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Sturgis Welcomes....

Our newest South Carolina utility client
Chester County Natural Gas Authority

Our newest Alabama client
Pickens County Probate

Our newest Ohio client
City of North Canton OH

Our newest Virginia clients
Charlotte County Treasurer
Franklin County Treasurer
Madison County Treasurer

Our newest North Carolina client
Rutherford County

Our newest South Carolina redesigned site
Clarendon County Treasurer

Our newest Tennessee client
Rutherford County Chancery Clerk of Court

Our newest Georgia clients
Meriwether County Tax Commissioner
Cobb County, Georgia Tax Commissioner

About UsBlog

PayPal Training Webinar Scheduled for 8/22/12

8/7/2012 5:49:59 PM by Lori Nielsen

PayPal, Inc. and Sturgis Web Services invite you to attend online training to learn more about setting up an account, managing your account profile, issuing refunds, international transactions and other PayPal features. Even if you already have an established account and have been using the account for several months, this presentation will serve as an excellent overview for you and other members of your staff. At the end of the session, PayPal representatives will be available to answer questions. Date: Wednesday, August 22, 2012 Time: 11:00 a.m.– 12:00 p.m. EST Conference/Video Call Information: TO BE ANNOUNCED If you plan to attend this online training, please send a quick email to lori@sturgiswebservices.com.

Clerk Report Error Using Credit Cards at the Counter??

8/7/2012 5:43:06 PM by Lori Nielsen

Due to recent upgrades in our Credit Card application, you must install any critical security updates for the .Net Framework on your machine. These should already be installed automatically along with other periodic Windows Updates, but if they are not and you experience an error running the Clerk Report, please ask your IT Department to update your machine.

Check and Update Your Holiday Schedule Each Year

2/16/2012 6:50:36 PM by Lori Nielsen

Many of our customers publish their annual holiday schedules on the News or Contact Us page of their web site. However, many customers don't update this schedule from year to year. Check your website each year and make sure you send Sturgis your holiday closing updates every January or remember to update this information in your web site editor.

FIND US on Facebook!!

2/15/2012 3:50:08 PM by Lori Nielsen

Sturgis Web Services strives to communicate with our customers and keep them up to date on service improvements, customer announcements and other important information relative to our customers needs. One of our communication resources is Facebook, so if you're a Facebook member, please like us and follow our progress as we work to serve our customers better. FOLLOW US us on Facebook!

How eChecks work in PayPal

2/15/2012 3:40:27 PM by Lori Nielsen

Electronic checks, or eChecks, are a convenient method for customers to make payments these days. When we refer to an eCheck in reference to your web site, please remember that a customer must have a PayPal account to pay by eCheck. An eCheck is a payment that you make directly from your bank account. When you use an eCheck, you don't have to have a credit card or other payment method linked to your PayPal account. The money comes directly from your bank account. Merchants get paid, but they never see your bank account or other financial information. For taxpayers/utility bill payers to use their PP account to pay by eCheck, they would follow these instructions: 1. Log in to your PayPal account 2. Click Send Money 3. Enter the required information, click Continue 4. Click Change, select eCheck, click Continue 5. Review the information and click Send Money to complete the transaction Some Sturgis clients have blocked eChecks as a payment option in their PayPal account profile. If you are interested in blocking eChecks, contact Sturgis Web Services for more information.

Your Cure for the "I'm Tired of Payment Notification Emails" Blues

1/6/2011 3:05:37 PM by Lori Nielsen

Some counties have asked and the answer is YES! There is a way to turn off payment notification emails.

Just log into your account, then click on “Profile” at the top of the page. Then click on “Notifications”. In the section of Payment Notifications, there will be a check box that you can uncheck for “I receive money with PayPal”. There’s also the check box of “I receive PayPal Website Payments and Instant Purchase”. If you uncheck those, you won’t receive any email notices for payments received....and your mailbox may thank you!

Notice to Credit Card Program Users - be precise when entering data

8/13/2010 6:51:21 PM by Lori Nielsen

For those customer service representatives using the Sturgis credit card application, it's important to enter data correctly, so that the data can be successfully updated each day.

Most importantly, if the field asks for a tax year, use numbers ONLY. All years must be entered as 4 digits, for example, 2010, not 10.

Issuing Refunds in PayPal is Simple!

8/12/2010 7:46:11 PM by Lori Nielsen

Log in to your PayPal account, find the transaction, click on the 'Transaction Details' link. On the detail screen, find the 'Issue Refund' link. Follow the steps to issue the refund.

PayPal has recommended that Cities/Counties issue full refunds on any payments. Partial refunds may result in the County/City retaining a portion of the transaction fee. If this happens, to keep your accounts balanced, we recommend that customer allow these excess funds to remain in the PayPal account.

Please note that it may take PayPal 2-3 business days to process the refund.

PayPal Partnership Exempts Sturgis Clients from Refund Process Changes

7/21/2010 4:03:03 PM by Lori Nielsen

PayPal recently announced that on August 1st, they will begin retaining the $.30 fixed transaction fee on all refunds.

HOWEVER, Sturgis has negotiated with PayPal and they have agreed to allow all of our clients to refund the entire amount, including the percentage and transaction fees. Therefore, there is no change in the refund process.

Governments Can No Longer Accept AMEX at the Counter or Over the Phone (IVR) Using Payments Pro

7/21/2010 3:58:57 PM by Lori Nielsen

On July 13, 2010, recent changes in the card processing agreement between PayPal and American express were announced.

Essentially, these changes restrict usage by certain merchant categories, and PayPal has confirmed that governments are included in these restrictions. Effective October 13th, you will no longer be able to accept American Express across-the-counter/face-to-face or via phone line/IVR. Should you have either of these services through Sturgis, please prepare your taxpayers as you deem necessary.

Please note that this new agreement DOES NOT apply to payments made on the internet, as these are processed through a separate application processing interface (API) than the counter and phone payments. If a customer wants to make a payment with American Express, please ask them to make it via your website.

Please notify necessary staff of this policy change andnotify taxpayers that American Express will no longer be accepted over the counter or over the phone effective October 13, 2010. If you have any questions, please email me or call our office.

PayPal Approved to Offer Secure Access to Government Web Sites

3/18/2010 8:53:06 PM by Lori Nielsen

PayPal is among the first identity providers certified by the Open Identity Exchange (OIX) to issue digital identity credentials that will be accepted for privacy-protected registration and login at U.S. government websites. The OIX operates a new trust framework which allows government sites like the Internal Revenue Service or National Institutes of Health to trust identity information about users provided by PayPal and other certified sites such as Google and Equifax.
The Open Identity Exchange (OIX) is a neutral, non-profit, multi-channel provider of certification trust frameworks for open identity technologies. For more information visit www.openidentityexchange.org.

In case you were wondering...Credit Card Application and Web Site Data are one and the same...

3/8/2010 2:08:50 PM by Lori Nielsen

If you utilize Sturgis' across-the-counter credit card service, the data used here is the same data that citizens search and view on your online payment web site. These applications are pulling from the same database on Sturgis' servers.

Fourth Quarter Earnings Soar for eBay

1/21/2010 5:00:50 PM by Lori Nielsen

eBay Inc., PayPal's parent company, saw their fourth-quarter profits nearly quadruple in 2009.

President and CEO of eBay, John Donahoe, credited PayPal's success, saying the company has "significantly expanded its presence globally and, for the first time, processed more than $20 billion in total payment volume in a quarter." Revenue from the segment including PayPal jumped 28% in the fourth quarter.

e-Check Transactions and Convenience Fees...what you need to know

1/7/2010 2:21:58 PM by Lori Nielsen

PayPal-savvy customers know that they can get around convenience and transaction fees by creating an account and paying via e-Check. e-Check allows a PayPal customer to pay a flat percentage fee, .007%, not to exceed $5.00, instead of 2.2% +$.30. On a $500 payment, the fees add up to nearly $23, so you can see why the e-Check is the preferable method of payment.

Here's the catch: convenience fees will STILL be added to the transaction. PayPal will take their $5.00, but the convenience fee will be charged to the customer. Since you don't want to collect the overage, that amount will need to be refunded to the customer.

PayPal Dollar Transaction Limits & Override Instructions

12/16/2009 9:04:22 PM by Lori Nielsen

For our customers who use the Sturgis credit card scanner application across the counter, please remember that if the transaction is over $10,000, you must split the transaction into separate transactions that do not exceed $10,000 each.

Citizens using our customers' web sites to make online payments must have PayPal accounts if their transaction exceeds $2,000.

To override these transaction limits, you must fill out an Override Form. You can fill this out in your web browser and hit the "Email to PayPal" button at the bottom of the form. The form will automatically be sent to PayPal's vetting department and they will contact you if they need additional information.

Internet Explorer 8 - how earlier browser versions perform and relate

11/11/2009 9:25:27 PM by Lori Nielsen

The new Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) is dynamic and offers users many new features, as most updates do. However, users upgrading to IE8 may see sites render differently, especially if the web site hasn't been coded to be viewed in IE8.

To solve any "weirdness" when viewing older sites designed for older browser versions, there is a Compatibility Fix button, located to the right of the web address bar, just next to the Refresh button. If you mouse over the button, you'll see an explanation of the button's purpose. When you click that button, any "weirdness" you see should fix itself, by converting the site to view in IE7.

Sturgis Tracks Your Web Site with Google Analytics

11/11/2009 8:13:18 PM by Lori Nielsen

Have you wondered how many people have visited your web site during any given time period? Do you wonder which pages are the most visited? Do you want to know which Internet browser most of your visitors use? All of these questions and more can be answered with the click of mouse! Just contact Sturgis Web Services and we can set you up to view live, dynamic statistics pertaining to your web site.

To view your Google Analytics reports, you will need to set up a Google account. Sturgis will then use the email that is linked to your Google account to add you as user who can view reports. Each person who is authorized to view reports will need to set up their own unique Google account.

For more information, contact us at 1-866-219-1476 or send an email to lori@sturgiswebservices.com.

Consider Disabling International Payments in your PayPal Account

11/11/2009 7:33:29 PM by Lori Nielsen

In addition to the 2.2% + $.30 fees, PayPal payments coming from ‘international sources’ may end up taking money from the totals you collect. ‘International sources’ include payments originating from PayPal accounts outside the United States and, possibly, credit cards that are registered outside of the U. S. These are referred to by PayPal as non-U.S. registered payers.

Previous to disabling international payments, some clients have seen an additional 1%
added to the payment total, but not charged to the customer. This additional 1% ends up being deducted from the total due, leaving your total balance collected out of line.

To avoid this, consider disabling international payments on your PayPal account. Follow these steps:

Go to the PayPal website and log in to your account.
Click "Profile" at the top of the page.
Click "Payment Receiving Preferences" under the Seller Preferences column.
Select ‘Block payments from users who have non-us pp accounts.’
After selecting your choices, click "Save."

PayPal Fees and Online Calculator

11/11/2009 7:08:37 PM by Lori Nielsen

Several Sturgis Customers have inquired about how PayPal calculates fees, since it seems that if you take the amount due, add 2.2% and then add $.30, this number is not in sync with PayPal’s calculation.

Here’s the official formula for how PayPal calculates what online customers will pay:

(Total amount due + .30) / (1 - 0.022)

Welcome to the Sturgis Web Services Blog!

1/5/2007 5:44:58 PM by Andy Castillo