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Incidentally, since this particular post of yours has now got some votes, why don't you re-post your earlier question here?

by revorad 17y ago

RiderOfGiraffes 17y ago
OK: from http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1270978 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1270978 I'm looking to organise an event in November and I'm looking for easy ways for people to pay. One is direct deposit into the company bank account, another is by check. Yet another is cash. What are the pros and cons of setting up a business PayPal account? I've found precious little that seems authoritative and unbiased, so I would appreciate any pointers. Other advice and comments also welcome. Thanks. PS: The event will be announced here, but is likely to be of interest to only a small proportion of HNers. PPS: We're in the UK.
- bensummers 17y ago
  We looked around for this kind of thing for some events we did. Nothing was really very nice. In the end we got a credit card merchant account (also for billing for our service) and knocked up a very simple booking system which takes people's details and makes them a nice invoice. (Tip: make sure it's easy for people to register multiple attendees in one transaction!) PayPal scares me, as it's not a bank and the agreement you 'sign' effectively says they can keep your money if their automated systems don't like the look of you. This may be inconvenient. NOTE: We're in the UK, dealing with UK organisations.
  - RiderOfGiraffes 17y ago
    Thanks for that very useful. I've added the note that we're in the UK. PayPal also bothers me. If they think something is suspicious then they just freeze everything and hold your money, and it's your problem to sort it out. I don't like how that can work, especially since the detector is probably automatic, and sensitive. The horror stories are, well, horrific.
    - bensummers 17y ago
      Feel free to email me for any more details, and who knows, maybe even code... (contact info in profile)
- revorad 17y ago
  Sounds interesting. Is this event in the UK? I might want to attend (of course depending on what it's about). If you are mostly expecting local people to attend, why not just ask them to register online and pay at the door?
  - RiderOfGiraffes 17y ago
    It's a weekend event, 12:00 Saturday to 15:00 Sunday, so accommodation will be included in the standard delegate rate. For that we need numbers, and we need some payment in advance. We are also providing lunch on the Saturday, so we need numbers for that. For those who want to register as a day delegate we will take money on the door, but it would be nice to know how many we have to cater for. EDIT: typos
    - revorad 17y ago
      Oh I see, so this is a reasonably big event. Isn't there an event management company that can help you out? Someone like eventbrite?
      - RiderOfGiraffes 17y ago
        We're hoping for between 80 and 150, so it's not that big, but it's more than just an informal afternoon gathering. I'd not heard of EventBrite - thanks - but I've been unable to find an equivalent in the UK. I'd be reluctant to go via a USA company, simply for simplicity. There's probably no reason for that opinion though, and I'll certainly be suggesting it to the other organisers as something to consider.

Incidentally, since this particular post of yours has now got some votes, why don't you re-post your earlier question here?

by revorad 17y ago

Incidentally, since this particular post of yours has now got some votes, why don't you re-post your earlier question here?

RiderOfGiraffes 17y ago

OK: from http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1270978 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1270978 I'm looking to organise an event in November and I'm looking for easy ways for people to pay. One is direct deposit into the company bank account, another is by check. Yet another is cash. What are the pros and cons of setting up a business PayPal account? I've found precious little that seems authoritative and unbiased, so I would appreciate any pointers. Other advice and comments also welcome. Thanks. PS: The event will be announced here, but is likely to be of interest to only a small proportion of HNers. PPS: We're in the UK.

bensummers 17y ago
We looked around for this kind of thing for some events we did. Nothing was really very nice. In the end we got a credit card merchant account (also for billing for our service) and knocked up a very simple booking system which takes people's details and makes them a nice invoice. (Tip: make sure it's easy for people to register multiple attendees in one transaction!) PayPal scares me, as it's not a bank and the agreement you 'sign' effectively says they can keep your money if their automated systems don't like the look of you. This may be inconvenient. NOTE: We're in the UK, dealing with UK organisations.
- RiderOfGiraffes 17y ago
  Thanks for that very useful. I've added the note that we're in the UK. PayPal also bothers me. If they think something is suspicious then they just freeze everything and hold your money, and it's your problem to sort it out. I don't like how that can work, especially since the detector is probably automatic, and sensitive. The horror stories are, well, horrific.
  - bensummers 17y ago
    Feel free to email me for any more details, and who knows, maybe even code... (contact info in profile)
revorad 17y ago
Sounds interesting. Is this event in the UK? I might want to attend (of course depending on what it's about). If you are mostly expecting local people to attend, why not just ask them to register online and pay at the door?
- RiderOfGiraffes 17y ago
  It's a weekend event, 12:00 Saturday to 15:00 Sunday, so accommodation will be included in the standard delegate rate. For that we need numbers, and we need some payment in advance. We are also providing lunch on the Saturday, so we need numbers for that. For those who want to register as a day delegate we will take money on the door, but it would be nice to know how many we have to cater for. EDIT: typos
  - revorad 17y ago
    Oh I see, so this is a reasonably big event. Isn't there an event management company that can help you out? Someone like eventbrite?
    - RiderOfGiraffes 17y ago
      We're hoping for between 80 and 150, so it's not that big, but it's more than just an informal afternoon gathering. I'd not heard of EventBrite - thanks - but I've been unable to find an equivalent in the UK. I'd be reluctant to go via a USA company, simply for simplicity. There's probably no reason for that opinion though, and I'll certainly be suggesting it to the other organisers as something to consider.