Skip to main content

Setting Up PayPal Payment Gateway in ClearCRM

Easily connect your PayPal account to ClearCRM to let customers pay invoices online and track transactions automatically.

Elvin Khudiyev avatar
Written by Elvin Khudiyev
Updated over 3 weeks ago

Why Enable PayPal in ClearCRM

PayPal allows you to receive payments securely and instantly from clients around the world. By activating it in ClearCRM, your customers can complete invoice payments directly from the invoice page, while you track all transactions from a single dashboard.

Where to Find PayPal Settings

To set up PayPal, go to:
​Setup → Settings → Payment Gateway → PayPal (tab)

You’ll see the following settings:

  • Active: Select YES to enable PayPal as a payment option (default is No).

  • Label: The display name for PayPal on your invoice payment options.

  • Fixed Fee: A static fee per transaction (optional).

  • Percentage Fee: A percentage-based fee on the invoice total (optional).

  • PayPal API Username: Your PayPal API username.

  • PayPal API Password: Your PayPal API password.

  • API Signature: Your PayPal API signature (explained below).

  • Gateway Dashboard Payment Description: Text that appears in your PayPal dashboard for each payment (default: “Payment for Invoice {invoice_number}”).

  • Currencies (comma-separated): Allowed currencies, such as EUR,USD.

  • Enable Test Mode: Enables PayPal Sandbox for testing (YES by default).

  • Selected by Default on Invoice: Whether PayPal is pre-selected on invoices (YES by default).

How to Set Up PayPal Integration

Step 1: Activate PayPal Gateway in ClearCRM

  1. In Setup → Settings → Payment Gateway → PayPal, toggle Active to Yes.

  2. Fill in the Label, such as PayPal, to appear on your invoices.

  3. Leave Fixed Fee and Percentage Fee as 0 unless you want to charge additional processing fees.

Step 2: Retrieve Your PayPal API Credentials

  1. Log in to your PayPal Dashboard.

  2. Click your profile icon in the top-right corner.

  3. Select Account Settings from the dropdown.

  4. You’ll land on the Account Access tab by default.

  5. Under API access, click Update.

  6. Scroll down to NVP/SOAP API Integration (Classic) and click it.

  7. A pop-up titled Request API Credentials – PayPal will appear. It explains:

    API credentials consist of: 
    - API username 
    - API password 
    - API signature or SSL client-side certificate

  8. Choose Request API signature (selected by default), then click Agree and Submit.

  9. PayPal will now display your API Username, API Password, and Signature.

Step 3: Enter Credentials in ClearCRM

  1. Copy each credential from PayPal.

  2. Paste them into the corresponding fields in ClearCRM:

    • PayPal API Username

    • PayPal API Password

    • API Signature

  3. Optionally edit the Gateway Dashboard Payment Description if you want a custom message (e.g., Payment for Order {invoice_number}).

Step 4: Switch from Test Mode to Live

  • By default, Enable Test Mode is set to Yes, meaning ClearCRM uses PayPal’s sandbox environment for safe testing.

  • Once your credentials are verified and ready for real transactions, toggle Enable Test Mode to No to go live.

Step 5: Save and Verify

  • Click Save Changes.

  • Open an invoice to confirm that PayPal appears as a payment option.

  • Test a small payment to ensure successful redirection and confirmation.

Notes and Best Practices

  • Only one PayPal account can be linked at a time.

  • Use sandbox mode to safely test integration before activating live payments.

  • Always ensure the currencies listed in ClearCRM match your PayPal account’s supported currencies.

  • For consistency, label your gateway simply as “PayPal” unless your company requires a branded variation.

Summary

That’s it — you’ve now successfully connected PayPal with ClearCRM! Your customers can conveniently pay their invoices using PayPal, and every transaction will be automatically logged in your system for smoother bookkeeping and faster payment tracking.

Did this answer your question?