| Payments FAQ |
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Related information: Please read Accounting FAQ Question: What happens when someone pays on our website that is set up with your software? When a payment is made on your website, our software records the details ( i.e. date, amount, currency, and transaction id only. Not the card number) in the person's contact record. Then we immediately send the transaction to a "Payment Processor" to process it. Optionally a receipt is emailed to the person and the bookkeeper. If the payment is completed successfully, the donation is marked as "completed." If the person making the donation chooses the "pay later" option, the contribution is marked as "pending." The staff can run searches and reports to view various contributions, both pending and/or completed. All this activity happens in "real-time", i.e. immediately. If the card was rejected for any reason, the donor sees the error message. At any time a staff person can run a report or search in our software, where you always have the latest information about all contributions and payments. Also, the donor can login to the website and view a history of their payments. The money is also moved to your organization's account in real time. So you have access to the money immediately, which improves cash flow. Question: What if we do not have a payment processor? Or do not want to have people pay online?
All fee-based events, donation and membership pages would create "pay later" type contributions. The organization would later need to record checks and cash received in the Shul Suite staff area. Of course we can always add a payment processor easily in the future if desired. Question: Do we need to be PCI compliant to add a payment processor to Shul Suite? No, because no payments originate in the synagogue. If you are using Pay Pal Express, all transactions start on their website, not the synagogue's website. Since Pay Pal systems are PCI compliant, your website does not need to be. If you are using a merchant account ( such as Metro Merchant Services or Pay Pal Pro ), then the web hosting company hosting the synagogue website needs to be secured, not the synagogue. Question: What is a "payment processor"? A "Payment Processor" is a generic term for an organization that is connected to the large banking system, ie large banks that process Visa, Mastercard, and other methods. They verify that the card is not stolen, not over the spending limit, not expired, or various other issues that prevent the payment from being made. There are different types of payment processors that offer different fees/rates and different benefits. Some require a "setup fee", others do not. Some will list your organization on the credit card statement, some will list their own name. For example, if someone donates $100 by credit card, they will later get their bank statement where they see a record of the payment. If using Pay Pal Express, the donor will see "$100 paid to Pay Pal" If using a better quality payment processor account ( such as a merchant account at Metro Merchant Services or Pay Pal Pro ) the donor will see "$100 paid to ABC Foundation" or whatever the nonprofit's name is. It is preferable to have the nonprofit's name listed on the donor's bank statement. Question: How can somebody pay by check or direct transfer from their bank account, or from their Pay Pal account? In all of these cases, the person would click the "Pay by Pay Pal" button. Then they can set up their account details with Pay Pal. Then Pay Pal would process the transaction immediately. Question: What if someone mails in or drops off a check? Or gives us cash? You would go into Shul Suite and record the details in the person's contact record. Question: What percent or fee does Pogstone take out of the donations? Pogstone does not take anything out of the donation. The only fees are those deducted directly from the Payment Processor. Question: What is the benefit of using a merchant account such as Metro Merchant Services or Pay Pal Pro instead of Pay Pal Express? - With a merchant account, the donor makes the payment entirely on your website. There is no evidence that another company is involved in the transaction. With Pay Pal Express, part of the transaction occurs on a Pay Pal page and there are a few extra clicks for the donor to complete the payment. - The donor will see "$100 paid to ABC Foundation" or whatever your name is on their bank statement. With Pay Pal Express, the donor will see the name "Pay Pal" on their bank statement. - A virtual terminal capability is typically included with a merchant account. Question: What is a virtual terminal? This is a fancy way of saying that you ( or your staff ) can type in a credit card donation/payment on behalf of another person. For example, a person may have called you and given their card number to you by phone. ( or mailed in a form ) and directed you to make a donation on their behalf. This is usually because the person is not online , not computer-literate, or simply has been doing this for years and does not want to change. In general, this type of activity is more prone to fraud than the person doing it for themselves, and therefore a payment processor will charge more for this capability. Some security issues with this method: Do you write down the number that was called in? If so, how is the paper secured from prying eyes? Are you ( or your staff ) only putting in the correct amount that the donor desires? Who has access to the credit card number? Question: What happens if our website is hacked? Can a criminal steal our donors' credit card information? Since we do not keep credit card information in our system, there is nothing to steal. We NEVER store or record the credit card number, expiration date or security code in our system. ( i.e. the database. ) The number is transmitted to the payment processor immediately and is not stored in our software/database. Question: Since you don't store the credit card number, how do scheduled payments/pledges get processed? The "payment processor" stores the payment details ( ie credit card number, checking account number, etc ) in their system, and processes the transactions in the future according to the chosen schedule. Question: What if the payment processor system gets hacked? While this is extremely unlikely as payment processors ( just like other banks and financial institutions ) spend a lot of time and effort making sure their systems have the best security available, nothing is 100%. However, it is far more likely that a credit card number gets stolen while paying at a fancy restaurant when the credit card is in back, after the the waiter leaves your table with your card. Question: I already am using a Pay Pal "Donate Now" button or something similar. How is this software different? When someone uses a "Donate Now" button, you get an email receipt about the donation. Or you can log into your Pay Pal account and view/download the activity. BUT, you do not have any search/reporting tools that give you the complete picture. For example: John Doe paid $100 online using the "Donate Now" button. He also mailed a check for $250. The Pay Pal tools would only show $100. It would not show donations that occurred more than a few months in the past, or any other information about John. If someone is a long-time donor, it is extremely valuable to be able to see ALL the donations that person has made, no matter how far back, no matter how they paid. It is also useful to store John's nickname, cell phone number, birthday, and other information that is needed by your organization in a single system, not just the payment history. It is also valuable to know that John's wife Jane Doe has also donated money. You can identify total donations for the whole family using our software. |