Introduction
PlacePay is a Payment Processor that specializes in rent payments (for tenants) and collection (for landlords).
PlacePay accepts Credit and Debit Cards, as well as US Bank Accounts.
Operate integrates its Member Portal with PlacePay , so members can pay invoices and ad hoc payments such as meeting room or desk bookings using PlacePay.
Setup
1. Configure PlacePay
To set up PlacePay, go to the Operate Settings > Integrations > Payment Processors and select PlacePay. Click Install, then Open.
You will be taken to the PlacePay Recurring Collection screen. Click Start.
If you manage more than one organization through Operate, you can configure separate payment methods for each of them. Select the one that you want to use PlacePay with, then click Configure.
On the next screen, enter your Public and Private Keys - You will need to obtain these keys from PlacePay. Tick the box if you want to enable recurring payments. If you have a test environment where you would like to test your PlacePay payments, you can select Use Sandbox to enable the test mode, or you can leave this blank. Click Save when you are ready.
Please ask PlacePlay for API version 2.0 key. If you do not request this Placepay will provide Keys that are not supported by Operate.
If you have chosen to test with the Sandbox mode enabled, your checkout page will mention "This is in Test Mode" above the Pay button.
When you complete your testing, come back to the PlacePay setup screen and turn Use Sandbox off. You can do so by going to the Operate Settings > Payment Processors > PlacePay.
2. Add the PlacePay Payee ID
PlacePay will provide you with a 'Payee ID' that should be associated with each of either your Organizations or Locations.
To use the Payee ID per Organization, go to Settings > General > Customize > Organizations > Page Layouts, edit your Organization page and ensure that the 'Organization Payee ID' field is added.
Save the page when you are ready, then edit the Organization and add your PlacePlay Payee ID to the 'Organization Payee ID field.
PLEASE NOTE: If you want to use the Payee ID per Organization, please make sure that your Location pages do not contain a Payee ID. The Location specific ID will take priority over the Organization specific one. The Organization Payee ID will work for all corresponding Locations, except for those with their own Payee ID.
If you want to use the Payee ID per Location, go to Settings > General > Customize > Locations > Page Layouts, edit your 'Locations' page layout, and add 'Location Payee ID' to your page view.
Save the page, then edit your Locations and add the PlacePay Payee ID to each one. Populate the 'Location Payee ID' field to do so.
PLEASE NOTE: As mentioned above, the Location Payee ID takes priority over the Organization Payee ID. Therefore, if you want to collect payments per Organization, please set it up at this level. If you want some of your Locations to collect PlacePay payments using another account, you can use a different Payee ID for the specific location and it will take priority over the Organization Payee ID, which will work for all Locations except those with their own Payee ID.
Once your setup is completed, PlacePay will act as a payment gateway on your Portal.
How it works
In order to use PlacePay, each Operate Portal Account needs to have at least one corresponding PlacePay Account.
Once PlacePay has been configured, your clients can use the Member Portal to make payments.
PlacePay works based on Contact Records, not on the whole customer Account. What this means is that under one Operate Customer Account, there can be several Contacts who, if they are Portal Admin Users and manage payment methods, will have a PlacePay Account and will be able to make payments. When a member enters a payment method or makes a first payment, then a PlacePay account is automatically created for them.
A PlacePay Account will be created when an Admin Member:
Adds a payment method when making anew payment (meeting room/desk booking or paying an invoice).
Adds a payment method within their Payment Settings.
Enabling Recurring Payments on the Portal will result in the user being set as the default one to pay via PlacePay. For this reason we recommend that only one Admin user manages payment methods for your Operate Customer Account. One situation that can occur is that the Admin user who makes payments can be overridden by another. For example, if you have several Admins who are all managing payment methods and you want to pay via the Admin 1 account - you make a payment and enable recurring payments on Admin 1; then someone else signed in as Admin 2 does the same next month, PlacePay will take payments from Admin 2 instead of Admin 1.
For more information about how your Members can make payments and manage their PlacePay settings on the Portal, see this article regarding PlacePay for Clients.
Where to Find PlacePay Transactions?
As soon as a Transaction is processed by PlacePay, you will find it in Operate, under Invoicing > Accounts Receivable, on the client's corresponding account. Read more about the Accounts Receivable module here.
Payment Collection
When one off payments are made for bookings or invoices, the payment is made directly from the payer’s account (i.e. the Member’s bank account) and placed in the payee’s account (i.e. the Operator’s bank account).
A record of the payments will then be added to the Accounts Receivable module in Operate.
To collect PlacePay payments for outstanding invoices, go to the Operate Settings > Payment Processors > PlacePay.
Click Start on the PlacePay Recurring collection screen.
Click Start Collection.
Select the Organization for which you have configured PlacePay, select a Location (if needed), then click Collect Now.
Payments will be collected for outstanding invoices for Accounts with a valid PlacePay Account which have turned the Autopay option on within their Portal PlacePay settings.
When the payment collection is run, th epayment will be taken directly from the payer’s account (i.e. the Member’s bank account) and placed in the payee’s account (i.e. the Operator’s bank account). A record of the payments will then be added to the Accounts Receivable module in Operate.
Fees
All transaction fees go to PlacePay, not Operate. Fees are paid by the member if you choose to use PlacePay's free plan.
For Operators / Landlords, When Operate creates an account in PlacePay, it will be assigned to the Standard (Free) plan, that provides one user and one deposit account. PlacePay provides several pricing plans to choose from, if you require more features. Please see https://rentshare.com/landlords for more information.
For Members, If paying with a bank account it costs a flat $1.95. With a credit card or debit card it will cost 2.99% per transaction.
Payment Reversals/Rejections
If PlacePay reverses or rejects a payment which Operate has already registered and invoiced, then this reversal will be received via email to both the payer and payee and manual correction will be required.
Refunds
To learn more about PlacePay refund policy, please click Get info on the refund policy, in your transaction confirmation notification; or visit PlacePay's Refunds section on their website.
If a refund is provided by PlacePay, you will need to add it to Accounts Receivable, using a Journal Entry. Alternatively, you can use a Credit Note.
Data Privacy and Security
All data passing through the payment widget goes to PlacePay, not to Operate. Please see PlacePay's Privacy Policy and Security Guidelines for more information.
Applicable Terms
To use PlacePay, either for making or collecting payments, you will need to agree to their Terms of Service.