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This article is dedicated to users with Leader Elite or Leader accounts.

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Once your PayPal account is linked to Back On Stage, it's worth running one small test of each money flow before a real client or musician depends on it. A quick test now catches PayPal account limits or settings that could block a payment later, while the stakes are a dollar instead of a deposit.

This guide walks you through two tests:

A test payment: you pay a small invoice yourself, the same way a client would.
A test payout: you pay yourself a penny, the same way you'd pay a musician after a gig.

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Haven't linked PayPal yet? Do that first: How to Connect PayPal & Unlock 25¢ Musician Payouts (Step 4)

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Payments vs. Payouts

These two words come up throughout this guide, and they mean different things in BOS.

Term	What it is	Moves real money?
Payment	Money coming in from a client. Your client pays an invoice by credit card, debit card or PayPal, and it's processed through your PayPal integration.	Yes
Payout	Money going out to your musicians or staff. In this guide, "payout" always means a PayPal payout.	PayPal payouts: yes. Cash, cheque and e-transfer payouts: no, those are for record keeping only.

Clients normally pay by opening the invoice you send them from a booking. You can also take a payment yourself with Apply Payment on any booking page, which is what the payment test below uses.

Before You Start

Have these ready:

Your PayPal account linked to BOS
A credit or debit card for the test payment