Recurring payments with PayPal in Gravity Forms – .com

In this tutorial we are going to see how to configure Gravity Forms with PayPal to receive recurring payments.

Install the add-on for PayPal Standard

If you are here, you probably already know Gravity Forms, you use it and you know the possibilities that this powerful plugin offers. Among them, it allows us to sell products or services, and of course charge for them, as well as do periodically.

To make this charge, we need to install an add-on. In this case we are going to use the add-on for PayPal Standard. If you are subscribers, you can download it from the “Downloads” tab of the , and you can also immediately access the , where you will see other very interesting configurations.

Well, the first thing we will have to do, once we have the compressed file on our computer, will be install extension. To do this, we go to the WordPress desktop, “Plugins / Add new / Upload plugin”, select the file, click on “Install now”, and as soon as it is finished, we will activate it.

This will add a new option to Gravity Forms. We will see it in detail in the next section.

PayPal configuration options in Gravity Forms

Once we have the extension installed and activated, we can access the PayPal option that we will find in the “Settings” menu when editing the Gravity Forms form that interests us.

From here we can configure PayPal for this form specifically, that is, it is possible to configure each form with different accounts.

So we will have to click on “Add new” and fill in the corresponding fields:

• Name: A name to uniquely identify this configuration.
• PayPal email: The email associated with the PayPal account in which we will receive payments.
• Mode: We have two modes available, “Production” to receive real payments, and “Test” to make test payments using the PayPal sandbox mode.
• Transaction Type: In this field we can choose between different types of payments, “Products and services”, “Subscription” or “Donations”. Depending on the option we select, one or the other fields will be loaded.

In this case we are going to make the following adjustments. Remember to modify the PayPal email to receive payments correctly.

As we can see, in “Transaction type” we have selected the option “Subscription“, since we want to offer a service and receive monthly payments on a recurring basis. By choosing the option and clicking outside the drop-down, the rest of the fields that we will have to fill in will be automatically loaded.

First will appear the subscription settingswhere we can configure the periodicity with which the amount will be charged:

• recurring amount: Here we will have to select the field that contains the amount that must be paid on a recurring basis.
• Billing cycle: In this field we can configure the billing cycle. That is, the frequency with which payments must be made.
• Number of renewals: From here we can modify the times in which the recurring payment will be made. By default, the charge is made until the subscription is cancelled.
• recurring retry: This field is used to activate or deactivate a new payment attempt in the event that the payment has failed.
• Proof: To activate a trial period. If we mark it, new fields will appear where we can establish it.

Next, we will find the “Other settings” section where, as the name suggests, we can make more settings.

• Billing information: In this section we can map the form fields with the PayPal fields so that the information is transmitted correctly.
• Image URL: To insert the URL of the logo that we want to show in PayPal. The allowed size is 150x50px. If no image is set, then the name of the business or the email will be used, depending on the type of account we are using.
• Cancellation URL: URL to which users will be redirected if they cancel the transaction before completing the payment in PayPal.
• Options: From here we can deactivate some PayPal options, such as the option to ask the buyer to include the shipping address or to include a note with the payment.
• Conditional logic: From this field we can activate or deactivate the conditional logic for payments. This means that, if it is activated, only the forms that meet the conditions will be processed in the payment gateway. If it is disabled, then all will be processed.

Setting up recurring payments in Gravity Forms

First of all, comment that despite being able to configure a recurring payment with this system, it is usually better to use a membership sites plugin as we see in , since this way the user will have access to a control panel in which they can modify their recurring payments, change the card or even cancel them, something that they will not have if we do it with Gravity Forms.

Well, the first thing we will have to do is select the amount that will be charged on a recurring basis. To do this we can directly mark the field of the form that contains the total or any other field that contains the total to be charge periodically.

Next we will select the billing cycle, in this case it will be monthly, and we will also mark that the payment should be attempted again if an error occurs. We’ll then associate the form fields with PayPal’s so that the billing information is set correctly. It would be similar to this:

When we will configure all these fields, the only thing left to do is save the changes by clicking on “Update settings”, and that’s it, it’s that easy! Our form is ready to receive recurring payments for products or services.

Summary and conclusion

Gravity Forms is a very powerful plugin that allows us to create basic and advanced forms, even sell products or services. Thanks to the Add-On for PayPal Standard we will be able to make payments and make them recurring.

To configure these periodic charges, we must install and activate this extension, which you will have available in the “Downloads” tab if you are subscribers. Next, we will have to configure the settings within the specific form where we want to make the recurring charges.

And as always, you already know: if you want to learn more, we recommend the . If you subscribe, you will have access to the , the premium plugins and extensions, and the rest of the courses. There are more than available, do not miss them! 🙂