, but then you'd want to know they check is good and clears before sending anything (unless it's a company you trust).

[cjt_7]

Thanks everyone! We talked to our bank & they said they can do an electronic transfer & everyone's information will be safe & confidential. So I am going to once again ask this customer exactly how they want to pay & then go from there. Thanks again!

[ritarobi_cwo]

Just curious, does electronic transfer cost you or the customer anything?

[cjt_7]

Our bank does not charge for us to do a wire transfer but we were told that the customer's bank may charge them a fee.

[ritarobi_cwo]

Yes, I was wondering about that because, my bank charges me $25 to do a wire transfer.

That may be a problem with the customer if the cost of the product is under say $100 or so. Hopefully, they choose a payment method that will allow you to make the sell.

-Rita

[NPC73]

Why not setup your Internet Banking to allow for transfers to external accounts.

I get charged $1 per transaction.

[Matt]

it depends on the bank you use - with our business account, we can do electronic money transfers within the USA free of cost, if we have to wire money, it costs us $ 25.- and $25.- for the receiver. Beware of the difference between a electronic money transfer and a wire. A wire needs a human at your bank to process.
Wiring outside the USA is about 2x as much for us PLUS the fee for the receiver, which depends on the receiving bank's policies.

[ritarobi_cwo]

Bank of America has a business tool section with "Express Invoicing" http://www.bankofamerica.com/small_business/online_banking_and_services/index.cfm

It allows you to invoice your customers...

-Rita