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Google Checkout

Email Invoices

Contents
Step 1. Sign up
Step 2. Send an invoice
Step 3. Start processing orders
Getting paid

How to request payment by email invoices

Email invoicing lets you sell without an online store. Buyers can place orders from you by phone, fax, email or other offline means; then you send email invoices from the Merchant Center to the buyers to submit payment via Google Checkout. Email invoices contain a personalized message from you regarding the requested payment as well as a "Pay now through Google Checkout" link. When buyers click this link, they are brought to Google Checkout where they can complete the payment process.

Email invoices are intended for billing customers via email, not peer-to-peer payments.

Will this procedure work for me?

  • This procedure will work for amounts that are not greater than $10,000.
  • All buyers making purchases through Google Checkout must have a Google Account. If they don't already have an account, buyers can sign up for Google Checkout during the purchase process. Google will cancel and refund all Google Checkout orders from buyers who haven't completed this signup process. You may wish to check if your buyers have or are willing to create Google Accounts before you send them email invoices.

Assumptions:

  • You have no need to sell directly from a website
  • You will use the Merchant Center to charge orders to credit cards and update order status

Technical Skills Required:

    None.

This symbol means the link opens up the page in a new window or tab so when you're done with that step, you can close the window or tab and go on to the next step.

Step 1. Sign up for a Google Checkout merchant account

  1. Sign up now (http://checkout.google.com/sell/signup) for a Checkout merchant account if you don't already have one.

    This is a production account, for receiving orders from actual paying customers. You will need to supply your email address, to which you will be sent an email to confirm. You will also need to supply information that personally identifies you or your business — depending on the country, this might include a credit card number, tax number, registration number or other identification.

  2. Specify a bank account

    Follow these instructions to get paid: Bank account set up and verification (http://checkout.google.com/support/sell/bin/answer.py?answer=113730&ctx=dg).

    When you sell through Google Checkout, buyers pay Google Checkout, who then pays you. Before you can get paid, you need to specify a bank account so that you'll be eligible for payouts. This setup can take a few days, so it's good to set it up early.

Step 2. Send an invoice

  1. Sign in (https://checkout.google.com/sell/) to Google Checkout.
  2. Go to the Send an Invoice through Email (https://checkout.google.com/sell/settings?section=EmailBuyButton) page (or click the Tools tab, then click Send an invoice).
  3. Enter the buyer's email address, your message content, the payment amount, and payment description in the appropriate fields.
  4. (Optional) Select Send me a copy of this email checkbox.
  5. Click Send invoice email button.

Note: Invoices cannot exceed $10,000. High transaction amounts may also involve greater scrutiny to help ensure a safe and secure shopping environment for buyers and sellers.

Occasionally, spam filters incorrectly classify valid emails as spam. If your buyer isn't receiving emails from Google Checkout, please advise them to review our troubleshooting tips (http://checkout.google.com/support/sell/bin/answer.py?answer=88356&ctx=dg).

Step 3. Start processing orders

Go to the Orders tab of your Merchant Center (https://checkout.google.com/sell/orders) to see orders that buyers have sent. New orders will appear in the "Order Inbox" only after your buyer has clicked the link in the email invoice and authorized the payment.

If your buyer receives an 'Oops' error when trying to access Google Checkout from the email invoice you sent, their email client may have truncated your unique link address. Please try asking your buyer to access the email invoice from a different email application.

Getting paid

After a buyer has placed an order, you have shipped it to them and charged their credit card, Google then pays you that amount minus a transaction fee. To find out about payment prerequisites and schedules, see: