Collecting payments on Microsoft Forms: steps, tips & more

One of the biggest concerns for-profit organizations have is the ability to transfer funds from customers to their accounts securely. Furthermore, they constantly search for the fastest way to get the customer to pay. While there are many specialized tools for a secure payment process, the speed of the process always seems to be an issue. So, what if there were a way to use simple forms to collect payments?

We will examine whether using Microsoft Forms for payments is possible, why to collect online payments, and how to collect and use payment methods in Microsoft Forms. We will also look at a better and easier way to create forms and collect payments with the advanced and user-friendly features of forms.app.

Can Microsoft Forms accept payments?

No, you cannot accept payments directly from a Microsoft Forms form. Instead, you must use the Microsoft Forms payment gateway technique to direct your customers to the payment page. However, this technique also has advantages, as you can direct your potential customers to any payment page you want, allowing you to select any payment processor freely.

Why to collect online payments

While some businesses still work as cash-based businesses and refrain from using digital payment methods, every company that would like to expand has to accept online payments. Unfortunately, the cash-based method does not allow you to grow as much as online payment would. So, what are the other advantages of collecting online payments?

5 reasons for collecting online payments

1. Convenience and ease of use: One of the most prominent advantages of online payments is the ease of use and convenience. You can collect immediate payment from a purchase and receive the money in real-time.

2. Payment and storage security: The second most well-known advantage of online payments is security. Since the customer is paying through an authenticator, and you receive the payment within a secure bank account, the odds of fraud and theft go way down.

3. Better reach: Online payments also allow you to collect payments from anywhere in the world. This causes you to have better outreach when it comes to marketing your products and selling to any country you desire.

4. Better marketing options: Once you set up the online payment process for your business, you can use it as a marketing tool to offer promo codes and discounts. This increases your popularity as a business and attracts customers to make more purchases.

5. Increased customer retention: Since customers will have to register to your app or your website before making an online payment, you will be able to collect contact information. This, in turn, will increase customer retention and your marketing outreach.

How to collect payments on Microsoft Forms

As we have mentioned, there is no direct way of collecting payments from Microsoft Forms. However, there are workarounds that you can do. Thankfully, none of these workarounds require you to download third-party apps as you would when collecting payments on Google Forms; therefore, the process is a bit easier. There are two main ways that you can use to collect payments with Microsoft Forms.

1. Payment with a link

The first way of collecting payments with the Microsoft 365 app, Microsoft Forms, is to link your payment processor to a question. In order to achieve this, you must first create a form using Microsoft Forms, and select add a new Text question. Once you add the text question, you must title your question appropriately.

Once you create and title your question, simply generate a link to your payment processor and copy the link. Then, paste the link to the subtitle of that question by clicking on the three horizontal dots at the lower right side of the question and clicking on Subtitle. Once you have added the link, the participants will be able to click it and be directed to your payment processor.

2. Payment with a QR code

The second way of collecting online payments using Microsoft Forms is to add a new payment section using a QR code. In order to achieve this, you must add a Text question again. However, this time, you must click on the image icon on the right side of the question's title. 

Once you click on the image icon, you will be directed to a small menu. From that menu, simply select the Insert image option. Afterward, you must create a QR code for your payment processor from their website or app and take a screen image of that QR code. Once you get the screen image, you can insert it into the question's title.

You have an easier option: forms.app

If you would like to easily take online payments from your customers without the need to generate links or take screen images of QR codes, look no further than the advanced options of forms.app. Thanks to the dedicated payment field in forms.app, you can easily streamline the process of online payments within your form.

Add a payment field

To add the payment field to your form at forms.app, go to the form creation page, click the Fields tab within the Build section, and scroll down to the Payment & E-commerce heading. From there, click on the Payment field and add it to your form.

Customize the payment field

Once you add the Payment field to your form, you can start to customize it. If you click on the field itself, you can see that you can change the field's heading. However, that is not all. You can also click on the gear icon at the upper right corner of the field to access the specialized settings menu for the field itself.

Change the currency

Within the specialized menu, you can customize settings such as the currency, currency symbol position, payment amount, or the payment page title. You can even let the customer type in the amount to pay, or select from payment options of PayPal, Stripe, or paying at the door.

Key points to take away

The online payment option proves to be the way to go for businesses that would like to take their success to the next level. With advantages such as convenience, security, and better reach for new customers, the online payment feature is something that every business should adopt, and the best way to adopt this feature is by integrating it with your forms.

We have examined whether it is possible to accept payments through Microsoft Forms, why you should collect online payments for a better business model, how to collect online payments with Microsoft Forms, and a better way to both create forms and collect online payments with the advanced features of forms.app. 

It is time for you to adopt this feature and take the first steps toward becoming an international success!