Multiple recurring payments per transaction using PaaS

[dviciedo]

I have 2 questions..

1 .I'm wondering if it's possible to have recurring billing for each item (candidate) on one transaction or if there's a way to post multiple transactions to get this to work.

2. Currently we are testing PaaS with only one candidate at a time but would like to have a list of multiple (which relates to the previous question). And each candidate is set up using "Advanced Check Out Pages" which gives me the WID. Does our items (or candidates) have to match the items of a particular form (WID) that we've created ?
Or is there a generic WID we can use or do I even have to use it?
Or just put the name of the candidate as an item?

Thanks,

David

[CnP.Support]

David,

Replies to your questions:

1: With the API you can only post one transaction at a time. The challenge is the receipt and what shows on the card holder's statement. You have to be careful since each candidate has its own merchant account and if you post several transactions for the same card the card may be declined by the bank.

2: WID is the Window ID that is customized for each account. WID will let the API know what to put on the receipt. I suggest you create a checkout page (Classic) for each candidate and set it up for the Terms & Conditions, Notification list, Organization information. You may also want to activate Twitter auto-post as well. This way each receipt will be customized for the candidate.

hope that answers the question.

[dviciedo]

okay #1 is what I thought but #2 is hard to explain.... a phone call would be much easier.

I have seen (not set up) an Advanced Page where there are multiple candidates on it. = 1 WID
Now we have each candidate set up with their own WID = 1 WID.
The API only allows for one WID to be used per transaction.

Do we have to set up an Advanced page or classic with the same candidates as on our form? I don't understand why we can't dynamically create forms on our web site. Probably business reasons I have no clue about.

[CnP.Support]

David,

WID is the Window ID for a checkout page. The idea is simple - instead of passing a large number of parameters through the API simply set up an easyPage and customize it as you want - then use the reference number for the checkout page and pass it through the API. Each account needs to have a checkout page set up for it and it is easiest to do a classic page. The only reason you are setting up a checkout page is to customize the thank you message, terms & conditions, and organization info.

The following article, while written for FaaS applies to PaaS as well:

http://forums.clickandpledge.com/content.php?141-Customizing-FaaS-with-a-checkout-page

Again - simply create an easy page and use its WID for each account. You need 3 parameters for each account:

- Account GUID
- Account ID
- WID for a checkout page for that account.

You cannot use 1 WID for all accounts. WID is unique to accounts and references a single checkout page. Each account may have as many checkout pages as they want so you can change the way a receipt shows dynamically by using different WID's within one account.

Support for PaaS and API services is only available through the forum so please ask any questions you may have and we will answer it promptly.

[dviciedo]

so then do we have to set up a checkout page (WID) with the same candidates (PaaS items) ? Or not? I've seen an Advanced checkout page with all of our candidates on it.

"The only reason you are setting up a checkout page is to customize the thank you message, terms & conditions, and organization info"

this is the same for every candidate and for multiple candidates..

[CnP.Support]

David,

Let me take a step back and ask a basic question.

- Are all these candidates being listed under one account? When you say you have these in 1 checkout page - you mean your organization has a single account with Click & Pledge and is listing all these candidates under one checkout page?

- If the answer to the above question is YES: then there is one central account and all the political candidates are being listed under that account and funds are distributed to the candidates through your organization.

- If the answer to the above question is NO: then there is a single account for each candidate and you are providing a central location for people to contribute to each candidate through your site. Each candidate will receive their own money which will be deposited to their account directly.

If each candidate has his/her own account then you won't be able to include them in 1 checkout page as you are indicating.

Please clarify.

[dviciedo]

the answer to the question is yes... the organization has a single account and then distributes according to the candidates that have received the donation. I'm trying to figure out if we need to create a "Advanced or Simple Checkout Page" that mimics the candidates that we set up on our form. If not what WID would I use?

[CnP.Support]

David,

for the purpose of the API (PaaS) the WID only serves as customizing the notification list, etc. There is no difference between Classic page or Catalog page since the information that we use from these pages is the same for both. Considering they are the same then use a Classic page since it is easier to set up and does not need to have all the customization that you don't know with the catalog page.

Since you are using the PaaS you can pass all those parameters through the API also.

Since there is only account I suggest the following: (I will also list a few points you need to be aware of):

1. Each candidate should be treated as a product where the amount of donation is the unit price and the quantity is 1.
2. When submitting the XML to the PaaS make sure that each candidate is listed as the product description and the donation listed individually.
3. Since there may be several candidates in one transaction you can't make one receipt customized for each of them. The receipt needs to be a generic receipt. The receipt will list each donation for the candidate separately as separate line items. Make the donation receipt generic with organization info, address, etc. by creating a classic easyPage and using its WID.

Problems with your approach:

Political campaigns typically have limits on the amount of donation a patron may give during an election cycle. Imagine that someone donates to 5 candidates in one transaction and their limit exceeds for one candidate. If the candidate notifies you that they can't accept the donation due to the FEC limits then you have to credit the transaction back to the patron. A transaction cannot be credited partially while maintaining the recurring transaction. A recurring transaction replicates the original order.

How are you going to keep the recurring transaction which was sent to 5 candidates when you need to issue credit for 1 of them?

Other than the problem stated I think the approach will work and by setting up a classic page with a generic thank you message and terms & conditions the API will work.

[dviciedo]

okay that answers my question and we already have a generic WID so I'll start testing...

Thanks,

David