How do I integrate payment options such as PayPal and accept entry fees?

Overview of charging entry fees

Galleries can charge artists entry fees based on number of entries, number of pieces submitted, or other customizations like member-only pricing. The options apply to one call at a time. EntryThingy supports PayPal and Square for charging entry fees, and you can also use off-platform payments if you collect fees outside of EntryThingy.

This article focuses on PayPal — the most common option. For an overview of all payment options on a single call, see Setting up entry fees and payment options.

Setting up PayPal entry fees

You connect PayPal once for your gallery, and every paid call you set up will use that account automatically. There's no per-call button code to copy.

1. Connect your PayPal account

Go to Preferences from your gallery admin menu and add your PayPal email address in the Payments & Notifications section. The email needs to be the one associated with your gallery's PayPal account (Business or Premier).

For the full walkthrough, see Connect your PayPal account to EntryThingy.

2. Configure the entry fee on your call

When creating or editing a call, expand the Entry Fees section and:

1. Set the entry fee type to Paid Entry.
2. Confirm the green PayPal connected banner appears.
3. Fill in:
4. Base Entry Fee — the standard fee charged on every entry. For example, $25.
5. Pricing options (a disclosure below the base fee) — open this if you want to charge per piece. Check Add per piece pricing and enter the amount per piece (charged on top of the base fee).

That's enough for a basic flat-fee call. Save and you're done.

3. (Optional) Add member or non-member pricing

The most frequent advanced request is to charge members a different price than non-members — for example, members pay $25 and non-members pay $35.

1. Within the Entry Fees section, expand Pricing options.
2. Check Offer different pricing tiers (e.g. members vs. non-members).
3. Fill in the two rows (the new flow caps tiers at two):
4. Option 1: label "Member" with your member fee.
5. Option 2: label "Non-member" with your non-member fee.
6. Save the call.

Artists will see the dropdown when they pay and choose their tier. The fee is calculated based on their selection before they're sent to PayPal.

If your old button code had three or more pricing tiers, you'll need to consolidate them into two — email us at hello@entrythingy.com if you'd like a hand deciding how to combine them.

What artists see

When an artist submits to one of your paid calls, they see a PayPal payment button right on the submission page. They can pay with PayPal, debit, or credit card without leaving EntryThingy. After payment clears, their entry is automatically marked as Submitted and you're notified by email.

Payments go directly to your connected PayPal account — EntryThingy never holds your funds.

Already have older calls with PayPal button code?

If you set up calls earlier using the old "Generate Button Code" approach, those calls automatically switch to the new flow on the next submission as soon as you've connected your PayPal email. Open each existing paid call and confirm the Base Entry Fee and any Pricing options (per-piece pricing, member/non-member tiers) are filled in correctly — the new flow reads from those fields, not from the saved button code.

Frequently asked questions

What email address should I use?

The email associated with your gallery's PayPal account — the same one you'd log into PayPal with. It needs to be a confirmed email on a Business or Premier account so PayPal can route payments to you.

Can I use Square instead of PayPal?

Yes. Square setup involves connecting your Square account via OAuth and is a bit more involved than PayPal. Email us at hello@entrythingy.com and we'll walk you through it.

Where do payments go?

Directly to your connected PayPal (or Square) account. EntryThingy doesn't hold your funds and you don't need to transfer anything from us.

Can I refund an entry fee?

EntryThingy does not process refunds — those are handled directly through your PayPal (or Square) account. Once you've issued the refund, the artist's entry status stays as Submitted unless you change it. See Entry fee refunds for galleries for more.

Need help?

If you'd like a hand setting up PayPal, configuring member pricing, or migrating an older call, email us at hello@entrythingy.com.