Resources · Make integration

PayPal Make integrationAutomate PayPal with Make.

Can Make run your PayPal billing without a line of code? The PayPal Make integration gives you 23 modules: 4 triggers, 17 actions and 2 iterators. This guide shows sellers and subscription businesses how to link the account and build a first working scenario.

Try the PayPal integration on MakeSee the 23 modules

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What you can automate

What does the PayPal Make integration actually do?

The PayPal Make integration links your PayPal account to Make, a no-code tool where you chain apps into a scenario (the automation you build). Each brick of that chain is a module. On the PayPal side, modules watch payments, plans and transactions, and act on billing plans, one-off payments and subscription agreements.

Subscriptions that follow your customer file. When a client pauses a contract in your CRM, Suspend an agreement puts the PayPal subscription on hold. Once the account is back in order, Reactivate an agreement restarts it. Nobody has to log into PayPal and click through each agreement.

A plan catalog that stays tidy. Watch plans spots every billing plan added to the account. Pair it with Get billing plan details to copy the plan into your product sheet, or with Deactivate plan to close an offer you no longer sell.

A two-step checkout. Create a payment (Step 1) returns an approval link for the buyer. Execute a payment (Step 2) completes the payment once the buyer has approved it, and Make carries the data from one step to the other.

What Make will not do here: PayPal has no Make an API Call module, so an operation missing from the list stays out of reach. Going live also needs a PayPal Business account. PayPal has a node on the n8n side too: see the PayPal n8n integration, and read n8n vs Make if you are still choosing. New to the editor? The Make training starts from zero.

Connect

How do you connect PayPal to Make?

  1. 01

    Add a PayPal module

    Open a scenario, click the + and search for PayPal. Pick any module, Watch plans for example, then click Create a connection. A connection is your PayPal account linked to Make once; every PayPal module reuses it afterwards.

  2. 02

    Name it and authorize Make

    Give the connection a clear name if you run more than one PayPal account, a store account and a second brand for instance. Then follow what PayPal asks: approve Make on the PayPal page, or paste the key PayPal gives you.

  3. 03

    Save and check the account

    Click Save. The module now shows the connection in its dropdown, and Make lists what it can read from the account when you fill the fields. If the plans you expect are not there, you probably linked the wrong PayPal account.

First scenario

Your first scenario: document every new plan

GoalEach time someone adds a billing plan in PayPal, Make fetches everything PayPal stores about it, so the offer is documented without anyone copying it by hand.

  1. 01

    Create the scenario

    Go to the Scenarios page, create a new scenario and click the big + in the middle of the editor. That empty circle is where the first module, the trigger that starts everything, will sit.

  2. 02

    Add Watch plans

    Search for PayPal, pick Watch plans and click Create a connection. Each new billing plan comes back as a bundle, the name Make gives to one item passed from a module to the next.

  3. 03

    Let the schedule do the checking

    This trigger is scheduled: Make asks PayPal for new plans on the scenario's schedule, not the second a plan is created. Only added plans count, so editing an existing plan will not start the scenario.

  4. 04

    Add the plan details

    Click the + on the right of the trigger, choose PayPal again, then Get billing plan details. Map the plan from Watch plans, so each run reads the plan that just appeared. You now have the whole plan in hand, ready for your catalog or product sheet.

  5. 05

    Test, schedule, switch on

    Click Run once and open the bubbles above each module to read the bundles they received. When the result looks right, set the schedule on the first module (every 15 minutes by default) and turn the scenario on.

Triggers

What can start a PayPal scenario?

4 modules start a scenario when something happens in PayPal. A scheduled trigger is checked by Make on the scenario's schedule; an instant one is called by PayPal as soon as it happens.

PayPal1New notification

New notification

Instant trigger

In Make“Triggers when a new notification is received.”

New notification starts your scenario as soon as PayPal sends Make a notification about the account. It is the only PayPal trigger that does not wait for Make to come and ask, which makes it the pick when a delay would annoy someone.

How it fires
instant. PayPal calls Make through a webhook (a private web address Make listens on) as soon as it happens; the module carries a lightning badge.
When to use it
a support team wants a message in its chat tool the moment something moves on the account.
Watch out
the documentation does not describe what a notification contains, so run the scenario once and read the bundle before you map anything.
PayPal2Watch custom app payments

Watch custom app payments

Scheduled trigger

In Make“Triggers when a new payment is made or a payment setting is changed.”

Watch custom app payments picks up new payments tied to a custom PayPal app, and it also reacts when a payment setting changes. Each event lands as a bundle you can send to your books or a sheet.

How it fires
scheduled. Make checks PayPal on the scenario's schedule (the clock badge); a new scenario runs every 15 minutes by default, and the Free plan cannot go below that interval.
When to use it
a bookkeeper wants every incoming payment copied into the accounting tool without exporting reports by hand.
Watch out
a changed setting fires the module too, so read the bundle in Run once to tell a real payment from a settings update.
PayPal3Watch plans

Watch plans

Scheduled trigger

In Make“Triggers when a new plan is added.”

Watch plans notices each billing plan added to your PayPal account and hands it to the rest of the scenario. It keeps the tools around PayPal aware of every offer you publish, without anyone copying it over.

How it fires
scheduled. Make asks PayPal for new plans on the scenario's schedule, never faster than the interval you set (1 minute at best on paid plans).
When to use it
a SaaS founder creates plans in PayPal and wants each one to appear in the internal product sheet.
Watch out
it reacts to plans that are added, so editing an existing plan will not start the scenario.
PayPal4Watch transactions

Watch transactions

Scheduled trigger

In Make“Triggers when a new transaction related to a specified agreement is made .”

Watch transactions follows one subscription agreement and starts the scenario whenever a new transaction appears on it. That gives you a precise lens on a single customer instead of the whole account.

How it fires
scheduled. Make polls PayPal for that agreement on the scenario's schedule, shown by the clock badge on the module.
When to use it
an account manager wants to hear about every charge on a key client's subscription and log it in the CRM.
Watch out
the trigger is tied to the agreement you specify; a second agreement to follow means a second setup, so plan your scenarios before you have dozens of them.
Modules

What else can PayPal do inside a scenario?

PayPal gives you 19 modules. For each one: what it does for you, when to reach for it, and what to watch out for.

PayPal1

Activate a plan

Action

In Make“Sets a billing plan to the ACTIVE state. Users will be able to subscribe it.”

Activate a plan switches a billing plan to the active state, and from then on customers can subscribe to it. It is how you publish an offer you prepared ahead of time.

When to use it
a launch date is reached in your project tool and the new offer has to open to buyers without anyone touching PayPal.
Watch out
Create a plan already creates and activates the plan, so keep this module for plans someone set inactive.
PayPal2

Bill outstanding amount

Action

In Make“Bills an outstanding or a preset amount of an agreement.”

Bill outstanding amount charges the balance still owed on a subscription agreement, or a preset amount of it. An unpaid gap becomes a real PayPal charge, triggered by your own tools.

When to use it
a customer updates their payment method after a failed renewal and your billing tool flags the account as ready to charge again.
Watch out
this module moves real money, so try Run once on a single agreement you know well before mapping it to live data.
PayPal3

Cancel agreement

Action

In Make“Cancels an agreement previously approved by a user.”

Cancel agreement ends a subscription agreement the customer had approved. The subscription stops on the PayPal side, driven by whatever event you choose in Make.

When to use it
a cancellation form on your website should close the subscription the moment it is submitted, with no manual step for the team.
Watch out
Reactivate an agreement only restarts suspended agreements; if the customer might come back, Suspend an agreement is the safer move.
PayPal4

Create an agreement (Step 1)

Action

In Make“Creates a subcription agreement and returns an approval url link to obtain buyer's approval.”

Create an agreement (Step 1) prepares a subscription agreement and returns an approval link the buyer has to open. It is the first half of signing someone up to a recurring plan.

When to use it
a new member fills your signup form and should receive the PayPal link by email straight away, through an email module added after this one.
Watch out
nothing is final until the buyer approves and Execute an agreement (Step 2) runs.
PayPal5

Create a payment (Step 1)

Action

In Make“Creates a new payment order and returns an approval url link to obtain buyer's approval.”

Create a payment (Step 1) sets up a one-off payment order and hands you an approval link for the buyer. You send the link, the buyer pays on PayPal, and the scenario takes it from there.

When to use it
a quote is marked as accepted in your CRM and the client needs a payment link without you drafting an email.
Watch out
the link alone does not collect anything; Execute a payment (Step 2) finishes the job after approval.
PayPal6

Create a plan

Action

In Make“Creates and activates a billing plan.”

Create a plan builds a billing plan and activates it in the same move, so subscribers can join right after the module runs. Handy when your offers live in another tool.

When to use it
your product team adds a new pricing tier in its database, and PayPal should get the matching plan with no copy and paste.
Watch out
the plan is live as soon as it exists, so check the values with Run once before you switch the scenario on.
PayPal7

Deactivate plan

Action

In Make“Sets a billing plan to the INACTIVE state. Users will not be able to subscribe to it.”

Deactivate plan sets a billing plan to inactive, which means nobody new can subscribe to it. The plan itself stays in the account, ready to come back.

When to use it
a limited offer sells out in your stock tool and PayPal should stop accepting new subscribers to it.
Watch out
this is reversible with Activate a plan, unlike Delete a plan; start here whenever you are not sure an offer is gone for good.
PayPal8

Delete a plan

Action

In Make“Permanently removes a billing plan.”

Delete a plan removes a billing plan from PayPal for good. It clears out plans that should never have existed, such as duplicates created while you were testing.

When to use it
a cleanup scenario goes through plans marked as obsolete in your sheet and wipes them from the account.
Watch out
there is no undo. Map the plan carefully, and prefer Deactivate plan if anyone might still need the offer.
PayPal9

Execute an agreement (Step 2)

Action

In Make“Executes a subscription agreement approved by a buyer after Step 1.”

Execute an agreement (Step 2) completes a subscription agreement once the buyer has approved it through the Step 1 link. This is the moment the subscription becomes real.

When to use it
right after the approval, so the membership, course access or service can start in your other tools.
Watch out
it only works on an agreement the buyer has actually approved; run it too early and there is nothing to execute.
PayPal10

Execute a payment (Step 2)

Action

In Make“Executes a payment approved by a buyer after Step 1.”

Execute a payment (Step 2) finalizes a one-off payment that the buyer approved through the link from Step 1. Until it runs, the order is only a promise.

When to use it
a client approves the payment for a quote and you want the invoice marked as paid in your billing tool in the same scenario.
Watch out
keep Step 1 and Step 2 in the right order and map the payment from Step 1, otherwise PayPal has no approved payment to finalize.
PayPal11

Get agreement transactions

Action

In Make“Returns all transactions related to a specific agreement.”

Get agreement transactions pulls the full list of transactions linked to one subscription agreement. You get the whole payment history of a customer in a single step.

When to use it
a customer questions a charge and support wants every transaction on that subscription in front of them before replying.
Watch out
the list arrives in one piece; add Retrieve transactions after it when each transaction needs its own row or message.
PayPal12

Get billing plan details

Action

In Make“Gets details about a specific billing plan.”

Get billing plan details reads everything PayPal stores about one specific billing plan. It answers the question of what a plan really contains before you act on it.

When to use it
placed after Watch plans, it fetches the new plan in full so you can copy it into your catalog or pricing page draft.
Watch out
it targets one plan at a time; to survey many plans, Get plans is the better starting point.
PayPal13

Get plans

Action

In Make“Gets information about billing plans in a specified state.”

Get plans returns information on the billing plans that sit in a state you choose, active or inactive. Think of it as a quick inventory of your offers.

When to use it
before a pricing change, list every active plan and send the overview to the person who approves offers.
Watch out
pick the state carefully; asking for inactive plans will not show the ones customers can currently subscribe to.
PayPal14

Get subscription agreement details

Action

In Make“Returns subscription agreement details.”

Get subscription agreement details returns what PayPal knows about one subscription agreement. It gives your other tools the context they lack before they send a message or update a record.

When to use it
a customer writes in about their subscription and the helpdesk ticket should show the agreement details automatically.
Watch out
each agreement read counts as one operation, the unit Make counts on your plan, so avoid calling it for data you already have.
PayPal15

Reactivate an agreement

Action

In Make“Reactivates a previously suspended agreement.”

Reactivate an agreement brings a suspended subscription back to life. The customer picks up where they left off, without signing up again.

When to use it
an overdue invoice is marked as paid in your accounting tool and the paused membership should restart on its own.
Watch out
it only applies to agreements that were suspended; a cancelled agreement cannot be revived this way and needs a fresh Step 1.
PayPal16

Set outstanding agreement amounts

Action

In Make“Sets an outstanding agreement amount.”

Set outstanding agreement amounts records an amount as still owed on a subscription agreement. It prepares the balance without charging it yet.

When to use it
an extra usage fee is calculated in your own system and has to be attached to the customer's subscription before billing.
Watch out
setting an amount collects nothing on its own; follow it with Bill outstanding amount when you want the money.
PayPal17

Suspend an agreement

Action

In Make“Suspends an agreement previously approved by a user.”

Suspend an agreement pauses a subscription the customer had approved, without ending it. Billing stops until you decide otherwise.

When to use it
a client asks to pause their plan during a quiet period, or a payment issue needs sorting out before service continues.
Watch out
a suspended agreement waits for you; pair this with Reactivate an agreement or Cancel agreement so none stay paused forever by accident.
PayPal18

Retrieve payment definitions

Iterator

In Make“Enables to process each payment definition for a billing plan separately.”

Retrieve payment definitions is an iterator: it splits the payment definitions of a billing plan so each one travels through the scenario as its own bundle.

When to use it
you document your plans in a sheet and want one row per payment definition rather than a single crowded cell.
Watch out
every module after the iterator runs once per definition, and each run is an operation on your plan.
PayPal19

Retrieve transactions

Iterator

In Make“Enables to process transactions one at a time.”

Retrieve transactions takes a batch of transactions and feeds them one at a time to the rest of the scenario. Each transaction can then get its own treatment.

When to use it
after Get agreement transactions, send each payment to your accounting tool as a separate entry instead of one lump.
Watch out
a long history means many bundles, and every following module counts an operation for each one.
Need help

Need help automating PayPal with Make?

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FAQ

Questions people ask next

01Is the PayPal Make integration free?
Yes. PayPal is a standard app in Make, so it works from the Free plan. That plan has limits you will feel quickly: 2 active scenarios, at least 15 minutes between two scheduled runs, 5 minutes of execution per run, files up to 5 MB and 512 MB of data transfer. Paid plans (Core, Pro, Teams, Enterprise) bring the interval down to 1 minute, remove the cap on active scenarios and allow 40 minutes of execution. Usage is counted in operations, one per module run, every month. Make does not charge anything extra for PayPal itself.
02What do you need to connect PayPal to Make?
A Make account and the PayPal account you want to automate. The documentation lists no other prerequisite for the connection itself. Two details matter though. First, going live requires a PayPal Business account, so a personal account will not take you all the way. Second, log out of any PayPal session open in the same browser before you click Create a connection, because Make otherwise picks that logged-in account automatically, and it may not be the one you meant.
03Does the PayPal trigger in Make work in real time?
It depends on the trigger. New notification is instant: PayPal calls Make through a webhook as soon as something happens, and the scenario starts right away. Watch custom app payments, Watch plans and Watch transactions are scheduled: Make checks PayPal on the scenario's schedule, every 15 minutes by default. On the Free plan that is also the shortest interval; paid plans can go down to 1 minute. If speed matters, build around New notification and use the scheduled triggers for follow-ups where a short wait is fine.
04What if the PayPal module you need is missing in Make?
Then you will need another route, because PayPal has no Make an API Call module in Make, the generic module some apps offer for custom requests. Start by checking the 23 modules on this page: several jobs combine two of them, like Set outstanding agreement amounts followed by Bill outstanding amount. If the operation really is not covered, look at whether another app in your scenario can take over that part. And if you are stuck, the team at Hack'celeration can look at your case with you.
05Should you use Make or n8n for PayPal?
It depends on the tool your team already builds in, since PayPal is available on both sides. In Make you get the 23 modules described here, covering payments, billing plans and subscription agreements, plus a visual editor where Run once shows each bundle. n8n also has a PayPal node, and this site has a separate page about it. No general winner here: compare the operations you need against each list, then pick the tool where your other automations already run so everything stays in one place.
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