ChartMogul uses the PayPal Instant Payment Notification to keep your metrics in sync with the data in your PayPal account.
PayPal only permits one IPN per account, so if you are already using your PayPal IPN (as part of your own checkout system for example) you may need to set up a relay to forward the IPN notification on to ChartMogul.
A webhook relay will allow you to use your PayPal IPN in multiple locations.
To forward the PayPal IPN you will need to send PayPal payloads to your ChartMogul webhook URL using a POST request.
What's a webhook?
It's a method of requesting and delivering real-time updates over the web. In this scenario, we'll be requesting real-time data from PayPal and delivering it to ChartMogul.
Your PayPal webhook can be found at Data Platform > Sources, from here select your PayPal billing connector from the table.
How can I forward PayPal data to ChartMogul?
This process doesn't require any development work as there are now several third-party services (i.e Zapier's PayPal IPN relay app) that offer webhook forwarding. You can explore these services to forward your PayPal IPN (or, Webhook) payload from your server to ChartMogul.
ChartMogul requires an unchanged PayPal payload delivered with an HTTP POST request.
When forwarding the PayPal IPN, be sure not to alter the payload. ChartMogul requires an exact replica of the payload that arrives at your server from PayPal. There is no need to alter it in any way.
The packet should use UTF-8 encoding.
The PayPal IPN must be sent from the same account that matches the PayPal Client ID stored in ChartMogul. If you enter your Production PayPal Client ID into ChartMogul, ensure that you send webhooks from your Production account (not your PayPal Sandbox).
It's important that you save your PayPal Client ID in ChartMogul before forwarding the PayPal IPN. When ChartMogul receives a PayPal IPN payload it needs to look up additional information about the customer in your PayPal account - that’s why it’s important that the IPN originates from the same account as the Client ID you enter in ChartMogul.
It's also possible to use an IPN redirect plugin for this task.
How do I check that it's working?
You will know that your PayPal IPN is set up correctly as soon as you receive new customer notifications in ChartMogul. The bell on the top right of the ChartMogul interface will turn red when a new notification arrives. You will see a list of the most recent notifications when you click on it.