This page is available only if you have signed up for Recurring Billing Services.
Only administrators can modify this information. If you do not have administrator privileges, you can only view this information here.
Create Profile page enables you to create a new recurring billing profile for a customer. A profile is your definition of a recurring transaction for a single customer. The profile includes all information required to automatically bill the right person the right amount of money at the right time for the right term.
There are two ways to add a profile:
Create a new profile. Specify all account and billing information on this page.
Use an existing transaction as a starting point for the profile.
To access the Create Profile page, navigate to Service Settings -> Recurring Billing -> Create Profile.
Be sure to enter information for all fields denoted by an asterisk.
For Transaction Mode, specify whether to display Live or Test transactions. Profiles created in Test status are handled by PayPal’s test system and do not accept or process live credit card or ACH account numbers. Live profiles handle real funds.
Specify a Profile Name (up to 128 characters) for the person or organization that is useful to you. For example, Monthly Newsletter - Jane Doe. You can use the name specified here to search for a profile.
Enter the Billing Information, including phone, fax and email address, for the new profile.
If the Shipping Information is the same as the billing information, click the Same as Billing Information check box. Otherwise, fill in the shipping information.
Enter the Phone number for contacting purposes.
Enter Email address to search for profiles. This field is required if you wish to send the customer messages each time a payment succeeds or fails. Refer to Customer Email for more information.
Enter the following payment information:
|
Field |
Description |
|
Currency Code |
If this option is available to you, select a currency type from the drop-down menu. |
|
Recurring Amount |
Fixed amount to be charged to the customer’s credit card each payment period. |
|
Start Date/Next Payment Date |
The date that the first payment should be processed. Subsequent payments are processed in the next payment period that you specify. Use today’s date or a date in the future. |
|
Comment |
Use this field for comments on this profile. You can search for profiles by comment and view comments for all profiles. |
|
Maximum Failed Payments
|
The number of payment periods for which the transaction is allowed to fail before PayPal deactivates a profile. For example, if you bill monthly and specify 3, PayPal attempts to process the card for three months (possibly with multiple retries during each monthly payment period). If the transaction is not approved during that time, PayPal deactivates the profile. The default value of 0 (zero) specifies that retry attempts should occur until the profile expires (that is, when the term is complete). |
|
Term (number of payments) |
The number of payments to be made over the duration of the agreement. For example, a one-year, monthly payment contract has a term of 12. A value of 0 (zero) specifies an indefinite number of payments. |
|
Maximum Retry Number of Days |
The number of consecutive days that PayPal should attempt to process a failed transaction until approved status is received. For example, if you specify 4, PayPal attempts to process the transaction once each day for four consecutive days. If the transaction is not approved during this time, the payment scheduled for that payment period is marked as failed. This increments the number of failed payments used to by maximum fail payments. Valid values: 1 - 4. Default: 2. |
|
Payment Period |
Specifies how often the payment occurs. For example, specify monthly to cause one payment to occur every month.
|
|
Credit Card Number |
Customer's credit card number that is used for payments. If you are creating a profile using information from a transaction, then the credit card information from that transaction is used, and you do not have the option to enter a credit card number here. |
|
Expiration Date |
Expiration date of the credit card to be used for payments. If you are creating a profile using information from a transaction, then the credit card information from that transaction is used, and you do not have the option to enter an expiration date here. |
Using the Optional Transaction section, you can optionally submit an Authorization (for Account Verification) or a Sale transaction (for a setup fee, for example) when submitting a new profile. Optional Transaction is a one-time transaction and is not considered a recurring payment.
Transaction Type. Select one of the following options from the drop-down menu:
Authorization: Process a transaction to validate the customer’s account information before creating the profile. Depending on your processor, a $0 or $1 authorization is processed. PayPal automatically voids the $1 authorization if it is successfully authorized.
Sale: Charge a setup fee or other fee when you submit the profile.
Transaction Amount. Enter an amount for the optional transaction. For example, 12.00. This field appears only if you select a Sale transaction. It does not appear for Authorization because PayPal performs an Account Verification transaction automatically.
Click Submit.
If you specify an Optional Sale Transaction, then you must specify an amount for the transaction in the Transaction Amount field. If you leave the field blank, the profile is created, but no transaction is processed.
If the card is successfully authorized or charged, the profile is created and activated.
If the card is declined, the profile is not created.