I'm trying to set up a payment system for my services. I've read the other posts about Merchant Accounts and haven't found one that will do exactly what I want. I'm hoping someone will have some ideas for me. My problem is that I'm selling services related to the creation of e-books amoung other things - in most cases the final product will be downloaded, but each will be unique to the customer and priced accordingly.
Here is what I want to accomplish: the cutomer receives my invoice containing a payment link, the cutomer clicks the link to pay by credit card, I get instant notification that they have paid and the customer receives an e-mail confirmation of payment.
Other notes: I want the e-mail confirmation to be customized (i.e. for invoice 1, "field" contains "***
", invoice 2, "etud" etc. where "field" will be a password, download link, or user name). I need a diiferent e-mail confirmation if the invoice isn't paid in full (this would be the same regardless of the invoice). I would also like be able to offer the option of paying by electronic check. If possible, I would also like to have a "pay bill" option on my site where the customer enters the invoice number and can pay that way (of course I want the info on the bill displayed when they key in the number) - this is a minor desire, I could operate without it.
Does anyone have an idea of where I can find a service to accomplish all this? I keep finding ones that will only do part. I would really appreciate your help!
Thanks, Tam
Posted on: 8:20 pm on March 8, 2002
EBookCompiler
I don't know if this helps, but I think maybe you should separate the 2 problems
Problem 1 - billing the customer a variable amount
Problem 2 - tracking who pays what, status of each account
Problem 1 is difficult to solve with most Internet payment services (I'm not saying impossible), however merchant accounts generally allow it (like when you go in a store and pay - but merchants can also usually do telephone or remote orders using the CC terminal). Plus something like PayPal , ProPay etc. would probably allow it
Problem 2. I think probably what you want is some kind of system / database for tracking each customer's account balance etc. If you are not doing a huge volume, it may be simplest to do it manually (!), but if you want/need an automated system, then I think you probably will need something custom programmed based on your requirements (you need to find a web server programmer) which tracks balances, sends invoices etc. What I might suggest is find a solution to #1 first, before committing on the programming side, as most likely what needs to be programmed will depend to some degree on what payment system you use.
Posted on: 2:15 pm on March 9, 2002
thorfour
I've just signed up with GoEMercant, after a long research phase. They have everything you need for Merchant accounts, plus they're month-to-month. None of these 3-year plans with them. For an extra cost ($100) they'll give you unlimited download capability, too. Perfect for E-books. I already use them.
(Edited by thorfour at 5:09 am on Mar. 18, 2002)
Posted on: 10:55 pm on March 17, 2002
tlmorris
Thanks for the help. I think I'm going to give up on the idea of having the download accessable instantly. I've found a couple systems that work better if I simply have a thank you page with "will e-mail your download instructions"
Posted on: 12:51 am on March 23, 2002
JohnDodson
You should try using PayPal it's what I use in the same way your after and then I add my script to automate it.
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