{"id":1946853,"date":"2020-04-03T14:09:17","date_gmt":"2020-04-03T18:09:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.theeventscalendar.com\/knowledgebase\/?post_type=tribe-knowledgebase&p=1946853"},"modified":"2025-05-28T05:45:35","modified_gmt":"2025-05-28T09:45:35","slug":"configuring-paypal-for-ticket-purchases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.theeventscalendar.com\/knowledgebase\/configuring-paypal-for-ticket-purchases\/","title":{"rendered":"PayPal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

To start receiving payments for your tickets using PayPal with any of our e-commerce options<\/a>, you’ll need to enable Instant Payment Notification (IPN) on your PayPal account and connect the account to your WordPress site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\udc4b Please note you will need a PayPal Business account<\/a> to be able to configure Instant Payment Notification.<\/strong> You may also want a sandbox IPN Simulator<\/a> to test your site settings and transactions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At this time, PayPal does not currently support free tickets. In order to create free tickets, you’ll need to upgrade to Event Tickets Plus and use WooCommerce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Configuring PayPal IPN<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First, log into your PayPal business account and navigate to Account Settings<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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From there, go select the Notifications<\/strong> option under Business Profile<\/strong>.<\/em> Look for Instant payment notifications<\/strong> and click the “Update” link.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Instant Payment Notification (IPN) <\/strong>settings page, click Choose IPN Settings<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Enter your site\u2019s address in the Notification URL<\/strong> <\/em>field and choose Receive IPN messages (Enabled)<\/strong>. Save your settings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Your current IPN settings should look like the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"IPN<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Next, navigate back to your Account Settings page, and go to the Website payments<\/strong> preferences under Products & Services<\/strong>. This is where the settings to redirect users after making a purchase are located.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Then, add the order confirmation link in Auto return<\/strong> to bring users back to your website after they submit their purchase. Your Auto return<\/strong> link depends on the checkout page created using Tribe Commerce<\/a>, WooCommerce<\/a>, or Easy Digital Downloads<\/a>. After you’ve entered the URL for your confirmation page, hit Enter (return) on your keyboard, or click Save.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, directly below this section enable Payment data transfer<\/strong> to receive payment notifications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Not sure where to find your cart page? You can find it in the settings of the e-commerce plugin used on your site. You can also look for “Cart” on the Pages<\/strong> screen of the WordPress admin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

See PayPal’s Developer IPN guide<\/a> and review IPN order history<\/a> for further help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tickets Commerce<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To start collecting payments with Tickets Commerce, simply head to Tickets > Settings > Payments<\/strong> and toggle on the Enable Tickets Commerce button. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Tickets
Tickets > Settings > Payments<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Next, click on the blue button to Connect Automatically with PayPal<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You’ll see a pop-up to log in to your PayPal account. Don’t worry if you don’t have one; you can also register for a PayPal account by following the prompts in the pop-up as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can always refer back to your Payments tab to check your connection status to PayPal at any time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

See this article<\/a> for more information on using Tickets Commerce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WooCommerce<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\udc4b Selling tickets to your events with WooCommerce requires Event Tickets Plus<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are using WooCommerce with PayPal, you’ll need to configure the PayPal IPN as well. Refer to WooCommerce’s documentation<\/a> to get that set up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For optimal functionality with Event Tickets Plus, we recommend that you check Enable stock management <\/strong>under WooCommerce <\/strong>\u2192 Settings <\/strong>\u2192 Products <\/strong>\u2192 Inventory<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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To bring users back to your site, configure your checkout page<\/a> and use this link in the Auto return<\/strong> field on the PayPal Website payment preferences<\/strong> screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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WooCommerce Checkout page settings can be found in WooCommerce<\/strong> \u2192 Settings<\/strong> \u2192 Advanced<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Check out our guide on using WooCommerce with Event Tickets Plus<\/a> for more detailed instructions on WooCommerce settings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Easy Digital Downloads<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\udc4b Selling tickets to your events with Easy Digital Downloads requires Event Tickets Plus<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are using Easy Digital Downloads with PayPal, you’ll need to configure the PayPal IPN as well. Create your checkout page<\/a>, then refer to Easy Digital Download’s documentation<\/a> to get that set up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Easy Digital Downloads<\/strong> \u2192 Settings<\/strong> \u2192 Payment Gateways<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Tribe Commerce<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Note:<\/strong> Tribe Commerce is our legacy e-commerce solution and is no longer included on new installs with Event Tickets. See the above section on Tickets Commerce instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a successful PayPal order, users will be redirected to the page you designate as the Success Page<\/strong> in your Tribe Commerce settings (Tickets<\/strong> \u2192 Settings<\/strong> \u2192 Payments<\/strong>). You can designate any page in your site by selecting one from the dropdown menu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In order for your users to receive their order information on the success page, you will need to copy and paste the [tribe-tpp-success]<\/code> shortcode into the content of your success page and use the link for it your Auto return<\/strong> settings in PayPal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Congratulations! You are now ready to receive payments for your tickets in your PayPal account and your clients will be automatically redirected to your success page after completing a purchase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Troubleshooting PayPal issues<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you are just getting started or having issues with PayPal, here are a few common areas to test. <\/p>\n\n\n\n