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OJS for EveryoneThe Practical GuidebookRSYN Research LLP

Payment Methods

OJS supports two approaches to collecting subscription payments: manual payment recording (for cheque, bank transfer, or offline payment) and online payment via a payment plugin such as PayPal.

Manual Payment Recording​

Most journals process subscription payments outside OJS (by invoice, bank transfer, or cheque) and then record the payment status inside OJS to activate access.

Marking a Subscription as Paid (Active)​

  1. Go to Subscriptions → Individual Subscriptions or Institutional Subscriptions
  2. Find the subscription that has been paid
  3. Click the arrow next to the subscriber's name and select Edit
  4. Change the Status from Awaiting Manual Payment to Active
  5. Optionally add a note in the Note field (e.g. Invoice #1234 paid by bank transfer 2025-06-01)
  6. Click Save

The subscriber gains immediate access once the status is Active.

Use notes for audit trails

The Note field is visible only to Subscription Managers and Journal Managers. Use it to record invoice numbers, payment references, and dates to maintain a basic audit trail inside OJS.

Configuring the Manual Payment Plugin​

The Manual Payment plugin allows subscribers to initiate a subscription online and receive instructions to pay offline. OJS marks the subscription as Awaiting Manual Payment until you manually confirm receipt.

Enabling the Manual Payment Plugin​

  1. Go to Settings → Website → Plugins
  2. Find Manual Payment under the Payment Plugins section (or search for it)
  3. Click the toggle to Enable the plugin
  4. Click the Settings (gear) icon next to the plugin
  5. Fill in the Payment Instructions field — this text is shown to subscribers after they choose the manual payment option (e.g. bank details, mailing address for cheques)
  6. Click Save

Manual Payment Plugin Settings​

SettingDescription
Payment InstructionsText displayed to the subscriber explaining how to send payment offline (bank details, cheque payee name, mailing address, etc.)
Currency is set globally

The payment currency is configured in Subscriptions → Subscription Policies, not in the individual payment plugin settings.

Connecting a PayPal Payment Plugin​

The PayPal plugin enables subscribers to pay online using a PayPal account or credit card, with OJS automatically activating the subscription on payment confirmation.

Prerequisites​

  • A PayPal Business account
  • PayPal API credentials (API Username, API Password, API Signature) from your PayPal account settings under Account → API Access

Enabling the PayPal Plugin​

  1. Go to Settings → Website → Plugins
  2. Find PayPal Fee Payment in the Payment Plugins section
  3. Click the toggle to Enable the plugin
  4. Click the Settings (gear) icon
  5. Fill in the required fields (see table below)
  6. Click Save

PayPal Plugin Settings​

SettingDescription
Test modeEnable to use the PayPal Sandbox for testing; disable for live payments
API UsernameFrom your PayPal account API credentials
API PasswordFrom your PayPal account API credentials
API SignatureFrom your PayPal account API credentials
Always test in Sandbox first

Enable Test mode and use a PayPal Sandbox account to verify the payment flow end-to-end before switching to live credentials. Test both a successful payment and a cancelled payment.

Configuring PayPal fees

The PayPal plugin processes payments for subscription fees defined in your subscription types. Ensure each subscription type has a non-zero cost and the correct currency set before testing online payments.

Recording Payment Notes​

For any subscription (manual or online), use the Note field on the subscription record to capture payment-related information:

Note contentExample
Invoice referenceInvoice #INV-2025-0042 issued 2025-05-15
Payment methodPaid by bank transfer; ref TXN987654
PayPal transactionPayPal txn ID 4XF12345AB678901C confirmed 2025-05-20
Partial payment50% deposit received; balance due 2025-08-01
Complimentary noteComplimentary subscription granted for editorial board service

Payment Notification Workflow​

The typical payment lifecycle for a new subscriber is:

  1. Subscriber selects a subscription type on the journal's subscription page
  2. OJS creates a subscription record with status Awaiting Online Payment (PayPal) or Awaiting Manual Payment (Manual plugin)
  3. PayPal: Subscriber completes payment on PayPal; OJS receives the IPN callback and automatically sets status to Active
    Manual: Subscriber sends payment offline; Subscription Manager manually sets status to Active
  4. Access granted — subscriber can now log in and access content
  5. OJS sends a confirmation email to the subscriber (if configured in Subscription Policies)

Email Notifications​

OJS can send automated emails at key points in the payment workflow. Configure these under Subscriptions → Subscription Policies:

NotificationTrigger
Subscription purchasedSubscriber completes purchase (online payment confirmed)
Subscription renewal reminderSent a set number of days before expiry
Subscription expiredSent when a subscription lapses
PayPal IPN

PayPal uses Instant Payment Notification (IPN) to inform OJS of completed payments. If a subscriber pays but their subscription is not activated automatically, check that your server can receive inbound HTTP connections from PayPal's IPN servers and that your PayPal account has IPN enabled.

Further Reading​