Google Checkout

Google Checkout is the new payment management system available from Google. Merchants can accept credit card payments without having to obtain a merchant account. In addition, merchants that use Google AdWords will have an icon on their ad to indicate they accept Google Checkout thus driving more shoppers to their store.

Note:

The Google Checkout payment method may be incompatible with some ShopSite features, including Coupons, Gift Certificates, Rewards over time, Customer Registration, Surcharges, and Discounts.

Note:

Google Checkout can currently only be used by merchants within the US.

Before you can use Google Checkout in your ShopSite store, you must first create a merchant account. Merchant accounts are tied to a Google Account (such as a Gmail, AdWords, or Google Alerts account). After you have a Google Checkout merchant account, you can configure ShopSite to accept payments through Google Checkout.

When you enable Google Checkout, customers will be presented with a pre-shopping cart screen allowing them to select either the standard ShopSite checkout process, or Google Checkout.

Note:

The pre-shopping cart screen only allows a customer to select which checkout process to use. It does not include shipping or tax selection options available on the standard ShopSite shopping cart screen. Selecting Google Checkout will redirect shoppers to the Google Checkout site. Selecting the standard Checkout button will allow shoppers to checkout using the standard ShopSite checkout process, starting with the shopping cart screen.

Note:

Google Checkout uses a callback to notify ShopSite of new orders. Orders placed using Google Checkout will not appear with your orders until the callback arrives.

When a Google Checkout order arrives in your back office, make sure to check the Payment Processing Info section when you view the order. New orders will usually appear with an order state of NEW:REVIEWING. Once Google Checkout has authorized the fund transfer, a new line will display the order state as NEW:CHARGEABLE. After you bill the order, either in ShopSite or in the Google Merchant Center, a new line will display PROCESSING:CHARGED to indicate the funds have been captured. You should not ship orders until you have verified the funds have been captured.

Whenever you ship, cancel, or refund an order paid for through Google Checkout, you must indicate this in the Google Merchant center. Failure to do so will cause discrepancies in your Google Merchant account.

If you charge sales tax, you will need to configure ShopSite to Use Zip Code to determine Tax in order to use Google Checkout.

Google Checkout will calculate shipping charges based off your ShopSite Shipping settings. If you have configured ShopSite to get real-time shipping quotes from UPS or FedEx (Custom Shipping add-ons may not be compatible with Google Checkout), you should also set up a simple shipping table (such as Flat Shipping) to use as an alternate in case of a time-out waiting for the real-time quote provider.

Note:

If you are using Google Checkout in conjunction with UPS real-time shipping quotes, you should be aware that Google will not warn the customer or block an order if the customer enters a P.O. Box for the shipping address. UPS does not ship to P.O. Boxes, and it is the merchant's responsibility to address such situations if they arise.

Setup

On the Commerce Setup screen, select Payment, then check the box for Google Checkout and click on Configure. You will see a screen with the following fields:

Host and Authentication

Host

Select whether to use the Live server or the Test server. In order to use the test server, you must have a sandbox merchant account.

Merchant ID for API

Enter the API Merchant ID assigned to you when you created your merchant account.

Merchant key

Enter the Merchant Key assigned to you when you created your merchant account.

Continue Shopping URL

Enter a URL to use as a Continue Shopping link after the customer finishes the Google Checkout process. You may want to use your My Store URL from the Preferences > Hosting Service screen in the back office.

Google Checkout Integration Settings

Notification Callback URL

Copy this URL and paste it as the Callback URL in your Google Checkout merchant account Store Integration Settings screen.

Google Checkout Button Size

Select a button size to use for the Google Checkout button. The Google Checkout button size should be no smaller than your regular Checkout Button.

Google Checkout Button Position

Select what position you want the Google Checkout button displayed, relative to the standard Checkout button. You can display the Google Checkout button above, below, or to either side of the standard Checkout button.

Optional Text Between Checkout Buttons

Text entered here will be displayed between the Checkout button and the Google Checkout button. You may want to use this field to indicate that customers have a choice to pick one method or the other.

Display Error Details

Check this box to have detailed error messages appear when a Google Checkout error occurs during the order processing.

After completing the steps above, click on Save Changes to save your configuration settings and return to the Payment Configuration screen, or click Cancel to abandon changes on this screen.

ShopSite Help and Resource Center
Last updated: Febuary 1, 2007
Give Feedback