How to Have Users Pay Once for Multiple Registrations or Orders

A little known feature of FormSmarts’ Advanced PayPal Integration is SuperCart. This feature allows a user to submit multiple online forms that include a payment and pay once for the total amount at the end, thereby providing the buyer with a better ‘shopping’ experience and reducing the seller’s PayPal fees. Let’s review two typical uses of SuperCart.

Note: This article discusses an early version of SuperCart. Although it content has been updated and is still relevant, please also read our introduction to the SuperCart Shopping Cart.

Online Registration Form Allowing Several Registrants

Use Case 1: Event Registration Form

The first typical use for SuperCart is to create an online form to register attendees for an event. For illustration purposes, I’ve made a registration form for a conference. We want each attendee to be able to choose a different registration package, pick the seminars they would like to attend and optionally add an accommodation package. With SuperCart, a user can register multiple delegates by submitting the registration form for each one, then pay for all of them at once. In the illustration above, we submit the form once to register Pat selecting the standard registration option, then again for Jim, opting this time for a premium registration and adding accommodation. We then proceed to PayPal to pay for both registrations. This short video shows how this works in practice.

Use Case 2: Order Form

Another common use of this feature is to create an order form allowing a buyer to purchase several products or services while being able to customize options for each one. I’ve built an order form demo to allow customers to configure and order goods (greetings cards in this example). Each product can be customized based on the options selected on the order form. With SuperCart, the buyer will be able to order as many products as they like by submitting an order form for each one, then pay for all of them at once.

How to Create a SuperCart Form

While understanding the concepts behind SuperCart may not appear straightforward, building a SuperCart form is easy:

  1. Set the Return URL of the form to the URL of the page the form is embedded into. If you’re using the standalone form, enter the FormSmarts.com URL given by the form builder instead.
  2. In the Form Details screen, set the On Submission option to Integrate with PayPal using SuperCart.

If you haven’t already done so, remember to set up your PayPal account for Advanced PayPal Integration.

When You Should and Shouldn’t Use SuperCart

Set up your PayPal forms with SuperCart whenever you would like to allow a buyer to pay once for multiple form submissions and providing a single form would affect the form’s usability because each registration/order has too many options or you expect someone will submit more two or three registrations/orders. If it’s unlikely buyers will submit more than one form you should use a regular payment with Advanced PayPal Integration instead.

4 Responses to “How to Have Users Pay Once for Multiple Registrations or Orders”

I have a high school centennial and need to set up a PayPal/FormSmarts system to pay for three possible events. There might be a buyer buying his tickets for all three events; or paying for his wife for all three also and maybe his son buying all three too. Which in this case worse case would be nine tickets. Which system would be the best to use. Oh, and I’d like to know who he’s buying the tickets for also. Thanks. Gary

Posted by: Gary Steward | Mar 22nd, 2015 8:38 pm

The video above showing Jim and Pat does not have sound.

Posted by: Gary Steward | Mar 22nd, 2015 8:44 pm

Gary, I would set up a form allowing a buyer to purchase tickets for all three events on the same form. I would then use SuperCart described on this page to allow the buyer to register others, submitting a separate form for each person (like in the example with Jim and pat above).

FormSmarts Posted by: FormSmarts | Mar 22nd, 2015 9:04 pm

Gary, the video does not have sound because we didn’t have a reliable way to record sound at the time. Newer videos do have sound.

FormSmarts Posted by: FormSmarts | Mar 22nd, 2015 9:06 pm

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