I'm wondering if anyone else uses Google Payments for invoicing. Before starting my VA business, I did some freelance for Demand Studios and received payment through PayPal, but I spent three months fighting with PayPal because they locked my account after I moved and accessed it from a different IP (at least that's the best I can figure out for them locking it, as they have yet to give me a real reason). Because of that issue, PayPal has left a bad taste in my mouth, and I really don't want to use them at all.

I'm signed up with Google Payments, verified my checking account, etc., and I'm ready to go. Just wondering what some opinions of it are.

Anyone? I've been wondering about this as well, as I've heard SO MANY PayPay horror stories, but don't yet have enough of a practice to justify a merchant account - is Google Checkout any good?

I've used Google Checkout to buy things and I also signed up to use it to accept payments as well. I think they're fine to use....are they better than PayPal? I don't know that for sure. I know their fees are comparable and I haven't heard any complaints about them like I have with PayPal.

The reason I didn't go with them though is because it does require those who use it to have a Google account and my clients mostly seem more familiar with using PayPal or having a PayPal account than wanting to go to the trouble of signing up for a Google Account.

You should be fine with it but you may have to explain to some people that you prefer Google as your payment provider rather than PayPal with whom you've some issues.

You can also sign up to receive payments directly from someone's checking account using Intuit and they only charge a flat fee of .50 or .75 (I can't remember which) but that's still cheaper than either PayPal or Google but is only a solution for those who want to pay directly from their checking and not a credit card. Plus it's faster getting deposited directly into your checking using Intuit.

__________________
Kimberly
Facebook Marketing Magic!

Originally Posted by 25thHour

Anyone? I've been wondering about this as well, as I've heard SO MANY PayPay horror stories, but don't yet have enough of a practice to justify a merchant account - is Google Checkout any good?

I'm one of those PayPal horror stories. Account locked with money in it for no obvious reason. The only thing I could figure out was that I'd moved, and so was accessing my account from a different IP for a couple days before it got locked.

To get it unlocked, I had to provide multiple documents proving my identity, and ended up having to do that three times before they'd unlock it. It took months. And when you've got nearly $500 of your money locked up? Well, it leaves you very, very unhappy!

I understand their need/desire to protect people from fraud, but I'm not sure how receiving biweekly payments from Demand Studios and using their debit card to buy what I need, like groceries and pay for books, constitutes fraud! And that's literally all I had used the account for at that point, with the occasionally very rare ebay purchase! Most of my spending was at the grocery store and Amazon.com LOL

So I'm jumpy about PayPal. I've had my account locked once, and I do not want to go through it again. I don't even want to risk it. So I won't be using PayPal with my clients at all.

Originally Posted by JKVirtualOffice

I've used Google Checkout to buy things and I also signed up to use it to accept payments as well. I think they're fine to use....are they better than PayPal? I don't know that for sure. I know their fees are comparable and I haven't heard any complaints about them like I have with PayPal. The reason I didn't go with them though is because it does require those who use it to have a Google account and my clients mostly seem more familiar with using PayPal or having a PayPal account than wanting to go to the trouble of signing up for a Google Account. You should be fine with it but you may have to explain to some people that you prefer Google as your payment provider rather than PayPal with whom you've some issues. You can also sign up to receive payments directly from someone's checking account using Intuit and they only charge a flat fee of .50 or .75 (I can't remember which) but that's still cheaper than either PayPal or Google but is only a solution for those who want to pay directly from their checking and not a credit card. Plus it's faster getting deposited directly into your checking using Intuit.

I'll have to look into Intuit for accepting check payments. Thank you for mentioning it!

I had a bad experience with Pay Pal, a client after he paid his invoice with a credit card decided to ask for a charge back through pay pal. I never left my monies in paypal I always transferred it to my business checking account. I called my client and explain to him if you want your money returned, please returned the work I did for you, until then no returning of any funds. Paypal lock my account and told me I owed them monies. I replied to them, have the client return the work for a refund until then no refund. I called the client and told him to read his retainer, and any dispute will be adjudicated in small claim court in Kings County, New York City.

Found out later that this client went from VA to VA getting work done and not paying for it.

I tried other payment solutions, which the fee were ridiculously high. Then I came across google, I have used it for two years. Same concept as paypal.

I am offering google and am now offering paypal again, some clients are die hard paypal users and no matter how hard I tell them that google is just like paypal. Well let just say they're no takers. So I went back to offering paypal as an alternative, not my primary payment solutions.

I am also checking a new payment solution offer through American Express called, Accept Pay. it's $20.00 a month, also have e-check and invoicing included.

They're alot of payment solutions out there just choose the one that fits your clientele or your business.

__________________
Phyllis L
UNIQUELY40, LLC
http://www.uniquely40.com

My big concern is that PayPal is so huge and so familiar to people that everyone sort of expects you to use that. But my bad experience with them is way too fresh for me to take the chance. I've only had my account back for a couple of months, and I haven't used it since. The only reason I went through the process to get it back was because I had a good chunk of change that I hadn't yet transferred to my bank account!

I think I'll work with Google payments and just make sure clients know that's the only option for payment unless they want to mail me a check, and wait for it to clear for me to begin working on their projects.