Accepting payments part 2: Sending invoices

PayPal Invoicing has no setup or monthly fees. When a customer pays you online, you’re charged a fee based on the amount of the purchase. Fees vary by country or region.

Learn more about fees.

How can customers pay my invoices?

PayPal customers can easily pay your invoices. They don’t need a PayPal account to pay. They can also pay you with a credit or debit card or with Pay Later.

Can customers make partial payments?

To accept partial payment from your customer, check the Allow partial payment box under payment options when you’re creating an invoice. This lets your customers make multiple payments toward the total amount of a single invoice.

If you require a minimum amount due, your customer will need to pay at least that amount in their partial payment. Your invoice will have a Partially Paid status until it’s fully paid. A record of payments will appear on the invoice details.

Partial payments aren’t a credit product or a way to allow for an excessive number of payments. We may contact businesses if we suspect they’re not using this feature correctly.

What if customers can’t find my invoices?

If your customer can’t find their email notification for an invoice, their email filter might have sent it to the junk folder. If your customer has a PayPal account, they can pay the invoice by logging into their account where they’ll see the invoice in their Activity. If needed, you can share a link to the unpaid invoice with your customer.

Can I send reminder emails for unpaid invoices?

To send a reminder about an unpaid invoice, find it in your list of invoices. On a desktop computer, click the three-dot icon and click Remind. On a mobile phone, you can send reminders from an unpaid invoice’s details page. You can personalize the reminder before sending it. Your customer will receive an email reminding them to pay the invoice. To save time, set up automatic reminders for all new invoices in your Invoicing settings. You can also schedule automatic reminders warning customers when an invoice is overdue.

Set up automatic reminders.

Save customer contact info

We’ll save a list of all your invoicing customers in your settings. You can add more contact info about your customers in your settings or by editing your customer’s information when you’re creating an invoice.

How can I cancel an invoice?

When you cancel a sent or shared invoice, your customer won’t be able to pay it.

Here's how to cancel an invoice or money request on the desktop experience:

• Log in to your PayPal account.
• Click Activity at the top of the page and then select All transactions.
• Click Details next to the invoice you want to review.
• Click Cancel invoice and follow the instructions.

Once the invoice has been canceled, an email notification will be shared with the recipient.

On mobile, find the invoice from your list. Tap the More icon on invoice details and cancel it.

Can I record payments made outside PayPal?

If your customer pays by cash, check, or another offline method, you can record the payment from the invoice details page. You can also record an offline partial payment if your customer made a deposit or paid an installment. Recorded payments appear in the activity of the invoice’s details page along with any notes you’ve entered about the payments.

Can I add notes/memos for my records?

To add a note to your invoice for your own records, click or tap the More Options link while you’re creating an invoice. Add a memo that your customer won’t see. If you’ve already sent the invoice, you can add a memo on the invoice’s details page.

Can I give my customers a receipt?

When your customer pays a PayPal invoice, they automatically receive a payment receipt. If your customer wants another copy of the invoice, you can share a link to the paid invoice or create a PDF to send or print.

How do I download invoices for my business records?

To download single or multiple PDFs for your invoices, hover over one or more invoices in your list and check each box. Then choose Download from the actions displayed.

How do I integrate PayPal Invoicing into my website?

With a single integration, you can connect PayPal Invoicing directly into your order management system or website. You’ll need API credentials to connect your PayPal account to your platform so you can integrate PayPal Invoicing with your site.

Integrate PayPal Invoicing.

Your business information appears at the top of your invoices and estimates. You can display your logo, business name, business address, website, and other contact info. To add a new address, email, or phone number to your invoices, you’ll need to update your PayPal profile settings. After you add this contact info to your PayPal account, return to PayPal Invoicing to update the business information on your invoices.

Set up your business information.

Can I add a personalized logo to my invoice?

You can add a logo to your invoices in your business information settings or when you’re creating an invoice. You can add any PNG, GIF, BMP or JPG file, up to 1MB in size. We’ll resize your logo to fit within a 250(w) x 90(h) size.

Can I create invoice templates?

PayPal Invoicing comes with templates designed for both service- and sales-based businesses. To save time and effort, create your own templates with customized item details, terms and conditions, notes, business info, and other options. You can also save a new template from a newly created invoice. On desktop, click the downward arrow on the Send button to save an invoice as a new template.

Can I save customized items for future use?

You can save items by adding them in the Items section of your Invoicing settings. You can use them anytime in your future invoices.

How do I add taxes to my invoices?

To save commonly used taxes (like sales tax, VAT, or GST) for future invoices, add them in the Taxes section of your Invoicing settings.

Can I add my Terms and Conditions to an invoice?

When creating an invoice on desktop, click Add terms and conditions under Message to customer to include specific terms your customer should know. On mobile, tap See more options to add your terms and conditions.

​You can use this text box to include legally required information for your business. For example tax information for customers, payment terms, a VAT number, or any other legal requirement. Please note, PayPal doesn’t represent or warrant that PayPal Invoices meet the local legal or regulatory requirements in your market. It is your responsibility to include all required information in your invoices.

Send professional estimates to give your customers the expected cost and description of your goods or services. PayPal estimates let your customers easily make approvals or request changes.

Creating estimates is similar to creating invoices. Just like invoices, you can add your logo, save item descriptions, work from templates, and customize the estimate number. You can save estimates as templates for future invoices and estimates.

What happens after I send an estimate?

When you send an estimate through PayPal, your customer will receive an email notifying them of the estimate and allowing them to view the estimate details. The customer will be able to accept the estimate or request changes.

When a customer accepts an estimate, you’ll get an email notifying you. You’ll be able to convert the estimate into an invoice.

If your customer requests changes, we’ll let you know with an email. Your customer can include a note about these changes. When you update the estimate, your customer will receive an email notification asking them to review and accept your changes.

If needed, you can always cancel your estimate. When you cancel an estimate, your customer will receive an email notifying them of the cancellation.

Can I update an estimate that the customer already accepted?

If you update the details on an estimate after a customer has accepted it, the estimate status will revert to “Sent.” This ensures that your customer knows about the updates and accepts your changes.

Can I convert estimates into invoices?

Convert your estimate into an invoice at any time. Your customer doesn’t need to accept the estimate through PayPal for you to convert it into an invoice.

When you convert an estimate, all details—including your customer’s email, item descriptions, discounts, terms, etc.—automatically populate a draft invoice. The same goes for any payment options you’ve selected, such as partial payments or tips. You’ll be able to edit and preview this invoice before sending it to your customer.

Do PayPal’s terms and conditions apply to estimates?

PayPal estimates are a convenient tool to make it easier for you to communicate with your customers. All estimates and updates are between you and your customer and PayPal isn’t a party to them. You’re entirely responsible for the details therein, whether they’re binding or not, and any understanding you reach with your customers. You take full responsibility for your use of PayPal estimates.