Paypal makes buying and selling online easier.
Get the tools, products, financing, and support you need to help establish or grow your business – from processing payments and building a website to shipping and marketing.
Don't worry, a Paypal business account is free. Yes! FREE.
When I first started my small business, I realized right away that I would need to offer more than just in-person cash payments. Now, I don't know about you, but I don't trust those Cash App/Venmo type of apps. I also don't think it's very professional, and if you're serious about growing your side hustle into a legitimate business, you have to move past those types of cash apps, and move on to something bigger, and much more secure.
That's where Paypal comes in.
It is completely secure. It allows you to save customer information which makes for much easier invoicing.
Speaking of invoices, your Paypal business account will allow you to send unlimited invoices to your customers, and even better, you can customize your invoices to look how you want them to look.
What I loved most about Paypal invoices is that you can send the invoices either directly to your customers email, OR by link. This means, if your customer isn't really an email type of person, you can text them the link, and all they have to do is click the link to pay your invoice.
What if my customers don't have a Paypal account?
No worries! While Paypal will of course ask your customer if they want to open a Paypal account, they do not have to. It is as simple as shopping online. They simply approve the total amount you have billed them, and then they enter their card or bank info. It's as easy as that! You then get your money deposited into your account right away - no muss, no fuss!
You can also ship directly from Paypal!
Once you're ready to ship, you'll simply open up the invoice, and click "Ship Now". Since you've already inserted your customers info, all you have to do is type in the size and weight of your package, and then print your label! I'm telling you, Paypal does all the work for you!
Now, of course there are some fees associated with Paypal. Most fees are a flat 2.9% plus 30 cents per transaction. You can read all about the fees for selling and accepting payments here.
Personally, before I ran my own shop, Paypal was THE way I made all of my sales, and processed any transactions.
Not only can you invoice your customers directly from your account, but you'll also be able to generate sales reports, to get a good look at your profits!
And, if all of that hasn't sold you yet, just know, your Paypal business account automatically comes with Seller protection, and fraud monitoring. This means that if a customer later tries to say that they never received their order, even when you have proof that it was delivered, you will not be penalized for it. I've been selling for years, and unfortunately this problem occasionally happens, and every time, Paypal has been there to watch my back.
Let me know if you decide to sign up for a free Paypal business account in the comments below!
