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    All In One Place - Using PayPal For Invoicing

    Whether you’re an individual or a small business, international transactions and payments are largely more accessible and straightforward thanks to PayPal.

    PayPal invoicing helps small businesses and individuals manage their international payments with professional and customizable invoices. Invoices generated using this system are sent to clients via email and feature built-in reminder functionality.

    The email contains the link from which the client can view invoices and make payments via credit and debit cards, bank transfer, or existing balances.

    An Overview Of The Benefits

    Small and medium-sized businesses across various business sectors are undoubtedly familiar with PayPal as a go-to payment solution. Statistically, this platform hosts over 87 million active users across the world and deals in 24 currencies.

    Wondering why this is considered a go-to solution for invoicing for small business? Read on to find out.

    Unlimited Invoices For Unlimited Clients

    One of the greatest benefits of using this platform as an invoice app is that it offers unlimited invoices for unlimited clients. All that you need to do is choose a template from the wide range of free ones available, generate the request with all the required details, and hit send. The customization and templates are free, irrespective of the number you send.

    With PayPal, you don’t need to worry about purchasing or renewing your business account to be able to send invoices on the go. You can add and send hundreds of requests to your clients without worrying about running out of credits.

    All In One Place

    PayPal is a very comprehensive solution for small and medium-sized businesses as well as individuals. Having a business account gives you access to nearly every feature that the payment giant has on offer. It allows you to generate and send invoices to your international clients over email. Your clients can make the payment securely via the platform itself and you’re notified once the payment is credited to your account.

    You can also track the status of all your invoices, record payment manually, and more. Plus, access to all these features is available on the go via the official website, mobile invoicing app, or invoicing API.

    No Additional Cost

    Opening and maintaining a business account doesn’t incur any membership or subscription charges. Customizing and sending invoices and maintaining payment records can be done free of cost. However, there’s just a very small charge that you need to pay once payments are received from clients.

    While these charges are nominal, they can stack up over time for small payments. You’ll be charged only when you receive the payment, which starts from just 2.9% of the amount plus $0.30 for every transaction. However, it’s important to note that the charges can vary based on the amount received, location of the business, and several other relevant criteria.

    The Disadvantages

    No modern payment solution is entirely flawless, and PayPal is no exception. Still, although the drawbacks are mainly minor, possible disadvantages include:

    ·    Chargebacks - If you’ve been dealing with international clients, you might have come across ones who file for a chargeback upon the smallest issue. However, the real problem arises when the platform deducts a chargeback fee from the seller of the services, which can be quite steep if you’re a small business owner. However, this chargeback fee is deducted only if it doesn’t fall under the Seller Protection policies.

    ·    Frozen Funds - Though every payment gateway is guided by terms of use, the ones for this platform are quite strict and non-adherence may even result in the suspension of the account. Moreover, once your account is suspended, the funds in your account might be frozen for months until the dispute is resolved.

    ·    Limited Reach - You’ll still find a lot of individuals and business owners who refuse to use the platform or don’t have an account at all. This might cost a loss of prospective business.

    When You Would Choose PayPal For Invoicing

    PayPal is a great platform to get your business online and thanks to the various benefits it delivers, a lot of people prefer using it over other payment methods. However, based on the advantages and disadvantages, there are still a lot of people who prefer not to use it.

    Here are some cases when you should use the platform:

    • When the platform is the leading invoicing and payment gateway in your client’s country of operations
    • When the services you offer fall under Seller Protection (digital goods are often not included)
    • When you’ve had relations with the clients for some time and both parties trust each other’s services

    There are some cases where it may not be the best choice including:

    • When a client is new because new clients are accompanied by higher risks of chargebacks even for the slightest disputes
    • When the amount payable on the invoices is small because charges might narrow your profits

    PayPal Versus Stripe For Invoicing

    Stripe is another online payment platform that lets you send and accept payments. Over the last few years, it has become increasingly popular across the ecommerce industry.

    Some of the key differences between Stripe and its key competitor include:

    • PayPal charges a chargeback fee of $20, while Stripe is slightly better at $15. This gives Stripe a slight edge over its competition.
    • Stripe has a presence in around 32 countries, whereas PayPal serves nearly 200 countries. Accordingly, payments from the latter can reach more customers and clients around the globe.
    • Stripe doesn’t offer free invoicing for a lifetime, unlike its competition. It’s free only for the first $1 million in sales, after which you’ll need to pay a subscription fee.

    Summing It Up

    PayPal’s payment gateway has been around for some time. However, with the advent of the free invoicing solution, the platform has extended its services to a wider audience, including freelancers and small businesses.

    It’s a good choice for small and medium-sized businesses operating globally. However, startup companies receiving smaller amounts might not find it very lucrative owing to the minimum 2.9% charge plus $0.30 per payment received.

    Rest assured, if your business is requesting larger amounts, PayPal’s invoicing function is among the most versatile and cost-effective tools available.