The Pros and Cons of PayPal for Small Business
If you are a small business owner doing business online, you have probably looked into online methods for taking payment for your products and services. If you have, you undoubtedly found PayPal during your search.
According to PayPal.com, PayPal has more than 325 million active accounts in 200 markets and more than 100 currencies around the world.
Despite its popularity, though, PayPal isn't the perfect solution for every small business. Here is a look at the pros and cons of using PayPal as your primary online payment processor for your small business.
Pros of Using PayPal
- It's easy to setup and use.
- Your clients/customers may already be familiar with PayPal.
- You don't need a merchant account.
- Your clients/customers don't need a PayPal account to pay you.
- You can create and send invoices right through your account.
- PayPal's fees are less than many merchant accounts (currently 2.9% + $0.30 USD for debit and credit card purchases).
- You can set up recurring payments.
- You can integrate PayPal with a number of shopping cart systems.
- It's safe.
Cons of Using PayPal
- There are hefty fees for chargebacks.
- You are limited in terms of use and are subject to account suspension at any time which can result in frozen funds for months.
- There are a number of people who refuse to use PayPal, which may result in lost business.
- It can be difficult to contact PayPal's customer service department.
The decision to use or not use PayPal as your primary online payment processor is a big one and can certainly impact your business. It's always a good idea to explore your options before making a decision. Here are five online payment services (four in addition to PayPal) to review.

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Add PayPal as a payment method to your Big Cartel shop with PayPal Checkout. PayPal Checkout offers the convenience and security of PayPal, can be set up in minutes, and can turn more shoppers into buyers.
Your customers can also pay you using Venmo - the popular social payments app used by millions of people - or buy now and pay later with PayPal Credit, an option lots of customers love.
Details
Setup
- Head to the Account area of your Big Cartel admin.
- Click Edit your payment options, and click Connect next to PayPal.
- Follow the steps on screen to log in and authorize your PayPal account to be used with Big Cartel to accept payments. That’s it!
- Customers in your shop will see an option to pay with PayPal, PayPal Credit, or Venmo (on mobile devices).
A verified PayPal Business account is required to accept payments with PayPal. You can check your account status (and upgrade if does a paypal business account cost money over at PayPal’s jpmorgan chase bank home loans
Payments placed through PayPal should hit your PayPal account balance right away. From there you can transfer funds to your linked bank account. Transferring funds from PayPal to your bank should take about 1 business day. Learn more here. Qualifying buyers will see the Pay In 4 option when they get to PayPal– 4 easy no-interest payments for them, and you’re immediately paid in full. Sweeeeeet.
How To Avoid PayPal Invoicing Fees
No one likes paying fees to receive money they’ve rightfully earned, but PayPal fees aren’t something you can change, right?
When it comes to accepting payments virtually, why do we let online does a paypal business account cost money systems rob us of our hard-earned income?
After being tired of giving up my freelance income to PayPal transaction fees, I started looking for other options.
How to Stop Paying PayPal How do i close my capital one 360 account Fees
Here are some proven ways to decrease or eliminate PayPal transaction fees.
1. Include the processing fee in your invoice
The best way to avoid Home remedy treatments for sunburn in horses fees is to have clients pay the fees for you! You can include the PayPal directly on client invoices as a small percentage business fee.
PayPal charges anywhere from 2%–6% to accept payments from clients, so this could save you a lot of money. And since this is the most widely accepted form of online payment, most clients request it.
This is why it’s totally okay to include a standard PayPal percentage fee on invoices sent to clients.
2. Accept ACH bank transfers and echecks
If you use a traditional invoicing software like QuickBooks Online, you can accept ACH bank transfers and echecks for no fee at all!
Seriously, ACH transfers and echecks are a completely free option for service providers who send invoices and accept payments online.
While accepting credit cards virtually can cost 2.9% plus an additional $0.25 fee, encouraging clients and customers to pay with a bank transfer is totally free (for everyone!).
3. Request direct deposit as a preferred method
Avoid paying PayPal invoicing fees by requesting direct deposit instead. Not only will the funds be deposited into your account much faster than a 2-day transfer request from PayPal, but you will save money on transaction fees.
Here are some of the does a paypal business account cost money direct deposit services to use as a freelancer.
Dwolla
Dwolla makes it easy to transfer funds from one person to another and works with many of the best accounting services.
The does a paypal business account cost money part? No matter how big or small the payment does a paypal business account cost money is, Dwolla’s fee is only $0.25. And if the transaction is under $10 there’s no fee at all.
WePay
WePay has an online payment portal that’s completely customizable. It works with invoicing service such as FreshBooks, Zoho and more. WePay accepts all major credit cards and ACH payments.
But we’re going to focus on the direct deposit (ACH) payment processing as it’s only a 1% fee plus $0.30 per transaction.
This is quite a big savings over PayPal’s standard 2.9% fee.
Payroll deposit
Many business clients work with multiple freelance contractors so they may have a payroll system set up for paying invoices. Using a payroll service like Gusto you can have your monthly invoice payment direct deposited into your checking account.
There’s no fee for you to pay, as the client pays the fees to the payroll service.
I work with several clients who pay me via direct deposit using payroll services and it’s honestly my preferred payment method. I currently use Dwolla because it integrates with my GoDaddy Bookkeeping software.
But I’ve also does a paypal business account cost money WePay in ulta com pay my bill past to avoid PayPal fees and still save money. Any of these are excellent options for decreasing PayPal invoicing fees.
4. Consider wire transfers online
If you work with international freelance clients it might make more sense to set up wire transfers to receive invoicing payments. Otherwise you may have to pay currency conversion rates and other fees to access your money.
The only thing is that this can cost your clients $20-40 per international wire transfer so it’s a bit expensive. In addition, it can take several business days to process the payment into your bank account.
One way to avoid the expense of a wire transfer is to use a service like TransferWise. They are fully transparent with their fees and don’t hike up the cost for currency conversion (like most banks do).
Wise, formerly TransferWise, is cheaper and faster than traditional wire transfers!
5. Get PayPal business discounts
Several accounting programs have a deal worked out with PayPal that can does a paypal business account cost money you quite a bit of money on PayPal fees.
For example, for loyal customers who use FreshBooks Invoicing you get access to the PayPal Business Payments option. This only costs you $0.50 per bank transfer payment received from clients.
In order for this to work clients must choose the “PayPal Transfer” option and have the funds taken out of their bank account.
This process takes 3-4 business days longer than being paid via standard PayPal or credit card. But in does a paypal business account cost money cases this added savings is totally worth it.
I mean, who doesn’t want to keep more of their hard-earned money? Here’s how it works.
Start by creating a new invoice
Click the “New Invoice” button to create a new invoice for a client, or you can replicate your template from a past invoice.
On the right-hand side of your new invoice, look under the Online Payment Options section and you’ll see the different payment options you currently offer your clients.
Choose the PayPal Business Payment option
Be sure to check the “business” PayPal Business Payment box under the PayPal tab when creating an invoice, and you’ll only be charged $0.50 per transaction — no matter how large your invoice.
Here’s how it works in FreshBooks
The process looks like this –> New Invoice –> Accept Payments Online –> check boxes for different payment options, the PayPal Business Payments option is under the PayPal tab.
You can’t use it with credit cards, only a does a paypal business account cost money transfer from a bank account. But most of my clients use this option and I’ve never had an issue.
You can use FreshBooks to clock your time with client projects, bill for expenses and services, and then receive payments prosperity bank usa online month.
Yes, FreshBooks Classic charges a small monthly fee to use their services (about $20-30 a month), although they do have a free service with less features. But that’s small change compared to the fees PayPal charges, and how much money you could save using this invoicing hack.
Beware though, this does not include a credit payment option. In order to receive the $0.50 per invoice paid option your clients have to be willing to pay via this method only.
However, it can be worth the savings (in my opinion and experience) and most clients don’t mind using this payment process at all.
This is mostly only available for U.S. currency but if your clients pay you using this method, it could potentially save you hundreds of dollars each year.
6. Apply for lower merchant fees with PayPal
There is a simple hack that only takes a minute or two to help you pay lower PayPal fees. If your PayPal account processes $3,000 or more transactions per month, you can apply for lower merchant transaction fees.
This could take the normal 2.9% fee to 2.5% or even 2.2% if you qualify.
Follow these steps to apply for lower merchant fees with PayPal.
- Log into your PayPal account
- Access the Merchant Rate Application form
- Fill in your details on the short form
- Check the box to indicate you have read the User Agreement
- Click “Submit”
You’ll immediately find out whether or not you PayPal account is approved for a lower percentage rate.
Remember, PayPal fees are tax deductible
Transaction fees are just part of doing business online. The good news though, is that PayPal fees are totally tax deductible as a business expense.
It’s true!
At the end of the year, simply calculate PayPal fees that you paid. Then include the total amount of fees on your self-employed tax return, Schedule C.
At the very least, paying PayPal fees can help reduce your tax bill at the end of the year!
If you’re still losing your hard-earned money to PayPal fees, try these tips to decrease your PayPal fees.
It will only take a few minutes to apply these money-saving tips so you can keep more of your hard-earned money!