Get started

This guide takes a new merchant from sign-up to a first payment in the CentraPoint dashboard, without writing code. Everything up to step 8 works with sandbox (test) gateways, so you can try the whole flow while your business verification is reviewed. Connecting your own system through the API? Do steps 1 to 4 here, then follow the Quickstart.

1. Create your account#

1. Go to app.centrapoint.co.za/signup and enter your company name, your name, your work email and a password of at least 10 characters.
2. Choose a plan. If it has a free trial, the dashboard shows the days left; choose a plan under Settings → Billing & plan before the trial ends, or the account becomes read-only.
3. Click Create account. You are signed in as the account's first Admin and taken to business verification.

Protect your login with an authenticator app under Settings → Security (see Two-factor authentication).

2. Verify your business#

We verify every business (KYB) before it can accept live payments. Under Settings → Compliance:

1. Fill in the business details and the representative (a director, owner or authorised signatory), then click Save details. The business type decides which documents you need.
2. Upload the documents: the representative's ID, proof of the business address, a bank confirmation letter and, for a company, the CIPC registration certificate. PDF, PNG or JPEG.
3. Tick the declaration, type your full name and click Submit for review.

Approval usually takes 1-2 business days, and we email you when it is done. You do not need to wait: everything in the next steps works with sandbox gateways in the meantime. See Business verification for the full document list.

3. Add a payment gateway in sandbox#

Payments go through your own account with a payment gateway such as PayFast or Netcash. Add the gateway's module, then connect it with test credentials:

1. Under Settings → Modules, pick the gateway in Add a module and click Add module. The list shows the modules your plan includes.
2. Under Settings → Payment providers, choose it in Add a payment provider… and click Add.
3. Enter the gateway's test credentials (each gateway page lists the fields). Leave Enabled and Sandbox / test mode ticked; both are on for a new gateway. For PayFast, use your PayFast sandbox merchant details and set the same passphrase in PayFast and CentraPoint. Netcash Pay Now has no separate sandbox: put the Pay Now service into Test Mode in the Netcash portal.
4. Click Add followed by the gateway's name to save it, then Test on its card to check the credentials (where the gateway supports a connection test).
5. If the gateway needs URLs in its own portal, copy them from the gateway's card. PayFast needs none; Netcash Pay Now needs four. See Gateway notification URLs.

4. Set up tax#

Open Settings → Tax and save it, even if you do not charge tax. Until this page is saved, invoices use 15% VAT added on top of your prices.

• VAT registered: keep Charge tax on invoices ticked, check the name and rate, choose whether the prices you enter exclude or include tax, and enter your VAT number. It is printed on your invoices and receipts.
• Not VAT registered: untick Charge tax on invoices.

Click Save tax settings. The page previews a R 100.00 price with your settings. See Tax settings for how tax is calculated.

5. Add your company details and branding#

Under Settings → Company, enter your company name, email, phone and address: they appear on invoices, receipts and the payment page. Here you also set the default invoice due days and terms, and whether customers are emailed a receipt when a payment completes (on by default). Click Save settings.

If your plan includes custom branding, add your logo, colours and PDF layout under Settings → Branding, which shows a live preview. See Branding on documents.

6. Create a customer and request a payment#

Under Customers → New customer, enter at least a first name and an email address (choose Company as the type to bill a business) and click Create customer. For a first test, use your own email address. Then ask for a payment in one of two ways:

• Payment link: under Payment links, fill in Create link with a title and amount, optionally choose the customer, and click Create link. Copy the link from the list and send it by email, chat or SMS.
• Invoice: under Invoices → New invoice, choose the customer, add the lines and click Create invoice. On the invoice, Email to customer sends the PDF with a pay-now link, or Create payment link under Collect payment gives you a link to copy.

Save what you sell often under Products to pick it on invoices and links. Payment links and invoicing depend on your plan: a menu item marked Upgrade is not included.

7. Pay and see the payment come in#

1. Open the link (a private browser window works well), enter the payer details and pay on the gateway's sandbox page with its test details.
2. The gateway confirms the payment to CentraPoint, usually within seconds. It then shows as complete under Transactions and in Recent transactions on the dashboard, and the invoice, if you sent one, is marked paid.
3. The payer can download a receipt from the payment result page and, with receipts switched on (step 5), is emailed one. You can download it from the transaction too.

8. Invite your team#

Under Settings → Users, use Add user: enter the person's name and email, leave the password blank to email them an invitation, and choose a role:

• Admin: everything, including users, settings, gateways and billing.
• Staff (the default): day-to-day work with customers, invoices, payments, EFT and debit orders.
• Viewer: read-only access to day-to-day areas.

Custom roles under Settings → Roles give finer control. Users count towards your plan's user limit. See Roles & permissions.

9. Go live#

Once your business is approved, open the gateway under Settings → Payment providers, replace the test credentials with your live ones, untick Sandbox / test mode and click Save gateway. For Netcash, also take the Pay Now service out of Test Mode. Then make a small real payment to check that everything works end to end.

Where to go next#