Differences

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--- merchant_guide:testing-subscriptions [2010/09/01 04:09] – Links to paypal changed to payment-gateways:paypal earlyimpact
+++ merchant_guide:testing-subscriptions [2011/01/13 18:52] – earlyimpact
@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 This article provides information on how to "test" the process of buying and managing a subscription with SubscriptionBridge.
-How and what to test can vary depending on the payment gateway that you have associated with your SubscriptionBridge-based store. So the rest of the article is divided into sections that are specific to each payment system.
+How and what to test can vary depending on the payment gateway that you have associated with your SubscriptionBridge-based store. So the rest of the article is divided into sections that are specific to each payment system. The natural way to test SubscriptionBridge is by using the Test Payment Gateway, so we'll start there.
+===== Test Payment Gateway =====
+SubscriptionBridge includes a [[payment-gateways:test|Test Gateway]] that allows you to test a variety of features without having to sign up for a "live" recurring payment system.
+  * Take your time and familiarize with SubscriptionBridge without having to pay any payment gateway fees
+  * Research the various recurring payment systems that SubscriptionBridge supports while still being able to test the system
+  * [[payment-gateways:test|More information on the Test Gateway]]
+The main limitation of using the Test Gateway is that it does not allow you to test recurring payments, but rather only the user-triggered payments (e.g. purchasing a new subscription, adding a feature, paying an outstanding balance, etc.).
 ===== Authorize.Net =====
@@ Line 31: / Line 41: @@
 To test the system and simulate different scenarios, setup a short subscription (e.g. a subscription with a weekly payment interval and a week-long free trial, for example). You will then see SubscriptionBridge go through a series of "events" associated with the subscription (E.g. trial expiration reminder, subscription payment notifications, etc.). Note that Authorize.Net requires that the billing period be weekly or longer (i.e. you cannot setup a daily subscription, although that would be useful for testing purposes).
-===== PayPal Website Payments Pro =====
-PayPal has a testing ("sandbox") environment. You can find it at https://developer.paypal.com/
-The PayPal Sandbox mimics exactly the live PayPal system. So to use test SubscriptionBridge with PayPal:
-  - Create a PayPal Website Payments Pro sandbox account, [[payment-gateways:paypal#setting-up-website-payments-pro|just like you would with a regular account]]
-  - [[payment-gateways:paypal|Set it up]] exactly as you would with your "live" account. This includes...
-    - Requesting your API credentials
-    - Requesting that Recurring Payments are added to your sandbox account
-  - Log into your SubscriptionBridge Merchant Center
-  - Enter the PayPal API credentials on the payment tab
-You can now use SubscriptionBridge with your sandbox Website Payments Pro account.
+===== Using PayPal in a testing environment =====
-===== PayPal Express =====
-When you active Website Payments Pro, PayPal Express Checkout is activated automatically. Alternatively, you can configure it separately, as a stand-alone system, even without signing up for Website Payments Pro.
+PayPal has a testing ("sandbox") environment: you can [[https://developer.paypal.com/cgi-bin/devscr?cmd=_signup-run|sign up for a PayPal sandbox account]] at any time. __The PayPal Sandbox mimics exactly the live PayPal system__. So to test SubscriptionBridge with PayPal:
-For more information and to sign up, visit: http://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_additional-payment-overview-outside
+  * [[https://developer.paypal.com/cgi-bin/devscr?cmd=_signup-run|Sign up for a PayPal sandbox account]]
+  * [[:payment-gateways:paypal#configuring-paypal-settings|Setup]] Website Payments Pro or Express Checkout as discussed [[:payment-gateways:paypal#configuring-paypal-settings|here]]
+  * In SubscriptionBridge, as your PayPal credentials, enter the credentials that you have obtained from the new Sandbox account that you have just created.
+  * You can now use SubscriptionBridge with PayPal in a sandbox (testing) environment
-  * The instructions with regard to adding "API Credentials" to your SubscriptionBridge store are the same as those for Website Payments Pro.
+<note important>NOTE: __you must be signed into your PayPal sandbox account__ in order to be able to successfully use PayPal in test mode.</note>
-  * Note that __you must be signed into your PayPal sandbox account__ in order to be able to successfully use PayPal Express Checkout in a test mode.