10 PayPal tips and tricks

Most people encounter PayPal as the simplest way to settle an eBay bill, but it's evolved over the years into a complex online payment system that's particularly suited to smaller organisations.

You can harness the power of PayPal to transform the most basic website into a simple online shop, or even use it to accept card payments when you're out and about using a mobile phone app. Find out how you can make PayPal work for you with minimal set-up with these handy PayPal tips.

1. Account types

Before you can use PayPal for anything more than simply buying something using a credit card, you need to set up an account. There are three PayPal account types, all of which offer slightly different features. All are subscription-free, but you pay for PayPal's services according to the transactions made.

A Personal account is fine for buying things online and sending or receiving money from friends on an ad-hoc basis, but it's not suitable for receiving regular payments due to high transaction fees.

A Premier account suits anyone involved in casual selling, like occasional eBay selling or website sales. A business account suits any organisation that's likely to be making regular sales online.

2. Upgrade your account



If you want to use PayPal to sell stuff, you really need either a Premier or a Business account. To upgrade from a personal account, log in to PayPal and choose the option 'Upgrade account'. This takes you to the Upgrade Your Account screen. Click 'Upgrade now'. Choose whether you want to use a Premier or Business account and click 'Continue'.

If you chose to create a Business account, you can now fill in your information, including a customer services phone number and other key contact details. Click 'Continue'.

Once you've upgraded an account, you can downgrade it again if you change your mind. However, you can only do this once, so it's best avoided where possible.

3. Multiple accounts

It may make sense to have more than one PayPal account. You can have a personal account and one of either a Premier account or a Business account. Instead of downgrading say a Premier account, it may make more sense to open a new Personal one instead as this allows you more flexibility for future use.

You will need a different email address to use with each account though, and you're not allowed to use the same payment information on two accounts. Set each account to use a different card or funding source.

4. Buying button



The simplest way to start using PayPal to accept payments on your website is to use a PayPal payment button. You can place this in your website and then visitors who click it will be taken to a PayPal processing page to collect payment information. You'll be contacted with details of the order and where to dispatch it to.

To set up a simple payment button, log into your Premier or Business account and choose 'Merchant services', followed by 'Sell single items'. Select Buy Now as the button type and enter the item name, plus its price. Don't forget to set this to local currency, since US dollars is the default. Add your postage charge and then click 'Create button'.

You'll be taken to a page including the code that makes the button up. Copy this and paste it into your website as HTML code where you'd like the PayPal button to appear.

5. Use a custom image



By default you'll get a smart PayPal button displayed on your site once you've created a payment button. However, you can customise the image shown for the button so that it fits in with your site design better.

To do this, you need to edit the code generated by PayPal when you set up your button. Make the button as above, but instead of pasting the code directly into your site, open Notepad and paste it in there. Now look for the part of the code that references the button image, for example:

<input type="image" src="https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/GB/i/btn/btn_buynowCC_LG.gif" border="0" name="submit" alt="PayPal – The safer, easier way to pay online.">

Replace the URL for the button image with one for your custom image. It makes sense to store this somewhere on your website, so the bit of code now reads:

<input type="image" src="http://www.mysite.co.uk/images/myimage.gif" border="0" name="submit" alt="PayPal – The safer, easier way to pay online.">

where http://www.mysite.co.uk/images/myimage.gif is the location of your button image.

6. Use dropdown lists



You can add more options for your buyer when you set up your button. For example, if you're selling badges, you could set the colour or other design choice as a dropdown list.

Under 'Customise button', tick the box marked 'Add dropdown menu with price/option'. You'll find yourself presented with some new fields to describe your options. Enter the name of the choice you want to provide ('Colour' for example), and then enter each of the values available.

By default you have three choices, but you can add to this by clicking 'Add another option'. Provide the different prices for each option alongside it. If you want to provide customers with options without varying the price, choose 'Add dropdown menu without prices'. It's also possible to add a text field for specifying personalisation options or other instructions.

7. Postage charges

By default, PayPal applies a postage charge to all items sold based on your location and the value of the sale. You can override this by setting postage for each item, but you also need to set this up in your preferences or the global value will be used.

Log in to PayPal and choose 'My account | Profile | My selling preferences'. Now click 'Update' to the right of 'Postage calculations'. You can set the default currency to use here and the price band levels or percentage charged for postage.

To override this global setting choose 'Click here' to allow transaction-based postage values to override the profile postage settings listed above. Once saved, your button postage values take precedence.

8. Set zero postage

If you're selling items for download, such as music, PDFs or videos (assuming you have the rights to do so), you probably won't want to charge postage. If you don't set a postage price when creating your payment button, the global setting for postage will be applied and you'll have an unhappy customer.

To completely remove postage from the system you need to make a change to your button code. Firstly, ensure that you've set transaction-based postage values to override as above. Now create your payment button as usual without specifying a postage charge.

Copy the button code and paste it into Notepad. Now you need to add the following two lines anywhere within the code as long as they appear after the <form> tag and before the </form> tag.

<input type="hidden" name="shipping" value="0.00">
<input type="hidden" name="handling" value="0.00">

You need to set separate zero values for both shipping and handling in this way. Once you're notified of a sale, you can email the download link for the product or deliver the product by email.

9. Shopping cart

If you're selling multiple items, opt for shopping cart buttons. They work in almost the same way, but instead of taking your customers directly to the checkout, the button displays 'Add to cart' so that they can continue shopping.

To do this, choose 'Shopping cart' as the button type from the dropdown list when setting the button up. Once you've produced two or more shopping cart buttons and put them on your site, you'll also need to add a 'View cart' button.

This appears below the code for your shopping cart buttons. Click 'Create a View Cart button' and choose 'Create button' to get its unique code.

10. Subscriptions

A subscription is a recurring payment that you could set up for an email magazine or admission to a website. You need to sort out site authentication yourself; PayPal just handles the payment. Select 'Subscriptions' as the button type, then set the price and frequency of payments.

A subscription must be cancelled by the customer to stop the payment. You can manage and cancel subscriptions from within your PayPal account. From 'My account' choose 'Profile | My selling preferences' and click 'Update' to the right of 'My automatic payments'.

10 handy Skype tips and tricks

Skype lets you make free PC-to-PC calls anywhere in the world.

With a subscription, you can also make calls to external phones and receive phone calls using an online number.

The following Skype tips and tricks will help you make the most of the service.

1. Test your kit
The Skype welcome screen features a handy shortcut for testing your sound devices. Click 'Check your sound works', then click the button to test each device - speakers, microphone and video (if applicable) - in turn.

If the test fails, Skype will make some basic suggestions to remedy the problem, like making sure your headset port (typically the front mic) is selected as the default device. Follow the instructions to see if you can fix the problem.

Skype will offer to make a test call for you - you'll dial a number, hear a female voice and then attempt to record a message. This will let you check the sound quality of your microphone and ensure it's at the right volume.

Skype automatically adjusts your mic and headphone's volume to try to fix potential problems, but you can also tweak these settings yourself by selecting 'Tools | Settings | Audio settings'. You can click 'Show advanced options' to set default devices.

2. Try Bluetooth
Skype works with any microphone, speakers or headphones provided they're properly installed. This includes Bluetooth headsets as long as your computer has a Bluetooth receiver.

With your PC's Bluetooth receiver switched on and your headset in pairing mode, double-click the Bluetooth icon that appears in the notification area of the taskbar and click 'Add' under 'Devices'. Tick 'My device is set up and ready to be found', then click 'Next'.

Wait while Windows tries to locate the headset. When it appears in the list, select it and click 'Next'. Select the appropriate settings according to your headset's manual and, if necessary, enter the passkey. Click 'Next' to see the device connected and set up, then click 'Finish'.

3. Import contacts


Having a full list of contacts saved in Skype will make setting up calls a much simpler process. You can add an individual contact by choosing 'Contacts | Add a contact', then entering the relevant information manually.

If the person you're contacting is already on Skype, he or she will receive a contact request, but you can also import multiple contacts from a list or from an existing webmail or Facebook account.

Choose 'Contacts | Import contacts'. Now select the type of account you want to import from and provide your username and password to connect to that service and transfer the data.

If any of these people already have Skype accounts associated with their email addresses, they will be listed. Click 'Add those contacts' to send them a contact request. Names and phone numbers will be stored for you anyway.

4. Instant messaging


When you're signed into Skype, it can act as an instant messaging program similar to Yahoo or Windows Live Messenger. You can exchange text messages with online contacts or move to an audio call at any time.

Just select an online contact, type in your message and click 'Send' to start a conversation. In your settings you can choose whether other users can see an animated pencil while you're typing something.

You can also set Skype to receive messages from people in your contact list only, and you can opt to keep a history of all your conversations. Choose 'Tools | Options' and move to the 'IM and SMS' tab before clicking 'Show advanced options'. You can now change any of these settings to suit your preferences.

5. Start with Windows


By default, Skype is set to start when Windows launches. This is handy if you want to be available to talk at all times, but it can be an irritant if you need to get on with some important work without any interruptions. You can set Skype to only launch when you open it, by choosing 'Tools | Options | General settings' and clearing the box marked 'Start Skype when I start Windows'. Click 'Save'.

While here, you can also set the visual style of Skype. By default this is the Skype style, but you can choose Classic Windows instead. You can change the default sounds used by Skype by clicking the 'Sounds' icon and selecting the sound that you want to use.

6. Online number
To make calls to phones, you need to buy a Skype subscription or Skype credit. Click 'Skype | Account', then 'Buy more credit' or 'Get a subscription'.

Most subscriptions give you a number that lets people call you on Skype from landlines. Start by choosing 'Online number' and clicking 'Set up now'. Pick a country from the list - people calling you from that country are charged local rates, so it's perfect for keeping in touch with friends and family abroad.

There's a limited number of area codes available, so pick the one closest to you and then click one of the suggested numbers or try to pick one of your choice. Untick the box if you don't want this number to be displayed when you call phones through Skype, then click 'Activate number'.

7. Answer message


You can set up your voicemail to take messages when you aren't online. To do this choose 'Tools | Options | Calls | Show advanced options'. Now select 'Voicemail' from the left-hand pane. Tick the box marked 'Send unanswered calls to voicemail'. Click the 'Record' button and use your microphone to record your outgoing message.

If you don't record a message, a default one will be used instead, but it makes sense to record your own to give a more personal impression. You can also opt to send calls to voicemail if you reject an incoming call or if you're already on a call by ticking the relevant options. Finally, click 'Save' to store these settings.

8. Get extras
Extras let you add more functions to Skype via plugins. In the latest version of Skype the Extras Manager is disabled by default, so when you choose the Tools menu, the 'Extras' option is greyed out.

If this is the case, you need to uninstall and then reinstall Skype. Download the version of Skype provided on the Extras page. This is a slightly older version of the program. While the software is installing, click 'Options' on the Hello screen, tick 'Install Skype Extras Manager' and click 'I agree - Install'.

Once complete, sign back into Skype and choose 'Tools | Extras | Get extras'. Browse through the catalogue of extras and click the green button next to one to install it.

Some extras let you share a whiteboard or play games with people on your Skype contact list, while others provide handy recording facilities.

9. Recording calls
One such extra is MP3 Skype Recorder. This is a free program that automatically records all your Skype audio conversations and saves them in MP3 format. It can cover Skype-to-Skype calls and SkypeOut calls to a landline. It sits in the system tray monitoring Skype and starts recording automatically when you make a call.

You'll need to inform any other participants in the call that it's being recorded, especially if you plan to rely upon the recording later on. Each call is saved as a separate MP3 file and stored in the default save location.

MP3 Skype Recorder is even capable of recording multiple calls that take place at the same time while one of the calls is on hold.

10. Skype button
You can add a Skype button to your website or blog that lets visitors know if you're online. If they have Skype installed on their PC, they can call you with a single click. You can even add the button to an email signature so that the recipient of any of your mails can quickly click it to call you to discuss the contents of the email.