Re: [asterisk-biz] OT: Correlation of Paypal transactions
I use similar to what you suggest. Using Quick books (I don't offer VoIP services only professional IT and PBX sales) I have a bank account called Paypal. When one pays thru Paypal I receive the payment into Paypal bank account, I then write out a check to Paypal for the transaction fee. When I withdraw the money into my real bank account I transfer it to my bank account within qucik books. On 11/12/10, Alex Balashov wrote: > Greetings, > > I apologise in advance that this is a bit off-topic. However, I know > that many of you who run service providers take a high volume of > individual Paypal payments, many of them recurring. > > My question is this: When withdrawing Paypal payments into a bank > account, how do you correlate them on the bank statement to the relevant > Paypal payment activity, and therefore the right customer/invoice/etc, > from an accounting perspective? > > When there is a manageably small number of payments involved, it can be > done chronologically. And likewise, if the amounts are highly specific > to each customer, that is also useful as a correlator. However, I have > found nothing embedded in the transaction ID or other identifiers that > show up in the online banking interface from which a reference to an > original Paypal transaction can be reconstructed. It seems to me that > the process of withdrawing money to a bank is a separate transaction > from receiving payment via Paypal anyway, since Paypal gives you the > ability to specify how much of your balance in its account you want to > withdraw. > > I suppose the easiest thing to do - and I imagine, the norm - is to just > record the incoming payments against open invoices at the moment they > are received, and put them in an asset account, less the transaction > fees. When Paypal payments clear into the bank, just move the funds > from one asset account to the other and be done with it, without > attempting to establish whose payment it was that cleared. The invoices > are paid either way, and the ultimate deposit destination of that money > is just an asset transfer technicality. > > Still, I am curious if there are any more advanced options available or > other handy tricks of the trade that anyone would be willing to share on > how to reconcile high volumes of individual Paypal transactions. > > Thanks! > > -- Alex > > P.S. I am referring to plain old Paypal here, not Paypal web payments, >merchant account services, etc. > > -- > Alex Balashov - Principal > Evariste Systems LLC > 1170 Peachtree Street NE > 12th Floor, Suite 1200 > Atlanta, GA 30309 > Tel: +1-678-954-0670 > Fax: +1-404-961-1892 > Web: http://www.evaristesys.com/ > > -- > _ > -- Bandwidth and Colocation Provided by http://www.api-digital.com -- > > asterisk-biz mailing list > To UNSUBSCRIBE or update options visit: >http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-biz > -- _ -- Bandwidth and Colocation Provided by http://www.api-digital.com -- asterisk-biz mailing list To UNSUBSCRIBE or update options visit: http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-biz
Re: [asterisk-biz] OT: Correlation of Paypal transactions
On Fri, Nov 12, 2010 at 8:16 PM, Alex Balashov wrote: > Greetings, > > I apologise in advance that this is a bit off-topic. However, I know > that many of you who run service providers take a high volume of > individual Paypal payments, many of them recurring. > > My question is this: When withdrawing Paypal payments into a bank > account, how do you correlate them on the bank statement to the relevant > Paypal payment activity, and therefore the right customer/invoice/etc, > from an accounting perspective? > > When there is a manageably small number of payments involved, it can be > done chronologically. And likewise, if the amounts are highly specific > to each customer, that is also useful as a correlator. However, I have > found nothing embedded in the transaction ID or other identifiers that > show up in the online banking interface from which a reference to an > original Paypal transaction can be reconstructed. It seems to me that > the process of withdrawing money to a bank is a separate transaction > from receiving payment via Paypal anyway, since Paypal gives you the > ability to specify how much of your balance in its account you want to > withdraw. > > I suppose the easiest thing to do - and I imagine, the norm - is to just > record the incoming payments against open invoices at the moment they > are received, and put them in an asset account, less the transaction > fees. When Paypal payments clear into the bank, just move the funds > from one asset account to the other and be done with it, without > attempting to establish whose payment it was that cleared. The invoices > are paid either way, and the ultimate deposit destination of that money > is just an asset transfer technicality. > > Still, I am curious if there are any more advanced options available or > other handy tricks of the trade that anyone would be willing to share on > how to reconcile high volumes of individual Paypal transactions. > > Thanks! > > -- Alex > > P.S. I am referring to plain old Paypal here, not Paypal web payments, > merchant account services, etc. > > -- > Alex Balashov - Principal > Evariste Systems LLC > 1170 Peachtree Street NE > 12th Floor, Suite 1200 > Atlanta, GA 30309 > Tel: +1-678-954-0670 > Fax: +1-404-961-1892 > Web: http://www.evaristesys.com/ > > I am confused what you are trying to do or why? Shift your thinking to the fact that even though it is electronic or whatever, it is still a cash transaction on your end. Payments are cash which you collect in your PayPal account (cash register/vault) and then deposit in the bank. In the old days, when I used to take the cash bank drops to the bank, there was no information from the bank except the total deposit. When a customer sends payment via PayPal, credit the payment that customer's accounts receivable in your CRM or accounting package, like any business, do it immediately, and at the end of the day, transfer the that day's batch over to your bank. It takes about three days and you can simply cross reference the day that the you withdrew from PayPal with the day your accounting package shows as paid, but again, I see no point. All the data you need should be in PayPal history and the place that really matters, your accounting package. The bank doesn't show you any information except the batch money transfer, but what do you need it for? You have already done the accounting on a cash deal and credited the correct account. One of my business checking accounts actually charges me a fee to be able to view scanned checks (considered cash as well) which is really a rip-off. If you are worried about PayPal stiffing you, just compare the batch PayPal withdraws with the deposit amount on your bank statement. Did I misinterpret what you are trying to with your bank account? Steve T -- _ -- Bandwidth and Colocation Provided by http://www.api-digital.com -- asterisk-biz mailing list To UNSUBSCRIBE or update options visit: http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-biz
Re: [asterisk-biz] OT: Correlation of Paypal transactions
Treat PayPal like a bank account and record the payments when you receive them in PayPal - not when you withdraw them. (aside from being more easy - you should probably do it like that anyway from a legal/accounting perspective) On your bank account treat paypal withdrawals like transfers between bank accounts. --- On Fri, 11/12/10, Alex Balashov wrote: > From: Alex Balashov > Subject: [asterisk-biz] OT: Correlation of Paypal transactions > To: "Commercial and Business-Oriented Asterisk Discussion" > > Date: Friday, November 12, 2010, 8:16 PM > Greetings, > > I apologise in advance that this is a bit off-topic. > However, I know > that many of you who run service providers take a high > volume of > individual Paypal payments, many of them recurring. > > My question is this: When withdrawing Paypal payments > into a bank > account, how do you correlate them on the bank statement to > the relevant > Paypal payment activity, and therefore the right > customer/invoice/etc, > from an accounting perspective? > > When there is a manageably small number of payments > involved, it can be > done chronologically. And likewise, if the amounts > are highly specific > to each customer, that is also useful as a > correlator. However, I have > found nothing embedded in the transaction ID or other > identifiers that > show up in the online banking interface from which a > reference to an > original Paypal transaction can be reconstructed. It > seems to me that > the process of withdrawing money to a bank is a separate > transaction > from receiving payment via Paypal anyway, since Paypal > gives you the > ability to specify how much of your balance in its account > you want to > withdraw. > > I suppose the easiest thing to do - and I imagine, the norm > - is to just > record the incoming payments against open invoices at the > moment they > are received, and put them in an asset account, less the > transaction > fees. When Paypal payments clear into the bank, just > move the funds > from one asset account to the other and be done with it, > without > attempting to establish whose payment it was that > cleared. The invoices > are paid either way, and the ultimate deposit destination > of that money > is just an asset transfer technicality. > > Still, I am curious if there are any more advanced options > available or > other handy tricks of the trade that anyone would be > willing to share on > how to reconcile high volumes of individual Paypal > transactions. > > Thanks! > > -- Alex > > P.S. I am referring to plain old Paypal here, not > Paypal web payments, > merchant account services, > etc. > > -- > Alex Balashov - Principal > Evariste Systems LLC > 1170 Peachtree Street NE > 12th Floor, Suite 1200 > Atlanta, GA 30309 > Tel: +1-678-954-0670 > Fax: +1-404-961-1892 > Web: http://www.evaristesys.com/ > > -- > _ > -- Bandwidth and Colocation Provided by http://www.api-digital.com -- > > asterisk-biz mailing list > To UNSUBSCRIBE or update options visit: > http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-biz > -- _ -- Bandwidth and Colocation Provided by http://www.api-digital.com -- asterisk-biz mailing list To UNSUBSCRIBE or update options visit: http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-biz
Re: [asterisk-biz] OT: Correlation of Paypal transactions
I believe you can download by date into a .csv or .xls file format. >From there you could compare against your ledger probably. You could do a daily batch which would hit your account in typically 3 days which could then reference the daily spreadsheet...??? I know that for me it was a little confusing but this was how I tracked what had been paid and what had shipped or needed to be shipped for a project I worked on. Hope this helps but if nothing else it will give your question a "bump" Thanks!! Bret On Fri, Nov 12, 2010 at 8:16 PM, Alex Balashov wrote: > Greetings, > > I apologise in advance that this is a bit off-topic. However, I know > that many of you who run service providers take a high volume of > individual Paypal payments, many of them recurring. > > My question is this: When withdrawing Paypal payments into a bank > account, how do you correlate them on the bank statement to the relevant > Paypal payment activity, and therefore the right customer/invoice/etc, > from an accounting perspective? > > When there is a manageably small number of payments involved, it can be > done chronologically. And likewise, if the amounts are highly specific > to each customer, that is also useful as a correlator. However, I have > found nothing embedded in the transaction ID or other identifiers that > show up in the online banking interface from which a reference to an > original Paypal transaction can be reconstructed. It seems to me that > the process of withdrawing money to a bank is a separate transaction > from receiving payment via Paypal anyway, since Paypal gives you the > ability to specify how much of your balance in its account you want to > withdraw. > > I suppose the easiest thing to do - and I imagine, the norm - is to just > record the incoming payments against open invoices at the moment they > are received, and put them in an asset account, less the transaction > fees. When Paypal payments clear into the bank, just move the funds > from one asset account to the other and be done with it, without > attempting to establish whose payment it was that cleared. The invoices > are paid either way, and the ultimate deposit destination of that money > is just an asset transfer technicality. > > Still, I am curious if there are any more advanced options available or > other handy tricks of the trade that anyone would be willing to share on > how to reconcile high volumes of individual Paypal transactions. > > Thanks! > > -- Alex > > P.S. I am referring to plain old Paypal here, not Paypal web payments, > merchant account services, etc. > > -- > Alex Balashov - Principal > Evariste Systems LLC > 1170 Peachtree Street NE > 12th Floor, Suite 1200 > Atlanta, GA 30309 > Tel: +1-678-954-0670 > Fax: +1-404-961-1892 > Web: http://www.evaristesys.com/ > > -- > _ > -- Bandwidth and Colocation Provided by http://www.api-digital.com -- > > asterisk-biz mailing list > To UNSUBSCRIBE or update options visit: > http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-biz > -- _ -- Bandwidth and Colocation Provided by http://www.api-digital.com -- asterisk-biz mailing list To UNSUBSCRIBE or update options visit: http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-biz
