4 Min. Read

How to Receive Money on PayPal? Small Business Guide

June 28, 2021

When starting up a small business, there are a huge amount of things to consider.

One of the common headaches many business owners face is being able to securely receive payments from customers.

There are an estimated 30.7 billion small businesses in the US alone. Plus over 90% of the business population is made up of small to medium-sized businesses. So it’s no wonder why money handling services such as PayPal have been so successful.

Here’s What We’ll Cover:

What Is PayPal?

How Do I Receive Money Through PayPal?

Key Takeaways

What Is PayPal?

If you’re the owner of a small business, you’ve most likely looked into a variety of online methods for receiving money. If you’ve done any sort of thorough search, you’ve most likely heard of PayPal.

PayPal is a payment processing service used by both businesses and regular consumers. It is used for a variety of financial transactions around the world. This can be done via the web, mobile apps or even in person.

PayPal can be used to pay bills, send and receive money, accept payments and more.

There are an estimated 325 million account holders, out of which roughly 19 million are merchant accounts. It also supports over 100 currencies around the world.

So it’s safe to say that it’s quite popular.

How Do I Receive Money Through PayPal?

Maybe you are a designer selling their wares on Etsy. Or perhaps you’ve opened your own independent coffee shop in the suburbs. You might even be an entrepreneurial teen and this is your first venture into the business world. No matter what type of business you are, you can easily set up a PayPal account to receive payments.

But how do you receive money through PayPal?

There are two main ways that PayPal supports businesses receiving money; online and in person:

1. PayPal Online Payments

PayPal Checkout lets your business accept a range of payment types online.

Credit or debit card, PayPal account, you name it – they can complete their payment without leaving your site.

PayPal’s payment solutions also let you accept card payments on an online marketplace like eBay or Etsy. Your customers can use the PayPal checkout by credit or debit card without even having to set up a PayPal account.

2. PayPal Card Reader

For people who run any sort of offline business, you can order a card reader linked with your PayPal account for instant payments.

Every time someone uses their chip, swipes, or taps with their credit card, the money goes straight to your PayPal account.

From there, you can either keep it in your PayPal account or transfer it to your personal or business bank accounts.

It’s fast, easy and as secure as taking payments online. Once you’ve ordered your card reader, you can start taking payments as early as the next day.

Key Takeaways

PayPal has plenty of benefits that suit small businesses all over the world. The number of businesses using it as their main way of receiving payments shows it’s a trusted solution.

There are many benefits to PayPal. It’s easy to set up and use and it’s likely that your customers will already be familiar with PayPal. Plus, people don’t need to worry about signing up for PayPal to be able to pay you as all they will need is their bank details and an email address.

Despite its popularity, PayPal isn’t necessarily the perfect solution for every small business.

A lot of small business owners are put off by the hefty fees for chargebacks. You are also limited in terms of use which can be off putting for a lot of small businesses.

The decision of which service to use for handling your money and finances is a big one.

It’s vital that you take the time to explore all of your options before making a decision.

One of those options is FreshBooks. FreshBooks is an accounting software that provides accounting solutions for small business owners. It gives you a way to keep all of your business needs in one place.

The service also offers FreshBooks Payments, which is a solution that makes it easier for your clients to pay online. That means you can get paid twice as fast.

There are multiple ways to pay and there are no hidden fees or costs.