Entries aren't automatically set to "Submitted" after the entry fee is paid through PayPal

When an artist pays through PayPal, EntryThingy is supposed to automatically mark their entry as Submitted. If that's not happening, the fix depends on which PayPal flow your call is using.

Which flow is your call using?

Open the call and expand the Entry Fees section.

  • You see a green "PayPal connected" banner → your call is on the new connected-PayPal flow. Skip to the next section.
  • You see a "Payment Button Builder" with a button-code field → your call is on the legacy button-code flow. Skip to Legacy button-code calls below.

Connected-PayPal calls (the new flow)

If your gallery has connected its PayPal email in Preferences → Payments & Notifications, status updates happen automatically — there's nothing per-call to configure, no IPN URL to paste, no PayPal account setting to enable.

If an artist has paid but their entry is still showing Not Submitted:

  1. Wait a minute or two. Notifications can take a moment to arrive after PayPal confirms the payment.
  2. Refresh the entry list. Sometimes the page is just stale.
  3. Check the entry's payment record in your admin panel. If you see the payment but the status hasn't flipped, contact us at hello@entrythingy.com with the call ID and the artist's name — we'll investigate from our side.
  4. Manually mark the entry as Submitted if you need to unblock the artist while we look into it. Open the entry in your Entries list and change the status from Not Submitted to Submitted.

You don't need to touch any IPN settings inside PayPal for the new flow — the connected-account integration handles notifications for you.

Legacy button-code calls

If your call still has a hand-pasted PayPal button code in the Payment Button Builder field, status updates rely on PayPal's Instant Payment Notification (IPN) system. Two things must be configured for IPN to reach EntryThingy:

  1. Your PayPal button code includes the correct IPN notification URL
  2. Your PayPal account has IPN enabled

If either is missing, payments come through but entries don't update.

Heads up: Legacy button-code calls automatically switch to the new connected-PayPal flow as soon as you add your PayPal email in Preferences. Connecting once is usually faster than fixing IPN on every call. See Connect your PayPal account to EntryThingy for the walkthrough.

How automatic status updates work (legacy flow)

  1. Artist clicks your PayPal button and completes payment
  2. PayPal processes the payment and sends money to your PayPal account
  3. PayPal sends an IPN to EntryThingy's server
  4. EntryThingy receives the IPN, verifies it's from PayPal, and identifies which entry was paid
  5. EntryThingy updates that entry's status to Submitted

This happens automatically within seconds of payment, without any action needed from you or the artist — provided IPN is set up correctly.

Requirement 1: Correct IPN URL in your button code

Using the Button Builder: if you generated your button with EntryThingy's Payment Button Builder, the correct IPN URL is included automatically. The IPN URL must be exactly https://www.entrythingy.com/api/paypal-ipn (the www. prefix is required).

Using custom button code: if you pasted in your own button code, you have to include the IPN URL manually with notify_url=https://www.entrythingy.com/api/paypal-ipn. Without this, PayPal won't notify EntryThingy.

Item number format: for status updates to work, the button code must use an item number that starts with submitentry-. The Button Builder includes this automatically; custom code needs to match the format.

Requirement 2: Enable IPN in your PayPal account

Even with the right URL in your button code, PayPal won't send notifications unless IPN is enabled at the account level:

  1. Log into your PayPal Business account
  2. Click your profile icon (top right) → Account Settings
  3. Go to Business Profile → Notifications
  4. Find Instant Payment Notification and click Update
  5. Select Receive IPN messages (Enabled)
  6. Enter the notification URL: https://www.entrythingy.com/api/paypal-ipn
  7. Click Save

If you're using PayPal hosted buttons (created in PayPal's dashboard rather than EntryThingy's builder), the IPN URL isn't in the button code — PayPal uses this account-level setting instead, so this step is the only one that applies.

Verifying your setup

  1. Check your button code in the Payment Button Builder field. It should include notify_url=https://www.entrythingy.com/api/paypal-ipn.
  2. Check PayPal settings. IPN should be enabled with the same URL.
  3. Test with a real payment. Within a few seconds of payment, the entry should flip to Submitted.

Still seeing "Not Submitted" after payment?

  • Confirm the IPN URL is in the button code
  • Confirm IPN is enabled in PayPal
  • Confirm the item number starts with submitentry-
  • Confirm the PayPal email in your button code matches the email of the PayPal account where IPN is enabled
  • Wait 1–2 minutes — IPN notifications can be briefly delayed
  • If everything checks out and the entry still hasn't updated, you can manually mark it as Submitted from the Entries list

Need help?

Email hello@entrythingy.com with your call ID and we'll take a look — whether you're on the new connected-PayPal flow or still on legacy button code.

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