How to Customize and Download PayPal Reports

By Marsha Collier from eBay Business All-in-One For Dummies, 2nd Edition

If you're making a lot of money from eBay, you'll want to keep records of your transactions. Even if you don't really need them, Uncle Sam surely will. If you have a PayPal account, you can download your PayPal reports to keep track of your business activity. You can download a report as a comma-delimited, tab-delimited, Quicken, or QuickBooks file. After logging in to PayPal, follow these steps:

Click the My Account tab.
Mouse over the History item on the navigation bar and click Download History on the resulting drop-down menu.

You land on the Download History page. Before you start clicking anything, consider customizing your reports.
Scroll down the page and indicate your level of customization.
Select the fields you want to include by putting a check mark in the box next to the desired data.

These options include information such as the transaction date and time, the customer’s name, and the amount you paid for shipping.
Click Save.

You’re returned to the Download History page. Your customization is saved for future report downloads.

Remember that if you’re a seller in the U.K., your page will look slightly different from the one pictured. (For one, your dates will be in the format DD/MM/YY.)
Type the start and end dates that you want to include in the report.
Select a format for your download from the following:
- Comma-delimited file: This type of file downloads with the .csv extension. You can open a comma-delimited file easily in Microsoft Excel or Microsoft Works, using the All Files option, as shown here. (Microsoft Works doesn’t have a direct .csv importer, but the file will open with the All Files *.* command.)
  
  Opening a comma-delimited file in Works.
- Tab-delimited file: This file downloads with the .txt extension. It can be opened not only in a spreadsheet program but also as a text file in Windows Notepad or a word processing program such as Microsoft Word.
- Quicken or QuickBooks file: These files download in the native format, ready to import into these Intuit bookkeeping programs. Just remember: After these files are imported, they’re in there for good.
Saving comma- and tab-delimited files for spreadsheet use does not limit you in the future as to what version of which program you must use. The .txt and .csv files are universal files that can be opened on any PC with basic spreadsheet capabilities.

By opting for a spreadsheet file as your record of customers, you’re not bogging down a bookkeeping program with hundreds and eventually thousands of records of one-time buyers. Even a robust program like QuickBooks will max out at around 14,000 customers!
Click the Download History button.

If you’ve asked for a long timeframe (such as a year), go make yourself a cup of joe. When you come back, your file will be ready to download.