General
1) Does The Crypto Cashier have it's own crypto-currency wallet?
No, The Crypto Cashier does not have it's own wallet. You are free to use any wallet you want, and as many different wallets as you want. All crypto-currency payments from customers are sent to wallet addresses you specify when you install and configure The Crypto Cashier plugin.
2) Which crypto-currency wallet should I use?
You are free to choose any wallet application with which you feel comfortable. In fact, you may want to use more than one wallet, depending on the type of crypto-currencies and tokens you want to accept.
3) Do I need to give The Crypto Cashier my private keys for my wallet?
No! Never give your wallet's private keys to anyone or any application!!!
When you want to accept crypto-currencies from your customers, simply go to the Payment Options administration tab and enable those cryptos/tokens you desire. In order to enable each crypto-currency option, you must provide your wallet's public receiving address, which is shown to your customers when they select that payment option so they can send the cryptos to the correct address.
When you want to accept crypto-currencies from your customers, simply go to the Payment Options administration tab and enable those cryptos/tokens you desire. In order to enable each crypto-currency option, you must provide your wallet's public receiving address, which is shown to your customers when they select that payment option so they can send the cryptos to the correct address.
4) Does The Crypto Cashier have it's own block-chain?
No, The Crypto Cashier does not have it's own block-chain. The Crypto Cashier plugin allows you to accept crypto-currency payments from your customers. Any crypto-currency or token you decide to accept will have their own inherent block-chains, which are unrelated to The Crypto Cashier system.
Installation
1) After installation, why don't I see any crypto-currency payment options?
After you initially install The Crypto Cashier plugin, the list of all supported crypto-currencies and tokens must be retrieved from the back-end service. In addition, your installation will not be able to access the back-end service until you've successfully entered your account and access keys in the Account administration tab.
- Please follow these instructions to update your account information.
- Next, go to the Options administration tab and Refresh the cryptos/tokens list. Your screen should refresh and show you all supported crypto-currencies.
- Please follow these instructions to update your account information.
- Next, go to the Options administration tab and Refresh the cryptos/tokens list. Your screen should refresh and show you all supported crypto-currencies.
2) How can I update The Crypto Cashier plugin to the latest version?
If you navigate to the Settings administration tab, you will be shown an icon/button indicating the version of the plugin you are currently using. Clicking on this button will reveal whether or not an update is available.
If an update is available, it can be downloaded from your account page.
Once you have downloaded the latest package for your update, you can follow the instructions in the document section to update your installation of The Crypto Cashier plugin.
If an update is available, it can be downloaded from your account page.
Once you have downloaded the latest package for your update, you can follow the instructions in the document section to update your installation of The Crypto Cashier plugin.
Payments
1) How do customers make payments in crypto-currency?
Once you enable a crypto-currency, such as Bitcoin, to be used by your customers in exchange for goods and services you offer, your customers will be able to pay you in that crypto-currency by navigating their web browser to your web site's invoicing page. The customer will be shown an amount due and a wallet address, which you've previously specified during the installation and configuration of The Crypto Cashier plugin. The customer can open their crypto-currency wallet application and either scan the QR code displayed or manually enter the wallet address shown on the invoice page. Finally, the customer enters the amount due into their wallet application and submits the payment, usually by pressing the send button. The amount of crypto-currency is then sent to the wallet address.
The Crypto Cashier will monitor the crypto-currency's block-chain and notify both you and the customer when the payment is received. If the customer remains on the invoicing page, the page will automatically show the payment receipt when the payment is received, but it is not necessary for the customer to remain on the page.
If WooCommerce is being used in conjunction with The Crypto Cashier, then the order is automatically updated when the payment is received.
The Crypto Cashier will monitor the crypto-currency's block-chain and notify both you and the customer when the payment is received. If the customer remains on the invoicing page, the page will automatically show the payment receipt when the payment is received, but it is not necessary for the customer to remain on the page.
If WooCommerce is being used in conjunction with The Crypto Cashier, then the order is automatically updated when the payment is received.
2) How do customers know how much crypto-currency to send for the payment?
If you've based an invoice, or priced your WooCommerce products on a fiat currency such as the US dollar, then the customer is shown prices for your enabled crypto-currencies that are based on live quotes from several crypto-trading exchanges.
For example, if you've priced a product at $10, then each enabled crypto-currency will be quoted to the customer in those currencies, but in an amount equal to $10, depending on current market rates.
Another example is when you've based an invoice on a crypto-currency instead of a fiat currency. Let's say you've created an invoice for one of your customers to pay 2 Bitcoins (BTC). When your customer goes to your website to pay, they will see all of the payment options you've enabled, each with a quoted amount in their own currencies that are equal to 2 BTC. Additionally, if you have enabled conventional payments via Stripe and/or PayPal™, then your customers would be able to pay you in the current cash value of 2 BTC.
For example, if you've priced a product at $10, then each enabled crypto-currency will be quoted to the customer in those currencies, but in an amount equal to $10, depending on current market rates.
Another example is when you've based an invoice on a crypto-currency instead of a fiat currency. Let's say you've created an invoice for one of your customers to pay 2 Bitcoins (BTC). When your customer goes to your website to pay, they will see all of the payment options you've enabled, each with a quoted amount in their own currencies that are equal to 2 BTC. Additionally, if you have enabled conventional payments via Stripe and/or PayPal™, then your customers would be able to pay you in the current cash value of 2 BTC.
PayPal is a trademark of PayPal Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.
3) What is the difference between auto and manual reconciliation?
When you enable a crypto-currency option, customers will be able to pay their balance in that crypto-currency. When they send their payment in crypto-currency to your wallet address, that payment will need to be reconciled, which means the payment is recognized and the customer is given the proper credit.
If the crypto-currency payment option has auto-rec enabled, then the block-chain will be monitored until the payment is received and the customer will automatically be credited once the payment arrives.
However, if the payment option does not have auto-rec enabled, then there is no monitoring of the block-chain for the payment, hence the payment will need to be manually reconciled within the Payments administration tab.
See more information in the document section.
If the crypto-currency payment option has auto-rec enabled, then the block-chain will be monitored until the payment is received and the customer will automatically be credited once the payment arrives.
However, if the payment option does not have auto-rec enabled, then there is no monitoring of the block-chain for the payment, hence the payment will need to be manually reconciled within the Payments administration tab.
See more information in the document section.
4) How do I manually reconcile a payment?
If you've received a payment from a customer and need to reconcile it manually, you can go to the Payment records administration tab and look for the pending payment in the list of payments. Click on that payment to bring up a reconciliation screen, which allows you to enter the amount of the payment and it's associated value. Click on the Receive this payment button to officially record the receipt.
See more information in the document section.
See more information in the document section.
5) What are confirmations?
Confirmations represent the degree in which a particular transaction is secure in its position within the block-chain. The more confirmations a transaction has, the more likely it will not be over-ridden by another transaction.
For most block-chains, a value of 4 is probably sufficient to guarantee the transaction's validity within the block-chain. But for others, the value could be more or less.
Within The Crypto Cashier system, each crypto-currency payment option has a confirmations setting, which defines how to officially recognize a payment in that currency.
See more information in the document section.
For most block-chains, a value of 4 is probably sufficient to guarantee the transaction's validity within the block-chain. But for others, the value could be more or less.
Within The Crypto Cashier system, each crypto-currency payment option has a confirmations setting, which defines how to officially recognize a payment in that currency.
See more information in the document section.
6) What is tolerance?
For most block-chains, the inputs and outputs of transactions are clear and match exactly the user's sent and received amounts.
However, depending on the block-chain being used by the underlying crypto-currency, the expected amounts sent or received by end users may be slightly different then the values specified in the block-chain transaction. Depending on how the block-chain handles things like fees and chards, it may affect how the final amounts are actually listed in the transaction.
Tolerance is the range of possible values of a payment amount in a block-chain.
Again, for most situations, a value of zero (0), which is the default, is the proper setting. This means that the exact amount must be matched to be considered a valid payment.
See more information in the document section.
However, depending on the block-chain being used by the underlying crypto-currency, the expected amounts sent or received by end users may be slightly different then the values specified in the block-chain transaction. Depending on how the block-chain handles things like fees and chards, it may affect how the final amounts are actually listed in the transaction.
Tolerance is the range of possible values of a payment amount in a block-chain.
Again, for most situations, a value of zero (0), which is the default, is the proper setting. This means that the exact amount must be matched to be considered a valid payment.
See more information in the document section.
7) What is the expiration?
When a customer chooses a particular payment option by pressing the Pay with xxx button, they are shown the amount to send and the wallet address to which that amount should be sent. At that moment, the clock starts ticking. The expiration setting defines the amount of time the user will be given to complete the transaction. This includes the time needed for the payment to be recognized on the block-chain.
Each crypto-currency payment option has its own expiration setting because all block-chains do not operate at the same speed.
In any case, once the expiration time has been exceeded, any outstanding block-chain monitoring for that payment will cease, and the pending payment will be marked as expired. When this occurs, the administrator will receive a notification of the event.
See more information in the document section.
Each crypto-currency payment option has its own expiration setting because all block-chains do not operate at the same speed.
In any case, once the expiration time has been exceeded, any outstanding block-chain monitoring for that payment will cease, and the pending payment will be marked as expired. When this occurs, the administrator will receive a notification of the event.
See more information in the document section.
8) What is Extended Decimal Amount (EDA)?
Extended Decimal Amount (EDA) is a method used to reduce the probablility of conflicts arising due to two or more customers making identical payment amounts in the same currency to the same receiving address at the same time.
Crypto-currency payments are semi-anonymous. Most block-chain technologies that are used as a basis for a crypto-currency do not store any personal data pertaining to either the buyer or seller. This means that as payments are made, the only identifying information inserted into the block-chain transaction are:
In order to overcome this situation, EDA is used. EDA adds a negligible, fractional number (less than the value of one cent) to the final amount due, which makes each payment unique.
When EDA is used, customer payments are much less likely to experience such a conflict.
See more information in the document section.
Crypto-currency payments are semi-anonymous. Most block-chain technologies that are used as a basis for a crypto-currency do not store any personal data pertaining to either the buyer or seller. This means that as payments are made, the only identifying information inserted into the block-chain transaction are:
- the time,
- the sending address of the buyer's wallet,
- the receiving addresses of the seller's wallet,
- and the payment amount.
In order to overcome this situation, EDA is used. EDA adds a negligible, fractional number (less than the value of one cent) to the final amount due, which makes each payment unique.
When EDA is used, customer payments are much less likely to experience such a conflict.
See more information in the document section.
9) For most situations, what are the optimum settings for crypto-currency payment options?
The default settings for the payment options are best for most situations. There are two settings which you should most consider changing:
See more information in the document section.
- It is strongly advised to turn on Extended Decimal Amounts (EDA) by checking that box. This is especially true for high-volume sites.
- Depending on the volatility of the crypto-currency, the Expiration can be reduced to prevent price discrepancies.
See more information in the document section.
10) How many public receiving addresses should I specify for each crypto-currency?
This depends on several factors, but generally speaking, two or three different receiving addresses should suffice.
If the popular products and services listed in your online store have the same prices or if you have popular items flying off the shelves, then it is likely that you'll eventually have two or more customers shopping at the same exact time, loading their shopping carts and checking out. Since it's at the same time, their totals will be identical. If they both select the same payment option and you only have one receiving address specified for that option, both customers would be sending the payments to the same address. The system will detect a potential payment conflict in this situation and only the first customer to check-out will be allowed to use the payment option and proceed with the payment. The second customer trying to use the same payment option will be refused and given a message indicating that they've selected a crypto-currency that is currently unavailable and that they should either wait and try again later or select an alternative crypto-currency or payment option. (Note that whenever a situation such as this arises, it is logged in the system for administrative review and an email notification is sent to the admin so that appropriate measures can be taken.)
Using EDA (see above) will help prevent most of these situations, but depending on the popularity and volume of your online store, having two or three (or more) receiving addresses for popular payment options will also be beneficial.
If the popular products and services listed in your online store have the same prices or if you have popular items flying off the shelves, then it is likely that you'll eventually have two or more customers shopping at the same exact time, loading their shopping carts and checking out. Since it's at the same time, their totals will be identical. If they both select the same payment option and you only have one receiving address specified for that option, both customers would be sending the payments to the same address. The system will detect a potential payment conflict in this situation and only the first customer to check-out will be allowed to use the payment option and proceed with the payment. The second customer trying to use the same payment option will be refused and given a message indicating that they've selected a crypto-currency that is currently unavailable and that they should either wait and try again later or select an alternative crypto-currency or payment option. (Note that whenever a situation such as this arises, it is logged in the system for administrative review and an email notification is sent to the admin so that appropriate measures can be taken.)
Using EDA (see above) will help prevent most of these situations, but depending on the popularity and volume of your online store, having two or three (or more) receiving addresses for popular payment options will also be beneficial.
11) What if my customers don't want to use crypto-currency to pay me?
That's ok, your customers don't have to pay in crypto-currency if they don't want to. The Crypto Cashier also offers conventional payment methods via Stripe or PayPal™.
Additionally, if WooCommerce is being used on your website, The Crypto Cashier is only one of the payment gateways offered for use. Any other WooCommerce gateway you've enabled will be able to be used by your customers as well.
See more information in the document section.
Additionally, if WooCommerce is being used on your website, The Crypto Cashier is only one of the payment gateways offered for use. Any other WooCommerce gateway you've enabled will be able to be used by your customers as well.
See more information in the document section.
PayPal is a trademark of PayPal Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.
12) What if my customer pays me by check and sends it to me by mail?
Customers can pay you in many ways. If you received a payment in any form which is not possible to automate within the system, such as a check sent by mail, then you can always give the customer proper credit in the system manually.
Simply go to the Invoicing administration tab, find the related invoice and click on it to bring up the details. Click the Issue credit button and enter the details of the received payment. When finished, hit the Apply button and you're done.
The customer will be sent an email receipt (If that option has been selected - see the settings doc section.)
See more information in the document section.
Simply go to the Invoicing administration tab, find the related invoice and click on it to bring up the details. Click the Issue credit button and enter the details of the received payment. When finished, hit the Apply button and you're done.
The customer will be sent an email receipt (If that option has been selected - see the settings doc section.)
See more information in the document section.
13) Does The Crypto Cashier support partial payments from customers?
Yes. If a customer sends a payment amount that is less than the expected amount due, you can mark the payment as received and credit the invoice with a partial payment as described in the document section. The customer will then be sent an email receipt, with information on the remaining amount due for the respective invoice.
This actually allows customers to pay one invoice with several different crypto-currencies, with multiple payments. The customer can even pay the last payment with a conventional method (a credit card via PayPal™, for example).
Note however, that since a partial payment does not match the expected amount due, then the payment will NOT be able to be recognized by the auto-reconciliation process. This means that all initial partial payments for an invoice will need to be manually reconciled. (Only the very last payment will match the expected amount due and be able to be recognized within the block-chain, hence be auto-reconcilable.)
This actually allows customers to pay one invoice with several different crypto-currencies, with multiple payments. The customer can even pay the last payment with a conventional method (a credit card via PayPal™, for example).
Note however, that since a partial payment does not match the expected amount due, then the payment will NOT be able to be recognized by the auto-reconciliation process. This means that all initial partial payments for an invoice will need to be manually reconciled. (Only the very last payment will match the expected amount due and be able to be recognized within the block-chain, hence be auto-reconcilable.)
PayPal is a trademark of PayPal Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.
Invoices
1) Are invoices always necessary for a customer to be able to pay in crypto-currency?
The short answer is YES.
The invoice contains all the information about the account and the expected transaction. So when a customer makes a payment in crypto-currency, that payment will eventually need to be applied to something in order to give the customer the proper credit.
The invoice is the element which is used as a basis for defining the payment as well as the element to which the payment is matched.
If WooCommerce is being used, the invoice is generated behind the scenes automatically whenever a customer checks out.
The invoice contains all the information about the account and the expected transaction. So when a customer makes a payment in crypto-currency, that payment will eventually need to be applied to something in order to give the customer the proper credit.
The invoice is the element which is used as a basis for defining the payment as well as the element to which the payment is matched.
If WooCommerce is being used, the invoice is generated behind the scenes automatically whenever a customer checks out.
2) How do I create an invoice based on a crypto-currency, such as Ethereum?
You can create an invoice based on any supported crypto-currency.
- First, go to the Payment Options configuration tab within the WordPress administration page for The Crypto Cashier. Find the crypto-currency you want to use to base the invoice on and make sure you've enabled that crypto-currency and have entered your wallet's receiving address.
- Then go to the Invoicing administration tab. At the top of the page you'll see a New invoice button next to a drop-down list that shows all the enabled currencies on which invoices can be based. Select your desired crypto currency from that list and then press the New invoice button.
- Fill in the details of the invoice as you would any other type of invoice.
- Once completed, you can bill the customer with that invoice by pressing the Send invoice button.
The invoice will have your website URL address, which allows the customer to navigate their browser directly to your site's invoicing page and pay the invoice online.
See more information in the document section.
- First, go to the Payment Options configuration tab within the WordPress administration page for The Crypto Cashier. Find the crypto-currency you want to use to base the invoice on and make sure you've enabled that crypto-currency and have entered your wallet's receiving address.
- Then go to the Invoicing administration tab. At the top of the page you'll see a New invoice button next to a drop-down list that shows all the enabled currencies on which invoices can be based. Select your desired crypto currency from that list and then press the New invoice button.
- Fill in the details of the invoice as you would any other type of invoice.
- Once completed, you can bill the customer with that invoice by pressing the Send invoice button.
The invoice will have your website URL address, which allows the customer to navigate their browser directly to your site's invoicing page and pay the invoice online.
See more information in the document section.
3) Where are the PDF invoice documents stored on my website?
The PDF documents are not stored on the website. When you click on the PDF icons to either download or view an invoice in PDF format, they are dynamically generated at that time, using the information you've specified for that invoice.
See more information in the document section.
See more information in the document section.
WooCommerce
1) My website uses WooCommerce. How can I integrate The Crypto Cashier?
In order to allow The Crypto Cashier plugin to work with WooCommerce, you will need to install & enable one more plugin - the The Crypto Cashier bridge for WooCommerce. Once this bridge is installed, WooCommerce will recognize The Crypto Cashier as a valid payment gateway. You only need to go into the WooCommerce administration page and enable the gateway as described in the documents section.
2) How are orders processed when crypto-currency payments are received?
If the order is for a virtual (electronically deliverable) product, such as a PDF document or zip file, then the order is marked as completed when the full payment in the chosen crypto-currency has been received. This gives the customer the ability to download the associated product immediately, just as if they had paid with conventional methods. (Note that you can override this feature and mark the order as processing for virtual products - see the settings documentation for more information.)
If the order contains non-virtual products (items which must be physically delivered to the customer), then upon payment receipt the order is marked as processing. This allows the normal fulfillment process to kick into action.
If the order contains non-virtual products (items which must be physically delivered to the customer), then upon payment receipt the order is marked as processing. This allows the normal fulfillment process to kick into action.
3) How do I price my products in crypto-currencies?
The shop currency or base currency is the currency you're using for the prices of the products in your online store. Normally, when WooCommerce shoppers are browsing your products and adding them to their shopping carts, they see the prices you've set for those products denominated in your country's currency. For example, if you're primarily selling to customers in the United States, then most likely, you've priced your products in US dollars. Then, if you have The Crypto Cashier enabled, when the customer checks out and sees the total payment amount due, it is automatically converted from US dollars into the respective amounts of the various crypto-currencies/tokens you've enabled using the current market exchange rates.
But what if you didn't want to use the US dollar or any other country-based fiat currency, but instead you want to price your products directly in your favorite crypto-currency? For example, if you're selling a T-shirt, instead of pricing it as $30, you want to price it as 1 LTC. In this way, when the customer is shopping, they'll see all the prices in LTC. Upon check-out, the customer will see the total amount due in LTC and also the respective amounts of the other currencies you've enabled using current market exchange rates for LTC.
In order to accomplish this, The Crypto Cashier allows you to add crypto-currencies to WooCommerce as potential shop currencies.
- First, go to your The Crypto Cashier settings and navigate to the Payment Options administration tab. Display the properties of the crypto-currency you want to add to WooCommerce. Check the box labeled Add to WooCommerce and then be sure and Save your settings.
- Now you can go into the WooCommerce settings and select your desired currency. Please refer to this WooCommerce page regarding shop currencies for further information.
See more information in the document section.
But what if you didn't want to use the US dollar or any other country-based fiat currency, but instead you want to price your products directly in your favorite crypto-currency? For example, if you're selling a T-shirt, instead of pricing it as $30, you want to price it as 1 LTC. In this way, when the customer is shopping, they'll see all the prices in LTC. Upon check-out, the customer will see the total amount due in LTC and also the respective amounts of the other currencies you've enabled using current market exchange rates for LTC.
In order to accomplish this, The Crypto Cashier allows you to add crypto-currencies to WooCommerce as potential shop currencies.
- First, go to your The Crypto Cashier settings and navigate to the Payment Options administration tab. Display the properties of the crypto-currency you want to add to WooCommerce. Check the box labeled Add to WooCommerce and then be sure and Save your settings.
- Now you can go into the WooCommerce settings and select your desired currency. Please refer to this WooCommerce page regarding shop currencies for further information.
See more information in the document section.