Do you own an online business? Are you selling tickets for an upcoming business summit? Or do you run a clothing and accessories store online? 

Read on as we explore diverse options for collecting payments from clients and customers using Google Forms.

How to Collect Payments with Google Forms 

The rumors you heard are true. Google forms does not provide an option for you to receive payment directly on your forms. However, there are some ways to make it happen. Here are some options for collecting payments via google forms::

1)  Use an Add-on to accept payments directly

You can accept payment directly from Google forms by using Add-on to enable a payment process with Stripe. If you have an existing account with Stripe, simply use an add-on to link your Google Form with your Stripe account. You can also create an account with Stripe if you do not have one. Once you have linked your accounts, your customers can pay with their cards when they are ready for check out. Google forms will automatically redirect them to the Stripe payment page with the total sum up of their order already set.

Some Addons for collecting payments in google forms include;

• Payable Forms Addon
• Neartail add-on

Use for Free: 37 Payment Form Templates

2) Link to a third-party website like Stripe or Paypal

Linking Google forms to a third-party website is pretty straightforward. All you have to do is add a standard link to your Google forms confirmation message and link it to your third-party payment website such as Paypal. You can then request a fixed amount from your customer. Note that the third-party payment link will be revealed to the user after the form submission.

3) Use follow-up via email with Appscript, mail merge

Use the Individual or Bulk follow-up via email to get in touch with your customers once you have received their responses. You can write custom codes or use merge tools  to write emails on your Form using Google AppScript 

Explore: Free Payment Approval Form Template

4) Peer-to-Peer payment: Bank account, Paypal address

Peer-to-Peer payment allows you to add details of your bank account, Cash App, Venmo e.t.c, to your form. You can ask your customers to upload a screenshot to serve as proof of payment after they have paid.  

The Disadvantages of Using Google Forms to Collect Payments

When there’s money is involved, we all demand the best form of security. When you add a payment link to your Google forms, do not forget that Google forms are not PCI compliant which makes them unsafe. 

Some of the downsides you should worry about are: 

1. Sensitive information such as your card details (billing address, phone number, expiry dates, cardholder names) are unprotected. Anyone with access to your device can view your details.
2. Your cards are not protected by the Payment Card Industry. This means although you can add your links to a Google Form, you cannot directly receive payments on them because you will always be redirected.

Free to Use: Free Payment Requisition Form Template

Formplus vs Google Forms in Payment Collection

You have to connect a link to another to make payment collection possible in Google Forms. This is because Google forms cannot offer payment integrations since they are not Payment Card Industry(PCI) compliant.

On the other hand, you can create online forms on Formplus and use these forms to collect payment. This is because Formplus has payment integrations for Stripe, Flutterwave, PayPal, and Paystack. You can use these payment gateways to receive payments in over 150 currencies.

How to Use Formplus to Collect Payments

You can use Formplus to design any type of order form and receive payments online. Formplus’s form integration is a top-notch online payment processor that has highly secured payment platforms. The payment integrations include industry giants like Flutterwave, PayPal, Paystack, and Stripe. 

The processes involved in online payment and payment collection are equally seamless. It poses no security threat and if you own an online store, you do not need to worry about any APIs. Visit the Formplus website, and sign in to your account to get started.

Now, let’s look at Formplus’s integration with each of these payment mediums.

1) PayPal

PayPal is one of the best players in the online payment processors industry. Its services have been tested and found reliable. You can use Formplus’ integration to build forms that can easily and quickly receive payments on PayPal. Embed your Formplus payment forms and receive payments from your customers on your e-commerce website, collect registration fees for a seminar, or receive donations for your organization.

Here’s a simple way to Integrate Formplus and Paypal

• Sign up or sign in to your Formplus account
• Select an existing form or create a new one
• From the field section on your left, tap on payments and drag the “PayPal field” to your form.

Use For Free: Paypal Business Payment Form Template

2) Stripe

With the Formplus Stripe field, your customers would not have to leave your site before they can complete their payments again. Embed the payment field directly into your form on Formplus so that your customers can make instant payments, without a redirect to complete their transaction.

Here’s a guide to help you get started with integrating Formplus and Stripe.

• Sign up to Formplus and start creating functional payment forms.
• Add the stripe payment field to create Stripe payment forms, registration forms, and booking forms with the responsive drag-and-drop form builder.

Use for Free: Stripe Payment Order Form

• Once you’re done creating the form on Formplus, create a Stripe account
• Use the Stripe keys on your Form settings to connect it on Formplus.

3) Paystack

You never have to write a line of code or build a payment platform from scratch with Formplus and Paystack. You can now easily receive payments for your products and services online. The Paystack integration is safe, secure, and perfect for Africans who want to receive payments from anyone, anywhere in the world. 

Some of the advantages of the Formplus and Paystack payment integration includes:

• Using calculation fields to calculate the transaction total.
• Receiving and monitoring payment notifications in your Formplus account.
• Meeting PCI compliance standards for online payments.

To be able to use the Formplus and Paystack medium to achieve this and more, you’ll need a Paystack account and a Formplus account. If you do not have any of these two, it’s best to sign up now.

Steps to help you set up your payment collection with Formplus and Paystack

• Create a Formplus account and sign in
• Use the drag-and-drop form builder feature to create mobile-friendly payment forms, registrations forms, and booking forms by using the Paystack payment field in your form.

After creating your form on Formplus, connect to Paystack 

• Sign up to Paystack and link your account to Formplus by inputting your keys on the Formplus settings page

4) Flutterwave

You can process payments for products and services from anywhere in the world through the Formplus integration that connects your forms with Flutterwave. You can now safely receive payments and donations online right from your online form.

You will also be able to:

• Receive email notifications when you receive payments.
• Meet PCI compliance standards

How to Integrate Formplus and Flutterwave to process payments on forms:

• Sign up or sign in to your Formplus account
• Select an existing form or create a new one
• Add the Flutterwave field to your form and enter your Flutterwave credentials on the form settings page

Conclusion

Payment collection has been made as simplified as possible with technology today. Using payment forms integration might be the simplest way to sell your products online and receive faster payment. 

Now that the options of Google forms and Formplus payment collection have been clearly discussed, choose the one that best fits your business and start collecting payments from your customers today!